Blood Hunter-7

I looked outside the window I was cleaning as the sun rose from the other side of the city. Or what was once a city of great wealth, fame and beauty. It now stands as a skeleton, broken buildings with metal sticking out into the sky and bricks crumbleing off of old pipes. The place I live now was one of only a few buildings that survived the change.

It was like a day like today, peaceful quiet. I was alone doing my daily chores as a maid to the Valentine house hold of which I am apart of if only by name. I am Velverosa Von Valentine once heir to the family business and daughter of a simple house maid. My father Sir Valentine once treated me like a daughter but my stepmother refused to play house and take me as an heir.

Father never loved that vile woman, it was an arranged marriage to strengthen the company as a whole. The arrangement allowed our struggling business to inherit the second greatest business in the world. It was a good deal from that point of view but the two in question hated every second of it, step mother always had male servants attending her at night and father managed to sneak in his true love into the home as a smiple maid.

That woman was my mother and father loved her dearly, but it sadly wasn't meant to be. I was only thirteen at the time, but I remember it clearly. The sun went out, not by clouds or by a solar eclipse but something much worse. In the sky above our world a hole had appeared, it was black as night and absorbed the light of the sun. At first it wasn't visible but eventually the black circle opened to reveal an eye looking down on the world like a man with magnifying glass.

Light poured from the iris bathing the world in a bright light that quickly blinded all who saw it. As quickly as it came it blinked and was gone, instead from the hole came a torrent of energy. Those who were too close to the epicenter was disintegrated in an instant, the blast toppled building and ravaged the sky. Storms erupted from nothing, tornadoes, hurricanes and hail started to tear down the world the energy didn't immediately destroy and if it wasn't for mother shielding me from the chaos I would be dead.

By the time I opened my eyes mother was nothing more than ashes on my back blown away with the winds. Before me lay the city I once knew, skyscrapers now lay across the horizon dividing the city in a maze of debris. I picked up my bucket of water and moved on to the next set of glass panes to begin cleaning. The mistress had guests arriving today, over the last two months men in white lab coats and vehicles filled with machines have been arriving running in and out of the buildings basement. Some big shot running the whole thing requested to meet with the vile woman to disguss future business arrangements.

Father was still in bed, staring at a worn jewelry box that held the only thing that was left when mother died. He's been like that for several years now and in a few months his body will fail him and he will join her on the other side. I've tried many times to get him to find meaning in his life but no matter what I said nothing helped. He resigned himself to death years ago and it was only my stubbornness that kept him here with me. I was ready to see him go, but there was still apart of me that hoped I could have my father back. It was brief but those few years as his daughter was the happiest in my life and it would have continued if it wasn't for the woman and her scheming. It would have been better if she was the one who died, but I can't changed that now.

Footsteps echoed down the halls and I immediately put my bucket out of sight and stood against the wall. I held my hands together in front of me as I stood in a half bow. Regardless of whom it was, I was the only maid so in any case the one heading my way was above me in station.

The steps grew louder and I could distinguish several sets of foot falls heading my way at a brisk walk. "Is that her" a man asked

"Affirmative, that is her" another man said "Proceed as planned"

The sound of footsteps began to widen around me and stop in roughly a half circle. I reminded rigid in place no longer holding my posture in service but in fright. I was clearly the target of their attention and all avenues of escape have been cut off.

A single set of steps began to walk towards me and I visibly stiffened, as they approached not a word was spoken, not a breath was heard. My heart pounded in my chest, it was a surprise however when large hand reached out from behind me.

Standing so close to the wall should have prevented anyone from coming from there and I never heard footsteps come from anywhere but forward. One arm wrapped around my waist holding my in place and locking my arms to my chest. The other held a cloth that was forced in my face, panicking I struggled and bucked but to no avail. The man was several pounds of raw muscle and had the hight advantage, their was nothing could do but cry and fall into unconsciousness as the rag put me to sleep. The last thing I heard was the man in front of me whisper "This is nothing personal orders are order" he spoke louder the second time the sound of static coming from his hip "Target has bee secured returning to base, over"

...

I woke up on a metal bed frame, my head felt heavy and my whole body felt stiff. A single broken light was the only source of illumination, it flickered on and off at odd intervals remainging off far longer than it stayed on. Based on what I could see however the room looked to be a surgical procedure room. I was straped into a metal bed in the center but the straps looked like thay were made in the 1930's as it was practically falling apart and it didn't take much effort to break the bindings. I don't know how they expected that to hold me but that didn't matter. I took a quick look around the room and found some tools on the side in a tray, they were extremely rusted and the metal bin fell apart the moment I tried to move it. I frowned at that but took a rusted scalpal in hand and looked for the exit.

I spotted various windows up above the surgery room and I might have been seeing things but it looked like that space was covered in plants. But with the very limited light I had to work with I could have easily just saw a few potted house plants. I noticed a set of doubled doors to one side of the room and a single door below the glass window room. I made my way to the double doors and tried my luck the door was rusted shut and gave very little when I pushed heavily on the handle.

I walked over and checked the single door and while it was better maintained than the double door it was locked with a dead bolt. I cursed, I went back to the double doors and began to slam my body weight into the door. It created loud shuttering bangs and the door swayed in and out with every crash but never enough to open the door.

I looked around for something I could use and noticed the table I was strapped to had wheels but they were starting rust as well I pushed it and it began to roll but it screeched loudly as rust flaked off. I managed to pull it to the other side of the room and I angled it at the double doors. Taking a deep breath I readied myself and ran forward, table in front as I rammed the door with all I had.

A loud crashing sound echoed down the halls and I was able to see why I had trouble with the door. Several broken shards of wood now lay across the floor that clearly covered the door before. I didn't notice any nails, cuts or markings of basic construction. It seemed the entire wall was covered in a solid piece of wood or stone. I started to have a bad feeling about this and decided that I really needed to see where I was. I made my way down the hall passing several long halls. Not a door or room in sight. If the first hall I passed reminded me of a medical ward, rusted benches popped out of the ground looking extremely out of place, signs jutted from the ceiling that read exit. I walked toward it thinking that this hall reminded me of a cave system with various branching paths heading off in different directions. I felt a breeze coming from the far end of this tunnel. It was faint but instinct told me that it must lead outside or to an open window atleast but I hoped for an exit as I made my way down the hall.

Several times I could hear something moving in the dark but no matter what I did I couldn't find the source. It sounded small and fast and it made me want to leave all the more. As I got closer more sounds of things moving in the walls started to appear. I doubled my speed as I rushed towards the now obvious source of light, the breeze came from that direction and I hoped that was a good sign.

Running out of the cave, slamming open two double doors that were already half open and into the bright light. I stood their adjusting to the brightness and what I saw shocked me to my core.