BLOODBURG

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  BLOODBURG

  INFO & LINKS

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  BLOODBURG

  NYSSA RENAY

  INFO & LINKS

  Editing by:

  grammarandtonic.com

  Cover image by:

  © grandeduc @ 123RF.COM

  BLOODBURG

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, places, organizations, or persons, whether living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2018

  Published by

  Nyssa Renay

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Nyssa Renay.

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  The chilly September air rustled the last of the dying leaves on the trees as Allie hurried along the dimly lit street. It was late; much too late for a young woman to be walking home alone in that part of town, but her first date with Kevin had gone so well that she thought it was worth staying out a few extra hours for, no matter how unsafe the city of Bloodburg was at night.

  She was wrong.

  “Oh, shit!” Allie screamed as a hooded man jumped out from the corner of a dark alley as she passed by, stopping her dead in her tracks. She turned to run, but the attacker grabbed her by the wrist, digging in with his thick, dirty fingers as she screamed out in pain.

  From a wrought iron park bench across the street, Joseph lowered his newspaper and shifted uncomfortably as the terrible scene unfolded before him. “It’s not your problem,” he muttered to himself as he gazed over the frames of his purple-tinted lenses as the girl continued her wild struggle against her attacker.

  Allie tried to steady her panicked voice. “Look, buddy. I’ve got like…ten dollars in my pocket. Just take it and go, okay?” she pleaded.

  “Money,” Joseph muttered angrily. “It’s all these animals ever think about.”

  “Ten bucks?” the mugger snarled. “That’s just not gonna be enough, sweetie.” A chill ran down Allie’s spine as a perverted grin spread across his face. “But I’m sure a cute little thing like you has something to offer that’s worth a lot more than ten bucks.”

  Allie’s eyes widened. “No, please! Somebody help me!” she screamed as she thrashed around wildly, desperate to free herself.

  “It’s not your problem,” Joseph continued to argue with himself. “You’ve lived among these insects for over four hundred years. Why should this one matter?” he grumbled, anxiously tapping one of his rings against the cold metal bench as he watched the assailant cover Allie’s mouth and drag her into the shadows. Joseph let out a long, heavy sigh. “Dammit!” he snarled, slamming the newspaper down on the bench before rising and brushing off the sleeves of his overcoat. He took his time straightening the creases in his well-tailored slacks and tugged at the waistline of his vest before calmly adjusting his fedora. “I really need to find a new planet to hide on. I think I’m starting to care about these savages,” he muttered irritably as he crossed the street.

  Just behind a dumpster in the alley, the hooded man had her pinned against a wall with her pants unfastened and one hand over her mouth. Tears streamed down Allie’s face as she whimpered in terror from behind his filthy fingers.

  “You know,” Joseph began. “It might be a lot easier with her on the ground.”

  The mugger spun around wildly, grabbing a gun from inside his battered leather coat and pointing it at Joseph. “Who the fu—”

  “Or you could use a mattress,” Joseph interrupted. “I believe there’s one farther down the alley.”

  “Where the hell did you come from?” the hooded man growled.

  “I was just enjoying the evening from my favorite park bench across the street,” Joseph replied, smiling warmly. “You know, this fall weather is extremely relaxing…so much better than that oppressive summer heat. Can’t stand it, myself.”

  The attacker waved the gun back and forth between Allie and Joseph. “I’ve been watching this street for over two hours. I didn’t see you on no park bench.”

  Joseph’s expression turned serious. “That’s because I’m only seen when I want to be, like now.”

  “Is that right?” the hooded man scoffed as he moved toward Joseph. “Well then, let me tell you what I see.” He grinned slyly. “I see a man in a fancy suit wearing a stupid fedora, which I’m guessing must’ve cost a lot. So, I know you got money. Now, hand it over!”

  Allie was paralyzed with terror. Even though the stranger had distracted her assailant, she feared she’d be shot if she tried to run.

  Joseph slid an old plastic bucket over with his foot and carefully sat on top of it. “You know, I once knew a man totally obsessed with the thought of being the victim of a robbery. So, every day, he would wear all of his luckiest charms whenever he left his home…” He trailed off. “Roger! That was his name!” Joseph let out a small laugh. “Nice man, but a little too paranoid, in my opinion. Anyway, the point is he never went out without wearing a certain ring. And whenever he ran into danger of any kind, he’d always chant the phrase, La niesta stirento.”

  “D-Did it work?” Allie asked, trying to postpone her fate for as long as possible. “For the man, I mean? Did it keep him safe?”

  “Yes,” Joseph replied happily, smiling at Allie. “Not only that, but the ring was so lucky, it helped Roger became the wealthiest man I’ve ever known. And before he died, he gave that very same ring to me. See?” Joseph held up his left hand, displaying a large amber gemstone on a wide silver band.

  “Nice. Now, hand it over,” the mugger threatened.

  “I can’t,” Joseph stated coldly.

  “Are you crazy?” Allie screamed. “He’s got a gun! Just give him the damn ring, and maybe he’ll let us go!”

  “No, he won’t.” Joseph scowled. “People like him don’t just kill for money, they kill for the rush of power it gives them. Besides, the ring bonds instantly to the wearer’s flesh. I couldn’t take it off now if I wanted to.”

  “Then I’ll just cut your finger off. Problem solved.”

  “Well, yes and no,” Joseph replied calmly. “You’d have the ring, but it wouldn’t work for you if I’m still alive, which means, you’re going to have to kill me.”

  “You got it.” The hooded man aimed the gun at Joseph’s forehead.

  “But before you pull that trigger, I’ll give you one chance…a choice,” Joseph offered. “I’ll give you two million dollars if you let us both go. It’s a simple enough decision, and you know that’s more than enough money to live comfortably on for the rest of your life. What do you say?”

  “Please!” Allie cried out. “Just take the money and go. If you kill us, you might end up with the cops after you. This way, you’re free and clear!”

  “Shut up, you little bitch!” the attacker shouted at Allie, then turned back toward Joseph. “How do I know you’re even good for it?”

  “I’m
going to reach into my pocket and pull out my cell phone, okay?”

  The mugger nodded impatiently.

  Joseph pulled out his cell phone and rapidly tapped the screen several times, carefully logging in to his bank account, and tossed the phone to the hooded man. “That’s my current balance. Do we have a deal?”

  The mugger’s eyes widened. “You got all this because of that ring?”

  “Some of it,” Joseph explained. “I made the rest buying and selling very valuable antiquities all over the world. So, make your choice,” he said in a cold voice as he stared deep into the attacker’s angry, depraved eyes.

  The man pulled back his hood to reveal a scraggly brown beard and a shaved, tattoo-covered scalp. He pushed the gun to Joseph’s forehead. “How about I just kill you…and this bitch…and then take everything you have?” he boasted, holding up the cell phone and reveling in Joseph’s mistake in handing it over. “Now that I have direct access to your bank account, I can just transfer your entire balance to myself. I’ll have it all.” He grinned slyly. “Including that ring.”

  Joseph sighed. “Well then, I’m sorry for your loss.”

  Suddenly, a loud pop of gunfire echoed in the alley. Allie shut her eyes and screamed, expecting to be next. Instead, everything went silent as the gunman’s body slowly crumpled to the ground. The blood streamed down his face from the gaping hole in his forehead.

  “You can open your eyes now,” Joseph said as he bent down to pick up his phone.

  Allie opened her eyes and nearly vomited when she saw the bloody corpse. “But…he shot you in the head!” she gasped.

  “No, he tried to shoot me in the head, but the ring reversed it. He ended up shooting himself instead. That’s how the ring works. La niesta stirento basically means ‘do unto others as they would do unto you’.”

  “Is that Latin or something?” Allie asked, still confused about what had just happened.

  Joseph laughed. “No, not even close,” he said, calmly adjusting the brim of his fedora. “Now, let’s get you home. I’ve already wasted way too much of my time dealing with this nonsense.”

  “Wait! What about him?” Allie asked, slightly panicked. “We can’t just leave him here.”

  “Nola decrupio,” Joseph muttered, pointing a finger adorned with a large purple stone at the gunman’s body. The corpse and the pool of blood beneath it became a pile of ash and dust, then slowly drifted down the alleyway, leaving no trace of the man’s existence. “There…problem solved,” he stated indifferently, walking toward the street.

  Allie’s heart was racing as she hurried to catch up to him. She couldn’t wrap her brain around what had just happened.

  “First of all,” Joseph began, “I can assume that because you only had ten dollars on you, you couldn’t afford cab fare to get wherever it was you needed to be.”

  “I-I was out on a date, actually,” Allie explained sheepishly.

  Joseph turned toward her, his expression stoic and cold. “I’m guessing the date didn’t go well, is that it?”

  “No, it really went well…for a change.”

  “Then, why didn’t your date make sure you got home safely?” Joseph argued.

  “We decided to go Dutch, and when I wanted to go home, he wasn’t ready, so I just left.”

  “This guy sounds like a real keeper,” Joseph scoffed sarcastically. “Taxi!” he called, flagging a car down. “Well then, since neither you nor your gentleman friend bothered to think that you’d need money for a cab ride home after your date, I’ll help you out just this once. Next time, you’re on your own,” he grumbled, somewhat rudely.

  The cool night air; the soft sounds of rustling leaves; even having just been saved from a potentially deadly situation…none of these things changed Allie’s opinion that this unlikely knight in shining armor standing next to her was also an extremely obnoxious man. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re kind of a dick?” she asked angrily.

  “Yes…every time I look in the mirror,” he replied as the cab screeched to a complete stop directly in front of them. “Here you go.” Joseph opened the door and motioned for her to get in.

  “Aren’t you coming, too?” Allie asked, still standing next to him.

  “No, I have places to be,” Joseph declined. “How much is it to get you home?”

  “About twenty…with tip,” she answered in a slightly embarrassed tone.

  Joseph handed the driver a fifty-dollar bill. “Make sure she gets to her front door safely. Got it?”

  Delighted with the generous tip, the driver nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, sir.”

  “Good night,” Joseph said, taking her slender hand in his and helping her into the cab.

  “Wait,” Allie said, flexing her fingers, suddenly numb and now tingling with pins and needles. “I don’t even know who you are.” Slowly, her eyes lost focus and rolled back into her head as she slumped down into the taxi’s back seat.

  “It doesn’t matter.” Joseph smiled, adjusting one of the many rings on his fingers. “By tomorrow morning, you won’t remember any of this anyway,” he explained, shutting the door. He quickly slapped the roof of the cab, watching as it drove off down the street. “Now, where was I? Oh, yes.”

  Joseph slowly returned to the park bench. He picked up his newspaper and sat down again. “Humans,” he grumbled as he shook the paper out and resumed his reading beneath the dim street light.

  ***

  The next morning, Allie awoke with a start when her cell phone rang out its usual chirpy ringtone. Groggy, she frantically groped the nightstand, but realized she must have fallen asleep in the same clothes she’d worn on her date with Kevin, because the ringing was coming from her pants pocket. She pulled out the cell phone, releasing an exhausted sigh when she saw the name on the screen. It was Patience, her older and extremely over-protective hippie sister. “Hello,” Allie mumbled as she answered, slamming her head back down onto her pillow.

  “Allie? Where are you?” Patience asked frantically. “It’s already nine o’clock, and you said you’d help me open the store today.”

  Allie gasped as she looked over at the clock. Big bright-red numbers confirmed the time, and Allie instantly felt guilty. “Oh, shit! I’m so sorry, Patience. The uh…date went a bit later than I planned.”

  Patience let out a frustrated sigh. “Is he still there?” she whispered.

  “No, he didn’t come home with me!” Allie snapped. “It was a first date. We met online, for Christ’s sake. Do you really think I’m that stupid?”

  “Of course not,” Patience apologized. “I just worry about you. You’re always so unhappy.”

  “I know,” Allie replied somberly, “but it wasn’t so bad. We went to a movie and then walked to a restaurant a few blocks down. You know, the usual first date kind of stuff.”

  “Well, that’s good,” Patience replied, trying to be supportive despite her concerns. “You can tell me all about it when you get down here, hopefully before my delivery shows up and I have no one to run the register.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I’ll be right there.” Allie tried to rub the sleepy haze from her eyes as she climbed out of bed.

  “Ok, hon.” Patience sighed, relieved. “Love you, but get your butt in gear or I might have to fire you.”

  “Yeah, right. That store would be closed without me there to help you run it,” Allie joked.

  “I know,” Patience laughed. “Okay, bye.”

  “Bye.” Allie clicked off her phone. She looked around the room, slightly confused. Why was she still fully dressed from the night before?

  Usually, Allie made a cup of cocoa before bed. It was a comforting childhood ritual she’d shared with her mother, right up until the age of thirteen when her parents died in a car accident. But, today was different. There was no empty mug on her nightstand. Plus, she was still fully clothed—including her coat and boots—and she had absolutely no idea why.

  I remember l
eaving the restaurant and walking home, she thought to herself as she undressed. But I don’t remember getting home. It doesn’t make any sense. She reached into her pants pocket and pulled out a small wad of fifty-dollar bills. “What the…?” Allie muttered aloud as she started to count, but immediately froze when she flipped open the final bill. The words MAKE BETTER CHOICES were written across it in an aggressive, bloody shade of red. “Where the hell did this come from?” she whispered to herself, as if to let the importance of the message fully sink in. Even so, she didn’t understand what it meant.

  Nothing about this made sense at all, but Allie didn’t have time to dwell on it. She took a quick shower and dressed again, then pulled her hair up in a ponytail. She grabbed her keys as she headed for the front door to her apartment. Allie hesitated, hand on the knob, staring at the small pile of money on the dresser. In a last-minute decision, she grabbed the money and stuffed it deep into the pocket of her jeans. Even though she had no idea where she’d gotten the money in the first place, Allie figured she should hang onto it, just in case she remembered.

  The cold, brisk morning air whisked the fallen leaves over her feet as she headed down the front walkway. Allie pulled the collar of her jacket tight around her neck to keep warm. Normally, her mind would be distracted by more trivial things as she walked along, but today, all she could think about was mentally retracing her steps from the night before, hoping some kind of memory would shake loose. And even though she had walked these streets for years and nothing bad had ever happened to her, she couldn’t understand why she felt so paranoid in such a familiar area.

  But the moment she came near the park, a strong sense of déjà vu crept over her. She felt cold and tense; almost afraid for no reason at all. She stopped and stared down an alley directly across the street. Something about this place felt familiar, but no matter how hard she tried to remember, nothing came to mind. It was odd.

  Allie scanned the area, becoming very uncomfortable when she noticed the worn, rusty park bench a few feet behind her.