4- But He Was Bleeding And Hot, Okay?

KACIA

My plan to cause chaos and divide up the men is working perfectly. It’s only been a few minutes, but inside the building, chaos is brewing. I can hear shouting, panicked voices trying to figure out where the smoke is coming from. I smirk and shift forward, crouched in the shadows as I watch the front entrance. They start pouring out, one by one. I count under my breath.

“One, two, three, four, five… Six... Seven, eight, nine, ten… Aaaaaand… Eleven.” I mutter. Perfect. With the building cleared except for the last guy, my target most likely, I make my move. I dart through the front door, careful to stay low. The smoke hits me immediately, thick, acrid, choking. My eyes water, and I throw a hand over my mouth and nose. Damn, I forgot that would also have to deal with the smoke. And this plan seemed so serious. I really should’ve brought a mask or something. Note to self, add some kind of smoke inhalation protection to the kit I keep in my car. The main room I was spying on is a mess, half empty beer bottles, discarded chairs, and an overturned card table. It kind of stinks too, even through the smoke I can tell this place is really not sanitary. I am going to need the longest bath later. This place is basically as crappy as you would expect, but what catches my eye is the metal case sitting open in the corner, its contents makes my stomach turn. Blood. Four rows of neatly packed vials, each filled to the brim. They must be the only organised thing in here! Dammit. That means they’ve already started draining someone. That ALSO means there’s a victim somewhere in this building. And if the victim has lost this much blood, they don’t have time for me to hand over information and let the cops intervene later. I’m here by myself, I can’t take someone into custody AND take care of a victim. Change of plans. I was supposed to bring in the ringleader, preferably alive so they can give the cops more information about the illegal blood sales. But right now, saving whoever they’ve captured takes priority. Ugh, I hate when my plans get messed up.

I slam the case shut in disgust and drag it to the nearest window, the same one I was looking into before. With a quick glance outside to make sure the coast is clear, I push it through and let it drop down onto the dirt. It's not much, but at least I’m not letting THEM keep it. Sure, stealing the blood won’t actually help the person they stole it from, but screw them if they thought they could profit from it. I’d rather tip it out than let them get a single dollar. With the blood out of the way, I cross the room quickly and walk down the hall. My eyes land on the only closed door. It’s at the far end of the hall. My fingers tighten on the hilt of my katana as I approach. I need to hurry up. The smoke is starting to thicken and the visibility here is dropping, plus my lungs are burning. I push through, and reach for the door. I have some idea of what I might find, the victim and the final thug. But who knows what condition they’ll be in. Worst case scenario, the thug tries to use the victim as a hostage or something and he kills him. I can’t let that happen, so I need to be cautious. Keeping one hand on my blade, I push the door open. The door slams against the wall with a sharp bang. So much for careful. Inside, two men turn to face me, momentarily stunned. Whoops, I guess I miscounted. There were thirteen thugs total. My bad. I suppose at this point it’s too late to come up with a new plan. I step inside and look around. One of the men is holding a tray cluttered with tools, scalpels, tubing, more vials, while the other guy kneels beside their victim holding a massive syringe half full of blood… Gross.

Between the two of them lies the victim, he’s motionless, slumped over against the wall. Not to mention he’s chained and cuffed. His head lolls to the side slightly, and even from here, I can tell he’s in rough shape. His aura is a barely there flicker of something dark and shadowy. It’s not a color I can actually pin down, almost smoky and kind of undefined, but honestly, that’s not what matters. People like to make assumptions about aura colors, but it’s been proven time and again that they’re just a genetic quirk, they don’t tell you anything about a person’s moral compass. Still… Something about this one feels different… It’s hard to tell though, he’s so drained so I can’t read much in it. And then his eyes crack open, just barely. He looks right at me, dazed and unfocused. He’s definitely still conscious, though HOW he's still conscious after losing that much blood is a mystery. Probably a combination of magic and pure stubbornness. The guy looks confused. I get it. I’m not exactly a subtle entrance kind of girl and I don’t really fit in here.

The guy with the syringe, who is also the only one in the room with even a whisper of a magical aura, has to be the ringleader. It’s not much, just a faint shimmer, but it would be enough to sense magic in others. So that’s how they’re choosing victims, he can see who has magic worth stealing. Creepy bastard.As I step fully into the room, they finally recover from their shock. And they rush me. Seriously? I sigh and roll my eyes, already drawing my blade. The katana gleams in the low light, and I step smoothly to the side as they stumble past me.

“Really?” I ask, my voice dry.

“Bad form, guys. I'm giving you a chance here. I don’t particularly want to hurt you, so I suggest you head for the door before I change my mind.” I say firmly. I tilt my sword toward the exit, the edge catching a bit of light through the smoke. They hesitate as they notice the smoke. One of them looks at the other, and some kind of silent panic pact passes between them. They both bolt for the door.

“Wait!” I call after them.

“The keys to the chains. Hand them over.” I demand. That was close. I almost forgot about the keys. That would have sucked. One of the guys fumbles into his pocket and tosses a small set of keys across the floor toward me before vanishing into the smoky hallway. The keys land at my feet with a clink. The guys didn’t try to argue or fight back. They didn’t even try to figure out who I am or why I’m here. All I got was a half hearted key toss and cowardice. Rude much?

I rush over and fumble with the keys, unlocking the chains as fast as my fingers will allow.

“Are you okay? Can you stand? We need to get out of here ASAP.” I ramble, all in one breath. The guy doesn’t answer, he just stares at me. Wide eyed and dazed. Like he’s seeing a ghost. Or maybe he thinks I’m a fever dream, which, given the state he’s in, wouldn’t be too far off. Actually, he probably thinks this entire situation is a nightmare. He looks half dead, honestly.

“Hey.” I say more gently.

“Earth to… Half conscious dude. We need to move.” I tell him. I finish unlocking the cuffs and collar, and help him sit up properly. Then with significant effort, I help him to his feet. This guy is MUCH bigger than me, so this is kind of difficult. He sways dangerously like his legs don’t want to cooperate, so I slide an arm around his waist and pull one of his arms over my shoulders. His shirt feels… Weird. Bumpy and thick in places, like there’s something layered underneath. Armor maybe? Or weird fashion choices? It could be a belt or something… You know what, it doesn’t matter. It’s not my business right now. This guy is a victim, not someone to investigate. He leans heavily on me, his weight almost too much for my small frame, but I grit my teeth and bear it. As we make our way toward the door, he finally croaks out a few words. His voice is hoarse, barely audible.

“You saved me. I owe you big time.” He murmurs. Poor guy. His breath is shallow. I don’t even want to guess how long they had him down here. I keep my tone light, something to distract both of us from reality.

“It’s not over yet.” I say, shifting to better support his weight.

“There are still a ton of guys out there who probably want us very, very dead. You can make it up to me later… If we live.” I say jokingly. He gives me a weak smile.

“Deal.” He croaks out. For a split second, barely, his eyes seem to flicker. Like the grey colour of them darkens and is replaced by inky black, swallowing up the whites entirely. But it’s gone before I can be sure. A trick of the light, probably. Smoke does weird things to visibility. Or maybe I’m just running on too little sleep and too much adrenaline.

We limp awkwardly into the main area. The smoke is thinning now. Whatever I lit must’ve burned out. I glance around quickly, then guide him over to the table and prop him against it.

“Stay put.” I order firmly. He looks like he might pass out again, but he nods. I rush to the front door and slam the bolt into place.

“Did you just… lock us in?” He rasps. I smirk.

“Technically? I locked them out. We’re taking the window. It’s not that high, and it’s on the opposite side of the building from the guys trying to kill us, so… Bonus.” I say with false cheer. He raises an eyebrow at me like he wants to argue, but instead he just scowls and gives a reluctant nod. Smart man. I get back to him and gesture toward the window.

“Think you can climb through? Even if you fall, it’s not far enough to break anything. Hopefully…” I trail off as a loud banging starts on the front door. Someone is trying to get in. The guy doesn’t reply, he just turns with slow, unsteady movements and climbs over the window sil. It takes effort, but he manages to haul himself over and drops out of sight. A second later I hear the thump as he hits the ground. Ouch on his behalf.

“Graceful.” I mutter. I give him a moment to move clear, then follow. I swing through and drop down after him. He’s on his knees, one hand braced on the pavement, breathing hard. I crouch beside him and press the blood case into his side as I loop his arm around my shoulders again.

“So far, so good.” I mutter, half to him, half to myself.

“And people say arson isn’t a valid strategy.” I scoff. The banging starts again. I can hear muffled shouts and fists pounding against the building’s front door.

“Time to go.” I announce softly.

“My car’s just down the street.” I tell him, steering us toward it.

“We should be able to make it.” I say encouragingly. It’s slow going. He’s not exactly light, and he’s limping pretty badly. Every step feels like dragging a sack of bricks in combat boots. But we make it, no one seems to be chasing us, no one is shouting, there’s no sudden ambush. Honestly, it's… Unsettling.

“My plans never go this smoothly.” I mutter as I open the car door.

“Either I’ve finally leveled up in life or we’re about to get hit with some spectacular cosmic payback.” I sigh. I bundle him into the back seat as gently as I can, trying not to jostle whatever injuries he’s hiding. He slumps down, eyes fluttering, but doesn’t pass out yet. I shut the door, slide into the front seat, and start the engine.

“Hang in there.” I say as I pull away from the curb.

“We’re not safe yet. But we’re getting there.” I tell him. I’m not sure if he’s even listening, but I keep talking anyway, just in case. Well, this isn’t how I expected my evening to go. There’s smoke in my hair, and in my back seat I have a bloody mess, a half dead mystery guy and a stolen case of magical contraband. Yeah. Just another completely average night in my life.