The Hand of Crimson

Chapter 7: Research

As I paced up and down my bedroom, my thoughts jumbled together in my mind. I tried to sort them out but they were a tangled mess. Why was all of this happening? Why was I craving blood? Why did I kill Roman last night? And what the fuck was going on with my relationships? I bit at my lip as I thought about it all. It all started last night, so it must be all connected to what the band did to me that night. I closed my eyes, trying to remember what had happened. Clearly, I should've died. But I didn't. Why?

I didn't remember anything more from when they took me up to the waterfall, but I did remember something specific from in the bar before that. They'd said something about if Jen was a virgin. Then, it occurred to me that in some supernatural sacrifices, a virgin was necessary. Silently, I wondered if I'd been sacrificed to some sort of demon or supernatural entity. It sounded insane, but so was all of this. It would even explain a few things. Like what I did to Roman. My eyes widened as I realized something. What if something had gone wrong? I wasn't a virgin, so what if that's what was wrong? What if they'd needed a virgin for it to actually work?

I raced downstairs and out the front door to our local library. I didn't even try and go at a normal pace or check the books out. I just raced in there like a streak of lightning, got the books I needed from the occult section and ran straight back out of there. No one seemed to notice more than a flurry of papers flapping like birds.

When I got back to my room, I poured through the textbooks, looking for information on supernatural sacrifices including something to do with a virgin. I found several things, but one consistency was that if said virgin wasn't actually a virgin, then the demon might have a chance to transfer into the host's body instead of the host serving as a sacrifice to fuel the demon. That must be it. That must be what happened to me. But that still didn't explain my feelings about Chip or why I was suddenly so jealous of Jennifer.

I snapped the book closed, getting up from my bed and pacing the floor once again. None of this made any sense. Well, some of it did now, but the rest of it didn't still. Something was still missing and I couldn't put my finger on it. I knew it was something to do with Jennifer, but I didn't know why or what it was. I knew it all went back to that night, so I thought I could find out what it was by remembering that night.

My mind travelled back in time to that night. I forced my whole being back into the darkness of that night. I inhaled a breath of that cold, airless wind that bit at me as we marched up to the waterfall. My ears filled with the sound of rushing water and rustling leaves, whispering about my fate. My chest filled with worry and fear, rising like a tidal wave about to engulf me. My eyes darted around, searching for life, searching for help. I needed someone to throw me a life preserver, but I was alone.

I remembered being tied down. I remembered the hard, cold fear gripping me as I was strapped down to that rock. I pushed myself to remember more. I had to. I had to find out what the fuck was going on. But, I couldn't. My mind pushed the rest behind a wall, refusing to let me in to remember.

Brimming with frustration, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Jennifer's number. I wanted to try and see if she could help me. Even if there wasn't much I could tell her. I didn't want to burden her with all of this. I'd already killed once. If she got any closer, I might hurt her.

"Hey, Monistat."

"Vagisil." I greeted her, smiling a little at the sound of her voice.

"Whats up?"

"I wanna ask you something. Have you noticed anything... strange about me lately?"

"Are you kidding? That's all I've noticed about you the last couple of days. Why?"

"I just... can't get into it right this second."

"Well, if you can't talk about it, then what did you call for?"

"I... I don't know... Listen, can I come over tonight? I think we need to talk about something."

"Sure. I'll be finished with Jonas in half an hour. Anytime after that is fine."

"Okay. Thanks." I shut the phone with a hard snap. I looked at it in horror as I realized the metal had dents in it from my fingers. God, I had to get this under control. I felt a burning ball of hate rising in my chest when she mentioned Jonas, but I pushed it down. I couldn't let it get to me. What did I care anyway?

A heavy sigh rattled through me as I ran back into the dark night, ignoring the whispering wind that hissed past me as I ran. First, I had to return those library books since I didn't need them. I ran back in there like lightning. Papers flew around me as I entered. The staff ran after them, trying to herd the flurry of paper. It was quite amusing a they scurried around, trying to chase after books and bits of paper. Though I didn't let it distract me. I put the books back on the shelf and ran straight back out of there.

Once I was back out of the building, I stared up at that starless sky. It was bleak and desolate. Just pitch black with not a speck of starlight in sight. It was a strange sort of beautiful. As I stared up at that lonesome sky, I thought about what I could do with the half hour I had to spare. And I decided I wanted to spend it outside. I wanted to keep that lonely sky company. It shouldn't have to be lonely like that.

I started walking aimlessly and after a little while, I wondered why I was walking. I smiled to myself as I picked up the pace. And I picked up my pace again. And again. And again. Until I was sprinting through the streets at an inhuman speed. I grinned happily to myself, thrilled by the rush of adrenaline. It was wonderful. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion, but I knew how fast I was going. Too fast for passersby to see anything more than a Needy shaped streak. I'd never been the most athletic girl in my class and I'd always been kinda slow at running, but this was next level. It made it all worth it and it finally felt good to be running.

I ran around the town like that for an hour or so before I found my feet carrying me to Jennifer's house. I slowed down and finally came to a stop in front of her white door. I knocked on the door, waiting for someone to answer as I gasped for breath.