Darkness Rising

CHAPTER [ 7 ] GRIM ARRANGEMENTS

The evening had ended with the promise of tomorrow's meeting. There was a lingering tension about what lay ahead of them. But none of them wanted to voice their worries or stand against Kaiser. Lenore was simply happy to escape the fiend den. Most of the taxi ride with Kaiser was a blur, exhaustion setting in. It wasn't until they pulled up in front of a faded brick building at the edge of downtown that she took in her surroundings.

Confusion swept through Lenore as he passed the driver some money and got out. This wasn't the same place they were at this morning. She hesitated for a moment, but when Kaiser continued to move she hopped out and followed. It was clearly his habit to assume everyone knew what he wanted from them without telling them. 

The smell of stale cigarettes bombarded Lenore as she pushed open the heavy door. A wall of bronze mail boxes with missing and faded numbers was the first thing people saw upon entering. Overhead fluorescent lights only brought out the dingy coloring of the walls.

There was a handwritten out of order sign on the elevator. Lenore didn't know if she was relieved or not by that. On one hand, She was exhausted on all levels and was closing in on her limits. On other hand, being trapped in a small metal box with Kaiser was far from appealing.

Lenore heaved a sigh and followed him up the stairs, using the rail to pull her tired body along.  When they reached the third floor she was relieved to see that Kaiser wasn't climbing any higher. He approached a door at the end of the small hallway and pulled a ring of keys from the pocket of his pants.

"How many apartments do you have?"

Kaiser shrugged. "Enough to keep myself on the move."

He turned the key and pushed the door open. It hit the wall with a gentle thud; a sound that echoed Lenore's heart. Kaiser turned, creating a small opening for her to squeeze through. There was only a moment of hesitation before she decided the opportunity to shower and sleep outweighed the fear of being alone with Kaiser.

A light flickered on, revealing a dirty tiled entryway that opened into a tiny kitchen and a narrow living room. The space was as empty as the room Lenore woke up in. No personal touches or signs of life. Only a gray couch with faded cushions set before a plain, empty coffee table.

"How quaint," Lenore mumbled, peering back as the door closed.

"Make yourself comfortable. The bathroom is at the end of the hall. Towels are in the cupboard above the toilet." Kaiser nodded his head to the darkened space on the opposite side of the room. Then his gaze traveled the length of Lenore's body. "Guess, you need clean clothes. I'll have Camila bring you something tomorrow. For tonight, you'll have to wear something of mine."

It was strange to have such an ordinary interaction with Kaiser. He had appeared to be beyond human pleasantries. Lenore wasn't sure if he was treating her as a guest or like a stray dog he'd picked up off the street. But she wasn't in a situation where she could turn away kindness, no matter the intention.

She crossed her arms, hugging her stomach. "Thanks."

A silence stretched out between them. Kaiser didn't seem to mind it but it only made Lenore more conscious of her being in a closed space with a fiend. In fact, the more she thought, the more the events of the past day started to race through her mind. Her entire world had been turned upside down and she'd continued on as though it was a normal day.

She needed to fill the silence because breaking down in front of Kaiser wasn't an option. "About what happened earlier, when you killed that fiend–"

"What about it?" His eyebrows lifted.

"Why did you do that?"

"What? Were you going to kill it?"

She shook her head. "I'm just confused. It sounded like you sent your friends to hunt it down. So, I guess I want to know if that's normal or if it was a special case?"