Where To Find Demons

Chapter 3

In the year 2300
No. 3: In the Classroom

Location: Metropolis

The air smelled bad, really bad like something had died where she was and was in advanced level of decay. Then she remembered that her abductor had commanded she be locked up with 'expired goods.' What did that mean? That she had been locked up with the dead? She sniffed but that was a bad idea because she became sick in an instant, throwing up on the floor and adding to the already pungent stench of the room. She tried not to breathe but it was impossible; she needed oxygen to survive. Now she wished more than ever that she had been taken to some lusty old bastard's house; anywhere she was sure would have been better than here.

Coming to terms with the fact that she was stuck here she decided it was for the best to make use of her sense of smell (she still had the blindfold on and her hands were tied). Besides, hadn't her parents told her she had an uncanny ability to sniff things out? And they had meant that literally. At home, she usually knew when they had a rat in the house before it made a case of its poo; she could smell her friends from miles off so they never could pay her surprise visits; when she concentrated she could tell just how far the ocean was and she could predict exactly when next it will rain. It was all very uncanny for there was no one else she knew who had such abilities neither had the people around her taken it seriously. It was just a weird part of her that happened to be useful on occasion so they had nicknamed her Teadog.

She concentrated. She picked up four distinct scents; four people were in this room. She sniffed willing herself not to throw up; three were dead, one was days away from having any flesh left at all, they must have been there for years, two were in well-advanced stages of decay and she could hear what smelt like flies buzzing about probably feasting off their bodies; she could smell the worms too; an army of them. She was sure it wasn't going to be a pleasant sight. The fourth body was yet to become a corpse but it was inevitable; she could hear her breathing ever so faintly laboriously; she must have been here many days. She sniffed again, it was a boy. She could not believe it. She was aware that boys were also trafficked but it was surreal. She thought of saying something to him but she was sure it would be useless. He was probably preserving whatever little strength he had left trying to hold on desperately to life that seemed to be escaping him every second. Teagan suddenly had a thought, she had some chocolate bars in her pocket, some biscuits even and a little bottle of water. Being the food lover that she was she always parked contingency snacks. Perhaps this could help the boy stay alive a while longer. But she soon abandoned the thought, her hands were bound up, and she could not reach for her pocket.

An idea popped into her mind; the iron bars: surely there must be a sharp edge? She made her way to the entrance trying desperately to fray the rope that bound her hands. She could tell she was making unbearably slow progress but that was better than no progress at all. She was not worried about the noise she was making because she could not smell the men who had imprisoned her. They had abandoned this side of their kidnapping den altogether and she was confident she would hear them if they came into hearing distance of where she was so she continued. For a full hour she kept at it and atlas she was rewarded, her hands came loose. She loosened her blindfold immediately and the scene she had imagined based on her sense of smell came into full view; it was even more gruesome than she had imagined.

She saw the boy now. He was tall but dreadfully skinny probably a result of having nothing to eat. His clothes were raggedly and he looked mighty ugly. His eyes were shut tight and his mouth bruised. She tapped him softly. When she got no response she tapped him harder; he woke up with a start. He opened his eyes, they were a clear blue and for a flash second she could see a handsome face but it was soon replaced with a ravenous one. She unwrapped a chocolate bar and handed it to him. He looked at her with slight apprehension and then his gaze turned as if he had met an angel. She gave him an apple that had turned slightly bad in her pocket and some water. He accepted them all without saying a word. It was silent for a few seconds before he muttered "Thank you" in a croaky voice.