HEMATIC

Chapter Two: Contract

You finish your studying when you see the time has reached eight o'clock, but you can't shake the feeling of  being watched.  After a few hours of being here, students had started to gradually leave, so you thought whoever caused the feeling would be long gone by now, but it lingered though no one was around.  Now that you were alone, you regretted having no safety in numbers, and you worried about leaving.  Cautiously, you packed your bag and looked around the library.  There hasn't been anyone here in a while, but on your way out, you notice someone has left a bag. 

You wait a few minutes for the owner, then you take it, trying to figure out how you would find a way to return it.  You had been added to a study group chat earlier in the day, so the best thing you can think of doing is sending a picture of the bag, and asking if it belongs to anyone.  Most people didn't respond, and some said they have no idea who it belongs to, so you decide to just wait in case not everyone has seen the message.  You send another message saying that whoever it belongs to can come and pick it up whenever you weren't out, and to message you privately for your address.  With that out of the way, you put on a series you like and eventually start to drift in and out of sleep.  You are woken up by a knock on your door, which you almost decided to ignore, but you don't.  You look through the peephole in case it's anyone shady, because who in their right mind would be at your door in the middle of the night.  It seemed like the guy from earlier, so arguably it was someone shady, but he must be someone you'll know better eventually since your schedules seemed to be so similar. 

You concluded it was his bag, since he had also come into the library and you didn't know why else he'd be here.  You opened the door and asked, "are you here for your bag?"  His face was still relatively covered in shadows from the poor lighting in the corridor, but you saw his mouth move, "uh, yeah, I am."  So you turn and go back the way you came, you don't want to leave him standing in the cold, so you say "come in," and get his bag from the corner of the next room. 

You give it to him, and ask how come he left it.  He just says that he was in a rush, and the smartest thing to do would've been to give the bag to lost property.  "I didn't realize there was one, it was my first day today." You were confused as to why he was still so shrouded in darkness, it was kind of creepy. You brought that up, and pointed out that he looked pretty sketchy wearing his hood up indoors. He didn't say anything for a moment, then obliged with your wishes by pulling his hood off. Your eyes widened, before you stood a man with paper white skin. His hair was not much darker than his skin, it was an ashy blond color, making his vivid red eyes stand out even more in a stark contrast, were those contacts? "I wouldn't want you to think too little of me, especially since we're going to be together for a while," this was the guy in the box.

But it couldn't be. Was he a zombie? You knew people could be revived when they died, but not like this, not when they had their bodies abandoned in old churches, but in hospitals with doctors and defibrillators and miracles. He was long dead. Maybe you were just losing it a bit, it had been a stressful experience after all, your brain must be rewiring this strange guy to suit the description of the man to deal with what you had experienced, and though they might've had similar hair or face, they couldn't be the same person. He was more likely a cosplayer who forgot to take his contacts out than an undead being. "Oh, do we have classes together? I must've not seen you earlier, I'm y/n, maybe we could study together sometime? What did you think of the lecture earlier?" You put out your hand for him to shake, and he grips it in his, which is scarily cold. You resist the urge to pull away instantly, it would be impolite, and he had just come from outside so that must be why his hand is so cold. "I'd be happy to keep you company, but there are other things to discuss."

You are first to let go, and there was a chill in the room that there had not been as present until now. "I'm Vesper Bathory, while I'd like to keep talking, I'm sure you're tired, we can get acquainted tomorrow," this was so strange. You didn't know what exactly there was to discuss, and your question hadn't been answered. Then you realized something that sleep had made you forget: you had never texted this guy your address. Had he followed you home? "How did you know where I live?" You asked, praying there was a good explanation and you hadn't just invited a creep into your home. He locked eyes with you, and your peripheral vision faded into darkness, you could see the glow of red eyes in front of you and your mind grew foggy. Go back to bed. You want to go back to bed, you're tired, you returned the bag and that's all you had to do. What's happening? You fell back, and the boy made no immediate move to catch you, but you felt no hard landing as your eyes closed.