Elementals - On Hold

The Past Should Stay That Way

Madrid, Spain, March 26th, 1784

Walking through the ancient streets of Madrid, I smiled, at peace and loving the atmosphere of the people around me.

I may have been alone and pregnant in this city, but I was happy with the way things were. Dustin hadn't yet caught on to what had happened between Ezekiel and I, and that was just fine with me.

Ezekiel wasn't even in Spain, but he knew where I was. He knew my need for space between us was growing, and allowed me to leave our home in Italy for here. And now I was alone, and happy.

I was staying with a nice family that had offered me a place to stay, for as long as I was here. I think it had something to do with me being pregnant, but I wasn't going to complain.

Deciding I'd been away from my host's house for long enough, I turned to leave, but stopped when I felt a hand on my wrist.

Turning to see who had grabbed me, I was met by the sight of a little boy. He couldn't have been older than 10, and he was covered in dirt, and obviously starving.

"Por favor, la comida." He seemed to know that I didn't speak much Spanish, so he kept it simple. He had asked me for food.

I started to open my mouth to reply to him, when a woman, seemingly his mother, grabbed him into her arms. She stared at the little boy, angry with him for bothering me, and she started to berate him in Spanish.

"No, no, miss. He didn't do anything wrong." I tried to come up with some Spanish words that I did know, to let her know that he hadn't bothered me, but she turned to look at me.

"He knows not to go up to strangers. Some are not as nice as you." She spoke English, although she had a thick accent.

I shook my head. "I can understand that, but I promise, he didn't do anything wrong." I sighed, hugging myself. "If I could help you, I would, but I'm somewhat alone here."

The woman looked at me with her brows furrowed, and a small frown on her face. "Alone? Why is a woman in your condition alone?"

I looked down at my slightly swollen belly and grimaced. "I left the father. I'm just trying to get home." It wasn't a complete lie. I had left Ezekiel behind, but not for good. And I was heading back towards my hosts house.

But the woman was nodding her head, as if in understanding. "Los siento, we will leave you alone now." Before I could speak to her again, she was gone.

I frowned, confused by her sudden departure, but shrugged and turned back the way I had come. It didn't take me very long to reach the home I was staying in, and I sniffed the air, smelling food cooking. I smiled, my stomach rumbling. It seemed the baby was hungry again.

But suddenly, another smell drifted through the air. One that made me frown and quicken my pace towards the house. Blood.

Reaching the front door, I let myself in, peering around the corner for sight of one of the many children that lived here, or perhaps one of the three adults. "Hola. Is everything okay?"

Silence met my question, and so I stepped farther into the house, heading towards the kitchen, hoping that they just hadn't heard me.

The body of the mother was on the ground, a little boy leaning over her, his mouth attached to her neck. At the stove, a strange man stood, humming and stirring something in a big pot.

I couldn't help the gasp that left my lips, causing both the little boy and man to turn towards me.

The little boy was the same one I'd just seen with his mother, but now his mouth was dripping with the dead woman's blood, his eyes bright and vicious. He smiled at me and pointed towards the dead body. "La comida."