My Airport Mistake

Run VIII

May's heart started to beat faster. 'Is she going to cut my hand? Is she going to stab me? What is she doing with that knife?' She tried to pull her hand away from the mother but she firmly held May's wrist in place. With the knife, she did the same motions. Ran it from the wrist to the palm to the fingers without cutting anything, sending May more chills down her spine. The knife went up and around her hand before the tip landed on the tip of the index finger. A sharp pain shot through May but it was only momentarily. Someone else came with a small golden bowl of clear water. The mother squeezed May's finger to make more blood come out and then flipped her finger over the water. A few drops fell into the water. She then let go of May's hand. May quickly wrapped it in somewhat still damp shirt to stop the bleeding. Everyone had become silent and watched intently on the bowl.

As May watched her blood mix into the water, she could tell it wasn't any normal water. Her blood slowly changed from red to blue. She looked at it in confusion before looking at everyone else. The boss's parents remained the same while everyone else's eyes grew bigger. Some even gasped at the change of color. Small murmurs filled the silent air.

May unconsciously took a step back only to hit the Boss behind her. She looked at him and he looked at her with pleasing eyes. The deep feeling that she had been trying to ignore since she entered the mansion rose again. The feeling of knowing something bad is about to happen. Something terrible. He grabbed the hand that his mother poked her finger and took it up to his mouth. Before she could take it away from him, he squeezed it some and a small blob of blood appeared. He then licked it leaving a heavy slob of saliva on it. Gross. The sudden blood licking surprised May so much the dark feelings she had were replaced with disgust. She quickly took her hand back and wiped it on his shirt and then on hers to clean it some more.

"This is a good sign. She may actually work," his father spoke again in confidence. "We may finally get my grandfather's wealth with her and take control of the kingdom!" His eyes gleamed and everyone else seemed to be nodding with agreement and speaking in small voices out of earshot.

"What do you mean? I can't do anything!" May said, starting to feel scared again.

"You will be sacrificed to the lord of the night! And become my sister-in-law!" said the young girl nearby. The look in her eyes was scary. It gleamed with ulterior and greedy motives. Her smile was very creepy too. Big and wide, revealing the pretty teeth she has. She was serious.

Suddenly everyone burst into laughter. They were laughing so hard some even snorted and started to tear up. The boss was chuckling hard too, even the servants were chuckling. May looked at everyone in astonishment. 'What are they laughing about?'

"I'm sorry, dear child. We always do this whenever a new person joins the family for dinner. It is a great way to break the ice. The look on your face is priceless!" said the elderly woman between puffs of laughter.

"I'm so lost... What is going on? I'm not going to be sacrificed, am I?" May asked.

The boss was still chuckling when he said, "No, you won't be sacrificed. This is just a joke." He took a deep breath to calm himself down and continued seriously, "But if you do actually pass the test, it can become real."

That sent shivers through May's body.

"Oh, hun, don't scare the child. Come, let us have dinner," said his mother.

After dinner, the Boss and May were left alone outside on the patio. Their backyard was gorgeous at night during a full moon. Little light creatures fly about in the dark. Sometimes it even looked like they had their own way of traveling. If one looked close enough, one could almost see someone directing traffic even though they all went in separate ways. The bushes and flowers were lit up by the clear full moon, a glimmer of silver everywhere. A small water fountain maintained its beauty from the moon's light. A beautiful sight to see indeed. There was also a hedge maze behind all this. They were quite tall, almost seven or eight feet in height. The boss said the maze was magical. It was able to take you where you needed to be but mainly, it just gets anyone who goes in it lost for hours before letting anyone go back to the entrance. He said he's been in it several times and that was what happened to him.