Extremis: City of Sand

~ 8 - Spilled Blood of the Past ~

Artemis opened her eyes with a start. A noise had woken her, or so she thought. She stayed where she was, unmoving, listening for other noises. The wind outside rattled the glass windows, but had that truly been what had awoken her?

Thump - there it was again. It sounded like footsteps. If she was right, there was someone moving around, and she could not be certain that it was one of her companions.

Artemis climbed out of bed, picking up Azrael from his place on the other pillow. Ignoring his annoyed muttering, she placed him in his usual pouch and grabbed her weapons. She slowly opened the door and stepped out into the corridor. 

She heard a noise again; it was coming from the ground floor. She descended the stairs, flinching when one creaked. She went around the staircase and saw two doors. Gripping her sword tighter, Artemis stepped forward-

Hands gripped her shoulders. "Boo," whispered a voice.

Artemis yelped. She turned, swiping her sword as she swirled. A figure jumped backwards, freezing in place for a few moments before laughing boisterously. "Aww, did I scare you, sweetie?" The voice asked between giggles.

Artemis frowned, squinting at the figure. "Lilith?" She whispered. "What are you... What do you think you're doing? I could have killed you-!"

There was a sharp laugh from Azrael's position - Lilith's scare seemed to have snapped him out of his drowsiness. "You wish. We're faster and stronger than a simple mortal like you. She's fine."

"He's right. See?" Lilith held up her arms and twirled. "Not even a scratch on me. I have pretty good reflexes. People tell me I'm very flexible."

Artemis sighed and tried to ignore the panicked pounding in her chest. "What are you doing here? I could hear you moving around from upstairs."

"Moving around?" Lilith repeated, her eyes widening. "Oh, no, that's not me. I was just going to see who it was."

"So... there really might be an intruder?" Artemis muttered. She stepped in front of Lilith, holding up her shield. "Stay behind me, Lilith. I'll go first - if they really are dangerous, I'll keep them occupied while you get the others."

"Aww, you're going to protect me? You're so cute." Lilith grinned. Artemis looked back towards the doors, deciding to enter the right one first. Preparing an arrow in her bow, she counted to three in her head before bursting into the room, pushing the door open with her shoulder.

The light from the arrow partly illuminated the room. What Artemis and Lilith immediately noticed was the figure staring back at them at the back of the room.

"W-Wait...!" The figure cried out, throwing their hands up - their voice trembled. "D-Don't shoot...!"

"Who are you?" Artemis demanded. The figure gingerly stepped closer, the light revealing their face. It was a boy, around Artemis' age. He had purple hair, and skin tinted green. His eyes were wide with fear.

"M-My name is... Tohru. Tohru Wahabashi." The boy introduced. "I'm here to, um... It's research."

Lilith peered at the boy closer. "I've seen your kind before." She said. "You're a Flittel."

Tohru nodded silently. Artemis hesitated before lowering her weapon - she did not believe Tohru was a threat. "It's dangerous to be here alone at this time." She said to him. "What kind of research are you doing?"

"Well, uh..." Tohru stuttered. "I'm looking for... I research paranormal activity." He hesitated before speaking again. "Do you... know what this place is?"

"Not exactly," Artemis admitted. "We stumbled upon this place earlier."

Tohru glanced around nervously before leaving the room. He returned seconds later, holding a candle. He walked to a corner of the room and held up the candle, illuminating a wall. Artemis' stomach flipped.

The wall was splattered with dried blood.

---

"This place... It's called Charhelm." Tohru told them. He had ushered them outside and took them to the other houses scattered throughout the town. They all turned out to be empty, but the scenery inside was the same; spots and splashes of dried blood covered the floors, walls, and ceilings in every house. Seeing each house in such a state made Artemis more and more sick.

"A few years ago, everyone in this town died." Tohru explained. "A family of travelling merchants arrived to find everyone murdered. The bodies were... well, you can see from the amount of blood that the murders weren't very clean. No one was spared, it seems - whole families were killed, including any children."

"That's awful..." Lilith bemoaned. "It's already terrible, but... even the children..."

"It gets worse," Tohru continued. "I say everyone in the town was killed, but... the merchants did find someone alive. They found him surrounded by several dismembered bodies, and covered in blood. When he noticed them... he smiled at them. He smiled and laughed. He tried to attack them, but they managed to escape. By the time authorities had been sent back here, the boy had vanished."

"Boy?" Artemis repeated - she ignored Azrael sitting on her shoulder, his tail wagging as he listened intently. "So... a child murdered all of those people? It wasn't a tragedy caused by monsters... but by a human child?"

"The merchants certainly thought he looked like a monster." Tohru replied. "Many of them were so traumatised that they refused to discuss it again, but... one of them did provide their own account. She even described him; a teenage boy of about fifteen, with long red hair and red eyes. When he tried to attack them, he seemed to use some kind of magic to make a sharp, red sword."

"Long red hair... and red eyes..." Artemis repeated. The man who had stabbed her the previous day came to mind - he certainly fit that same description, and if he was the same age as her, he would have been fifteen years old a few years before. But was it really possible that she had had such a close brush with death at the hands of the same monstrosity that committed this mass murder? The thought sent a shiver through her entire body.

"Meeting such a violent end... That would leave any soul disturbed. That's why there just has to be a lingering presence of the residents here." Tohru said. "They might even be unable to move on since their killer escaped justice."

"See? I told you that woman was a ghost." Azrael said, smirking at Artemis.

"Ghost?" Tohru echoed, his eyes lighting up. "You've seen ghosts here? I was right?"

"Well, I suppose she may have been a ghost..." Artemis admitted. "But she seemed nice. She let us into her house, and we haven't been attacked since. Wouldn't someone who died in such a horrible way be more angry and vengeful?"

"Not necessarily," Tohru told her. "In rare occasions, spirits can be willing to help those still living, especially if they think the living are important in some way. That must be why she helped all of you - she knew you were doing something important, and wanted to assist you."

Artemis glanced away. It was a little embarrassing to be considered important by someone she had just met, and even more so by a spirit. She was, however, thankful that they had managed to escape from trouble for at least one day.

Lilith shivered. "Is it just me, or did it get colder while we were standing out here?" She asked. "It's freezing."

"I suppose it is a bit colder," Artemis replied. "But it is the dead of night. Not to mention that you... you know, aren't exactly wearing anything..."

Lilith pouted and crossed her arms. Tohru began glancing around at their surroundings, seemingly looking for something. "A sudden chill..." He muttered. "That usually means..."

"Means what?" Lilith pressed him.

Tohru turned back to face them. "A decrease in temperature can be brought about by the arrival of the dead."

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was planning to end this peacefully but peace is boring

~ AceAttorneyFan ~