Midnight's Rancor

Morning's Farewell

   Not much time remained. We knew they would come for us. The scourge that plagued our city was coming. Without either Father or my brother to protect me and Mother how could we hope to survive the night? There was only one way to make it. Out of desperation Mother sent a letter to the Cleansing Ward weeks ago, and only days ago did they respond. A member of the Church would arrive in a fortnight after the morning mass, only if I would agree to aiding the Church during the Hunt.
   It was something impossible to decline. Mother couldn't bring herself to let others protect us. What if we ran out of incense? She needed someone she could trust, and with Father and my brother gone there was no one save me. The morning mass would not end for some time, and even still it would take considerable time for the Church's healer to arrive.
   The morning sun blanketed my bare chest through the window of my room. The blackened veins in my chest were made all the more apparent by my pale skin. Ironic that intoxicating blood would be what cured my cursed veins.
   "By the Blood, may you purify me at last. Tonight I join the Hunt," I quietly prayed to purge any doubt from my mind. "This is the way, and soon things will be right."
   I tightened my grip on the arm rests of my wheel chair as my chest burned. Fire felt like it was creeping across my chest. My nostrils contorted at the scent of smoke which pierced my mind. In desperation I reached out towards my window to close the blinds but nay I couldn't reach. I pushed with all I could to just reach for them. The wheels of the chair gave way, and flung me forward and racked my jaw on the glass.
   With my senses overwhelmed by the pain and the scent of smoke I tried to cry out for help, but all that escaped me was a quiet whine. The sunlight draped my back, and the firey pain scuttled around to match the patch of light. My vision blurred and I tried to drag myself into the shade, but any and all strength I once had was drained. The pain was too much and I could feel my skin boiling from the light, and it was spreading down my arms. My legs. And into the crevices of my brain, where everything turned to darkness.
   My eyes snapped open, I was still in my room but it was dark now. How long had I been like this? I turned my gaze to my left arm and I saw three emptied tubes jammed into my arm which led to three canisters filled with blackened blood. I twisted my gaze to my chest. The once black veins were gone, and the paleness of my skin was faintly gone. Despite the stiffness of my limbs I sat up and pulled the tubes out of my arm which caused small rivers of blood to flow down my arm.
   I grabbed the punctures in my arm and held tightly, focusing on the intimate pain. It was good to feel something other than pity for myself. Either the bloodletting worked, or the afterlife truly had a sick sense of humor with allowing the dead to still feel pain. I focused on it, and it dawned on me. This was just an insignificant taste of what was to come. I knew there would be those ready to taste the blood of their prey, and others just wanted to be drenched in it. Father had told me how things were during the Hunts after all.
   I looked around my room and found it devoid of life. A quite nice looking coat awaited me on my bed, along with an ax and a pistol. I guess the priest left those for me, but where was Mother? I was certain she'd have stayed close given my condition. I looked away from the clothes and stopped moving my gaze as it reached the window.

   The sun was setting.