Blood Bound

Chapter 9: The calm before the storm

I'm disappointed. Sophie wasn't at the shack when I came to visit her last night. I asked around Hoboland and the homeless said they saw her leave in the middle of the night, carrying a rucksag on her shoulders. They didn't know where she was going because no one had been brave enough to approach her. I have an inkling most of the homeless know what kind of a creature Sophie really is but they also know that no one would believe them if they told anyone. I know for a fact that I wouldn't, but then again I had had the unfortunate luck of witnessing her in the act so I basically had the cold hard truth smacked into my face.

So Sophie has left, literally left from Anchorage as far as I know, and I have no means of contacting her. And I'm feeling disappointed, and yes, a little bit irritated because I want to know more. I mean, she had promised me that she would tell me everything and I'm pretty sure that little taste wasn't everything.

That was really mean of her, to disappear like that without even telling me. She didn't return to her place the next night or the night after that. I was getting worried that the police had actually captured her and I kept pouring over the newspaper for any kind of signs. I even went online and checked the police website for news whether they had found „the decapitator" as the media liked to call her. So far, nothing yet and I sighed with relief every time I looked it up.

Sophie's new lifestyle has consumed me the past few weeks. I'm distracted at school and the teachers have taken notice of that in my current assignments, even mom has been questioning me softly whether there is something bothering me. Of course there is, but I can never tell her that. I can't even tell my shrink the truth! If I do, her concern for me would only increase and she would probably discuss with dad whether they should call my shrink for another analysis. Like the homeless, no one would believe me.

This is one of those times that I wish I have someone to confide in, but that particular someone is nowhere to be found at the moment. I'm just not that good with people and even the prospect of me approaching someone and asking him or her to be my friend both makes me cringe and terrifies me to my very soul. I think my time in elementary and high school is largely to blame for that. I have a hard time trusting people, even if they ever so much as give me a lengthy glance in my direction. Which is why I now find myself missing Sophie terribly, despite her new horrid change of diet. We of course weren't close as best friends would be in the general sense but I found no problems simply being with her. She didn't mind my quirks and my nervous ticks.

I refresh the police website once again on my laptop for the hundredth time. Nothing new. Just a report about a failed robbery at a corner store. That doesn't soothe my agitation though. I decide that a walk might do me some good so I pack up my laptop into my bag and walk out of the campus library. I feel a slight pang of guilt as I walk briskly out of campus. I should be working on revisions for my midterms but I can't concentrate.

It's similar how I felt during the attempted burglary, except of being dazed due to witnessing a vampire brutally kill someone, I'm filled with trepidation over Sophie's wellbeing. I remember she mentioned hunters a few weeks ago. Maybe they hunted her down? Is that why she hasn't contacted me? I try to shake the thought away but it stays put and continues to nag me until I cross Providence Drive. There's a quiet little coffeeshop up the street and I think a nice cup of chai latte will be able to lift up my pessimistic spirit. At least my cup will be half-full.

The sun is setting, casting brilliant colors of orange, red and magenta across the mid-April sky. The climate has been getting warmer each week and the piles of snow accumulated from the harsh winter are slowly melting away. While I'm glad that spring is right around the corner, I can't help but feel irritated at the snow puddles that are emerging everywhere. Some people don't know how to walk gingerly in those puddles and therefore spray me with muddled water from the sidewalks. The cars are the worst though, which is why I stick to the walls of the buildings whenever these puddles are abundant on the streets.