Chapter 4

First aid without the proper equipment turned out to be frustrating and painful. I ripped up my undershirt into strips to cover my wounds, because the filth coated dress shirt would have made a terrible bandage. Though it wasn’t a deep wound, the jagged cut across my chest from the razor-like tail of the Colo Colo caused every little movement to hurt. The worst of the wounds was on my leg, which I tied off using one of my socks. I used my other sock to plug the cut on my shoulder. Walking around the building barefoot didn’t seem like a great idea but leaving an open wound in the awful building seemed worse. For the remaining cuts, I tried to put pressure on them until they stopped bleeding. Everything besides my chest and leg were superficial, and it didn’t take long to stop leaking blood. There was no way I could perform stitches on my leg gash, so it doubly relieved me it had stopped bleeding.

“All right Julian, you’ve done the best you can for your injuries, but now what?” I asked myself. An overwhelming sensation of being drained was my answer.

Rest and plan it is.

Once I mentally prepared myself to move, I limped over to the hotel counter, trailing blood behind me like a road map for a predator to my location. I nestled myself inside the gloom of a large cabinet behind the counter and rested on a large shelf. To keep it closed, I tied a strip from my undershirt around the outside handles, then pulled the doors closed and knotted it from the inside. A closed cabinet door wouldn’t stop another Colo Colo, but it gave me peace of mind. At some point, I must have dozed off in the dark recess I’d hid in, because the light patter of rain woke me.

Before I left my hide-y hole, I knew there were some things I needed to address.

The first order of business: I drank blood from that monster, and I really liked it.

The “V” word made its way into the forefront of my mind, but I didn’t want to say it. Though I couldn’t see it, I glanced down at the awful leg wound I’d wrapped with a sock, doing my best to avoid thinking about the pain it was causing. Without a doubt, that wound would get infected. A sigh escaped me, and I approached this with as much logic as I could, knowing I shouldn’t put it off.

If I was a vampire, I still bleed and hurt like a regular person. That was one point for still being alive. Counterpoint, being an undead monster explained why I stopped feeling cold, despite puffs of frosty air every time I breathed. I didn’t like that thought.

My heart was still beating and fast. Score another point for being alive.

Okay, what happens if I hold my breath?

After six minutes, I stopped counting. I no longer needed to breathe, and it terrified me. I was not still alive. No more points.

After a bit, I reached up and touched my incisor fang. It felt… normal. Like a regular tooth! That meant little. I had a vivid memory of ripping an ear off the Colo Colo, feathers, and all, and that meant that my teeth had been sharper at some point.

Assuming I was now an undead monster, what were my limitations? Would sunlight kill me? The scroll hadn’t warned, helped, or prepared me for this. Did I become a vampire because I picked the Legacy of Death? Was that what a Barghest was? There was no use dwelling on these questions, ultimately, because the scroll never answered. I’d just have to figure out my weaknesses by trial and error.

Second order of business: My newfound strength and speed. Was this because of that “perfect body” listed under my blessings?

Slowly, so as not to make the cabinet door creak, I reached out and grabbed a small glowing shard of mirror from the lobby floor. I looked over my arm muscles using the new light source and ran a hand along my left bicep. The muscle looked bigger than it ever had and felt like a stone.

I considered the Colo Colo’s corpse. It had been heavy and quick, probably at least two hundred pounds, and I’d tossed it around like a sack of potatoes.

Maybe I am Chuck Van Damme, I thought with a grin.

“Okay, if I am a magically stronger and faster vampire, then maybe there is magic occurring here. You can fake a projected scroll and a magic mirror, but you can’t fake the changes to my body. And that would mean that the supernatural is… real… I… Why is this happening to me now?” I thought out loud.

I thought about that last question and started laughing; blood loss might have had something to do with it.

When would have been a better time to disappear into another world and fight for my life against a rat chicken? At least I got to burn all of Heather’s clothes beforehand. Thank you, Lord.

Last order of business: Survival.

I knew next to nothing about survival. Even if I had, I doubt they covered parallel worlds in basic survival classes. Sitting like a treat in a box for some beast wasn’t a good idea. I knew that much. I needed a weapon and a better picture of my surroundings.

I crawled out of my nook, then took a nice, careful stretch. To my surprise, there wasn’t much pain. A quick body check revealed that all but the injury on my shoulder and leg had healed. Even the nasty cut on my chest was just a light red blemish. If I weren’t an undead monster, the leg wound would have left a horrid scar. I doubted that would be the case for me now. Super-fast healing seemed to be a thing.

“Huh,” I said, taking the information in.

I took the blood-covered wraps and socks that I’d used to bandage my wounds to make some makeshift shoes. Though the rags were uncomfortable, they felt much better than walking barefoot on the dirty floors. There was no reason to get a piece of glass stuck in my foot if I could avoid it. And, speaking of glass, I headed toward the gigantic pile of broken mirror shards and looked for another shank. It wasn’t the best weapon, but it had saved my life from the beast.

I picked through several pieces before I found one that was suitable. I lifted it in the air to observe what was happening in the earth version of the hotel and glimpsed a gorgeous blonde woman behind the counter.

“Hi, I’d like to check in to you,” I said, laughing at my stupid joke for a second. I soon regretted it.

A torrent of emotions rolled through me in quick succession. I felt pervy, but my wife had always liked it when I made uncouth jokes like that. That brought on some guilt because it was a betrayal to Heather. Anger swept in after that. My reflexive deference to that cheating whore was an axe to my heart. Our entire life together had been a lie. I could never match the depths of her betrayal, but even still a rotten portion of me wanted to do right by her. I squeezed the piece of glass so hard it broke, cutting into my hand. A subdued snarl of hate escaped my throat as I continued to squeeze the broken shard.

The pain and blood dripping down my wrist made me realize something important.

The impulse to hurt myself or someone else is never far from my thoughts. There is an anger and hatred so deep in me now, I knew I’d never be the guy I was before I met Heather ever again. Well, especially if you account for being an undead creature that drinks blood.

I relaxed my hand, relieving the pain.

I accept that, but I still don’t want to live that way. I chose Death because a wiser part of me wants to find a way past it, even if I don’t. It won’t happen overnight, but I need to recognize when I’m doing something self-destructive.

I started picking the broken glass from my palm and wrapped it.

Scroll appeared and seemed to reward me for my epiphany: [+50% Legacy of Death]

“Did you just reward me for trying to cope with my bullshit!?” I asked the stupid paper. “Is this some kind of fucked up therapy?”

I waited to see if it would say anything else. When it didn’t, I shook my head, then bent down to find another shard for self-defense. This time, when I found one, I thought would work, I wrapped part of it in cloth to avoid cutting my hand.

A loud peal of thunder turned my head toward the entrance. Rain trickled in through the gaping open front door and broken windows of the old hotel. I hadn’t noticed that the doorway was wide open and headed for it to see what lay outside the building.

After I limped about halfway through the lobby, I stopped to look at the dead Colo Colo again. Should I worry about more predators? A fresh corpse seems like a surefire way to draw more of them. I considered, then resolved to do something about it, but only after I saw what was outside.

Before I arrived at the open doorway, I saw the telltale glowing light of the blue moss. Mixed in with the blue, a subdued pink light shone, lighting up the ground.

The full sight of the dark street stunned me. Abandoned buildings from another time stretched for as far as the eye could see. Along the ground pink glowing flowers grew along the cracked pavement and grassy patches of earth, whilst clumps of the glowing blue moss grew along the sides of buildings. It felt like someone had dropped me in New York City and given me a dose of LSD.

After a moment of spectating, I attempted a drink of, uh, more traditional liquids, and stepped out into the rain. The water refreshed me, and it helped me scrub off some caked-on blood.

An idea occurred to me. I need to get some buckets out here to collect rainwater for bathing. A blood covered stink might make it easier to be tracked by beasts, monsters, or whatever the hell lives out here. Something tells me the pipes might not be working in this dead city.

A pot sat near the door, under the remains of an old timey wooden sign, as if in answer to my prayers. I emptied refuse out of it, dumping it on the wet street, but the bucket was still too filthy to use. Could vampires get infections? I decided I didn’t want to put it to the test.

Tossing the bucket back to the ground, I searched nearby for a suitable replacement, but quickly discovered it was pointless. Only debris littered the streets like a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

Standing under the rain in ruined clothes, I began scrubbing off filth. Dark blood leaked between my fingers when I squeezed my stained socks with my superhuman strength. It was gross. Likewise, I removed my shredded pants and shirt to give them the same treatment. The goal was to make me less distinct from searching predators, but if I am being honest with myself, I doubt I achieved anything.

Nothing appeared on the empty streets except more water. I felt exposed, standing in front of the hotel, and it added an extra layer of anxiety that doing laundry should not have.

Once I completed my task, I looked over the exterior of the ruined hotel. “The Belhom,” was the name of the once impressive edifice. Unfortunately, the name meant nothing. Cracked grand windows, blue glowing moss growing up the walls, and non-existent paint gave the impression that the lodging had been abandoned for decades.

Since the surrounding buildings looked equally uninviting, I decided my next step would be to go back into the hotel and investigate the rooms. Finding answers was a priority, but I tried not to get my hopes too high on that front. Instead, what I really wanted was a good way to defend myself.

But before heading off to do that, I had one last consideration: Do I summon the Barghest?

That Colo Colo thing almost killed me. Would the Barghest be a friend or foe? I did not know. Sure, the knowledge of how to summon the thing was in my head, but anything else about the creature was unknown. Would magic have other unforeseen consequences? If I blacked out from a magic coma for a day, it might spell my doom. Ultimately, I decided I would wait until I was better prepared to risk something on a gamble.

The silent darkness of the main floor hallway, stood open like a waiting mouth. I picked my way across floor wearing my makeshift shoes, staring at the ominous passageway with trepidation. Two once grand wooden doors, lay before the entryway shattered and broken. Lightning crackled in the background, nearly making me jump each time. Worse, the sound of the rain made it impossible for me to hear if anything was waiting for me.

I kept my shank pointed at a downward angle, held close to my chest. I didn’t know why you fought with a knife that way, but I’d seen it taught in a recreational martial arts class.

Rancid and stale smells were the first thing I detected upon entering the corridor. Blue light from the glowing moss gave the slightest definition in the distance. Walking at a steady pace, I crept passed an area at the beginning that my eyes could not penetrate, all while the hair on my neck was raised.

The glow from my mirror shard nearly winked out as soon the suffocating darkness, and I speed up to stand near a patch of glowing moss. My shaky breath sent plumes of cold air into the night.

The first door sat across from the moss. It creaked open, with a loud groan loud enough to send me cursing in annoyance. So much for stealth. A near pitch black room awaited me. After an adjustment period, my eyes were able to make out the faintest details from the moss in the hallway.

Each second after opening a door felt like a nightmare, while I waited for some monstrosity to leap out and ambush me. Nothing did, but I realized I needed to change my tactics.

I ripped some blue glowing moss off the hallway walls to light the way but discovered that it only lasted about ten minutes after being removed. This had the unfortunate side-effect of leaving the hallway behind me darker. I debated stopping, scared as I already was.

Eventually, I got my nerve back, and entered the room. A bathroom to the right was wide open. In the flickering light of the mirror shard, I could see it was filthy. Dust coated the restroom, and nothing else. Gradually, I searched the rest of the room, tipping over the bed and ragged covers in the gloom. Still, I found nothing.

One down, I sighed. A second time, I looked back to the welcoming light of the lobby and considered returning. Would I really find anything in this decrepit place? Besides dust, I mean. Good thing I no longer sneezed.

Continuing my exploration, I noticed the rooms along one side of the hallway had open windows, allowing for anything that wanted to climb into the hotel. After two such rooms, I decided I would leave those with closed doors in case something tried to sneak up behind me in the dark. It wasn’t a great tactic, because something could also do so from the lobby of the hotel, but it gave me a little peace of mind.

At the midway point of the hallway, I discovered a windowless room full of skeletons. Yay! I found something. Corpses!

It felt profane to enter the room, like walking across a grave, but I forced myself to do it. There had been nothing but rubbish up to this point, and I needed if not materials at least some clue about where I was. Most of the skeletons appeared to be Colo Colo’s with smashed skulls, but of the eight there, two were human. They told the story of a heroic last stand. Having fought one firsthand, the scene impressed me.

After a brief, but respectful time sorting the dead onto an old dusty bed, I found what I was looking for. A large serviceable monkey wrench that had lain under one of the human corpses. The weight of the tool was reassuring in my hands and made me feel like I could drop a hurtin’ on something.

I could find nothing else useful among the dead. I said a quick prayer for their departed souls and thanked them before leaving.

Scroll appeared as soon as the words left my lips and said:

[Legacy of the Dead +35%]

“Was that for the prayer or for robbing them?” I asked, bemused.

Scroll gave a response, but it wasn’t an answer to my question.

[Rank 2 Legacy of the Dead achieved]