Blood of the Guilty

Memory 17: Corpse Party

"Thank you again for letting me stay for the night, Mr. Samuel," said the little girl, eating the porridge he laid out for her.

The front of the alleyway was dusty and dirty, but it was the same home that Samuel lived near. It wasn't as cozy or comfy, but with Lassie, he was content.

"It is no problem at all, Sofia," smiled Samuel kindly, petting his dog Lassie, "You'll have to go back soon. I bet your mother is worried about you, not being home these last few days."

Sofia scoffed, "I don't care about that hag. She just keeps nagging on me for every single thing I do. There's always restrictions. No freedom."

"It may seem so at first, but I know that she's only trying to look out for you. Make sure that you grow up happy and successfully. Either way, you'll be safer around here than out here in these streets, ha ha! Especially now that I've told some people I trust on some information about that murderer's whereabouts."

"I'll be safe with you around, Mr. Samuel! No murderer's gonna take me!"

"I'm glad that I can make you feel safe, Sofia. Truth is, I'm an old man who can barely make a living. Ol' Lassie here can't even bark that well."

Lassie whined as if she understood what Samuel was saying. Samuel merely laughed it off while eating his porridge.

Rustle, rustle.

Samuel and Sofia's ears perked up as they heard the sound.

Rustle rustle.

Samuel got up from where he was sitting and crouched down, facing towards Sofia. He put his finger up to his mouth as a way to silence her.

"If I say the code word, you run and don't come back," whispered Samuel grimly to Sofia, parting Lassie's hair to keep her lying down on the ground.

Sofia nodded in hesitation. Samuel then stood up and carefully went around the alleyway, inspecting to see what the rustling was about. After a few turns, he peered the corner, to find a man who was crouching. As he stood up, Samuel noticed that there was something in front of the man: A corpse.

The man began to buckle up his pants as the corpse withered away.

"No.. way..." mumbled Samuel quietly, in shock of what he was seeing.

The man's iris quickly turned to Samuel, his eye staring straight into the windows of his soul. For a few seconds, the man was staring directly at Samuel, unmoving and analyzing. Samuel began to sweat, speechless before the man before him, who had just stared at him, never blinking.

"So you've seen it," the man finally spoke, the corpse withering away completely, "You've got a good look at it."

Samuel turned away from the corner and ran with all his might, yelling, "Live! Live! LIVE!"

Upon hearing the howls of Samuel, Sofia and Lassie quickly stood up. She ran in the opposite direction, into the streets, hiding by a telephone booth. She planned on staying here for a while. Even though she was told to run, she wanted to make sure Samuel was okay. Lassie, on the other hand, ran towards the call of his master.

Soon, Samuel got out of the alleyway, with Lassie following him shortly. His hands were on his knees, panting and out of breath. Sofia was just about to call out to Samuel until she found out that there was somebody behind him!

"Don't take this personal," said the man behind Samuel, his upper body covered in the shadows of the dark alleyway, "I don't go for people like you. It's merely due to the reason that you've seen it."

Samuel threw out a punch towards the man in an attempt to phase him and run. However, it didn't seem to work. He took it as if it was nothing, and Samuel even seemed to be glued to the man's face. The man backhanded Samuel with his wristwatch, causing him to fall to the floor, his knuckles slowly dissolving.

"Lassie, run!" yelled Samuel, gasping for air.

Lassie growled and bit the man's leg, sinking her jaws into him. The man winced, trying to shake the mutt off of his leg. At that time, Samuel took ahold of himself, grabbing the mug that was on the floor.

As the man kicked Lassie away, a small infection sprouting from impact, Samuel stood up. He heard the whines from old Lassie, and gathered up all of his anger, swinging the mug at the man.

Crash! Tling tling tling!

The mug broke apart as it hit the man's head, the coins spilling out everywhere. However, even with the hit, the man's wounds seemed to have regenerate. It was as if he was no longer injured from Samuel's attack. At that moment, Samuel and Lassie collapsed to the ground, whining and mumbling to theirselves.

Their bodies began to rot up, bones sticking straight out of their flesh as flies began to circle around them. Ants on the ground began to feast on the smelly carcasses that remain. The speed of decay had already spread throughout the bodies.

Their souls had left them in their pointless struggle to defeat this man.

The man checked his wristwatch and shook his head. He was late to go home. As he walked down the street to the direction of his house, he noticed a small orb lying by the trash bin near Samuel's corpse. He picked it up, thought it was pretty, and placed it inside his pocket. However, he didn't notice the small girl trailing him, desperate to find out more about him.

"Mr. Samuel..." thought Sofia to herself, "I'll be sure to avenge you!"