Law of Blood

Sweet and syrupy. Viscous liquid that felt like jelly running down Abel's throat. But a jelly that cooled the thousands of razors cutting his throat from the inside out.

It was heavenly nectar. The best drink and dessert Abel ever had. The sweetness of honey. A slight savory umami that hit after you swallowed. And then the pure refreshing feeling after that, like imbibing direct sunlight.

Lovely. Beautiful. A delicacy that filled the empty and gnawing hole in his heart. A sweet and savory delicacy that smelled like…

…Iron?

A sudden dissonance. 

Abel snapped out of his daze and pulled back from what he was drinking. And when he did, his blood ran cold.

A body, motionless on the ground. Female. 

Abel flinched and stepped back. When he did, he heard it.

A soft dripping on the ground. Drops of something falling from his hands.

Abel shakily held them up.

Red. Not just a plain bloody red like cartoonish red paint, but a deep and dark hue that stained his skin. Like the stains from crushing berries between your hands.

"W-What am I…?" Abel stammered and then frantically looked around. 

It was an alleyway. Dark and silent. But far from empty.

Now that Abel was aware, he saw that it wasn't just one body on the ground.

Besides the woman, there was a male police officer with a torn uniform. There was also man wearing a white dress shirt… at least it had been white before the gaping hole in his chest stained it red.

Abel gagged. No, he felt like he should gag. But seeing the bodies laying there, he subconsciously licked his lips instead. 

And when he realized that, he ran.

Heavy pounding in his chest. A heart that felt like a war drum. 

Abel couldn't see. He didn't know where he was going. All he did was run.

And as he ran, he tried to wrack his mind to figure out what happened.

Abel Munzer. He was a newly barred attorney. To celebrate, he went to a bar. 

There… Right. It was starting to come back.

A woman started up a conversation. Somehow, the topic of him being a lawyer came up. And when it did, she asked him to represent her in a domestic case. 

Of course he accepted. Although he didn't have a job yet, he had a client. And he'd be damned if he wouldn't do the best job he could representing her against the scumbag husband she went on about.

That was the last that Abel remembered. After that…

*Drip*

A soft dripping sound drew Abel out of his thoughts.

It was a rundown bathroom. The subways from the look of it. 

Beneath him, a leaky faucet dripped. And across from him, his reflection stared back.

Sharp brown eyes. Sandy blonde sideswept hair. A cleanly shaven face with average features… or so he remembered.

But the face staring back at him…

"Is this me?"

High cheekbones. A sharp jawline… No, a slightly sharper jawline.

Now that Abel stared at it, he could see his old face. It was still there, but it looked like someone threw a beauty filter over it. That or fancy makeup.

But more importantly…

"...There's no blood?" Abel murmured and reached up to touch his face.

Smooth and unblemished skin. Not even the slightest bit oily, let alone sticky.

But that couldn't be. He clearly remembered…

Abel shook his head and then gave himself a once over.

A blue suit and slacks, paired with brown loafers. A white dress shirt beneath the suit. One that should be stained red… and yet was as pure as if freshly dry cleaned.

Was it a dream? A delusion?

Abel quickly looked to the sink to see if he had subconsciously washed it off. But nothing. 

From how much blood he felt on his body and from the state of the bodies he saw, there should have been signs.

Blood stains. Smears. At the least red flecks, or the hint of iron in the air.

But all that Abel could see was rust and grime. And as for what he could smell…

"Ugh!"

A sharp and musky odor. And not in a good way. A nauseating rotting smell that mixed eggs, garlic, and… jalapenos?

Either way, it made Abel gag and quickly dash out of the bathroom.

"Holy sh-" Someone bit back a curse and then clicked their tongue.

Abel moved to the side to see a grimy man wearing a tattered coat flip him off.

"Watch where you're going, Asshole!"

"Sorry." Abel bowed his head and quickly walked off.

The grimy man clicked his tongue again and then walked into the bathroom. Moments later, his voice echoed. "Aw HELL NAH! How the FU-"

Abel flinched and broke into a sprint.

xxx

Click.

Abel slid the lock on his apartment door and then slumped to the ground in front of it. Covering his face with his hands, he muttered, "Am I dreaming? Drunk? Hallucinating from stress?"

It didn't make sense. Nothing did.

Although he somehow made his way back home without anything else happening, he couldn't shake the gnawing sensation in his chest.

…Or the delicious taste of-

Abel gagged and doubled over, trying to scramble to his feet. He managed to claw his way up and stagger to the fridge.

Something. Anything to get rid of that taste. That memory.

There. A half-filled sweet tea bottle. 

Abel grabbed it and ripped off the bottle cap, quickly taking a deep swig.

And…

…It was fine.

Refreshing and sweet. Just like he remembered.

That managed to calm Abel down a bit. He looked around the fridge a bit more and saw a thermos of cold brew coffee.

He took it out and took a big swig from it too.

Sharp. Bitter. 

But expected, since it was black.

Abel let out a sigh. His head was clearing up from the coffee and the cold gnawing feeling in his chest was fading.

"It was just my imagination." 

Right. It had to have just been a stress induced hallucination. Or a blackout drunk dream. 

There was no way something like that could-

Sirens in the distance. One squad car at first, but swiftly ballooning into a full chorus. Not only that, but the sound of helicopter wings in the distance as well.

Abel froze.

…No. It couldn't be real. Could it?

Abel's hands were shaky and his legs weak. Even so, he made his way over to the tv and turned on the news.

It was late, so there was no way-

"Breaking news! A horrific scene has unfolded downtown, just outside Rob's Bar!"

The remote clattered to the ground, batteries bouncing against the carpet.

On the screen. There, shown in full, albeit blurred due to the gore…

"The bodies of a young woman and man have been found brutally mutilated in the back alleys. A patrolling officer called for a welfare check has also been found dead in a horrific manner."

It… It wasn't a dream.

"We ask anyone who has any information about this incident to please call…"

…This… 

Abel slumped to the ground and said, "Someone. Tell me this is just a nightmare. Please…"