The sounds of footsteps clunking up stairs woke me. Distant, but coming my way.
The cold air clung to my skin, goosebumps climbing up my arms.
I rubbed the sleep from eyes and took in my surroundings. To realize I was lying in the center of some ballroom.
The floor I was lying on gleamed like marble; only darker and grainy. Silver veins ran through it like rivers, shining under the faint glow of the chandeliers above. The walls were dressed with an extravagant wallpaper. Various shapes and symbols ,which I had no idea the meaning of, filled the room.
It was quiet, far too quiet. Except for the footsteps in the distance I couldn't hear a thing. They were a little closer now, and I knew where I was. Or had a vague idea at least.
I looked down to my belongings, thinking I should make sure I have everything before getting out of here. To see my hands dripping with the sanguine.
The blood stained my hands. There was not a cut on me. This blood was certainly not mine.
There was nothing on the ground around me other than dried up blood and some dust.
My eyes noticed a small opening at the left side of the ballroom, it had been covered with a set of curtains.
Curiosity willed me to go.
I walked, my feet making thuds on the ground with each step. I walked in rhythm to the ever closer steps of people closing in on the ballroom. At best I had two minutes, at worst thirty seconds.
The curtains were made of a red linen material, they did not have any special design and covered up the opening almost entirely. I pushed them aside with my hand, the opening was a hidden room it seemed.
It was dark, too dark to see anything really.
I could see vague silhouettes of the room, it was maybe twenty feet wide and twenty-five long. There was a bed, and to the left of the entrance a desk.
I could make out the silhouette of a lamp.
I walked over to turn it on, almost slipping on something on the floor as I did.
I searched the lamp for the switch. Ah! Found it.
A part of me hesitated innately, like I knew what I was about to behold. Could I have?- No. I regained my composure and let out a short breath. Huff.
I flicked it on, and the moment I laid my eyes on the state of the room my heart sunk.
The walls were made of stone, and the floor of the same material as the ballroom. The bed was certainly pricy. Like the bed of some high ranking nobility.
The walls had spots of red, and the desk was made of an ancient wood.
The bed, the sheets were stained red by blood. The metallic smell was familiar to me. That scared the shit out of me.
Two bodies lied there.
A man, and a woman. Of similar age, the man's throat was slit and his forehead had been punctured by a knife. The perpetrator was quick and lethal with him. His eyes were rolled back, and only the whites were visible.
The woman was not so lucky with a swift death, she had been laying stomach down. Her entire body was above the sheets, and she was laid bare. Her back had hundreds of tiny slashes, and her head was scalped. Entirely.
The sight of it made my stomach drop. I immediately rushed out of the room and back to the main ballroom, puke made its way out just as I did.
I thought, noting the blood on my hands and the two bodies. Me being in a prestigious ballroom, the sound of footsteps growing closer.
I knew I needed to find out more, but time was not on my side. I had to leave.
The ballroom had two sets of large wooden doors, one the footsteps were coming from, and the other lead to an unknown spot.
I was faced with two choices, I knew the door with footsteps would lead to an escape. But it had people there. A risk.
The second option, the unknown variable, could lead to a dead end. A bigger risk.
I don't know why I chose, or even when, the unknown door. But I did. I sped up to a fast walk and pushed open the wooden doors, it led to a hallway. It was illuminated by a few lamps along the path.
The walls were made of stone, and the ground of wood. Every ten or so feet there was a door on both sides of the hall. It was narrow, only fitting two people standing shoulder to shoulder.
Ten to twenty doors stood in front of me. An overwhelming amount. I had no memory of how I got here, or- wait. I have no memory of... anything?
That isn't important now. First things first--escaping. I walked down the hall thinking the farthest door would be the safest option for the exit.
As I was halfway down the hallway the loud creaking of doors captured my attention.
The pursuers had made it to the ballroom. My eyes shot back instinctively, like a predator in the dark. It was hard to make out, but at least five silhouettes roamed in the dark.
Men, thought their faces were covered, and they held weapons of war.
One, who's helmet had horns extending outward noticed me, grunting at the others. Not speaking, just letting out a guttural grunt. It was inhuman.
Fuck, they saw me.
All five immediately started running toward me, shrieking as they did.
I had no idea what they said, adrenaline took over and I ran like hell. My body knew how to run, even though my mind didn't remember.
I made it to the end and ran right through the final door, it led outside. An exit.
However this was the entrance to what seemed like a palace, and the only way was down a narrow path of stairs. If I went they would be able to trail me.
Hiding and hoping they go down the stairs, then going after them is the safest route.
So I looked around. It was a small courtyard of sorts, open to the air but covered by a roof of timber and pillars of stone. Pillars the supported the whole building, yet they seemed poised to fall. A few crooked trees had grown through some cracks in the tile. It had no walls and was exposed to the bugs, and the hum of the city.
It felt safe in the dark. But only as a status quo.
I had been saved by it being night outside, and minimal lighting. It would be hard to see anyone here.
I took cover by hiding to the left--getting behind a pillar.
I waited ten seconds, then the men came bursting out the door. I could smell a foul odor on them from here. It smelt familiar, I- I couldn't remember.
I heard them grunting, one even spoke. But it's language sounded wrong, like a foreign person. It asked where I headed.
To which one grunted in reply and pointed down the stairs. The rest followed suite and ran down.
Having had a closer look, they were towers. Easily seven foot, several hundred pounds. Wearing nearly fifty pounds of dark armor each. Wielding terrifying weapons most men couldn't even lift.
The leader, with the horns, had a particular aura. Like I could feel his energy choking me.
The fact I managed to hide successfully felt like an act of the divine.
All of my escape was luck, the fact it was night. The fact I woke up in time to leave. The fact I noticed the blood and murders. And that I thought to leave.
It seemed so coincidental to me, like someone had set it up. I had no memory of whether or not I actually committed the crime, and furthermore--no memory of any past life.
I could not say surely declare if I did the murders or not, but it certainly seemed suspicious.
I took in the night sky, stepping toward the front of the stairs, my legs weighed heavy.
The armored--men?--had already made it to the bottom and started running through the town's markets.
The moon cast a light shadow onto the town. It was a smaller town, maybe a few thousand citizens.
Could the answers to everything truly be here? The answer to who I am, and whether or not I did this? It seems... small.
I couldn't say why, but I knew this was the start of something. Something terrifying.
I could only hope I was not the catalyst of it.