"So, what are we doing exactly?" I asked.

Tec smiled. "We're draining someone and bringing the blood back to the house."

"Why aren't everyone just hunting?"

"Frej needs it. And it's just good to have blood around the house in case someone is unable to make it out to hunt." He shrugged a shoulder and we turned a corner. "Oh, by the way. We totally raided a blood bank if Frej asks."

I rolled my eyes and didn't even deem that worthy of a response.

Instead, I turned my attention back to the street. A man was lounging further down the alleyway and we both silently agreed that that would be our target.

I took the lead, not making a single sound. Perks of not wearing shoes when you hunt.

I made it to the man and grabbed his arm. He turned and black eyes stared down at me.

"Aura, get awa-" Tec was caught off and the black eyes became everything. Black surrounded me and everything just... Stopped.

"Aura."

God, I was tired.

"Aura, you can't sleep here."

I opened my eyes and looked up at my co-worker Mark. "Sorry, I'm really knackered."

"I can see that, but you can't sleep on the job, Aura."

I shook my head and straightened in my chair. I looked back at my screen, sighing very deeply. I had a deadline to uphold after all. I looked around the office before looking back at my screen. It was lunch time soon and I did feel hungry.

Another half hour snailed past me and I went up to get my lunch from the cafeteria. It was a large company so we had this massive food court. When I got my tray I stopped and looked around. I didn't wanna intrude on anyone's conversations, so I found an empty table and sat down. As I started unpacking my lunch, a woman came to my table.

"Sorry, can you move to another table? We're a big group and we're going to work through lunch."

"Oh, yeah of course. Sure," I said and hurried to gather up my lunch. I left the table and looked back at the group. None had any paper or notebooks. They weren't going to work.

I sighed deeply and ended up just bringing my lunch back to the office. I was so tired of this fucking shit.

I went home, closing the door behind me. I was knackered but I went to the kitchen. I took the nice vegetable knives out, picking out one of the smaller blades.

I was so tired.

I went to the bathroom and filled the tub. I changed out of my nice clothes into something comfortable. A nice grey cardigan and a pair of sweats.

I turned the water off and placed the knife on the edge of the tub as I climbed in. I let the warm water heat me up, comforting me. I never had to do any of this ever again. I never had to go into the office again. Not feel so entirely alone.

"Aura?"

God no. I was too tired.

"Aura, you can't sleep here."

I opened my eyes and looked up at my co-worker Mark. I had fallen asleep right at my desk. How embarrassing.

I sighed and went back to work. I had to keep this deadline which was... When was the deadline? I knew it was close but right now I couldn't even remember what day it was.

I frowned. Something was off but I mean... Something was always off.

I went up to get my lunch from the cafeteria. When I got my tray I stopped and looked around. I didn't wanna intrude on anyone's conversations, so I found an empty table and sat down. As I started unpacking my lunch, a woman came to my table.

"Sorry, can you move to another table? We're a big group and we're going to work through lunch."

"Oh, yeah of course. Sure," I said and hurried to gather up my lunch. I left the table and looked back at the group. None had any paper or notebooks. They weren't going to work.

I was so over all of this shit.

"Aura?"

Oh, bugger off.

"Aura, you can't sleep here."

"Oh just fuck off," I growled and rose to my feet. Mark looked very baffled at me. "Everyone just fuck off!" I screamed, grabbing the keyboard smashing it against the screen, going absolutely mental. It felt like I had done this over and over. Over and over.

"Aura?"

Not this shit again.

"Aura, you can't sleep here."

"Fuck you Mark, fuck you, your stupid haircut and that fucking red tie!" I grabbed my coffee cup and poured it over him.

"Aura?"

Yes. This again. Let's go.

I didn't let him tell me I couldn't sleep here. I jumped up and bolted for the floor to ceiling windows, crashing through the glass. I noticed my blood was black.

Black blood.

I was falling and I was thinking of black blood.

I ran my tongue over my teeth. They were pointy. I wasn't this. I didn't work in an office anymore. Dawid. I had Dawid. And Tec, Frej, Iwo and Kissy. I had all those people.

I blinked and I was in the bathroom with the knife in my hand. I wasn't going to do it this time. I wasn't. I dropped the knife and looked at myself in the mirror above the little sink.

"I'm not this anymore."

The walls started cracking like the window had earlier. Everything started cracking around me. Long lightning shaped cracks in the wall, in the floor, even in the open space in the door. Everything was just... Cracking. The cracks snaked their way up to the ceiling and I looked up. Everything stopped for a second and then it crashed down on me. I screamed and tried to brace myself for the glass hitting me, but nothing happened.

I opened my eyes and looked around. There was nothing but darkness. I looked down at my hand, realising I could see it. So it wasn't darkness... It was just black. As if the reality I had just been in got destroyed and this was the base layer for it all. Just black.

There was nothing to do than start walking. I didn't know which direction I was supposed to go in but fuck that. I just had to get out of here. It gave me the creeps.

I kept walking for what felt like hours until a door appeared in the distance. A simple door with one of those round door knobs old houses used to have. I hurried forward and grabbed the knob, turning it slowly. The door opened and light poured into the blackness. I blinked and my vision adjusted. It was... A hallway. A very grey hallway with no furniture but just more doors.

I walked into the hall and the door closed behind me. It had my name on a golden plaque.

"What the fuck..." I murmured under my breath and looked back at the other doors, finding names on all of them.

I walked over to the door opposite of mine and opened it. The name said "Peter." The scene behind the door was... Weird. It was a circus with clowns on the stage. A single man sat in the audience and he was crying and pleading the clowns to stop their act. But they didn't listen and the man didn't leave.

I closed the door again and walked to the next one. "Kim." Apparently, Kim's scene was underwater. And she was drowning over and over again. Every time I thought she was done struggling against the chains holding her down, she woke up again. I watched her drown four times before it got too repetitive.

I kept walking down what seemed to be an endless hall. It just kept going and going. I read the names on the plaques until I stopped and widened my eyes.

Xipe Totec.

I opened the door and the scene was dark. Big windows were open, the moon casting a pale light into the room. It looked like something from the middle ages or something, the bed massive. It was one of those beds you'd always see in historical shows. Mahogany and intricate designs cut into the bedposts.

By the bed someone sat on the floor, on their knees, their shoulders shaking. I didn't immediately recognise him because his hair was so long. In the bed, Frej was laying, looking endlessly pale.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Tec whispered. "Frej, please wake up. Please." Tec rose to his feet and turned to the window. "Death? Please! I'll do anything. Anything you ask of me, I'll do it. Just help him. Save him."

When nothing happened he walked back to the bed and took Frej's limp hand in his again. He kissed it and cried. He kept apologising over and over. When that didn't help, he went back to the window and begged Death to save Frej. It just kept repeating over and over.

I walked further into the room, leaving the door open behind me. Tec was by the bed again, kissing Frej's hand.

I very gently put my hand on Tec's shoulder and he flinched, his head jerking towards me.

"Can you help him? He's sick. I can't save him." Black tears were streaming down his cheeks and I glanced at Frej, noticing how he wasn't breathing.

"Tec, this isn't real."

"Frej is dying. We have to help him." Tec turned back to window. "Maybe Death will help."

I walked around him and put my hands on his chest, pushing him back. "Wake up you idiot, this isn't real! Frej is not sick!"

Tec looked down at me. Then he frowned and looked at his hair. "I haven't had long hair since the 1800's."

"Exactly! This isn't even the right era. You're in the 21'st century. Not whatever the fuck this is supposed to be."

He glanced back at Frej. "It's not real, is it?" he whispered.

"No. Frej's okay."

"I saved him. Death saved him. I gave up godhood for him." He clenched his eyes shut. I took his hand in mine and started for the door, but it slammed shut just as I was about to cross the threshold.

"Tec..."

Tec whirled around, his eyes growing very wide. The fake Frej was on his knees on the bed, some dark figure behind him. The dark figure's hands slid over Frej's body and Frej laughed.

"You were never enough. Never."

"Tec, this is not real."

Tec swallowed hard.

"I need a real man. A man who doesn't lie. Who'll please me." Frej tipped his head up as the dark figure kissed his throat. "I need a god, Tec."

Tec inhaled sharply and shook his head.

"I was sacrificed for the gods and you stole that from me. The least you could've done is let me be with one now. But you threw that away, Tec."

Tec's arm flew out, his fingers wrapping around Frej's throat. "Frej calls me Xipe." He clenched his hand and the fake Frej evaporated into black smoke. The scene cracked just like mine had done. Long veins spread across the walls but Tec was just focusing on the bed. He was breathing hard and then he flicked his hand. The scene just disappeared. It didn't even crack and break, it just disappeared and left the door open, casting a metallic glow into the room.

"What the actual fuck are we doing here?" Tec growled and pulled me out of his room, slamming the door behind him.

"You're asking the wrong person," I replied with a shrug.

He ran his hand through his now short hair and took a deep breath. "We need to get out of here. Either of us could easily get trapped again and..." He stopped and looked down at me. "It's obvious I'm not as strong as you here." He put his hand on my shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze. "What did you see?"

"The day before my death. Over and over. It made me angry because that's not me. Not anymore."

"No, it's not."

"But you... You still love Frej. You're still that person. Maybe that's why it was so hard to break out of?"

He nodded and sighed again. "Yes. Frej's death still scares me. It's my biggest weakness."

"I don't think it's a weakness. Remembering Dawid reminded me of who I was. If it wasn't for him, I don't think I would've remembered at all."

"Love is strong," he said and smiled. "Come on. Let's get home to our men."