When I woke up a few hours later, night had fallen over the city. Painfully, I sat up. I was pleased to find that my chest had ceased hurting, but my throat felt as if someone had torn a large amount of my skin with scissors. I rolled out of the bed and landed softly on the cold, hard, bloodstained floor. I noticed for the first time that the room was almost empty, except for the bed and the large window on the west side of the room. The door was in the upper right hand corner of the room, and it was open. I figured that they didn't mind if I explored a bit, so I left the bedroom and found myself in a dark, foreboding hallway that seemed to go on forever. I could see very little light up ahead, probably provided by small candles. Vampires don't need light to see, however, but I do.
As I walked, I looked at the walls and the ceiling. They, too, were splattered with crimson. I felt sick to my stomach. What kind of monsters are they? I know vampires are ruthless, but this…this was unbearable. I pity all of their victims.
I finally exited the hallway and entered what seemed to be the entrance hall. The walls, ceiling, and floor were the same color as all the others in this building so far: gray stone stained with red. The black, torn carpet that lead down the small staircase might have been regal once, but like the rest of this place, it was old and had seen many deaths. Two silver suits of armor stood beside a coat-of-arms behind me, but I didn't spare any thought to it. I don't want to know who used to live here, because then I'd feel like I had to know how and why they left.
I continued down the stairs and looked up. A chandelier was lit, and the light from the candles danced with the shadows on the walls. Dust and cobwebs had gathered on the still beautiful crystal chandelier, the only pure thing in this entire manor.
Upon further inspection, I noticed two doors on either side of me, each labeled thus: to the left, the kitchen and the dining room, and to the right, the library and an illegible sign that had been purposefully scratched out. I could see a few letters though: u o n. When I tried to open the door, I discovered that it was locked from the inside, and if I wanted in, I'd have to find an alternate route.
My stomach reminded that I was hungry. "Maybe there's food in the kitchen…" I mumbled, pushing open the creaking door. I stood in shock for a moment, my eyes wide. I didn't want to look at the grotesque scene in the kitchen, but I couldn't tear my eyes from it. Everywhere, there was blood and mangled corpses. Many stray body parts sat on the counters, floor, shelves, and I'm sure they were even in the cupboards and pantry too. The smell of the corpses combined with the blood was too overwhelming, and I left, nauseated. "Never going in there again." I shut the door behind me and approached the dining room door. Slowly I pushed it open, ready to close my eyes, but sighed in relief. It looked like a normal dining room, except for the bloodstained table.
A plate was sitting on a tray a few feet away. The platter was covered with one of those silver domes that were used to keep food warm, I think. Cautiously, I removed the covering and found food that I could actually eat. It wasn't raw either. It looked a lot like steak and potatoes with a side of salad…yes, that's definitely what it is. I noticed the letter with my name on it sitting next to the plate. I picked it up and opened it. I could barely make out Runihura's scrawl, but I did manage to read that this food was for me and that they'd be back in the morning. "How gracious of them," I said bad-temperedly, removing the plate from the tray and sitting at a spot at the table that was semi-clean. For a bunch of vampires, they could certainly cook.
When I finished my meal, I left the dining room and headed to the library. It was a typical library; high oak shelves filled to the brim with books, a warm fire burning in the fireplace, many comfortable armchairs situated here and there…they'd been in here recently, I could tell. Some of the books were lying on the small tables, still open. I decided that I didn't want to know what they were reading about, and since there was nothing worthwhile in here, I left and climbed back up the stairs and continued down the other side of the hallway to my left, taking a lit candle I found hanging on the wall in its holder first.
There were five doors in this hallway: two to the left, two to the right, and one straight ahead. I only peeked in the four to my left and right, they were all bedrooms that my hosts slept in. I was surprised to find the windows unboarded. I guess the saying that vampires hate sunlight was only a myth. Now the only door left was the one on the other end of the hall. I looked left, and saw a stone spiral staircase leading both up and down. I hadn't seen it before, but that was probably because I hadn't paid attention to it. I opened the door in front of me and saw the bathroom, which was surprisingly beautiful. Everything was made of marble, even the toilet. There wasn't blood anywhere. I grinned. This would officially be my favorite room in the entire manor.
Now to see where that staircase lead…