“Sh─” I blurted, couldn't care less was I trying to call her name or to curse. The eerie sight didn't last for long. Just as I took a step back, Sheryl blurred. Seconds later, everything turned black. Despite having a tiny bit of consciousness, I couldn't sense anything no matter how hard I tried to. In addition to my missing vision as everything was black, I also couldn't hear a single sound, or smell the all-stench-smelled room spattered with blood, or.. feel any pain. It felt like, I was losing control over my own body. Not long after, the consciousness left me bit by bit. I fainted.

--

The sunshine peeked through the curtain hanging in front of the balcony glass, bathed me with its warmth, driving me conscious. I narrowed my eyes outwards while reflectively raising my left arm, trying to block its dazzling ray. Gathering myself, I rose and rested on my buttocks, inclining my all-pained body onto the bed next to me. I tried to evoke my memory of what I've been through now I was in this state.

As I compiled the event piece by piece, I flinched in extreme shock. I looked around to make sure was it not just my hallucination. Right behind me was the corpse of the dead man whose Sheryl had sucked his blood out. Next to him, however, for better or for worse, was Sheryl, unconscious.

The only thing I could remember was the frightening scene Sheryl had exhibited, everything thereafter could I not recall. I was trying to think rationally about what I was about to do until I realized that the entire bottom part of my face was soaked in a viscous liquid, now dried up. I reached using my hand to rub it only to dye my fingers in dark carmine, almost black.

A chill of panic was sent to my spine, causing every inch of my body to shiver. Losing my mind, I searched for anything that could cover my face as I was eager to leave the site as soon as possible. I looked here and there and found the scarf I was about to give Sheryl. Without even bothering to think of anything, I wrapped the piece of fabric around my face as if it were buff, and hurriedly went outside.

As I passed through the lobby once again, there was no one. I walked hastily with my head bowed down, in case someone would suddenly show up without warning.

However, as soon as I stepped out of the building, I was blinded by the sudden light directed toward me. I failed to make out what was happening as the dizzying noise rang and cluttered my mind. I was deafened for several moments until a clear distinct voice, sounded from a megaphone.

It was the police. They shouted and scolded me repeatedly, hoping for me to get onto the ground. As my mind became clearer, everything turned obvious. The noise all along was the sound of the siren. What scared me was the fact that they held up firearms and pointed them towards my direction.

Never was I placed in such circumstances, thus making me lose the ability to assess the situation. Even as I was certain I wasn’t the one committing the crime, at least to my memory, I wasn't sure if I could ever convince them so─ with my whole mouth literally painted in crimson.

I ran mindlessly, and they started to step out from their hiding, chasing me running back into the building. I realized how dumb my decision was but there was no turning back. In the lobby, I saw a glass window stood high and the motor parking lot could be seen within.

Without thinking any further, I rushed to where the window was, ignoring my panting seeking for breath. I tapped over my pocket gratuitously in search of my motorbike key. With my feet pushed forward, I crossed my arms in hopes of protecting my frontal lobe from a collision, allowing my torso to break through the window with as little injury as possible in the rain of glass shards.

Neglecting the pain after the plunge, I quickly turned my gaze around. With the few motorbikes parked at the moment, it didn't take that long to find mine.

I hopped onto the bike and hurriedly started the engine. Throwing my helmet off of the rear mirror, I drove disregarding everything that hindered my line of escape.

Without bothered to take a glimpse, I knew the police stopped chasing after seeing me jump through the window. Instead, they got back to their car and started pursuing using a faster ride.

Even with my bike in hand, I had no destination. Finding a place to hide was the only objective I was aiming for. Swerving through the intersections, I looked for a shot where I'd be out of their sight. Knowing that the chance had yet to come, I accelerated further, driving my bike away from the cops.

To my mistake, we arrived at a country road alongside a cliff where there was no turn. To our left, was a wheat field, and a steep cliff as shallow as a hundred feet was to our right.

As if realizing the loss chance of hiding was not enough, it was worsened by the fact that they started shooting, now that they wouldn't misdirect at passers-by or public facilities. With the steady road we were passing through, it was undoubted that cars could easily exceed the motorbike's speed. The fact that the sound of sirens was getting louder and louder, I knew they're catching up.

I saw the bullet's trajectory passed close to me as they missed reaching their target. I was hopeful that fortune would keep turning this way, until abruptly, a sheer pain running down my spine, making me choke blood. Without the opportunity to worry about where the wound was, I lost grip of the handlebar. I felt like I was losing every ounce of energy as if they were crawling, leaving my body.

At the time my motor tripped, I conceded. I let wherever my body rolled over. Before it reached the very tip of the cliff, the friction between me and the ground stopped it, sending me a sense of relief. However, that wasn't the case for my motorbike. With it's spinning due to the fall, the remaining kinetic force dragged it towards the direction of the cliff─ towards where my body lied.

As a result of the collision, I fell, down to the bottom of the ravine.