Beyond The Lost

25

Once I reached the bar, I simply sat down and ordered myself a drink. I had a few before I began my search for the man in question. I can smell each human inside, all having a distinct smell.

The longer I sit in the bar, the more I worry I'll see Victor, but he's nowhere to be found. I suppress the urge to search for him when I lock eyes with a tall man with blonde hair. He's eyeing the small bag in my hand, brows drawn close. I quickly realized I had found my target.

"Excuse me." I stepped to him, watching his eyes travel up to my neck. "Can I sit with you?"

"I don't see why not." He chuckled and slid a spare glass of whiskey my way as I took a seat. My skin begins to cool as rain hits the window, his green eyes searching for recognition in my face.

"I was told to bring this to you." I gently placed the small bag on the table, watching him grab it and quickly shove it into his pocket. "There's more waiting for you if you'll come with me."

"You're Victor's girl, aren't you?" He asked.

My heart nearly stopped in my chest, hunger licking at my stomach. Id almost forgotten the sound of his voice, the smell of his hair. In an instant, it all floods back. "I was."

"How did a girl like you end up in a situation like this?" He eyes the blood beneath my fingernails. "I feel for you, I really do."

"Are you coming or not?" I stood up and downed the rest of my liquor, slamming the glass back down on the table.

"Yeah." He followed suit, swiftly latching to my wrist and following me out of the bar. The smell of home fills my nose, eyes searching the street for a love that no longer exists in my situation. I begin to wonder, would the devil would know if I took a detour?  "Looking for something?" He asked me softly, somehow aware of my deteriorating mental state.

"Is it that obvious?" My heart sinks as the alcohol settles into my stomach. My skin is warm.

"A little."

"I feel lost." I watch people pass me in the chilly evening, sun settling in the sky slower than my thoughts drag across my skull. "I miss him so much."

I can feel his eyes resting on my chest, watching my breath quicken as Victor's absence rests on my shoulders. "You won't forever."

I keep hearing that. I hate those words.

I desperately search for his smell, his eyes. Anything I can to remember him by. Days pass as if he never existed, memories leaving faster than I can hold to his face. I can't stand it.

My voice breaks from my chest, shattering the daily bustle of the street. Silence takes its place as I call to someone who won't answer. "Victor!"

A few strangers glance to me, concerned. I feel so alone when he doesn't run up to me.

"Come on." The man gently urged me to move forward, leaving me to sigh and lead him in the right direction. Even as I walk, my eyes continue to search for Victor. For a split second, I thought maybe I saw him.

"Do you know where I could find Victor?"

He eyed me curiously. "Don't we have somewhere to be? Your boss will get mad."

"You know my boss?"

"I wouldn't be dealing with you if I didn't." His legs are long, almost as if he struggles to walk with them. Granted, that could just be the whiskey.

"You mentioned Victor before I did. You knew him?" I stick to my original line of questioning, unable to stop myself from searching deeper for the man I loved.

"I don't know that you'd appreciate hearing of him."

"I'll do anything to hear his voice again, please." I squeezed his hand. "Just tell me anything you know."

"He was arrested a few months ago, from what I know he's rotting in a cell somewhere in town. When I last spoke to him, he bought a bag of these from me." He pulled the small bag from his pocket and placed it in my hand.

"What is it?"

"Just open it."

I gently pulled the top of the cloth bag apart, pouring it into my palm to get a better look. Shards of blue glass rest against the cracks of my fingers, each of them burning my skin. "..what are these?"

"Some people use it for drugs, I use it to see my family "

"Explain more, I've never seen these before."

"It's made to help you get across. You know, see the dead in their own realm of existence. It's the only way I can see them."

"Why does it hurt?" I slide the glass back into the bag and hand it to him.

"Because you're dead."

"Dead? No- I'm not dead, I just-"

"Not completely, no. But you're not really alive either. It's kind of a halfway point, yeah?"

"How do you know all of this? What's your name?"

"Thomas Vaine. I've been working with the devil since I was very young. Im careful, that's why I'm alive and you're not."

"Can you take me to him? Victor, I mean."

"If you do anything without his approval you're subject to punishment. Are you sure that's what you want?"

"I'll be quick, I swear."