Bittersweet

Chapter 8: An Angel's Curse

Rogue had never run faster in his entire life. With his booted feet pounding against the dirt and cemented sidewalks, he raced back in the direction of Sabertooth's guild hall, not leaving even a second to spare.

Shadow travel would've been a better option, obviously, but his magic energy was nearly depleted due to lack of rest and malnutrition. He figured that in case there was some sort of looming danger at the guild hall, he'd be completely vulnerable, but that didn't matter to him. Not now, at least. If Sting was in danger, he didn't need to think about anything twice before making his move.

As he ran through the desolate city, thoughts raced through his mind, filling his veins with more anxiety and fear than he could manage at the moment. All sorts of questions came to him: Why did Sting destroy their guild hall? What had happened to him? Was he okay? What happened to Minerva? He hoped he would find the answers soon, because the worry was eating away at his insides, making him feel nauseous.

It didn't take long for Rogue to reach his destination, – which was no surprise considering how fast he was moving – and the sight before him was almost unrecognizable; when he got there, he put a few feet of distance between him and the building, forcing himself and his thoughts to come to a stop.

The first thought that entered his mind was: Is this really Sabertooth?

Rogue took in the condition of the building in front of him. The once perfectly structured guild hall was tainted black, almost as if someone had dumped a bucket of paint on it, and messily at that. The wooden doors were chipped and shattered, laying on the pavement beneath in shredded bits. The Sabertooth flag and banners were torn, stained with claw marks that resembled ones of some sort of demonic bear. Rogue almost couldn't bring himself to believe the red patches stained by the doorway were blood, but he knew otherwise.

He swallowed the lump in his throat, taking in a shaky breath. Minerva had to have been mistaken. There's no way Sting could've caused this much damage; no human could've done something like this.

Sting, where are you? Rogue wondered, taking a hesitant step forward. He was afraid of what he might find inside, but he couldn't just stay outside forever. Sting needed him, and he definitely wasn't going to run away and back down now.

He took another deep breath, willing himself to go forward. The last bits of the door hanging idly from the doorway clattered to the ground as he stepped inside, and he was greeted with darkness.

Maybe it was better that way, because it protected him from a sight he didn't think he'd be ready to see. Inside the guild, the smell of blood was so strong he nearly choked; it filled his nose with a nauseous coppery scent, making him wonder why he couldn't pick up the scent from outside. As he lifted his cloak to cover his nose, cursing at his enhanced senses, something moved beneath his feet, causing him to let out a faltering shriek.

"W-who's there?" he managed out, eyes and ears on full alert. Red irises stood out and glowed like rubies in a cave, scanning the room for any suspicious people, or things. The shuffling sound beneath him grew louder, moving about the tattered floorboards. Rogue started to grow impatient; he raised his voice, whether out of fear or anger or both he didn't know, "Show yourself, coward!"

He took a shaky step forward, hoping to face whoever or whatever was lurking in the shadows, when suddenly he tripped over something — or rather, someone, he realized, after getting a better look at the thing.

Heart pounding against his ribcage, Rogue hesitantly placed his palms on the person he had tripped over, trying to feel for a pulse. He couldn't exactly tell who this person was, but their scent was familiar enough to let him know it was one of his guildmates. If the smell of blood wasn't overlapping their scent so much, he may have been able to identify them. He couldn't use his sight for obvious reasons, considering how dark it was — so dark that not even his enhanced eyesight would be of any use.