"Terressa Blood Blank", I read the block red letters printed on a formally fashioned board with hands on my waist as I relish my moment of pride after donating blood for the first time.
"It's a great initiative, isn't it?", one of the volunteers comments.
"a blessing, if you ask me.
I'm glad someday I could be of help to a needy one.", I smile at her.
We recently met on the internet and you could call us, 'Instagram friends';
Elizah told me about this blood donation camp where she would be volunteering and I was thrilled at the opportunity to he helpful to humankind for the tm first time in my life.
Thus, I am here.
As we are sitting around with other volunteers almost packing up to go home, a discussion seems to have taken the place by perplexity.
Apparently there was a job to be done, but all the volunteers were so tired that they didn't wish to carry it out.
Elizah steps towards me from among the rabble,
"Hey, you said you live near
Elle Park, right?"
I nod my head in agreement.
"Would you mind doing a favor for me..for us?
It would cost you the least trouble among all of us... ", she looks at me with hopeful eyes.
"Um.. Yeah sure", I answer.
"guys.. She'll do it!", Elizah exclaimed.
"Thank you so much.... Its just that you have to deliver this bag to a house near Elle Park", she holds both my hands in hers and gives them a shake.
"You don't even need to go inside... Just deliver this bag to the house you see from the park"
"Ah... Well....", before I could utter a word in my defense, she hands me the bag and picks up hers to leave.
The thing is.. Elle Park... Is a bit off road to my route.
And what even;
It's an uncanny park where locals don't even visit.
Someone lives there??
Burrying my words under my tongue, I smile towards the relieved faces of the members before leaving for outside.
I then proceed to mount my two-wheeler and zoom towards the said destination.
They said the house would be visible from the park since there are not many accommodations nearby.
And sure it is.
The only lodge around the eerie suburb, about four kilometers away from my house, which I visualized to be abandoned and gloomy, to my surprise, is lit brightly before my eyes.
It actually seems like people nowadays inhabit wherever they can make a house.
I step up to the porch of the house and ring a bell positioned at the middle right side of the door.
.
.
A minute passes but nobody answers.
"Hello.. I'm here with your package... I'll just leave it here.", I call out hoping someone would hear.
Well I was simply told to deliver it right... So now I can leave?, I question myself.
Payment...
Did they say anything about the payment?
A sigh escapes my mouth as I now wait for someone to open the door for me. I press the bell two or three more times again until finally a voice cries,
"SERIOUSLY GUYS"
A sound of loud, fumbly and hastily descending steps follow the shout which by the way sounded like a desperate question.
In no time, my eyes are greeted by a young man who just made my heart flutter at first sight.
I look at the tall man in front of me simply standing in grey sweatpants, cluelessly looking around before he catches a sight of me.
Hate to admit it, but I'm pretty short relatively. Short enough he had to look down. Okay. Embarrassing.
After deeming it rude to stare,
I shake the dazzle off my eyes and say,
"um.. He.. Here's your package."
He lets out a deep sigh and takes the bag from me with a nod.
"aaa..payment?", I squint my eyes hoping that I have not said something out of the equation.
"Is it time already?", he pouts in confusion.
Seems like he is finally aware of his surroundings, I judged.
Before he could ask me to come in, it is as if from nowhere, another man comes right next to the door.
"Ah come in Why don't you?", the newcomer darts at me.
Taken aback by his sudden voice, I gape at him with macaroon-sized eyes and blink once or twice.
His features were definitely notable with shoulder length hair, relatively round eyes and a teasy lightweight voice.
"I swear he wasn't here-", I point at him as they lead me inside the house, towards the living room.
.
.
"have a seat while I ask my elder", the man assures me to sit comfortably as he leaves the room to make a phone call.
Where did the other one go?
I look around myself to spot the second man who greeted me, but didn't even catch a glimpse of him.
Though alert, I carefully observe the room I currently am in, white painted walls, clean and tidy couch;
Meagre furniture.. but just enough to get by, contrasting with expensive oil paintings curated just at perfect spots.
No television in sight, but a generous number of magiznes placed under the glass table.
A lifeless brown rug lay at my feet, of which I constantly studied the pattern.
It's the living room indeed, I thought.
Just as I look up, I am pretty sure I saw a guy descending three to four stairs but receding back in the same stance.
Is this place full of Wierdos?
It isn't long before he arrives downstairs once again, now with another man pushing him from the back.
"Ahh Woozi-ya why are you coming back? I told you it's here", a very excited tone reaches my ear startling and conditioning me at the same time.
"I said somebody's here", the shorter male mutters loud enough for me to hear.
"well.. Aren't you a pocket-sized introvert", his laughter seems to be filling up the room.
Nevertheless, even he pauses at the sight of me.
"Hey.. How'd you get in?", the yonder male rushes towards me with an altogether very nimble stride and was now standing a little too close to me, face to face.
His sharp glare has me bug-eyed as he closely inspects me.
I cautiously mumble,
"I... Just..I'm here for the delivery."
In the fraction of a second, his threatening demeanour drops and onsets a more of an affable one.
"oh.. Shoulda said earlier", he beams at me now that I feel no longer hostile to him.
"I'm Hoshi by the way... You look new"
He casually declares while taking a seat opposite to me. He then points at the bag to affirm it is what I was talking about, gradually proceeding to delve into the same.
Woozi, who was apparently the other person, bemusedly scratches his head while walking away from the room.
I kept eyeing every corner of the room since something that wasn't catching my sight felt suspicious intuitively;
Yet Hoshi, who didn't seem to be fazed by my presence, genuinely processed the contents in the bag.
"What's taking him so long... Why did he leave me alone with so many men around?", I mentally curse my host.
As if on cue, the door opens abruptly, revealing a lean man walking indoors.
"Ah Myungho"
Oxygenated blood replenishes my chest as I point the same man who opened the door to me, finally returning to where he left me after attending his hour-long phone call.
His arrival from the kitchen seemed to clash with the one coming from outside who simply waves at his name being called.
While we all are looking away, a little sound seems to be coming from my right side.
All three of us look in that way, distracted by the gulping sound;
Only to find out that Hoshi was busy drinking something out of a red bottle.
What piques my interest is the color of the bottle. It seems Hella familiar.
My throat dries up and my eyes widen as the fluid keeps paving way into his mouth leaving a transparent void behind.
And it ultimately dawns on me that it isn't the bottle that's red.
It's the fluid.
This is the bottle from the blood donation camp.
This red fluid is...
Indeed
Blood.
The simultaneous reactions of all four of us in the room are in thorough contrast with each other.
One is absolutely enjoying his dearest beverage while one is running towards the former in a zombie-like manner.
As for the one who just eneterd, he retraced his footsteps outside and made sure to lock the door as well.
As for me,
I am simply terrorized at his attempt.
Seeing our berserk reactions to his little celebration, the said man stops in his tracks and again, as it eventually flashes through his mind, his lips part with the bottle, almost shaking in his grasp, as he questions in the most innocent manner.
"Was she not supposed to know?"
"Hoshi..... Noo"
"You know what to do", the other man's muffled voice reverberates in my ears which is also the last thing I can hear.
Before I faint.
Please be a dream!, I desperately wish.
.
.
.
.
And it was, as I open my eyes to somebody shaking me by the shoulder.
"Hey.. Wake up
Are you okay?".
What was weird was that I was not at home.
I was still at Terressa Blood Bank, where I donated blood yesterday.
What's even weird is that...
I remember everything that happened last night.
The ride home, the man who greeted me, the living room, the brown rug and most importantly..
The blood.
Just that I....still can't differenciate if it was a dream or reality.
.
.
One thing I know is.... I'm never going to Elle Park again.
______________________________________
A/n:
Hiyaa readers
This is a one shot of an upcoming short series.
Since I got many requests to write the story ahead, I made this one shot into a series 🍷
So stay tuned for my upcoming book titled,
"Blood Deception"
Thank you for Reading and voting!