Scent of Blood [Lesbian Story]

Michelle Harper

What is, like dust that constitutes my world?

The sound of soft whispers in the distance and footsteps against the cold wooden floor woke her from her brief slumber. Slowly, her eyelids rose as a blur vision of her surroundings emerged; a classroom empty of students, teacher-less and cold.

“What time is it?” She mumbled whilst rubbing her eye. Looking around, the sun was past its prime, which told her that the first day of school has ended. The bell rang minutes ago and she did not hear it, her slumber too deep for her to realize.

Getting up, she noticed that the classroom had a few pieces of crumbled paper that made her groan and picked them up, then threw it at the rubbish bin. She heaved a heavy sigh as she left the room, an army of students in green greeted her and most of them had their own business to do – some chatting away, some just standing idly by in the hallways and some were already discussing the new semester ahead of them.

“Hey.” Someone called out from the other end of the hallway. She turned her head around and saw a hand waving at her that made her lips curve up. As she approached him, he walked past her which made her look over her shoulder, disappointment clear across her face.

Reality had struck her, the truth that she was alone in a school of new faces to her. She sighed and walked past a few rows of students, who were either gossiping away or complaining about school. As she walked past everyone around her, no one seemed to recognise her, not even the same people she sat in class with just an hour ago.

Sighing, she frowned and made her way to the back of the high school building, then finally to the main Janitor’s closet. As she entered, a warm smile greeted her that made her smile as he stood up and hugged her. She returned the hug and he looked at her at arms-length, examining the expression on her face.

“Everything okay? Anyone tried to bully you?” asked the man who was in his mid-fifties; his hair was receding as a few strands of grey stood out and his skin slightly sagged, a frown on his face.

“I’ll live, Mr. Branforth.” She replied as he nodded.

She walked past him and he looked at her, aware that she her spirit was drained. Mr Branforth could do nothing, but stare at his junior with laden eyes. Even though they only met a few weeks ago, he treated her like his own daughter.

“Dear, will you be fine alone today?” asked senior Branforth, who was already prepared to retire for the night; his old fedora on his head with his cane on his right, he smiled lovingly at the young teen.

“Yes, I will manage.” The teen replied with a warm smile across her face.

“Call me if anything happens, Michelle.”

With those words he left the room, leaving Michelle alone to think. This was not the first time this happened – being left alone to clean a whole Academy. Despite the massive size of the building and the compound, Michelle was more than capable to handle it herself.

“Alright, Michie. Let’s get this all done, so we can go home and study.” She spoke out loud, reassuring herself that she could get it done by the time the clock strikes eight in the evening. She smiled wide as she took a mop and bucket-on-wheels, and then exited the janitor’s closet.

“First, the floor and the garden comes after.” She spoke openly to none in particular, zipping up her overalls as she proceeded to dip the mop’s head into the bucket filled with detergents.

A few eyes stared at her, gossip whisked in the air. She did not bother with them, or even look up to them, but she kept her smile on as everyone passed by her. Michelle was sure that they were mocking her – a student who is actually a janitor.

Avian James Academy is a well-known school, where most of the students are either well off or rich. But that did not bother her at all. Michelle was there and that was it, she was grateful. As everyone passed by and whispered against her, she just went about his business and ignored them.

Slowly, she dropped the mop head on the floor and the water that seeped into it trailed onto the wooden, mahogany floor. As if in a trance, she glided the mop in soft curves and twists as if painting a canvas held by no frame. Gracefully, she cleaned the floor with finesse and speed, which appeared as if she was no amateur to this business.

Despite her flawless execution and handle of the mop, the truth was far from what is seen. Michelle had only been a janitor for two weeks – merely a few days before the start of the new semester. For a normal teen, it was not a job one would agree to accept, but she was the exception of the job.

“I see you’re diligent as ever,” spoke a low husky voice that made Michelle jolt at his presence. “In cleaning, I meant.” He smiled as he walked over to her, minding where he treaded, aware that the floor was wet. The sign said it all, though it proved useless when there was almost none left in the campus – save the teachers.

The few who had seen him pass by in his purple and grey jacket, eyed him like he was a piece of meat. David was indeed handsome, he was easy on the eyes, and his body was nothing less than attractive. Girls would swoon with just a stare, but he was oblivious to it; it’s not that he did not like women, but he just doesn’t bother.

“David, I see you’re still trespassing.” Michelle chirped mischievously as she heaved a sigh of relief.

“I startled you, no?” David asked as he finally reached her and handed her a paper bag that emitted a sweet scent of strawberries.

“What is this?” Michelle queried back as she looked curiously at the bag, which made the young, blonde man chuckle. His grey eyes stared at her for a moment as if to examine if he had reason to doubt her.

“Dinner from Finnegan,” He replied as Michelle raised a brow and took it, briefly peeking at its contents. “He knows you won’t be home tonight.”

“I appreciate it, David. Although, you didn’t have to come all the way here.” Michelle humbly replied, but the young blonde only smiled and patted her head.

“I will leave you be.” He spoke softly, his eyes emitting a strange fondness for her. “Remember that you need to be at the dorms by nine tonight.”

“Thank you,” Michelle smiled warmly at him, which sent me him an air of kindness about her. “For everything.”

The young man just smiled and went his way, hands in his pockets as he felt his heart bounce against his chest. As went past the double doors of the well-renowned academy, Michelle resumed her work after safely storing he food she got, though she did not need it until later. Though, it was a kind gesture that she appreciated.

After a few hours of mopping the long, wide hallways of the academy, the sun had finally gone down and Michelle was done. Left alone in the whole academy, the silence filled each and every room in the building, which made her sigh. The silence was a welcome sound to her.

Michelle had always preferred the silence over anything else, it calms her and it lets her think alone. Though the sentiment is rather lonesome, she did not mind. She never once had any friends and was used to the quietness, and the stories behind the pages of a book. It was enough to satisfy her and she was incredibly content.

Making her way back to the closet, she caught a glimpse of green pass by the hallway that led to the main exit. Her eyes fixed itself on them; a tall brown-haired teen waited patiently as she leaned against the wall, just as another teen that sported a light strawberry blonde, rounded the corner.

The tall, long haired teen in a half-pony smiled at the blonde with forest green eyes as she returned the gaze. Michelle noticed something different about their smiles, as if it was more than a mutual friendship and when the two of them locked fingers, her assumption proved true – they were lovers.

“Hmm,” she mumbled as she got in the Janitor’s closet and set down the bucket with a mop in the dirty water. Her thoughts were boggled by the thought of two women in a relationship, but she did not really ponder on it too much. “Love is an enigma.”

After a long sigh of relief, she left the room and headed to the garden, hoping to clear it before the last of the sun had gone. With a rake in hand, she continued her job under the cool autumn breeze that lightly blew at the fringe across her forehead. The auburn leaves on the partially wet grass flew away ever so slightly with each attempt Michelle did to pull them in a pile.

As the sun set in the distance, she let out a deep sigh of relief – relieved that her job was almost over. Rake in hand; she slowly and carefully guided the leaves in the big, black garbage bag. The autumn breeze had gone and past which made her job a little easier just as the shadows of the night dawned on her.

Looking up to the sky, she smiled as the stars came out to play. Though they were hardly visible, she heaved in a deep breath as night sky greeted her comfortable on a moon-less night. She turned her head at the back gate, where a stranger had her hand up at the sky as if reaching out to it.

I wish, I too, could touch the sky, she thought as her gaze returned to the beautiful night sky, cloudless and calm. “Beautiful night, isn’t it?” Michelle asked none in particular as she smiled at the night sky once again, before she turned to the stranger just beyond the big silver gates. The stranger under the hood looked at her, but she couldn’t tell if what she was thinking, though Michelle admired her lovely blonde curls that hung freely on her shoulders. “Well, have a nice evening.”

With those words, she returned inside and sighed as she entered the Janitor’s closet once more. Her work was done, although the pool was left, but it can wait until tomorrow, where the senior janitor would help her. As she prepared to change into her casual wear, she noticed the paper bag and her stomach rumbled as if to communicate with her.

“Really?” Michelle rolled her eyes as she sat on the round metal stool and put the paper bag on the metal table. The sweet scent of strawberries had faded, but the food remained intact as she took out a small Tupperware of strawberries and a zip locked sandwich.

Minutes had gone by and Michelle had stuffed her stomach with food, but as she ate, she recalled that one of the mops she used was still at the southern hallways. Clicking her tongue, she ate the last of her sandwich and packed everything bag into the bag, then opened the door.

Dusting her hands, she proceeded to the hallway as she stretched and immediately saw it. “Darn it,” she mumbled as she saw how the dirty water on the mop dried out on the floor, which made a small pool of black that looked like a sketch of a lake. “I guess this is my fault.”

With vex, she took the mop and headed back to the Janitor’s closet. But before she could even cross the hallway, she heard a loud burst from the eastern hallway and to her surprise; she saw a familiar set of blonde locks on the floor. Caught off-guard, her grip on the mop handle loosened, which caused her to drop it.

A set of indifferent blue eyes founds hers and Michelle’s rose up to the man on top of the blonde, who appeared to struggling to get him off her. Paralysed by the fear of seeing the man’s bared canines, Michelle felt a strong chill against her spine and her legs refused to obey her commands. Her eyes locked on the image before as the blonde clicked her tongue.

A second had gone by with Michelle’s mind still in a daze, unaware that she had been pulled away, running down the hallways in haste that she could not comprehend. “Exit, where?” A soft voice erupted in a low whisper as Michelle’s eyes remained on the particular blue eyes that had pulled her through the dark, empty hallways. “Where?”

Shaking her head, Michelle looked around the hallways and realised where they were, then pointed to the western corridor. The beautiful blonde that held her nodded as she stopped briefly and lifted Michelle with such ease that she could not even protest. Why should she? When she was being chased by something she did not even know what. Nor did she want to know what.

Michelle’s heartbeat sped up as the man that chased them with bared fangs taunted them, which made her heartrate pick up even higher. She clutched her chest as the capable blonde did a roundhouse kick that almost made Michelle puke at the sudden turn. She just had her dinner after all and she did not want to spit it all out.

Fearful for her life, Michelle clasped her hands together and began praying fervently. Oh, dear saints in the heaven beyond this world! Please save me from this ordeal! I still want to live! She prayed silently as the blonde kept running as Michelle kept her eyes closed. She had a feeling she would die – probably from heart attack from the rate her heart was going.

“Oh, Mother of mercy, please spare me,” she whispered as tears slowly streamed down her eyes as if she knew she would perish soon enough. As she kept her prayer the blonde and the man clashed, only this time Michelle felt herself thrown.

“Ahh!” She screamed as she landed behind the man, face on the ground that almost broke her nose. “Go!” Yelled the blonde as Michelle did not even think twice of staying there. Her life was in danger and she would rather live the rest of it than die on the very floor she cleaned not too long ago. Bloodstains are so hard to clean.

Running for her life, Michelle burst through the double doors of the school’s indoor pool. Unsure what to do, Michelle had little choice; behind her was the fight between the blonde and the strange man, that she assumed was not really human. The indoor pool only had one entrance and exit, which meant that she was trapped.

“Please, no.” Michelle mumbled as she ran to the girl’s locker room and straight into the shower room, then hid the farthest shower stall. Heartrate at its highest, Michelle sat in the shadows of the stall, hoping to calm her heart as she thought about everything that happened so quickly.

What on earth just happened? Who were they? WHAT are they? She thought as she heard the loud creaking sound of the double doors, which made her cover her mouth as if to cloud her breathing while her heartrate grew rapid.

In silence, she waited for anyone and with each passing second she sat there in the dark, her heartbeat did not get any better. And as she heard quiet footsteps echo within the shower room, she could not help tear up as she clenched her heart, hoping to subdue the fear within her.

Closing her eyes, she clasped her hands once more, “Oh, Lord. Please, do not let this be my end.” She whispered as the footsteps grew closer and her heartrate could not rise and higher than it could. “Oh, please, dear God. Do not let this be the end of my life.”

As she delivered these words to none in particular, she felt a cold hand touch her bare arm that made her scream in panic that shook the very heavens just from hearing it. In a few moments, she felt a cold palm hit her cheek a few times, though not that strong yet able to wake her from her sudden panic.

In the darkness, she could not make out who was in front of her. Fear remained inside her as she refused to get up, her knees shook to the point of oblivion as her stomach churned at a very awful smell. Is this blood? She thought as the person in front of her spoke; “Do you have a phone, janitor?”

As she contemplated on an answer, the person in front of her stood in the light of the skylights and revealed the same indifferent blue eyes she saw earlier. Though now her arm bled and her long curls remained partially covered in red. Despite the awful stench of blood and the blood stained clothes she wore, Michelle thought that she was beautiful under the light of the starry night.

Mesmerised by her beauty, Michelle did not notice the hand in front of her as the beauty before her offered to help her up. Unsure of the blonde’s intentions, Michelle grew suspicious, but thought otherwise. If she wanted to kill me, she would have done so by now, she thought as accepted her hand and stood up. “Phone?”

“I-I don’t have one.” Michelle stuttered her heart still in adrenaline as she took the full view of the blood on the blonde’s arm. “You are bleeding,” she noted as she felt the need to puke at the hard stench. “D-do you need the hospital?”

“No.”

“Who, are you?”

The blonde did not bother to respond, her eyes piercing blue gaze remained indifferent throughout the whole evening. Michelle wanted to ask her a lot of questions, but the beautiful blonde remained silent as she paced towards the exit, but stopped abruptly as Michelle stood behind her.

Blood on her cheek, her sharp eyes found hers and she pushed her back into the room, which caught her off-guard. “Pool, now.” Said the piercing blue as she did not bother for a response and lifted Michelle up despite her bleeding arm.

“Hey! Let me go!” Michelle protested, but before she could get off the blonde, she found herself squealing after being thrown into the cold pool.

Water quickly rose to her lungs as she tried to swim up. The blurred vision before her in the dark of the pool scared her somewhat, but she could hear muffled grunts along with muffled howls from where she was. Soon enough, she heard a muffled bang as if a boulder as huge as a bulldozer hit the wall.

Afraid of what awaited her in the surface, Michelle thought of staying underwater. Despite her resolve to stay under, the lack of oxygen got the best of her which made her resurface. And as she got out of the water, a huge wolf had its canines impaled on the blonde’s arm, who was bleeding even more than she was not too long ago – enough to kill a person.

“Are you alright?” Michelle questioned as she approached her with soaked clothes and a rapid heartbeat. Before her, the blonde had ripped out a still beating heart of the wolf, which made her ambers eyes grow wide. How was that possible?

The blonde fell on her side; blood oozed rapidly out of her, which made Michelle go to her and examined her body. Cold, Michelle could tell that the blonde had gone pale from the lack of blood.

“Hey! Hey! Stay with me!” Michelle called out to the her as the piercing blue eyes remained on her, indifferent yet held a deeper emotion.

“Don’t call 911.” Whispered the blonde in her last ounce of strength before closing her eyes.

“What?” Michelle asked on instinct, unsure what she meant. Of course I have to call the authorities! She thought as she took out her cleaning rag and ran to the shower room to clean it. Heartrate at its highest, Michelle could not think properly, but she knew what she wanted to do – help the bleeding blonde. “What on earth have I gotten myself into?”

After a few more rinsing, Michelle finally deemed the rag clean and hurried back to the blonde. But as she stepped out of the shower room, a tall dark-haired person in a long black trench coat and black leather gloves knelt in front of the blonde and has not yet noticed she was there.

Unsure if he was a good person or not, Michelle took her chances and went over, immediately kneeling down to seal the wound on the other arm.

“And who might you be?”

“I should ask you the same thing.” Michelle retorted as she continued to patch up the blonde, who she assumed had passed out from the bleeding. “If you’re not here for her, then I assume you are a good person.”

The tall, dark-haired person chuckled as he lifted the blonde up and took her away from Michelle. Unsure what his intentions were, Michelle followed them past the double doors, “Hey! Where are you taking her?”

“None that concerns you.”

“Of course it concerns me! She just-“

“She what?” Interrupted the tall, dark-haired person as he looked at Michelle over the shoulder, his piercing forest green eyes stared her down. Michelle felt a sudden chill in her spine from his gaze, unsure whether it was because she was soaked or because of his death glare.

“She needs help.”

“I know,” he replied as he resumed his pace forward that left Michelle worried. “I appreciate the concern, but leave this to me.” He continued as Michelle continued to follow him, which somehow irritated him. He sighed and turned to her, “Leave the mess, I’ll handle it. Go home,” he spoke softly as he eyed her nametag. “Michelle.”

With those words, Michelle stopped her tracks and her eyes followed them. His broad shoulders carried the unconscious blonde out the academy and left her to linger on what he had said. What did he mean by ‘I’ll handle it’? She thought as she sneezed suddenly.

Hugging herself, she realised that she was still in soaked clothes as she rubbed her shoulders to catch a little warmth. With a deep sigh, Michelle returned to the pool where blood had already turned the clear pool to a pale crimson. The cadaver by the poolside made her shiver at the sight of it, but did not bother cleaning it up.

Go home, Michelle.

The words echoed in her head and without thinking twice she complied, then hurried back to the Janitor’s closet. With haste, she changed into her uniform and took the keys out of the drawer, then left through the main gate.

The night had gone silent as she left the campus, walking through the centre of town that remained alive even at night. The soft chatter in the distance entered her thoughts as a low breeze blew through her skirt that chilled her body – her lingerie still drenched.

“Michelle?”

Without looking around, Michelle knew whose voice it was and in just a matter of moments, the familiar dirty blonde she knew fell into stride beside her. His grey eyes met hers as he examined her face with a smile across his square jaw. “What are you doing out at this time?”

“I just finished with work.” Michelle replied with a smile as she tried not shiver.

“Oh? You usually finish earlier.” He raised a brow as someone called out to him, probably one of his friends.

“You should go, David.” Michelle spoke as she looked over her shoulder and noticed the jackets they wore; much similar to what David wore that told her they were all on the same Basketball team. “I’ll be heading back to the dorm anyway.”

His brows furrowed, genuine concern reflected in his grey irises, “Are you sure?” he asked which made Michelle smile wider as she nodded at him. “Alright. Later then.”

“I’ll see you later, David.”

With this they parted, Michelle did not look back while David watched her as she rounded the corner to the dorm. With a deep sigh, he went with his friends a little disappointed, but happy somehow.

After turning the corner, Michelle finally reached the student dorm. It was a recent construction in the town which offered housing to students in town. At first it was only for the students of Avian James Academy, but the building’s constructor extended the welcome to the other schools. It now housed students from both middle school and high school.

“Home sweet home,” she mumbled under her breath as she proceeded past the lobby and got in the lift. It dinged and lit up her floor number 8, doors opened and she left. She sighed as she walked towards her door at the far end of the eastern hallway. Hands still cold, she fumbled with her keys as she tried to unlock her door.

“Evening.”

Michelle jumped at the suddenness, her eyes darted to where the voice came from, and she heaved a sigh of relief. She held her chest as if her heart would jump out of her chest. Too much happened today that even she could not help, but feel jumpy. With a frown, her neighbour went into her room, the smile on her face disappeared as if she was offended.

Michelle did not mean to, but with what has happened to her, she had the right to. She got in her room and turned the lights on, the phone on the desk blipped which told her she had a message for her. She approached the phone and pressed the button as she undressed herself, then went under the hot rain of the shower.

“Hey, kiddo. It’s me Arthur. I just want to check on you. How was your first day? I’m sorry I didn’t see you today. I had my own classes, but you know. I can’t help worry. Yeah, well call me when you get this message.”

Steam evaporated from the hot air in the shower, the soft sound the water made when it touched the floor echoed in her ears. Michelle stared into the drenched blue tiled floor, recalling everything that happened today.

Her first day in sophomore year and already had a lot to think about; she already had enough of her plate that it felt hard to chew on. Her mind had a lot of space in it – space that she knew not what held. All she knew was she was now Michelle Harper.

With a deep sigh, she left the showers and dressed up, then immediately climbed into bed. Without any problems, she fell asleep right through the night as if nothing happened.

You are nothing. A no good child of mine! You will never be like us.

Heartbeat on the run, breathing rapid; Michelle sat up as she held her head, then ran her hand through her hair as she looked at the time. Hours had gone by and it was already time for her second day in school. Her iris shook in horror, confusion, and anxiety, unable to decode what her dream was, nor the words they held.

“Just,” she sighed as she held her chest and clenched her shirt. “A bad dream.”

She got up and did her morning rituals, even before her usual alarm would wake her. Michelle took her green coat and her knapsack before heading to the cafeteria. The dorm she lived in had a canteen that served free meals all day and Michelle often helped around the kitchen if she had spare time.

“Why, you’re quite the early bird today, Harper.” The cook smiled as he stood behind the counter as Michelle slid her tray, just as he handed her a plate of white pasta. “Couldn’t sleep?”

“Sort of.” Michelle groggily replied as she tried to supress a yawn and smile at the same time.

“Well, eat a lot then. Get your energy up.” The cook smiled as Michelle took her tray to an empty table, and then dug into the food given to her. Her eyes stared blankly into space as her bodily functions continued its routine work. Her mind flew a dozen yards away when she recalled her dream and beyond that dream, she remembered last night.

What really happened?

As she pondered on these words, other students in different uniform had already gathered inside the cafeteria, which meant she had to go. After one last sip of her strawberry milk, she wiped her lips and proceeded out of the dorm.

“Morning.” A familiar baritone voice greeted her as she turned around, a smirk caught her attention.

“Good morning, David.” She smiled back as he fell in tandem with her. “Slept well?”

“Yeah, a little better.” He sighed as she pocketed his hands, his eyes on where he threaded. “You? Saw you got up early.”

“I’m fine. Slept like a log.” Michelle replied as she hid behind a smile, which made him believe her words. They walked to the centre of town, where both of them parted ways. “Later.”

“Later, Miss Harper.” He chuckled as he jogged away to the direction of his school.

Exhaling deeply, Michelle went to the front gate and entered the Academy. As she entered the school, she retraced her steps from last night as her heartrate increased. There was a significant amount of blood from last night, how would a man be able to scrub that clean alone?

There was a small bout of whispers floating around the hallway, not much were inside yet. But with each step Michelle took, her heartrate increased, afraid of what she might see and remember. As she curbed the bend, her eyes widened.

Not a single speck of blood could be found on the floor and in fact, it look like it had been waxed thoroughly. Disbelief in her chest, she doubled back and went to the pool, bursting through the double doors and earned herself a few stares from the swim team. Like in the hallways, there was not a single trace of blood on the c***k on the wall from the strong force last night could be found.

With a deep sigh and a hint of red from embarrassment, Michelle left the pool and went to her homeroom, where it remained empty. She sat in the back near the window where she took deep breaths to calm herself down.

It was all just a figment of your imagination, Michie. Just imagination.

She mentally repeated these words as the first bell rang and the room soon flooded itself with students, all sporting their own taste of the uniform. Michelle stared out into the sky as she tried to calm her heart while whispers in the classroom broke out even before the teacher arrived.

“Settle down, everyone.” Spoke an old ragged voice than nearly broke, but with a strong cough, revealed a man in nearly his mid-forties. “We’ve got a new student today, so I expect all of you on best behaviour.”

Michelle was not interested in who the new student was as her eyes remained in the sky as the whispers continued; everyone tried to guess the new student from features and right down to just dirty gossip. Resting her chin on her palm, Michelle did not care at all, but when she heard the footsteps enter the room and set the gossip to mute, her eyes wandered the room and to her surprise, she knew yesterday was real.

“Class,” the old man addressed the room as half the guys stiffened as the girls stared at her. “Please welcome, Athena Harding.”