The Exclusive Aroma of Chicago: A Bouquet of Felony, Fags and Piss. 'So elegant…' Selah thought, smirking at her own wittiness. She had spent the last six hours staring at the blackened boot of her van, questioning the validity of her lead. The information that she was relying on had come across on an online forum post, and she couldn't help but wonder, "Is this even worth it? Am I really going to spend my weekend tailing this van because of an online post? This could be just another fake lead."

Selah felt uneasy. After two years in university studying investigative journalism, she felt the need to have something to show for it. Her drive to prove that her parents were real and not just figments of her imagination had led her to this moment. "Come on… move!" she exclaimed under her breath, hoping the suspects would do something that would show that this isn't a wild goose chase.

Just three days ago, she had spent hours doom-scrolling on the internet, looking for possible signs or clues hinting at an ongoing crime. Occasionally, she came across a cute cat video, which led to another hour of doom-scrolling, until finally, a video began playing, quite different from the ones before. It was CCTV footage of a dirty white van pulling into the backyard of a local hospital before driving away towards the coast. This finally piqued Selah's interest; unmarked vans were not allowed to enter private hospital grounds." And thus began," she thought "my exodus". Frustrated and tired, she rested her forehead on the cool steering wheel. Every day, the weather became colder; any day now, it would start snowing, she thought. The cold wheel helped calm her thoughts, stilling her racing mind. As if almost intentional, as soon as her eyes grew heavy with sleep, a blaring red light struck her slumber away; the van had begun to move.

Staying low, she slowly followed the van. It was late at night with almost no traffic, which made it easy for Selah to keep her eye on the van but also worried her, as the van driver might realize that someone was following them. Afraid that she might arouse suspicion, she slowed down. For half an hour, they drove, like a Waltz; one led, the other followed, and finally, they arrived.

The destination was deserted. Selah could see the sun peeking through over the coastline, its warm light casting a golden glow across the landscape. She could feel the sea breeze cutting across her skin, carrying with it the scent of salt and brine. The jagged rocks, slick with moisture, smelled of moss and soil. The waves roared against the sea wall, their rhythmic thundering bringing a gust of wind with every clash. In the sky above, a morning bird sang its tune, eager to catch its first meal of the day.

Selah got out of her car and hid behind the biggest rock she could find. Following the masked men with her eyes, she could hear one of them say, "Finally, the last delivery. We are set for life after this job." The other nodded silently.

A few minutes passed by. Selah could taste copper in her mouth; she was anxious that something had gone wrong, that somehow they had figured out she had been following them. As she went falling into this spiral, she almost happily jerked her head to the side when she could hear the slow and faint but sure rumble of tires crushing grains of sand, heading towards them.

Selah could see the vague outline of a car in the morning darkness; they had been driving with their headlights off. As the car drew near to the masked men, it halted and turned on the headlights, making both men tense up. Selah almost felt nervous for them. She pulled out her camera and slowly began crouching behind the rock, making sure that her eyes stayed glued on the party. Around 15 men emerged from the small car, their movements fluid and purposeful, like a well-rehearsed dance. Selah wondered how they could fit so many people in such a small car, but her curiosity was quickly overcome by a growing sense of unease. Selah watched them with bated breath, straining her ears to catch any whispered exchange between the two groups. It was clear to her that the driver and his partner felt uneasy. They began shouting out loud, moving their heads around with unease, like goats in front of a butcher. Man look, we did what you wanted us to do. WE DID WHAT YOU WANTED! JUST PAY US AND WE’LL LEAVE! with every passing word their words became more desperate. Then in unison the cloaked men stretched out their hands which was followed by a deafening bang, a bang so loud that it shattered the morning stillness, the sound imprinting itself in Selah's mind. Time slowed as the masked men crumpled to the ground, their bodies hitting the sand with a sickening thud. The white grains of sand, now stained red, the color of life brutally extinguished.

* * *

Selah stared at the cloaked men, her body frozen in pure horror. She wanted to scream, to let out the fear and anger that filled her heart, to somehow express the pain of what she had just witnessed. But she couldn't move, couldn't make a sound. All she could do was watch helplessly, her eyes locked on the men as they stepped over the bodies of the van drivers without a second thought, as if the lives they had just taken meant nothing at all, as if two stories were not brought to a brutal soul wrenching end.

"Breathe in and be still," she felt the words whispered into her ears. She flicked her head around, horrified expecting there to be another masked man. Instead, she saw a man no older than herself crouched behind her, with sharp golden-brown eyes, black hair, and bronze skin. He was dressed in white robes that were altered to include a metal chest plate. The plate bore a pale golden cross and etched with Latin words that seemed ancient.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"What the—" Selah exclaimed under her breath and was about to run away but was held down, this time by a woman dressed in the same weird robes and armor. She had skin as white as paper, deep brunette hair, and shared the same golden eyes as the man next to her. "Didn't you hear what Lucas said?" she whispered. Lucas glared at his companion, his eyes flashing with irritation.

Clearly their names aren't meant to be shared, Selah thought, her mind racing to make sense of the situation. Suddenly, Lucas grabbed Selah by her shoulders and shook her while whispering fiercely under his breath, "How can you see us? How can you see them? What family do you come from? Where is your team, and why are you not in uniform?" Selah blinked; she was uncertain about what he meant by "uniform" and unsure whether they were to be trusted. Her heart thudded in her chest as she scrambled to come up with a response, fear and doubt battling inside her. As she opened her mouth to speak, another man appeared behind Lucas and his companion, also dressed in their odd robes. He whispered something in Lucas's ear. There was something different about this newcomer – a kind expression and soft eyes. Yet, he shared the pale complexion and brunette hair of their female ally.

Before Lucas could whisper back to the woman, his eyes caught Selah's, and he announced, "We can't spring this ambush with her around; she can see us, and that’s no Blindling ability." "Excuse you!" Selah shot back, her annoyance flaring. "Look, I've got no time for this... this... cosplay nonsense!" she spat. "I just saw those freaky weirdos take down two van drivers who drove a dodgy van from the central hospital to the coast, and now you're giving me crap?? Just let me go, or I'll call the police!"

Lucas glowered at her, ready to retort, but the girl stepped in. "I don't know, Luca, but I like her." A slight smile played on her lips as she looked at Selah. "I'm Eliana Newman, and this is my brother, Briar." Briar gave her a subtle, warm smile. "And this here is our squad leader, Lucas Bledman. We've shared our names; may we have yours?"

Slightly disarmed by her polite and formal approach, Selah gave in. "It's Selah Thorne." "Thorne... doesn't ring any bells," Eliana muttered, more to herself than the rest. "Enough," Lucas said in a low voice. "Her lineage isn't our concern right now. She can see us, so she's clearly not a Blindling. We can't just leave her here. Briar, you stay with her and keep our backs clear. Use your bow if you have to. Eliana, with me. Time to deal with those cultists."

"What does he mean by deal with-" Selah tried to say but before she could finish her sentence she heard a blood curdling cry of pain. Terrified she looked around and there she saw Lucas staring down at a cultist who was clutching at his torn open chest, sliced into perfect halves by Lucas's long sword. She watched him cut through the two of them with his sword, like a hot knife on butter. Eliana danced around them with her daggers, hacking of bits and pieces from the cultists. Selah was horrified, these people were murderers too. "No... NO! STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" she screamed at them. She had started sprinting away, hoping to get as far as she could, but before she could get too far, Briar stood before her, his face calm and his arms steady. He held Selah and said "Just look carefully at the bodies" Selah tried to wrestle his hands off but he kept insisting "trust me and just look." And there she saw, the cultist did not bleed red like the van drivers had instead their wounds bled a dark smoky tar like liquid.

After a short while, they heard Lucas call them down to the sand. Selah held onto Briar, trying her best not to throw up. She could see and worse hear the sizzling bits and pieces of the cultist. She wanted more than anything to just close her eyes and pass out, but she had far too many questions in her mind, soo many that she was sure that she wouldn't be able to sleep even if someone knocked her out. She stood near the stairwell leading to the "battlefield" clutching onto the cool railing, she watched them from the sidelines feeling awestruck and disgusted at the same time, "how could they act so nonchalant around such destruction and gore" she wondered. They were talking to each other as they gathered the butchered cultist remains, she was horrified by the way they acted, as if this were part of an every day routine. It took them awhile to gather all the body parts. Finally after they set the pile on fire Lucas looked at her, he always had that lion like scowl on his face she wondered, like an ancient dragon protecting his brooded over gold. "Its rude to stare, what will your mother say? Didnt she teach you?" he said, Selah frowned and retorted knowing full well that this will make him feel guilty, "Cant worry about what the dead think, she has been gone for awhile". His expression did not change but she saw his eyes soften, he caught her eye and looked away instantly. ""Who are you anyway?" he mumbled. "We still need to know whether we should help you or kill you." Selah stepped back shocked but stopped when she saw him smile. "Now now, I was kidding. You would be part of the pile if we had any intentions to kill you," Lucas said while smirking... "Anyways are you gonn-". "Stop it, Lucas," Eliana cut in. "The girl probably witnessed her first ever killing... not everyone is as emotionally dimwitted as you. Let's take her back to the F.O.B and then when she is calm she can tell us everything. Does that sit well with you Selah?" Selah nodded her head quietly. "Well, that settles it then. Lucas, take her on your horse. Briar and I will follow." "You know... I am the team leader, Eliana," Lucas muttered as he grudgingly picked Selah up and placed her on his horse. "Yes, you are the leader, my dear Lucas, but you can be as dumb as rocks when it comes to people, so just follow my lead on this," Eliana said with a weak smile crawling on her lips.