Timeless Hero Without a Goal

5th Tick: Nick Of Time

Rose crouched next to the window, listening carefully to what was going on outside. The last thing she needed was to be caught off guard. The humans that attacked her did not seem to be in the right state of mind, she could guess that a demon’s curse was in effect.

She carefully peaked out of the window, trying to see whether the men had left. With no one in sight, she plopped herself down and sighed with relief.

There was a crash.

Rose felt pain in her sides, dust surrounding her as she coughed. The pain became worse, it was jarring, travelling up her left abdomen to her shoulder. Rose wanted to scream, but kept quiet, trying to bring herself back up. The floor had collapsed under her, one piece of wood used for the second level was impaled into her abdomen. Her blood splattered onto the ground, her vision becoming dizzy. Thoughts ran through her mind, was she going to die? What happened?

The dust cleared, and Rose could clearly see the three men standing there with their eyes glazed over. Her breathing was unsteady, she was unable to run in her state. Rose remained laid on the ground, blood pooling beneath her. She winced when she made a single move, pain almost making her pass out.

Hey, make a wish. I can help, I can defeat them for you. How about it? Ask for my name, call my name, play with me. A voice rang through her head. Hurry, or you might die.

Rose did not reply, she was not thinking properly. She looked at the three men, they did not seem to be making a move. Rose stayed completely still and saw, or rather, heard something fall. They turned to look at it before turning back to face her.

For the next five minutes, it was the worst time of Rose’s life. She remained completely still, her breathing becoming shallower and shallower. She could feel her blood under her, warm to the touch and comforting, like a gentle embrace. She started to lose feeling in her toes, she felt... cold. So horribly cold that she had to stop herself from shivering. She eventually stopped thinking much, her thoughts only directed at the men. When were they going to leave? And why were they just standing there. As Rose desperately clung on to life, the sun started to set. The men turned around and left the building, leaving Rose lying there in pain and on the border of death. When they exited the door, she crawled out, leaving a trail of blood behind her. By any means, she needed to be found easily, by a certain someone. It was the only way she could live. Close to the door, she hesitated, why was she doing so much to live?

When the demons had come to take her away, she had willingly accepted her fate to be a sacrifice, she was even prepared to kill her self before they could t*****e her. She had grown up believing she had no future, but after meeting him, she saw a path. A path where she could live, she had hope, she had a future. Truth is, she was not prepared to leave the world. She had bluffed herself, make believing she was ready. But she wanted to survive, to see the future, she wanted to grow old.

Make a wish, I can help. The voice said again, in her head. You can trust me.

“Shut... up...” She whispered, her eyes dropping.

She laid in the middle of the street, a blood trail leading from the building to where she was. Rose’s arms stopped moving, her mind stopped working. All the heat left her body, she was a corpse lying on the ground. As the sun set, more people were seen walking past her, all headed to the same direction. She laid there, no longer with a consciousness.

“So this is where you are.”

Thomas appeared next to her. He scratched the back of his head, his clothes ripped and he had several wounds. The wounds closed as he crouched beside her corpse. He tapped his knee and reached out, touching her forehead.

Rose opened her eyes.

She stared out a window, looking at a lonely night view of the town. It was dark, where was she again? Rose instinctively reached down to touch her abdomen, but it was perfectly fine. She breathe a sigh of relief, glad that she made the right decision. She turned around, and just as expected, Thomas stood there, looking at his pocket watch.

“How did you get that injured?” He asked.

“By accident?” She replied.

He shook his head. “I’m being serious here. There’s something weird about this town. Whether it’s the work of a demon or another human, I’m not too sure.”

“There were humans who attacked me.”

Thomas kept the watch in his breast pocket and sighed. He looked at the ceiling and said, “Humans... I was attacked by a few humans too. They were pretty tricky to deal with. You can hit them as much as you want, but they just don’t go down.”

“What? Are they zombies or something?” Rose said, half-joking.

“Maybe, I’m not sure.” Thomas shrugged. “But I know we have to defeat the mastermind. Maybe he knows where the Devil is hiding.”

Rose nodded.

Thomas was about to leave when he asked, “By the way, if every human has magic, what’s yours?”

Rose paused.

“What? Don’t have any?” Thomas continued. “Just say so.”

“Don’t you dare laugh.” She warned him.

“Just say it.”

“Sixth sense...” Rose whispered.

“What?”

“My Magic is a type of Sixth Sense, okay? You have a problem?”

Thomas stared at her and walked off. He said behind him, “That explains why you managed to survive that long. You have a feeling if something is about to go wrong right?”

Thomas appeared in front of her, making her jump slightly. He looked her in the eyes. “Perhaps there is something you’re hiding...?”

“Nothing at all.” She nodded.

Thomas nodded and walked off. Rose followed after him, relieved that he had not pursued the topic. She could tell when something was about to go bad, but there was another way her magic worked. She could tell what a person was thinking by that sense. If she truly focused, she could read someone’s mind. However, she barely used it and that ability was too weak to be considered remotely useful. Therefore, she kept it a secret.