Chapter 49: The Devil Sneaking At Night
Jinn did not realize how long he had slept for, but by the time he woke up, night had fallen outside and the moon was at its peak.
He would have slept through the night, but the hunger woke him up.
"Guess no one came to wake me up again." Jinn did not instantly realize how easily he sat up.
But he soon did, "No pain?"
He looked down at his chest, and the wound was gone, disappeared but not completely. It left something for Jinn to remember it by, a thick scar across his chest.
"Guess I can live with that."
Jinn looked around, but there was no one else in the room. Then he looked at the table, where there was no empty bottle or used bandages.
Instead there was a fresh set of clothes.
’Someone must have dropped it off when I was asleep.’ Recognizing these familiar clothes that came from his own chest, Jinn stripped down and changed into them.
He neatly folded the pants before making his way out of the infirmary. Before he left, Jinn picked a pen and paper from the table and left a thank-you note for the nurse.
’I hope they have some leftovers in the kitchen.’ Although he had no hopes, Jinn was too hungry to care. The infirmary was in the middle of the ground floor of the dormitory.
And the pantry is at the far end of the building. Jinn only needed to walk for a minute before he reached his destination.
Jinn pushed open the creaky door to the cafeteria, wincing at the sound before slipping inside.
The place was dark; rows of long tables stretched across the hall, empty and silent, their benches pushed in neatly as though no one had eaten there for years.
He padded across the stone floor and made his way to the pantry shelves, hoping to see some leftovers.
As expected, there was no cooked food left.
There was no soup, no stew, and nothing warm. What he did find, however, was a half loaf of bread tucked in the corner, dry but still edible, and a basket of vegetables—tomatoes, lettuce, and something close enough to onions.
Jinn’s lips curved into a small grin.
"Guess no one’s ever tried this here."
***
Soon Jinn walked out with a paper bag and a sandwich in his mouth.
"Not bad."
Chewing as he walked down the hall, Jinn noticed a warm light moving around the hallway. Noticing the moving light in the dead night of the dormitory made him pause.
Curious, he turned and followed the direction of the light, only to hear footsteps approaching.
As they arrived at the corner, Jinn paused. He realized that someone was walking down the silent night with a lamp in their hand.
With each footstep he heard a chilling squeaky sound that would make your stomach twist in a similar situation.
But Jinn stood there, munching on his sandwich as the sound drew close to him.
Finally, the light was at its brightest when the sound was only a step away from the turn.
Jinn finished the sandwich and stared ahead coldly, his hands flexing as if prepared to attack. He could hear faint whispering that sounded like chants drifting closer to him.
And the owner of the huge dark shadow finally made a turn.
"Ahhh!"
Jinn had barely moved, but the man before him stumbled backwards and fell. The lamp in his hands wobbled before crashing against the floor with a dull clatter.
The flames hissed, but by some miracle managed to stay alive.
Under the glow of the flames, two men recognized each other.
"Mr. Huggins?" Jinn said, crouching down before the still trembling plum teacher.
"Jinn?" The history teacher’s lips trembled as he looked at Jinn with a pale face and eyes wide with horror, "good heavens, boy. You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
Jinn saw the man relaxing once he realized who he was and offered him a hand to stand up.
Taking his hand, the man scrambled to stand up, his knees still weak. He still looked like he had seen a ghost and kept taking deep breaths. ’Almost lost my balls there.’
"What are you doing here?" Mr. Huggins ’sternly’ looked at Jinn, but he could only make a whimpering face with his trembling lips.
"Just woke up, got hungry." Jinn showed the paper bag while chewing on the bread still in his mouth. "Why are you roaming around here like a thief?"
"Merciful goddess, I thought I’d wandered into something unholy." Mr. Huggins picked up the lamp from the ground and gave Jinn a light warning. "I was asked by Mrs. Walker, now the temporary matron of the appanage, to patrol the building in case..."
He glanced at Jinn before carefully choosing his words, "someone needs me."
"Where are the guards?" Jinn understood what he was trying to hide but did not care.
Mr. Huggins looked tired as he said, "They are patrolling the upper floors. Some of the law enforcement officers had arrived in the evening to help them with patrolling all the corners of the orphanage."
"So this place is crawling with officers?" Jinn mused after swallowing the food in his mouth. "You should continue; I will go back to the infirmary."
"Don’t wander around." The plump teacher nodded in agreement as he looked at Jinn’s back in fear. ’Even the children are braver than me. I can never walk at night without a light like this.’
Shaking his head, he resumed his chanting and turned around.
...
Unlike what he told Mr. Huggins, Jinn had no plans of returning to sleep. He was now wide awake and alert, like an owl.
’Time to meet her.’ Jinn’s body blended into the darkness before disappearing from sight as he stepped out of the building.
The whole courtyard was crawling with officers. Dressed in their uniform, with revolvers hidden under their thick coats, their eyes scanned the areas they guarded like hawks.
But Jinn... he slipped right before their eyes without anyone even noticing him.
His destination—the little chapel on the corner of the orphanage.