Rice

There was no trouble finding the safe place. Trevor had to appeal to some people that he knew back in Europe. One woman explained that the place was occupied by a young man. Trevor told her he didn't mind, saying, “As long as he doesn’t become crazy like my previous lovers.”

Trevor and the woman named Mary met alongside the bridge known by the name Booker. Little people knew of the bridge, it was far away from anything, and they decided it was an ideal place to meet up. Together, Trevor handed the down payment of 500 dollars and she gave him a small key in return. She warned him, "I'm telling you, he's quiet but something is strange about him. I can smell Death on him."

He shivered just by hearing the name. "That's impossible no one can smell like Death and be alive."
She shrugged her shoulders. "I know he's alive. Anyone can smell the guy a mile away. If he's trying to hide from someone then he won’t be able to."

"Won't he bring trouble?"

"Does it matter? I'll still get paid."

She led him to the small factory. It held no reputation of how it looked decades ago. The factory had gone bankrupt when the owner had disappeared. It appeared abandoned, but people stayed in the habitable rooms. They used to be offices for the former workers and were now bedrooms for ones who desired a place to disappear.

It was a convenient place for Trevor, so he decided to stay in hiding for a few days. Mary showed him to his room. It was large enough to fit two queen sized beds and still have enough space, but it only contained two single sized beds. They were apart the farthest they could be, both touching opposite walls. There was an old nightstand beside each bed. A single light bulb dangled from the middle of the ceiling. There were no windows and no other door besides the entrance.

“Where’s the fella?”

“He’s taking a walk outside. I don’t know what he’s thinking but it’s like he isn’t worried about hiding at all.”

“Maybe he isn’t hiding.”

Mary shrugged her shoulders. “Whatever, it isn’t any of my business.”

She then left Trevor to do other things. He stood alone in the room, wondering what he would do next.

**************************************************************

Kyle went back to his room and found a stranger. A man stood in the middle of the room, not doing anything. It was strange and Kyle didn’t know if he should tell the man that he was there. Trevor had his eyes closed, but the suddenly opened widely. Trevor quickly covered his nose and moaned in disgust. “What is that smell?!”

He turned to Kyle. “Ugh! It’s you!”

“What? I don’t smell.”

“Yes, you do. Go take a shower.”

Kyle felt a little offended, but decided to go take a shower. He doesn’t remember the last time he bathed. The last few days have gotten blurry since he met Sage.

When he returned, Trevor covered his nose. “You still smell. Did you take a shower?”

Kyle felt angry and wanted to understand how the man’s nose could be so sensitive. “How can you smell me?”

“I don’t know. I don’t really smell anything this strong, but that smell could actually kill someone.”

“I don’t smell anything. Something’s wrong with your nose.”

Trevor shook his head. He started saying, “My nose doesn’t-”

He changed his wording. “I trust my nose. And I know you smell, really awful.”

“Well, I already took one and I’m not taking another.”

The matter wasn’t settled until a few minutes later, when Trevor couldn’t stand the smell anymore and left the room.

He asked Mary if there was any chance of him getting a room changed. She said no. He wondered if he should start begging, but instead, he asked her why his roommate smelled so much. She answered, “Don’t know. Maybe there was a possibly a speck of chance that he escaped from Death.”

“I thought you said it was impossible.”

“We’re supposed to be the impossible. We’ve gotten so used to being the scariest that maybe we never really thought we could ever feel fear.”

A minute of silence later and Mary said, “If you can’t stand the smell, then you’ll have no choice but to leave. I can’t help you with finding another place to stay.”

“No, that’s fine. I’ll think of something.”

Trevor left Mary to her business and headed back to the room.

Fearing the smell, he blocked his nostrils with a tissue and cautiously entered the room. Kyle was sitting on his bed, looking through his backpack. He begins, “Look, I know you probably need this room more than me, but-”

“You can have the room,” he interrupted.

“I know someone running from Death will have a hard time finding a new place to hide. I also can’t stand that smell.”

Kyle watched him carefully as he talked. “Good luck running away from it.”

He began to walk away but Kyle called him back. “Wait.”

Trevor turned back, wanting to know what he wanted now. Kyle looked down nervously. “You said death, what do you mean by that?”

“I’m saying that you smell of Death.”

“How does death even smell like?”

“I didn’t know until now. It smells like sulfur and a belch from acid reflux.”

“I seriously don’t know how either of those smell like. I didn’t even know death had a smell.”

Trevor frowned, his brows furrowed together. “How old are you?”

“Does it matter?”

Kyle didn’t want to tell a stranger his age. Telling his actual age would mean Trevor sending him to the police, or worse, a foster home.

“You seem rather young, you not knowing the ways. Are you new to this world?”

“New? What ways?”

Trevor sighed tiredly. “There are many things you need to learn.”