Bloodborne

She didn"t stand a chance against those monsters and so she went through the only open way which was in front of her. As soon as she stepped beyond the gate, it started closing slowly. She stood there, watching the kidnappers gaining on her and prayed that the gate would close before they have reached her.

She didn"t dare run forward. She didn"t know what laid beyond the gate and she wasn"t willing to get surrounded by other unknown beasts in front of her and the kidnappers behind her. If she were to die, she"d face it rather than being stabbed in the back while she"s fighting off new threats.

She had hurriedly collected some blood vials from her previous companions" pockets and took Arnold"s firearm. These were handy at stopping a beast movement and slowing it down. She could use them in case she needed to put some distance between her and any attacker while fleeing.

The gate closed as the monsters had reached her dead companions. She jumped as she heard the chants which went on, as if nothing had happened. She hated that choir and hated the place she was in even more. The death of the three church doctors was as mysterious as the secrets this city held.

She turned around and contemplated the place she was in. A large avenue with post lights that used to illuminate the road. Cobbled streets took left and right and big carriages were parked on each side of the road.

The chant went on, louder this time and scarier. Tall buildings on each side of the large avenue stood as a reminder of the great work the architects and stonemasons had done when this city brimmed with life. Between two buildings high above, a bridge connected them and allowed pa.s.sage to a higher pedestrian street from what Karla could deduce.

Yahar"gul was similar to Yharnam in its architecture. Buildings had large window panes, and towers in the distance ended in a conical shape. The whole setting gave the city an even gloomier atmosphere.

She walked through the main avenue, apprehensive of every sign of movement in the many dark corners of the street. The moonlight was faint and didn"t illuminate the streets that well. Clouds formed in the sky and shrouded everything in darkness and mystery. Karla had to find a way out of this place.

She didn"t like the atmosphere. She couldn"t imagine Francis being held in here. Moreover, the last time she asked about that old man"s whereabouts, she was told that he went up the tower and not down.

She was trying to climb that d.a.m.ned tower from below when she was ambushed by that brute and kidnapped. Yharnam had given her the chills sometimes. She was scared of whatever could jump at her at any moment without notice. But she was ready to attack and defend herself as well.

She was confident in her ability to kill those monsters that roamed the streets. But now… everything"s changed since she witnessed those kidnappers" speed and ferocity. How could she beat something that moves faster than her own blinking? How could she hope to read through their movement and slow them down? They were four and they barely managed to dispose of one, combining their efforts and strength together.

She heard a sound coming from beyond a large carriage, parked on the side of the avenue. Karla hid behind the cart and peaked from there. There were three kidnappers patrolling the dark street. Only the faint light of the moon allowed her to recognize their shape from afar.

She could never forget those tall and slender bodies, with hoods on their head and that big bag hanging from their left shoulder. She couldn"t allow herself to be seen by those three. It meant just agony and death. She looked around, trying to find a way around them, trying to escape their line of sight.

The street opposite her was dark and narrow, being ambushed there was definitely not a good idea. She didn"t even know if it was leading anywhere. On her left, she saw some stairs leading towards the building from which the hanging bridge stemmed. If she could reach the bridge, she would have a chance of getting to a higher place in the city and have a vantage point from which she could plan her escape.

She peaked again to understand the patrol pattern the kidnappers were making. She couldn"t risk them spotting her. Her legs were shaking, she knew that fear had taken over her and she was trying to calm herself down. Against normal enemies, she would never back down or fear being killed by them.

With beasts such as these, she feared not seeing death coming her way. It"s the fear of the unknown, she realized, that made her legs shake and blood freeze.

Two kidnappers were patrolling down the street, near some big gate. She couldn"t see what lied beyond 6 feet from her clearly. She only managed to make out the shapes of things and deduce the rest from her mind.

She had visited many cities before and knew that some buildings had certain obvious shape. And the one at the far end of the avenue was another gate. She couldn"t see if the gate was open though, because of the clouds in the sky that shrouded the city in almost complete darkness.

If her visibility was limited, so should her opponents". Or so she thought. She was unsure about that theory and decided to put it to the test. She took out a loose cobble stone from the ground and threw it towards the dark street opposite her.

The sound attracted the attention of the closest kidnapper to the carriage behind which she was hiding. The tall beast ran towards the source of the noise in order to inspect it and Karla didn"t waste any time. She ran for the stairs and got inside the building before the kidnapper got back to its initial patrol line.

Her heart was racing against her chest violently. She managed to get through unnoticed and now she had to move about this building silently and without being noticed. She was truly grateful to Surgit for the first time that day, for bringing her the black coat she was wearing.

It allowed her for more furtive movements in the dark. The building was tall and had what appeared to be an endless flight of stairs leading towards the top. The conical shape of the top of the building was made of some gla.s.s material that reflected the little light emanating from the moon.

From the little rays that reached the skylight on top, Karla could make out her objective. She knew it was going to be a long climb. And a pretty blind one at that as darkness inhabited the lower floors of the building.

Stairs creaked and complained under the weight of her boots. Wooden staircases made for elegant design during times of peace and human cohabitation. But when it comes to being sneaky and trying to minimize the sound each step makes, wooden stairs were the worst enemy anyone could ever hope for.