Noah grumbled obscenities under his breath as he dragged the last bag of garbage out to the dumpster. It wasn't garbage-- it was all the junk left behind by his roommate, but to him it might as well have been garbage. Four years of friendship down the hole, he thought. The jackass had spent the last year making one shitty decision after another, and watching his friend's downward spiral, when Noah finally confronted him about rent, everything went to hell.<br/><br/>Now he was due twice his usual rent, his living room was reduced to one very old and worn camping chair, his kitchen was full of rotting food that would never be eaten, and he felt utterly alone in the world.<br/><br/>Noah was a closed-off person. He didn't have many people in his life-- his parents had passed some years ago right after he turned 18. Old school friends had dropped off the face of the earth and the only friend he retained from college was the roommate who just drove off with a truck-full of furniture and boxes. The thought of trying to find a replacement roommate made his stomach do so many flips he was sure he was going to be sick. He had a new job where he could probably afford to live on his own... but he really didn't want to be sitting around with a budget too tight to eat more than just ramen and canned ravioli every night.<br/><br/>As he tossed the bag of garbage into the dumpster, the bag caught on something and ripped. Luckily most of it went into the dumpster, but a bottle of spoiled beer dropped on the ground and shattered, leaving broken glass scattered everywhere and beer splattered all over his pants. "For fuck's sake!" Noah growled, leaning down to pick up the main piece of bottle, though he wouldn't bother with the rest. His finger slipped along a sharp edge and he really swore then, eyes going wide as a few drops of blood dripped from the fresh cut.<br/><br/>Hastily, he threw the bottle into the dumpster and wrapped his cut finger in the hem of his shirt to stay the bleeding. He couldn't go this long in life without knowing there was something unnatural about his blood. Whenever he bled, strange things came about, and he wasn't in any hurry to find out what would come tonight. His boots clacked on the ground as he headed back toward his apartment up on the third floor, head ducked as he passed a neighbor who tried to greet him. He had to get inside. He had to lock the door. He had to make sure nothing smelled the blood.