Chapter 4
David jerked from his trance with an explosive gasp for air that his lungs didn't really need. He lurched to his feet, leaning heavily with one hand upon the bare attic wall, shivering convulsively as the flood of memories finished washing over him and then retreated.He looked around the now-dark room in confusion and sudden claustrophobic fear. He needed out of the small room, out of the shop, out into the cold night air. He didn't know why, but it was suddenly the single, driving force in his mind. As soon as he moved towards the door, however, his perspective unexpectedly shifted, his vision reeled, and he found himself crashing to the floor like a child's discarded toy, his eyes clenched tightly shut against the assault. He forced himself to open his eyes and was now clearly looking down at himself on the floor. After a few seconds of this disconcerting vision, his eyes became his own again, and he pushed himself cautiously to a sitting position before glancing around. Pausing to gather himself, he stood, tilting his head towards the ceiling. He could now clearly sense someone else there, in the darkness of the crossed beams and rafters.
"Who's there?" He asked, more of a statement than a question. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew what was happening, but like the missing memories that until a few minutes ago had evaded him, the information was not forthcoming. The presence he was feeling, its deepening sadness and violence almost a reflection of his own feelings, brought out a peculiar mix of fear and muted excitement in him, the first true emotion he'd felt since his 'awakening' on J Street. This was important. Very important. It was why he was here. He knew this as suddenly as the thunder that boomed outside the window. Funny, he hadn't seen any lightning.
"Who are you?" There was still no response from the shadows above him. Whoever - whatever - was there was taking his measure. Studying him. Biding his...its time. The thought suddenly enraged him, and he went with his first, his gut instinct. Grabbing the first thing he could in the room, the chair with his tattered coat tossed over it, David flung it upwards with all the force he could muster. The chair hit the support beams and splintered, raining down in pieces, his coat fluttering among them like leather wings. He picked it up and started rummaging through the pockets. He could hear movement from above him, but he still couldn't see anything.
"What in God's name is going on here?" He muttered under his breath to himself.
~ God has nothing to do with it. ~ There was a pause that seemed to stretch out into infinity, as David tried to reconcile what he had just felt and heard in his mind. He had almost convinced himself it was his imagination when it came again, whispering, tickling in the back of his mind. ~ Good arm by the way. ~
It was a voice. Not a voice. A whisper, the sound of rushing wind, a stray thought playing through his mind. He looked up again, alarmed. Still nothing. He moved to the door, found the light switch and flipped it. Nothing. The thunder he had heard - so loud and explosive - had been an overloading transformer nearby, no doubt. There was no power in the shop. My imagination is getting the better of me, he thought as he rummaged again in the coat pockets. His hand touched his mask - the one with the infrared lenses.
~ You're not imagining things, boy. ~
He ignored the invasive voice this time, reaching up with shaking hands to put the mask in place. He hadn't worn it since quitting the JSS, and it took a few long seconds to get it into place - longer than he would have liked. The voice stayed silent. It was still watching him. He could feel the eyes on his back, and he tried to block the thoughts that were rushing to fill the silence left by the voice's absence. I've gone crazy. The damn shaman was right...I'm crazy.
He swore he heard muted laughter in response to his idle thoughts.
Hesitantly he flipped the lenses on and glanced around. He could see every detail of the familiar room. Nothing had changed save the condition of the antique chair that was now shattered in pieces on the floor. He looked up and scanned the beams, expecting to find...what? There would be nothing there. He'd gone crazy. The only explanation possible for all of this was that he'd gone insane. There was no way into the shop. Jayna's wards made entrance impossible save for the invited, and the tiny window he had left open wouldn't have admitted anyone under the age of three months.
After his third scan of the ceiling he saw it.
"What the hell?"
~ Well at least you're closer to the truth this time. ~
The voice was followed this time by the sound of moving air and a flash of movement that wasn't imagined. His eyes followed it to the floor, mouth agape. A sound that was a cross between tapping and scraping filled his ears. Small claws tapped impatiently on the bare, dusty floor.
David took in all of this with silence, his mind suddenly feeling like it had been turned inside out. He could barely concentrate. But the thing in front of him looked like a bird. He moved towards it, and it cocked its head to one side, staring at him even as he stared at it. The bird's bright, pink eye blinked once, and it cawed, massive wings flapping once and then folding at its sides. David continued staring, mutely.
~ What, you've never seen a crow before, boy? ~
David said nothing, instead watching the bird, staring at it through the tinted lenses.
~ Why do I always get stuck with the stupid ones? ~
David continued staring blankly at the bird before dropping down and sitting cross-legged on the floor across from the sarcastic creature.
~ I still wanna know how you managed to ditch me and then stay hidden for so long! I've been doing this for a long time and I never lost a charge before, not even one of the dumb ones. I mean sure, J Street's a bit odd...~
The light that David had turned on flared to life as power was restored to the general area, and he pulled the mask from his face woodenly, getting his first clear view of his visitor. The bird - massive and sleek - was solid white, with glossy pink eyes. Sharp claws skittered on the floor as the bird unfolded its wings again, then flapped them repeatedly, gaining enough altitude to perch on David's shoulder.
~...Well I suppose it doesn't really matter. You're here, I'm here, and there's a LOT of work to do. Get up and let's get to work, we don't have all night. Go downstairs and grab some weapons. I'd get something sharp, something dangerous. It looks like there's more than enough to chose from down there. And watch out for that thing that looks like a cat.~
The voice inside his head paused for a moment, and perched on his shoulder, the bird's head swiveled around, checking out the room. ~ And take the coat, you may need it. ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Downstairs:
David picked his way through the multitude of highly polished glass and oak display cases crammed full of Jayna's antiquities and oddities. He hadn't seen anything yet that both he and the bird liked. Most of the things on the showroom floor were non-lethal trinkets and artifacts, and were therefore useless for his purposes. He ran a hand idly over one of the large glass cases, remembering through it how she had the shop set up this week, then wove his way towards one of the storerooms in the back. Jayna might be a packrat, but she was constantly moving things around, just a few days ago the swords in the back room had been in a display case out front.
The storeroom smelled peculiarly of oil and leather, apparently Jayna had spent most of the afternoon cleaning the ancient blades and honing the edges. He picked up a thin blade from between a scimitar and a parang, pulled it from the black leather scabbard it was in, and ran the edge across the palm of his hand. It was a samurai sword, and it sliced deeply into his palm even with the small amount of pressure he applied. The gash sealed shut in seconds as he watched with mute fascination. He grinned widely before slinging the sheathed sword over his shoulder.
~ Perfect. I bet that would cut down the standard three peasants at a time. ~
He heard the voice speak in his mind. ~ Now what else is there around here? ~ David turned away from the sword case, moved quickly to the next case in the room, and picked out another item or two before moving back towards the main shop. In the doorway he stopped, reconsidered, and picked up a deadly-looking dagger before leaving the backroom, where he turned and moved upstairs. The bird on his shoulder clicked its beak together in an almost human gesture of disappointment. ~ There's nothing here REALLY dangerous. ~"That's because Jayna keeps all that kind of stuff in the basement."
~ Can you get down there? ~
"That's not possible."
~ Nothing's impossible. Have you tried? ~
"No. There's no point. It's magically warded. I don't have a way to bypass the locks."
~ I guess you'll have to make do with what's around here then. At least the workmanship is fantastic on most of this stuff. They just don't make 'em like this anymore. I should know. ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ David shrugged on the tattered overcoat with ease, adjusting it to cover the various items he'd collected in the shop's numerous rooms. The crow looked on from its perch on one of the kitchen chairs, and cawed approvingly. ~ And here I thought you were gonna be a slow learner. ~
"Why's that?" After the initial shock of the whispering voice inside his head, David had come to almost welcome it. It seemed natural to him somehow, as natural as breathing had once been. As his new companion considered David's question, he continued moving around the kitchen, pulling drawers open until he found what he wanted, then sat down at the table across from the bird.
~ You didn't seem to know what was going on when I showed up, junior. Being separated from me musta fried what few brain cells you have left. ~
"Hm." David agreed offhandedly with the whispering voice, and continued with his task.
~ You don't need that. ~
"I want to leave a note."
The voice sighed. ~ You're wasting time. Forget about it. ~
"They're my friends." He answered crossly.
~ You're DEAD; you have no friends. That is NOT what you're here for. ~
David continued writing, if a bit hurriedly. Across from him, the bird preened his wings, either in annoyance or outright boredom. ~ You're wasting time. ~ It repeated.
"If I don't leave a note, they might come looking for me." David answered back, pulling the page from the notepad before standing up and crossing the room, placing the note on the fridge with a magnet. "They have powers. Do you really want them to follow me, or worse yet, interfere?"
~ All right, I'll give you that. ~ The bird 'hmpfed' in his mind. ~ Just hurry up, willya? Can we leave before the cat from hell finds us? ~
"I'm done." David moved to the kitchen door and opened it, allowing the crow to leave, then following it and shutting the door behind them.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Chapter 5
"Well, it looks like we beat the others back." Michael held the door open for Az as they entered Jayna's through the upstairs entrance. He flipped on the overhead light and noticed her shivering a little bit. "It's almost as cold in here as it is outside, isn't it?" Ciela nodded in agreement, and started looking for the thermostat."So, how did you like the movie? You didn't say much afterwards." Michael moved into the parlor off to the side of the kitchen and sat down on the sofa. Like Ciela's room, the parlor had been rearranged and redecorated a bit after Warren's destructive trip through the shop, the wingback chairs were now closer to the stereo than they had been, and the sofa was now across from them against the wall.
"Oh, now he asks...it was all right, aside from the fact that whoever wrote it took every Meso-American religion ever known and rolled it all up, treated it like it was all the same, and..." Her voice trailed off as she moved further down the hallway. There was a click and a slight stirring of air as the heat came on, and he could just hear her footsteps moving back towards the kitchen. He waited until she was within earshot before he spoke again, resisting the urge to grin at her as she walked back into the parlor.
"Ok, rule number...ok, I lost count. New rule; don't ever take Ciela to a kid's movie that might have anything even remotely 'Aztec' in it..."
"Well, it's not funny." She interjected, sitting down next to him. "Other than that I guess it was...cute?" She paused for a moment. "It was cute."
"Well, cute is good. I can live with cute." Michael traced the outline of the tattoo on her arm, which was covered with goosebumps. "You're freezing. You found the thermostat?" She nodded as he put one arm around her, pulling her closer. "Don't you just love J Street weather? One block it's summer, the next block it's winter..." She laughed slightly, leaning in enough to rest her head on his chest. "This is as cold as it's been since I got here."
"And I suppose you don't have any warm clothes..." She laughed at this. "I'll take that as a 'no' then." He commented as the warm air began to filter into the room.
"Good plan. Why's it still so cold in here?"
"I think you may have gotten just a little bit chilled on the ride back. We're going to have to find you a good jacket if the weather decides to stay cold." He said, rubbing her arm with his hand, trying to warm her up a little bit. "It's really not that bad in here, the heat's come on already."
"I'm still cold. I wonder if David's got a window open somewhere." She moved away, intending to stand up, but changed her mind mid-motion. "I don't really need to go look. Knowing him he'll be wandering down here on his own any minute, and then I can yell at him."
"Why is it you always end up talking about him when you get around me?" Michael teased, pulling her back against him. "Still cold? I'm sure I can help warm you up a little."
"Oh, you're very funny today. It's probably warmer in my room..."
"Yeah, of course..." He moved back in closer, but a loud crack-clacking sound from upstairs in the attic distracted her from her next words. She sighed, leaning back against the side of the couch and stared at the ceiling in disgust. There was another sharp report, louder than before. "I swear, if he wasn't already dead..."
"Well, just ignore him."
"If I ignore him, I'll just go crazy wondering what he's doing up there. I'll be right back. You said he's been acting weird lately." He got up and crossed the room quickly, before she had a chance to object.
"It's probably just the shutter on that open window I was complaining about, you know? There's quite a storm coming in!" Either Michael didn't hear Ciela's exasperated shout or he didn't care, because he didn't reappear in the doorway for several long minutes.
"So what was it? David banging his head against the wall because he couldn't stand the thought of you being alone with me?" She asked, sarcastically, before noting his expression. "Ok, what's wrong?" She asked as she fidgeted.
"He's not up there."
"So?"
"So, he's not up there. How often has that happened? He left one the smaller windows open, and there's a chair all broken up, but there's no David."
"He's here somewhere." Ciela found himself in the odd position of having to soothe Michael about the very person he'd been warning her against for some time. Still, she couldn't quite stop the next words that came out of his mouth. "Come on, let's look for him. He's got to be here somewhere." She figured that if he didn't relax she wasn't going to get anywhere with him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Neon yellow and green 'Smiley's Sports Center Grand Opening!' banners plastered the walls around David as he sat, cross-legged in the center of the store. Easily two dozen arrows and the remains of a locked display case littered the floor around him, and he was leisurely picking up the various arrows and placing them in a quiver that lay by his side. The bird was perched on a mannequin that was decked out in full camouflage gear, and it peered down his beak at David in what seemed to be annoyance.
~ Those aren't going to fit that crossbow you took from the shop. ~ It chided him, ruffling its feathers for emphasis.
"Sure they will. You worry too much." He picked up one of the arrows and snapped the end off quickly. "Now it will fit just fine." He grinned up from the floor, standing in one smooth movement, quiver slung over his shoulder.
~ All right, you're not as stupid as I thought. ~
"Thank you."
~ But shouldn't you be getting something else in here, oh, say, the GUNS?"
"Well, let's go over this, shall we?" David's tone dripped sarcasm as he tried to match the bird's surly attitude. "Guns are loud and attract attention. Arrows and swords are quiet and therefore don't attract as much attention. Besides, when's the last time a bullet slowed down a vampire for more than a second or two?"
~ Well that just depends on where you shoot them. ~
"Well, I'll give you that much. But again, guns attract the wrong kind of attention. I'll stick to these, thank you very much." David patted his side, where the sword hung under his battered coat.
~ Well, if you're worried about attracting attention, you already have...we have company outside. ~
Two security guards entered the shop as David and the bird watched, both guards peered cautiously around the store's dim interior, looking for who or whatever had pulled the linked-metal gate from the shop entrance and shattered the glass door. Unsure of what awaited them, both had revolvers drawn and were in stances that made them look like they spent way too much time watching 'Cops' and dreaming of the day they'd get real badges.
David decided to play a little, and moved towards them quickly. "Good evening!" He exclaimed, barely avoiding being shot as the younger of the two guards twitched visibly in surprise. "Do you need assistance in locating an item? There's no one here at the moment but I'm sure I can help you." He flashed the guards a wide grin as both gun barrels stayed fixed on him. "Perhaps some ammunition?"
~ You're wasting time again. ~ The bird said to him, drowning out the words coming from the two guards.
They seemed somewhat shocked at his brazen behavior, but neither had yet let their guard down. The older of the two repeated slowly what the first had apparently said a moment ago. "Stay right where you are and put your hands up!" Still smiling, David obligingly raised his hands upward, palms open and obviously empty. The older guard almost had the first cuff in place when David whirled, kicking the other guard square in the chest, knocking the gun away and stunning him. The older guard almost simultaneously found himself head over heels, crashing into the mannequin display, knocking it over, forcing the crow to take flight.~ Showoff. ~
"Whatever." David smirked as the crow lit on his shoulder. "One more thing before we go...and no more 'wasting time' comments." He secured the quiver, and moved down another aisle before leaving the store.
~ What the hell is that for? ~
"You'll see."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Ciela and Michael had quickly searched the shop, backrooms, bedrooms, closets, and even the roof before admitting that David was nowhere to be found. They'd come full circle, ending up back in the kitchen, where Michael pulled a chair from the table and gestured for her to sit down. The day itself had been pretty lousy, Ciela had been looking forward to spending some time with Michael, but turning the shop upside-down looking for David wasn't quite how she'd planned to spend it. "Maybe he just left." Michael offered with a quick shrug of his shoulders.
"He wouldn't do that," was all she had to say about that, taking the seat and putting her head on her arms, staring blankly across the room. "He wouldn't. He hasn't left the shop once without being with one of us."
"Except when you were in trouble."
"Except when I was in trouble. But obviously I'm not in trouble, now am I?"
"Hey, you don't have to get surly with me."
"Ah..."
"Don't apologize." Ciela closed her mouth without saying anything, fighting not to smile. "See, that's not so hard, now is it?"
"Not any more. You know I only fall back into that pattern when I'm upset."
"I know, I know, I shouldn't get so bugged about David. It isn't like he's going to go out and get himself killed." Michael stood and crossed over to the fridge. "I'm just got a bad feeling about this. Wanna drink?"
"Hey," she said seeing an opportunity to salvage the evening. She crossed over to him and turned him around just as he reached the fridge. She pushed him back against it. He smiled playfully. "I've got a little..." Her smile dropped.
"What?" He asked, turning around. It was then that he noticed a scrawled note hanging from an errant magnet, right behind him, on the front of the refrigerator.
Chapter 6
David had moved down the street silently, unnoticed, going from rooftop to rooftop to avoid the JSPD after they had arrived at the mall. Either one of his escapades had triggered a silent alarm or the rent-a-cops had recovered enough to radio for backup. He'd recognized a familiar face in the front of the building before he'd left. Torres. He heard an even more familiar sound, loud and growling, a motorcycle, carrying two passengers, neither of which he wanted to confront.Once he was safely away from the mall and the police, he'd wandered aimlessly for some time, ice-cold rain drenching him as he moved further down the street. This section of J Street, was, as per usual, deserted at night, all the shop windows dark and empty. His heavy footsteps echoed off the high, stone-faced buildings around him, dull and thudding. He wasn't sure where he was going, or where his 'guide' had fluttered off to, nor did he care; he just let his mind drift as his feet did the same.
When David's feet finally came to a stop, he found himself standing outside the gates of a large, familiar house with a well-tended garden, the kind you only got when you paid someone else to do it. The gates were dark wrought iron, with an intricate swirling design, the flowing lines of which were broken by a thick chain and a heavy padlock. Someone lived here, and they apparently didn't expect, or want, visitors. He looked past the gates and the yard, studying the home. All the windows on this side of the house were covered with dark curtains, and most of the rooms were unlit beyond the insulating layers of fabric. The few rooms that had lights on in them glowed slightly: either the curtains were extremely heavy or the lights were small, or whoever lived here had retired for the night.
David pulled idly at the chain holding the gates shut. He knew he could snap it without a thought, but whoever now resided in his old home had nothing to do with what was going on, no matter how much he wanted to enter, to see and touch and hold things that Leah once had. His hand tightened around the lock, and it took all of his self-control to keep from crushing it like tinfoil. Most likely, all of their possessions were gone, tossed aside or hauled off to a landfill somewhere off J Street. He dropped the lock and it clattered against the gates, loud in the silence, but he was gone before the last echo had died from the air.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ "All right, do you have any idea where else to look for David, Cie?" Michael asked before taking another sip from the coffee on the small table in front of him. The pair had stopped into the nearly empty all-night diner when the wind and rain had picked up, making the motorcycle a bit too hard to control on the slick street. This was another one of J Street's quirks, and one of the more annoyingly dangerous ones. The rain had been light at the shop, and lighter still as they passed by the deserted mall, but almost as soon as they'd entered the next block, the rain and wind had picked up to near-hurricane levels, forcing them to seek shelter.
Ciela momentarily studied the multi-tentacled waitress, busying herself behind the counter, before speaking. "Look, Michael, David can take care of himself, and I'm sure there's a logical reason for all of this. For all we know, he's back at the shop now, wondering where we are. We should head back there as soon as the weather clears a little bit." Ciela paused as the waitress wandered over, refilled their cups, then went back to cleaning the counter for the twenty-first time since they'd entered.
"I don't think so, Cie. This feels wrong to me somehow. There was an almost tangible mystic aura in the attic when we went up there, like the one that's normally around David, just a hell of a lot more powerful. Don't tell me you didn't sense it."
"I didn't notice anything." She answered, crossly, taking his hands in hers from across the table. "I think we should just head back to the shop. There were a couple things I wanted to talk to you about tonight. Look..." The front door of the small café opened, the bell hanging just inside the doorframe jingling happily as another soaking-wet customer entered. The bipedal canine folded up his umbrella, and then shook out his fur, showering the floor and everything nearby, including Michael and Az.
The waitress shot by, grabbed the creature by the scruff of its neck and very literally tossed him out on his ear. Wiping her hands, she then she hurried to the nearest table and started wiping it off. "You were saying?" Michael prompted. "There was something you wanted to talk to me about?"
"Yeah, there is." She took his hands again, looking up at him, trying to fight back the nervous fluttering in the pit of her stomach. She didn't quite know where to start. "Look, I ..." her words were cut off by the arrival of the waitress once again, as she took their cups. "Sorry." They both nodded, as she quickly cleaned off the table, and then disappeared behind the counter for fresh cups of coffee.
"You were saying?" Michael looked at her expectantly.
Ciela sighed in response, leaning forward. "I think we should have this discussion back at the shop." She paused as the waitress reappeared with their fresh cups. "There are just too many distractions in here."
"All right. I think the rain's slacking off a bit, anyway."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ "Well, that was a waste of time." Michael sighed, taking Ciela's borrowed coat and tossing the soaked item into a basket, along with his jacket. The locks hadn't been moved a millimeter since they left on their mad search, apparently neither David, nor Jayna and Zan, had returned.
"Wherever he is, he doesn't want to be found. It's that simple." Az shrugged. Finding David really wasn't top on her list of priorities at the moment.
"I gathered that. Listen, why don't you go change clothes before you catch pneumonia."
"I still need to talk to you." Ciela fidgeted. "And you're soaked too. Let me get you a robe, I can drop your clothes into the washing machine...thing. It won't take but a minute."
"Trying to get me out of my clothes, huh?" Michael grinned as Ciela laughed nervously.
Well now that you mention it...She thought to herself as she moved quickly down the hallway, grabbing a robe from one of the bathrooms. That's exactly what I've been trying to do all night, isn't it?
"Sorry, I just realized how bad that sounded. Can you ever forgive me?" Michael beamed at her as she came back into the kitchen.
She wrapped her arms around his waist in response. "I think I can manage."
"Is that right?"
"Mmmmm-hm." She reached up and kissed him softly on the lips, trying to figure out just what to say next, if anything. "Now what I wanted to talk to you about..."
There was a sound from outside the back door, prompting Ciela to step away from Michael as the front doorbell rang. "Perfect timing." She muttered under her breath.
Chapter 7
David resumed his wandering, mind hazy and full of pain, eventually stopping in an empty lot. Weeds had not completely claimed it, growing in clumps around only the edges. Most of the soil was inhospitable, full of pulverized glass and gypsum. Then there was the usual accumulation of debris found in this sort of neighborhood. Paper, pop bottles, wrappers, and syringes leaving the area uninviting even to the heartiest weeds.
By now the rain had stopped pouring and was little more than a light mist. The ground fog was rising, giving the area a hazy, dream-like quality. Tiny shards of glass glinted up at him like precious diamonds in the muck. His guide was nearby, perched on a twisted girder jutting from the muck.
~ Do you know where you are? ~
"Yes." David's reply dripped poison and he crouched down, scooping up a handful of pale mud and glass.
A wave of relief washed over her as she saw the glass walls approaching as she ran. "Almost there. We're almost there." She said, clutching the little girl tightly, hoping the fear she felt didn't show in her voice.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ "Sorry to have dragged you out on a night like this, but I thought you should see this." Torres watched Ciela's reaction as the pair watched the video surveillance tape from Smiley's Sports Center. "Why would he do this?" Ciela was amazingly quiet as the video played, her eyes downcast, irrefutable evidence in front of her that David had indeed snapped.
"I don't know..." was all she could manage, softly.
Michael reappeared inside the ruined shop. "The window's the only damage at my place, and of course the security gate. I'm pretty sure the mall owner has to replace it all though." He paused. "Well, I hope so, anyway. No other damage save a little dent in the wall where this hit." He dropped a scratched-up bowling ball on the floor, and it rolled away slightly, only to come to rest next to Torres. "I think this belongs to Smiley's."
Ciela opened her mouth and quickly found a hand clamped over it. "You're doing so well, don't ruin it now by apologizing. Ok?" He let go after she nodded vigorously.
"Point made already, I wasn't going to." She wrinkled her nose at him. "So there."
Torres rolled her eyes, waiting for the pair to finish flirting, or whatever it was they were doing, then gave up. "Do you have any idea where David could be? Why would he do this?"
"No idea. No idea at all." Mike turned towards Torres, suddenly serious. "We're going to find out though."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Sadist. Are you happy now? ~
David said nothing, clawing at the ground with his hands, fingernails tearing apart, his skin splitting, blood mixing with the nearly white mud below the surface, beginning to tinge it pink. Water seeped into the small hollow and he stopped, letting the flesh flow back over his shredded fingers. When they were healed, a few seconds later, he plunged them back into the muck.
~ You shouldn't have bothered to come here. You have too much work to do, and you're behind already. ~
The mud was cold and powdery, made up of the remains of the building that had been there over a year ago - crumpled drywall and shards of glass had been used to fill in the crater from the explosion. He forced the manmade mud between his fingers, feeling it ooze slowly and thicken as the water started to seep further down. It sucked at his fingers as he pulled them loose from the mire, hands encrusted with the viscous substance. His hands instinctively went to his face, smearing his already pale face with the whitish, chalky substance.
~ What is it with you people; you always have to hide yourselves to do this? ~
David said nothing, staring not at but through his guide. His hands fell away from his face as another flash took him, rooting him to the spot, knocking him flat.
There was a sound so suddenly loud it blocked out all thought, a flash of white heat that barely registered, both overshadowed by a hundred million pin-pricks of pain as glass and metal tore through her. There was no time to even scream before the darkness closed in from all sides and claimed her.
David's hands moved of their own volition, clutching his chest as he shook in remembered pain. He struggled to his knees, rocking back and forth, not bothering to try to contain the sobs that wracked his thin frame. His hands again moved on their own, clutching his face, trying to block the myriad images and sensations that coursed through him. Tears oozed from between his tightly clenched lids; blood-tinged, they streaked the caking mud.
"Hey! You crazy?" A homeless man shouted from across the street. "You ain't gonna find nut'in good in there. That place done been picked clean long time ago." He shuffled across the street, in unmatched shoes, toward David patting the pockets of his tattered overcoat. "Crazy white boy, wha'cha think you're doin?" David barely glanced at the old man and the bird merely squawked. The old man jumped in fear at the sound, but soon broke into a wide toothless grin. "Hey boy, I know where there's a good fire if you can catch that there chicken. I got some wine right here. I'll share wit 'cha, if you share some 'o that chicken."
David looked up at the old man and then at the bird, who was for once, thankfully speechless. He began to laugh, at the utter ridiculousness of it all. A dry cackle at the absurdity erupted from his throat. He stood and staggered, laughing uncontrollably. The crow took flight, thoroughly disgusted at the both of them.
"Now look wha'cha done. You scared him plain off!" David laughed all the harder and pulled his sword, waving it in the general direction of the bird's flight. "That's right, boy! You go catch us that there chicken. I'll be right here waiting for ya. I'll be right here!" The old man shouted at the staggering form running down the street.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ David had been inside Fallen Angels before, quite recently in fact. The sight before him had changed little since he'd accompanied Azangel to the strange, vampire-infested club. His club. Or at least it had been his club, before his death. He would never have allowed it to degenerate this badly, taken over by the rogue vampires that roamed freely amidst the other patrons. The other patrons were Goths, vampire wannabes, and others who were simply clueless.
The Goths were easily identified, marked as they were by outlandish makeup, overdone haystack hair, and a complete absence of color in their wardrobe. Robert Smith had nothing on these kids.
The clueless were easy to identify as well, normal humans and other sentients who stuck out from the black-garbed crowd, drinking and chatting as if they were in a normal bar. They either didn't realize or didn't care that creatures capable of killing them in a heartbeat surrounded them.
The true vampires were a little trickier to spot. Tiny little things that were harder to notice marked them. There was a flash of eyeshine here, a too quick movement there, the perfect and unblemished porcelain skin of a woman who sat drinking from a glass that remained level. Just little things. That, and the way they watched the living with hungry eyes. These were younger vampires, the older ones being more experienced and impossible to identify through little quirks. You didn't know they were nearby until it was too late.
Glancing around David noticed that the high, arched windows had been blocked with bricks and mortar. He realized suddenly that he missed the windows. They could still be seen from the outside of the building, old stained glass rescued from a church slated for demolition. They had cost a small fortune to install, but the clientele had rather liked the irony. Windows decorated with angels and Archangels, seraphim and cherubim constantly looking over the strange creatures inside, the 'fallen'.
A green-skinned waitress whisked by, barely giving him a second glance, vanishing behind the bar to pick up another round of drinks. He recognized her, and began winding his way through the crowd towards the back wall. He wondered what changes had been made to the basement? When last he'd seen it, it was being used as a storage area, with a small office - his office - to one side. He somehow doubted that he'd be able to check it tonight, however, since he'd only planned on scouting out the club. Besides, seeing as there were more living beings on the premises than there were vampires, starting a fight tonight would probably be a bad idea. Regardless of his guide's opinion on the subject, one thing David had a lot of, at the moment, was time. Before anyone ever noticed he was there, he slipped out the back exit.
David sighed as the cold air outside the club blasted into him, causing his ragged coat to come undone and billow out behind him. There was no one around save a few club patrons who'd stepped outside, and they were too lost in either necking or feeding to pay any heed to the pale creature with a sword standing next to them. David glanced at the pair, shrugged, and fastened the coat lest someone more observant notice and call the authorities.
David stepped further into the damp alley and looked at the girl who stood across from him. Her clove smoke drifted and danced in the breeze. He walked up to her. "Those things'll kill ya." He said taking the cigarette from her black lips. She was mortal but had been 'tasted' and was probably a 'blood doll', one of those who get their kicks from being drained.
"Gotta die sooner or later. Rather do it on my terms." She exhaled the last of her smoke and looked him up and down. "What are you all dressed up for?"
"A funeral."
"Tonight? Can I come?"
"Not tonight, maybe tomorrow."
"What're you doing tonight?"
"Chicken hunting."