Immortalis Caris -- Chapter 10 - Murder
Immortalis Caris -- Chapter 10
Awareness. Muffled voices. Blackness.
This doesn’t feel like a dream.
His mind was dull, ungrounded. He thought the streetlight outside must have died because there was no light at all through the window, not even stars. Wait. Where’s my window? Where’s my alarm clock? The power’s out.
His hand felt for the edge of the mattress, then ventured into space to touch the familiar nightstand next to his bed. But his hand touched…carpet.
His internal clock told him it was 4:30am, like every morning. Power or no power, light or no light, it was time to get up.
The voices. He could vaguely sense the tension, though they were not raised in anger. He recognized Dee’s voice, and focus sharpened.
I’m in Dee’s bed.
The other voice volleyed. Adrenaline shot through him.
Jess. FUCK! He’s home!
He fumbled off the bed to retrieve his clothes from the corner. He struggled to pull on his pants and shirt, leaving the shoes and socks off so he could walk more quietly to the door. It seemed closed but a thin sliver of dim light revealed it was ajar.
“They’ll never trace it to me,” Jess said.
“I don’t want to talk about it anymore right now,” said Dee softly.
“You think you’re innocent? You’re just as guilty as I am. You fuckin’ sit there like none of it has anything to do with you!”
“Shut up, Jess. I’ve asked you civilly.”
“If I have to leave town, you’ll have to leave too. You need me.”
“Don’t flatter yourself. I can get along without you. It’s you that needs me.”
He laughed.
Carlisle didn’t like the sound of it. He could tell how high Jess was by the tone of his voice, the manner of his speech. Years of unenviable experience made him capable of identifying all the small tics that took over the body when someone was on a run. The irony was, speed freaks always thought nobody could tell they were tweaking. They felt invincible and acted accordingly. Not pretty.
Carlisle nudged the cracked door open a bit more with his finger, and as he did, Dee looked up. She probably knew the second I woke up… He couldn’t see Jess from this angle, but he could imagine the greasy hair, the dirty fingernails, the rumpled clothing-the accumulated details that made it obvious you hadn’t slept in days…
“You’re high, Jess. If you scored, why are you here? Go play with your friends. That’s what you want, isn’t it? That’s what you live for.”
Jess crossed Carlisle’s line of sight through the gap. His hair was wet. He must have come back to shower and change. He sat down next to Dee, proprietarily touching her as he spoke.
“Aren’t you jonesin’ for a drink? It’s been four days,” he said softly, but with an odd hint of menace.
“I’m fine,” she said dismissively. Her expression was closed. She was giving him nothing.
“You still haven’t given me what I need… after I got you what you needed…”
“I give you a place to live and pay your expenses. That’s more than enough. Go find a whore to get yourself off.”
He moved closer to her, started to caress her knee, then to move his hand up the inside of her thigh. “Nobody around here serves what you do, baby. I need a taste of what you got to offer.”
Carlisle stiffened, but as it was clear Jess did not know he was present, and he didn’t know if Dee wanted Jess to know… he kept silent. Dee did not seem threatened.
Dee calmly removed the hand and moved away from the man.
“I’m not your baby. And I’m not offering. You’re high and you’re horny. Anybody - hell, anyTHING, would do right now. It’s almost dawn and I need to rest.”
She stood and started to walk away from him. He grabbed her wrist to pull her down towards him. She whirled and snarled at him, an eerie, inhuman sound that sent a chill through Carlisle. Jess looked wary, but he didn’t let go.
“Do not push me,” she growled, extracting her wrist from his grasp with a twist. Carlisle tensed for action, and he almost came through the door to aide her, except that she turned to look at him sharply, shaking her head once to stop his advance. He could see her eyes had gone dark.
“What’cha gonna do, eat me, baby?” Jess smirked. “Talk about bitin’ the hand that feeds ya…”
“Now that’s tempting,” she said in a low voice, flexing her hands, pressing her rather dangerous-looking nails into her palms.
“Oohh, I better watch my-self,” he teased. “You look kinda hungry tonight… and did I mention, damn hot…”
Her muscles tensed into a defensive stance as she took another step backwards.
Oh hell no! He will not touch her…
“OK, OK. I’m leaving,” he threw his hands up in mock surrender. He stood casually, picking up his jacket and turning towards the front door, never dropping that smug, superior expression. However, he suddenly turned on his heel, approaching her again with a cocky aggression. He reached out for her. She eluded him, scowling. “Just seems a shame to let such a prime piece of sweet ass go untapped.”
Slimy fucking tweaker!
Carlisle could restrain himself no longer. He pushed the door open angrily. “Leave her the fuck alone! Now!” he commanded.
Jess flinched at the sound and turned towards him. When he saw who it was, his face lit up in a cruel smile. Dee was shaking her head vigorously at Carlisle. She hadn’t looked distressed before, but she certainly did now.
“Well, well! If it isn’t Mr. Clean!” Jess exclaimed. “Come to make sure my prime piece doesn’t go to waste!” Dee quickly moved around to get between Jess and Carlisle. Jess tried to push her out of the way. He was unsuccessful. She resisted him quite effectively.
Carlisle, thrust forward against common sense by Jess’ bravado, slipped around her protective stance to shove Jess’ shoulder. “Get out! She doesn’t want you, isn’t that clear?”
Carlisle saw the ugly grin get just a little bit wider before Jess’ fist slammed into the side of his temple. The next thing he remembered was a close-up view of the carpet, pain making nonsense of the sounds going on around him. There was Jess’ voice -- yelling. He wanted to get up, but his body wouldn’t do what his head told it to.
Weight on his chest. Can’t breathe. Someone on top of him. Another blow to his face. Pain. Wetness. Weight lifted. Pain restraining his will. Trying to move. Moving, but all wrong. Someone dragging him by his hair. Released. Trying to turn. Can’t move. A blow to the diaphragm. Breath blocked, then suddenly gulping air.
“Don’t make me hurt you!” someone said. He didn’t want Dee to be hurt, but he couldn’t help her. He couldn’t see her.
He heard the bones in his chest crack before the slow fire moved through it. He felt more than heard his own cry, because to make a sound was to turn up the flame on the pain. So the cry melted into a moan, and a rush of endorphins flooded his senses in the wake of the terrible burning.
…. must be in shock… thank God… at a distance from the pain… a witness but not a full participant… how funny… in whatever awful thing had happened… to me… did it happen to me?
Suddenly Jess seemed to be on the floor beside him. There was something on top of him, attached to him, a creature of some kind. It moved very fast, and the noises it made were familiar, but out of context. These were sounds of an animal, not something you’d find in the city, in a high-rise condo.
It was so hard to process the thoughts. So hard to breathe.
Jess wasn’t yelling anymore. He wasn’t hurling angry words anymore. He was begging now, crying. The creature’s hand grasped the denim-covered shoulder beside him, and then Carlisle saw its claws.
Should be fingers, he thought distractedly, and fingernails, but they look like claws.
Jess howled, then choked as the hand twisted decisively. The sound of breaking bones reminded Carlisle he, too, was broken -- he was pretty sure of that, but he couldn’t quite remember where or how.
Jess stopped making noise. His eyes were glazed and he looked rather crooked as the creature licked his neck, hidden by the fall of its long, long hair. So familiar. Like her hair, but more like some other hair he couldn’t quite place. This was wilder, as if it had a life of its own.
Of course! He smiled inside. Like my dream angel. Yes. What a funny thing...
The room was becoming indistinct. The pain was far, far away now, and he wanted just to close his eyes. He wanted to dream contentedly, his angel beside him, in his arms.
The creature raised its head to look at him through the tangle of its hair, its black eyes glinting like onyx stones in the half-light. Blood dripped from its mouth, its tongue snaking out to retrieve it. It lowered its eyes and head again and continued to drink.
Oh! It bit the bad man! Well, that’s what the bad man deserves. When you’re mean to people they will bite you. Daddy said so. That makes perfect sense.
He let himself sink into unconsciousness; the darkness folded over him as he fell, to the arms he knew were waiting to catch him.
My angel can be frightening, but I don’t have to be afraid. Because… because I am not a bad man. Oh No! My angel saves me. My angel loves me. I am my angel, and he is me.
…..ll x ll x ll x ll…..
Chapter 11
Awareness. Muffled voices. Blackness.
This doesn’t feel like a dream.
His mind was dull, ungrounded. He thought the streetlight outside must have died because there was no light at all through the window, not even stars. Wait. Where’s my window? Where’s my alarm clock? The power’s out.
His hand felt for the edge of the mattress, then ventured into space to touch the familiar nightstand next to his bed. But his hand touched…carpet.
His internal clock told him it was 4:30am, like every morning. Power or no power, light or no light, it was time to get up.
The voices. He could vaguely sense the tension, though they were not raised in anger. He recognized Dee’s voice, and focus sharpened.
I’m in Dee’s bed.
The other voice volleyed. Adrenaline shot through him.
Jess. FUCK! He’s home!
He fumbled off the bed to retrieve his clothes from the corner. He struggled to pull on his pants and shirt, leaving the shoes and socks off so he could walk more quietly to the door. It seemed closed but a thin sliver of dim light revealed it was ajar.
“They’ll never trace it to me,” Jess said.
“I don’t want to talk about it anymore right now,” said Dee softly.
“You think you’re innocent? You’re just as guilty as I am. You fuckin’ sit there like none of it has anything to do with you!”
“Shut up, Jess. I’ve asked you civilly.”
“If I have to leave town, you’ll have to leave too. You need me.”
“Don’t flatter yourself. I can get along without you. It’s you that needs me.”
He laughed.
Carlisle didn’t like the sound of it. He could tell how high Jess was by the tone of his voice, the manner of his speech. Years of unenviable experience made him capable of identifying all the small tics that took over the body when someone was on a run. The irony was, speed freaks always thought nobody could tell they were tweaking. They felt invincible and acted accordingly. Not pretty.
Carlisle nudged the cracked door open a bit more with his finger, and as he did, Dee looked up. She probably knew the second I woke up… He couldn’t see Jess from this angle, but he could imagine the greasy hair, the dirty fingernails, the rumpled clothing-the accumulated details that made it obvious you hadn’t slept in days…
“You’re high, Jess. If you scored, why are you here? Go play with your friends. That’s what you want, isn’t it? That’s what you live for.”
Jess crossed Carlisle’s line of sight through the gap. His hair was wet. He must have come back to shower and change. He sat down next to Dee, proprietarily touching her as he spoke.
“Aren’t you jonesin’ for a drink? It’s been four days,” he said softly, but with an odd hint of menace.
“I’m fine,” she said dismissively. Her expression was closed. She was giving him nothing.
“You still haven’t given me what I need… after I got you what you needed…”
“I give you a place to live and pay your expenses. That’s more than enough. Go find a whore to get yourself off.”
He moved closer to her, started to caress her knee, then to move his hand up the inside of her thigh. “Nobody around here serves what you do, baby. I need a taste of what you got to offer.”
Carlisle stiffened, but as it was clear Jess did not know he was present, and he didn’t know if Dee wanted Jess to know… he kept silent. Dee did not seem threatened.
Dee calmly removed the hand and moved away from the man.
“I’m not your baby. And I’m not offering. You’re high and you’re horny. Anybody - hell, anyTHING, would do right now. It’s almost dawn and I need to rest.”
She stood and started to walk away from him. He grabbed her wrist to pull her down towards him. She whirled and snarled at him, an eerie, inhuman sound that sent a chill through Carlisle. Jess looked wary, but he didn’t let go.
“Do not push me,” she growled, extracting her wrist from his grasp with a twist. Carlisle tensed for action, and he almost came through the door to aide her, except that she turned to look at him sharply, shaking her head once to stop his advance. He could see her eyes had gone dark.
“What’cha gonna do, eat me, baby?” Jess smirked. “Talk about bitin’ the hand that feeds ya…”
“Now that’s tempting,” she said in a low voice, flexing her hands, pressing her rather dangerous-looking nails into her palms.
“Oohh, I better watch my-self,” he teased. “You look kinda hungry tonight… and did I mention, damn hot…”
Her muscles tensed into a defensive stance as she took another step backwards.
Oh hell no! He will not touch her…
“OK, OK. I’m leaving,” he threw his hands up in mock surrender. He stood casually, picking up his jacket and turning towards the front door, never dropping that smug, superior expression. However, he suddenly turned on his heel, approaching her again with a cocky aggression. He reached out for her. She eluded him, scowling. “Just seems a shame to let such a prime piece of sweet ass go untapped.”
Slimy fucking tweaker!
Carlisle could restrain himself no longer. He pushed the door open angrily. “Leave her the fuck alone! Now!” he commanded.
Jess flinched at the sound and turned towards him. When he saw who it was, his face lit up in a cruel smile. Dee was shaking her head vigorously at Carlisle. She hadn’t looked distressed before, but she certainly did now.
“Well, well! If it isn’t Mr. Clean!” Jess exclaimed. “Come to make sure my prime piece doesn’t go to waste!” Dee quickly moved around to get between Jess and Carlisle. Jess tried to push her out of the way. He was unsuccessful. She resisted him quite effectively.
Carlisle, thrust forward against common sense by Jess’ bravado, slipped around her protective stance to shove Jess’ shoulder. “Get out! She doesn’t want you, isn’t that clear?”
Carlisle saw the ugly grin get just a little bit wider before Jess’ fist slammed into the side of his temple. The next thing he remembered was a close-up view of the carpet, pain making nonsense of the sounds going on around him. There was Jess’ voice -- yelling. He wanted to get up, but his body wouldn’t do what his head told it to.
Weight on his chest. Can’t breathe. Someone on top of him. Another blow to his face. Pain. Wetness. Weight lifted. Pain restraining his will. Trying to move. Moving, but all wrong. Someone dragging him by his hair. Released. Trying to turn. Can’t move. A blow to the diaphragm. Breath blocked, then suddenly gulping air.
“Don’t make me hurt you!” someone said. He didn’t want Dee to be hurt, but he couldn’t help her. He couldn’t see her.
He heard the bones in his chest crack before the slow fire moved through it. He felt more than heard his own cry, because to make a sound was to turn up the flame on the pain. So the cry melted into a moan, and a rush of endorphins flooded his senses in the wake of the terrible burning.
…. must be in shock… thank God… at a distance from the pain… a witness but not a full participant… how funny… in whatever awful thing had happened… to me… did it happen to me?
Suddenly Jess seemed to be on the floor beside him. There was something on top of him, attached to him, a creature of some kind. It moved very fast, and the noises it made were familiar, but out of context. These were sounds of an animal, not something you’d find in the city, in a high-rise condo.
It was so hard to process the thoughts. So hard to breathe.
Jess wasn’t yelling anymore. He wasn’t hurling angry words anymore. He was begging now, crying. The creature’s hand grasped the denim-covered shoulder beside him, and then Carlisle saw its claws.
Should be fingers, he thought distractedly, and fingernails, but they look like claws.
Jess howled, then choked as the hand twisted decisively. The sound of breaking bones reminded Carlisle he, too, was broken -- he was pretty sure of that, but he couldn’t quite remember where or how.
Jess stopped making noise. His eyes were glazed and he looked rather crooked as the creature licked his neck, hidden by the fall of its long, long hair. So familiar. Like her hair, but more like some other hair he couldn’t quite place. This was wilder, as if it had a life of its own.
Of course! He smiled inside. Like my dream angel. Yes. What a funny thing...
The room was becoming indistinct. The pain was far, far away now, and he wanted just to close his eyes. He wanted to dream contentedly, his angel beside him, in his arms.
The creature raised its head to look at him through the tangle of its hair, its black eyes glinting like onyx stones in the half-light. Blood dripped from its mouth, its tongue snaking out to retrieve it. It lowered its eyes and head again and continued to drink.
Oh! It bit the bad man! Well, that’s what the bad man deserves. When you’re mean to people they will bite you. Daddy said so. That makes perfect sense.
He let himself sink into unconsciousness; the darkness folded over him as he fell, to the arms he knew were waiting to catch him.
My angel can be frightening, but I don’t have to be afraid. Because… because I am not a bad man. Oh No! My angel saves me. My angel loves me. I am my angel, and he is me.
…..ll x ll x ll x ll…..
Chapter 11