Song of the Firebird

Fifty Four

Blood.

Similar to the coin, there were always two sides. Fear and hope. Life and death. Yin and yang. Every aspect of it was significant to mark our place in this black and white world.

It did not take much time for Jay to read Ivy's fear. His heart tugged him at the words, "ambulance" and "ASAP". He did not understand her motive when he himself had checked on Natasha, minutes ago. Bewildered, he steered his vision to the origin of that day's horror.

Red viscous drops closer to his feet led to a pool of crimson. Jay was absorbed into the rouge that he once found fondness for. Man, how he remembered savouring the sight of it when it oozed out from his victims; how he remembered embracing it when it came from his own wounds.

That moment, oh boy, he stood there, without batting an eye, trying to forget what he did not want to disregard at all. He could only reprimand himself for realising it of late.

To say that he was haunted by its trail, was an understatement. The gore killed his insides, inch by inch. Every muscle in his body screamed for her and his son—their safety that he struggled to achieve; their safety for which he risked his own, putting his life on the line while endangering his allies' own on tow.

Fighting his bubbling breakdown, Jay could feel his knees give away the support intended for his body. His frame crashed against the door frame, his shoulder now closer to his lover's, side by side. The couple was soon joined by Ivy on the only vacant space that held the way out.

Ivy, on the other hand, could not keep the shock contained. She held Jay's phone closer to her chest, hoping that the device would stop her heart from shambles. Despite working continuously with blood, courtesy of her work contracts with the city's Forensic Department, she let her guard down. She began hallucinating as her godson's unborn form began pointing finger at her for abandoning it's mother in times of need, when there was chance. The guilt was making her go wild.

Danny, who was helping Ryder in the cabin's front porch, felt neither footsteps nor shuffling movements behind him. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Ivy settling down on the floor and sighed. In the distance, he saw Drew and Iqbal clearing the men on their way, not turning back from their current actions. He placed Ryder gently on the topmost step and shot him a look that spoke loads of threats and warnings. Ryder simply nodded and looked at his captor's next track of events.

As Danny turned away from Ryder, he looked at the trio, who were seated blocking the entrance. As he inched closer, he told them, 'We have to get going. If you can start slower, we can get at least closer to our rides.'

Neither of the wakeful ones, spoke. Frustrated, Danny began to shake his friend, who was staring into the wall.

Jay's ghoulish face reverted to his friend's side. 'Give us a moment.' His voice was hollow with no sign of happiness.

'A moment for what?'

'To pray.'

'We are all fine and we are getting our asses back to our cars. We are never returning to this shithole!'

Jay did not argue back, which Danny found peculiar. According to Danny, Jay always had remarks whenever he tried to make his point clear– be it snide, evil or sarcastic. A wave of concern swept past Danny.

Hunching to his friend's level, Danny placed his hand over his shoulder. 'Listen, Jay. We all had enough share of gore today. We smell and feel awful. Besides, we have a pregnant woman and few kiddos on our team. We promised each other that we will come out of this wreck together.' Patting Jay's shoulder, he continued, 'We have quite some time to achieve the rest of our tasks in a matter of minutes.'