Trail of the Dead

Chapter 5

All the days and weeks usually blurred into an oblivion in my life but the time I had spent while recovering at the Stygian stood out more than anything had in a long time. Every day someone would surprise me, people came to ask me how I was, help me out when I was trying to get into a chair, get me anything I needed, but more than anyone else, Callan. I was pretty much convinced that he never left. He was always around, trying to cheer me up and while everyone else was busy trying to figure out how I had gotten into such a state, he hadn't picked up on the subject once since the first day I had found myself in the basement.

For the first time, I got to know everyone in the bar, all the tough and sketchy demeanors felt more like home than any place I remembered had. They were all involved in something somehow and that's what tied them together, that mutual understanding; they weren't bad people, they were just people who had gotten themselves into sticky situations and had the balls to do what had to be done. Everyone knew each other, except Callan, he had never come to the Stygian before the day he found me but he seemed to get along quite well with everyone. Somehow, he brought the place to life. There was always an aura of bright light around him that never faltered, his smile... his laugh brought an inevitable smirk on the face of whoever was around him. I knew nothing about him and yet in his presence I felt like I had know him all my life, but I frequently reminded myself that fact. I knew nothing about him which posed him as a potential hazard in my sight, because whenever I had tried to discreetly get something out of him he shrugged it off, letting absolutely nothing on. He talked so much, there was absolutely no doubt about that, but never said anything.

On the 11th day there, I got myself up and out of the bed, walking on my own for the first time, only to crash straight into Callan.

"Woah" he let out in a startled tone. His strong arms snaked around my lower back catching me at an angle.

"If you wanted to dance you could have asked you know." a mischievous smirk lurked around his lips, his eyebrow raised as he spoke in an amused tone.

I straightened up, taking a step back and steadying myself against the wall of the narrow corridor and internally cursing for my inability to walk through a corridor on my own without giving myself another near death experience.

"Thanks but no thanks" I responded in a grouchy voice.

"You sure? I got the moves you know" With that he grabbed a broom behind him and began dancing with it humming 'merry go 'round of life'.

"My 'absolutely no' face must look a lot like my 'tell me more' face. I'm gonna have to sort that out..." I mumbled.

"Well, we are just two scoops of grouchy in a bowl of hate today aren't we?" he remarked, with a look of amusement across his face.

"Let's get you upstairs." With that he bent his knees, his one hand gripping my legs while the other snaked around my back again. I took a quick step back almost tripping over my leg cast.

"What-" I let out in a startled tone.
"What are you doing?"

"Trying to get you upstairs before you break another bone" he raised one perfectly shaped brow.

"I'm fine... I can walk." My voice was firm. He opened his mouth to argue but almost immediately closed it again the look of amusement making itself known across his features again.

"Okay." His tone was nonchalant.

I turned my eyes to the rest of the corridor that seemed to now stretch on for a mile. My hand glued itself to the right wall and I slowly raised my cocooned leg, then letting it fall, wincing in pain as the sole hit the floor. Legs following a steady pace, each of my feet led each other through the passage but as soon as I let go of my grip on the wall, the cast caught the back of my left leg, knocking me off my balance. Squeezing my eyes, I awaited the fall only to open them again to meet a pair of deep crystal blue eyes.

"Yeah you can totally walk." his husky voice exclaimed. This time he didn't ask before securing his arms around me and lifting me of the ground bridal style.

"Callan, I can walk. Put me down." I attempted to push away the startle and uncertainty in my voice to assert some control.

"Yeah yeah" he mumbled with a sigh. Clearly, it didn't work.

"What are you styrofoam? Your lighter than a bloody feather."

I rolled my eyes, the bewilderment not once leaving my frantic mind. Why was he helping me? This man only confused me the more I tried to figure him out. My eyes shifted to his arms watching how his muscles slightly banded around his triceps but not too much, just right. The fact that he was carrying me really didn't seem to bother him, he did it like it was easy. From the angle I was at, I could see the sharpness of his jawline, like it could cut through metal. His skin was flawless, slightly tan and glowing like the cold LED lights were the sun. He must have noticed me staring at him because the moment we made it to the through the back door of the bar, he looked down to face me with a mischievous grin.

"Enjoying the view?" His huge eyes embraced me once more making me blank for a second. How did he do that?

"Totally" my tone was sarcastic and I rolled my eyes again.

"I could just hold you if you like" his grin turned into a smirk, he was intentionally irritating me at this point.

"I've had my fill of idiocy today thanks."

His eyes danced between mine as he steadily put me down on the sofa facing the tv. As soon as my feet touched the ground however, I lifted my foot and stamped on his Nike trainers as hard as I had the energy to, instantly regretting as the surge of pain shot through my bandaged knee.

He groaned more out of annoyance than pain.

"Seriously?" His tone still light.

I slightly opened my eyes to watch his face, his eyebrow raised again.

"You are so regretting that!" With that he wedged himself between the arm rest and me turning to face the football match on the tv.

"No you don't." My voice was firm and controlled.

"What you gonna do? Punch me?" He smiles widely as his eyes gazed over to my bruised arm.

This was going to be a long bloody day...

Hello my fellow villains!

How are we all doing? It's been a while, I was quite ill so I took a break and had writer's block for ages. Anyways, I'm now back and will post much more frequently.
What do you think of this chapter?