memento mori [DNF]

Chapter 2

The sunlight poured in through the open window and onto Clay's still face, illuminating his light freckles and the several scars that he had accumulated throughout the years. Most of them were from knife fights, but one, on his left ear, was from a bullet. It tore out a chunk of his ear near the top and stood as a constant reminder that death is always closer than one would think. As the sun rose higher into the morning sky, the light moved over his eyes and prompted him to wake up.

He sat up and sheathed the knife that was previously tightly gripped between his finger tips. He glanced over and saw that Levy was still sleeping soundly, but Nick wasn't in the room. Nick typically woke up before everyone else, but never left the house without at least telling somebody where he was going. Clay stood up and sauntered into the only other room in the small shack just to find that Nick wasn't there either. A slight bit of anxiety started to fill his heart. Despite knowing Nick for years and knowing that he can handle himself, he couldn't help but worry about him.

"Nick?" He called out quietly as to not wake Levy.

"I'm out here." Clay turned his head and realized that Nick was sitting outside. He walked to the doorway and pushed through the tapestry.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Just watching the sunrise. I woke up early enough to see the entire thing. I normally watch it rise every morning and then come back in, but today i just felt like staying outside for a bit longer." Clay noticed that Nick looked happy for once. His eyes were glued to the sky and there was a slight turn of his mouth that Clay rarely ever got to see. Nick made jokes and laughed a lot but hardly any of it ever seemed genuine, but this, was genuine.

Clay knew if he was going to leave today, he'd need to go now. Before Levy woke up. "Hey, I was thinking about going around to the shops today and seeing if I could pick up some work." Clay was good at lying. Everyone nowadays had to be.

"Okay. Levy is going to go and do some cleaning for some merchants today as well so you might see her later on." Nick looked back at Clay and the small light in his eyes and the twist of his lips was gone. "I'll probably see if I can help clean up the sanctuary. Maybe I can sneak away with some burnt wood." He smiled at Clay obviously joking, but it was nothing like the sunrise smile.

"You do that.. I'm gonna change and head out." He made his way back inside and into the bedroom. Tip-toeing around Levy to grab a shirt and his backpack. He secured his other knives to his hip and one on his ankle. Guns were a luxury and fairly rare. He had only had a few encounters with them, and each time it almost cost him his life. Prior to the encounters, he had actually wanted a gun more than anything, as they were much more effective on doctor assignments, but he grew a hatred for them after almost being killed.

He gave a silent nod to Nick as he stepped out of the house. The warehouse was in the opposite direction as the shops, so just to be safe he walked towards the shops for a bit before turning around.

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The torn hem around his ankle left a long denim string dragging behind him as he walked through the almost-empty parking lot. He tried his best to ignore the limb-filled shopping carts strewn about the property, but his constantly curious mind caused his eyes to drift from the ground into a cart to his right. Blood was still dripping through the slats of the cart onto the pavement, creating a stream that flowed from crack to crack. There was an arm laid up against the walls of the cart, the hand cascading over the side. Clay watched closely as the fingers on the hand slowly started rising and falling, almost in tune with his own breath. He could not decipher whether the image was real or whether the movement was something constructed in his mind. There was a thin golden band tightly hugging the fourth finger. He recognized it as a symbol from years back. Couples would wear it when they got married, but he had only ever seen a few in his lifetime due to gold and silver being used for the making of coins.