PROJECT MORTUUS: Killer In Silence

Chapter 7: Love Beyond Life

Mortuus fell farther from everything around him and back into his world of hallucinations. The sun that had been shining brightly in the sky was now dipping behind the rocky horizon outside a window, and the once pristine street he was on was now replaced with a family dining room with soft lighting.

Cinnamon candles nicely lighted the room from side tables against the walls olive walls. In the middle of the room, underneath a majestic golden-brass chandelier, was a long wood dining table that stretched in front of a large window.

Sitting at the end of the table was a woman whose hair was tied in a messy bun. Beside her, on either side, was a set of twin boys bickering about pointless squabbles. Mortuus sat beside one of the boys and listened as the family talked happily about their day.

"Why'd he show me this?" Mortuus asked aloud. The family continued to talk and laugh amongst themselves. Mortuus heard a door opening as they did, and the children ran off to greet the one who entered.

He stayed seated, his eyes widening as he saw Jackson walking in with the two boys. Jackson held them up in a big hug before sitting them in their seats and kissing his wife. He was a fairly muscular man, so holding up both boys looked to be easy work for him.

They were a happy family from what he gathered in just the few minutes he'd been there. "Sorry, I'm late, Honey. They kept me later than I expected." Jackson apologized to his wife, who just smiled and nodded in acknowledgment. It was clear she was rather tired from raising two boys.

Mortuus just sat with them and watched as they had dinner together, something he knew very little about, considering he usually ate alone whenever he did eat. They seemed like the perfect example of what family is meant to be. And when they were done, the kids cleaned off their plates and placed them into the dishwasher.

Mortuus watched as Jackson stood up and spoke to his wife. "We need pull-ups for Jonesy, Honey. I'll go down to the store and get some. Maybe I'll grab a pack of cigarettes, too." he said as he put on his coat, kissing her cheek before leaving.

"Be safe, Sweetie." His wife called out the door to him as he left, unaware that he would not be returning. His wife's statement was creepy when Mortuus considered the fact that these were the last words Jackson would ever hear his wife say to him. He followed, knowing this had to be it. This was the tragedy that made him. The two men walked along the dark streets, only one aware of the other's presence.

As they walked, a man dressed in dark clothes approached from the darkness. The man seemed somewhat jittery, as if on something, most likely crack. He spoke, flashing his knife in Jackson's face and demanding things to fuel his awful addiction. "Give me all your fuckin money, and we won't have a problem." He snarled while scratching at the open wounds on his arms, which looked to be infected from being scratched open so many times.

Jackson backed up, his fear showing. "There are other ways of getting money, Sir. You don't want to do this." He said, trying to calm the man, with no luck. He snarled at Jackson again, scratching his arms, which were very bruised from needles, and scratching at the skin repeatedly. "JUST HAND OVER THE MONEY!!" He shouted.

Jackson pleaded, "Please, I have kids. I just want to get home to them." This seemed to anger him more, and without hesitation, the jittery man plunged the blade into Jackson's stomach. The pain was unreal to him as he felt the warm blood begin dripping from the wound. It didn't feel like this was actually happening for a few seconds.

Jackson dropped to the ground in a pained heap, his heart racing as he struggled to comprehend the moment. The man riffled through his pockets, grabbing as much money as possible. He only had about thirty dollars and a silver watch with a cracked glass face set to the wrong time on it. There wasn't much value on him.

As Jackson faded in and out of consciousness, the man dragged the blade across his throat, watching as the life drained from his corpse. As he heard animals howling, Jackson's wallet in hand, he ran off. Crater Hollow was notorious for its coyote population, and no one wanted to be caught around something that would only attract them, even if they were on substances.

Mortuus was paralyzed with fear by the whole situation. Before he could kneel to hold Jackson's hand in his final moments, he watched as coyotes began to surround him from Angus Woods. There was nothing he could possibly do to prevent it. He counted at least twelve, a few of them being mere pups.

Being the opportunistic predators they are, the coyotes began to tear into Jackson's fading corpse viciously. They picked at his barely conscious corpse, finally ending him with a solid bite to the throat, tearing out his vocal cords. One of the coyotes turned to face Mortuus, Jackson's vocal cords dangling from its bloodstained teeth. The blood dripped down its snout as it stared into Mortuus's eyes.

Mortuus stumbled backward, shocked by the mortality of Jackson's end. He turned to run the other way, but a cat had come closer in curiosity. Mortuus ran again the other way, terrified by the scene he had witnessed and even more scared by the cat for reasons that no one could really entirely understand.

He fell to his knees again, his vision blackening as he neared what seemed like an inescapable descent into darkness. The pitch blackness only got more frightening with each second that seemed to feel like an hour. Mortuus couldn't get that coyote out of his head as he returned to reality.