City of Thieves

Chapter 13: Thirteen

Authors note:
Oohhh chapter 13, you know what 13 means, unluckiest number.
Why?
Some believe this its unlucky because one of the thirteen Judas Iscariot was the betrayer of Jesus Christ.
Also, there are 13 steps leading up to the gallows.
There are 13 dirty words according to Mr. Crabs on Spongebob.
There are other reasons as well, 13 full reasons specifically. So yeah, 13 is pretty unlucky, its also considerably close to Halloween.
And who am I to not put some creepy sinful unlucky shmut  in this chapter eh? Enjoy the ride kids. And enjoy that creepy song.
------------free -------their --------souls ------------

Laura was lying on the couch not knowing what to do or say.
Aron was talking to Shelby, some things about trade and some things about her.
Shelby laughed really loud, and Laura figured Aron must have told her what happened when he pinned her to the floor.
After a while, Shelby left.

Aron sat on the couch next to Laura, she didn't look at him, just stared at the ceiling picking a loose thread on her jacket.
He opened his mouth to speak.
"Are.. you hungry"
I haven't eaten in 36 hours, the hell do you think.
"Kinda." She murmured.
"Great, we have some leftover raccoon and cat"
She looked at him discussed.
Actually, Ill just die. I could give two shits.
He laughed at her expression.
"Im just kidding. We have some real food.
I can make soup."
She gave a hint of a smile; a sign of relief.
"Ha.. oh eh.. ok"
He smiled and got up.
                                         ♣️
Aron was in the kitchen, watching Laura while also cutting up vegetables to make soup. Why would he offer to make soup? He barely had enough water to bath himself. Hell, he'll take the smell of freshly ground soil and greasy building plaster just so he could go a weeks nights without biting his tongue just to quench out any extra saliva to satisfy his thirst. 

He put the vegetables in a pot and headed to get water,
he got the water Shelby gave him before he remembered.
"This isn't water, it's whiskey"
Aron said to Shelby wide eyed.
And then a loud bang sounded in the other room, taking his focus off the whisky as he headed for the room.

He put his hands to the sides of his head.
"WHAT IN THE BLUE BLOODY HELL IS THIS SHIT, SO HELP ME GOD IM GOING TO SLIT MY THROUGH WITH MY OWN FINGER NAIL, TO HELL WITH THIS"
Aron looked over at Laura looking at him looking at her; confused. Less than five seconds following led to Laura's outburst of laughter. Laura didn't have a beautiful laugh. It was bubbly, high, and wild; uncovered; untamed.

But that, to Aron, was beautiful.

She looked up at Aron.
"What the hell happened" Laura demurred.
"ILL TELL YOU WHAT BLOODY HAPPENED-"
The world around him had died. Black. Black everywhere he looked. The power went out, and there was a powerful sound of glass shattering in the other room.
Aron looking at Laura, then turning away to spring toward his weapons before any intentional entity would have the chance. He grabbed Laura by the arm and pulled her to the office, then taking her to the closet.
"Stay in here and don't come out until I say"
he whispered.
"I can be an extra set of eyes."
She suggested, beaming confident.
"I don't know whats going on here, this could be big. Stay here, if I dont come back in five minutes, go to Tatiana's, its the same floor as this one two apartments left on this one, open the window to the room next to this, the one next to the poster. Jump to the window in sight and go straight and do that again. You'll get to Tatianas apartment in front-"
There was another shatter, then a wild, shivering laugh.
"Good luck doll"
She nodded.
He closed the closet and ran to the room.

                                         ♣️
Aron got to the room where the shatter came from. He took out a match box and lit up a match. What he saw forced him to fall to his knees,
Tatiana was there, covered from head to toe in blood. She had been stabbed in her chest multiple times. That wasn't all, she was strung up on the wall by her hands, with a white alpaca mask hung around her neck.
Its the mask of the third member of the pack. The alpaca.

A low husk voice started from the corner, making Aron jump up taking out a seal knife and pointing it toward the figure.
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth"
He let out a sickly laugh, when the man stepped into the dim lit of the moon light coming from the window, he was horribly scarred down the center of his face. The mask had left some nicks on his face, marking where it had been.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE"
Aron yelled a fury from a thousand lifetimes.
"You have taken my pack from me, I am all alone now, no where to go, no one to take me. You took them from me,
so now im returning the favor, you're little girlfriend is next.
Then, you'll be all alone." He said in a low ailing voice.
"YOUR SICK" Aron yelled. "JUST WHO IN THE HELL ARE YOU"
"I was once called A'dail, my pack, my family, they gave me that name to show me I belonged.
We'd live through the night until the traffic lights died out.
But there gone now. I am now known as Dustin by birth, you'll remember me, and you'll remember my name when it's written on the corpses of you'r friends." Dustin snarled.

"The only thing your name will mark is my dagger when I slice open your throat and feed your body to the dogs" Aron shot back.

Dustin gave a menacing sinister smile. He stepped closer, revealing more of his face.
His eyes were a deep white, his nose crooked above his crusty rugged lips. He was the most baleful alarming entity Aron had ever seen.

"I don't think you understand boy,"
Dustin laughed.
"I am the quickest of the pact, the smartest.
Don't you see you fool? A'dail means beast.
And you. You are my prey."
Dustin lunged at Aron, Aron flew out of the way and hit the door. Dustin looked at him and took out a knuckleduster dagger. Aron threw himself around the door slamming it shut and locking it.
He heard Dustin ramble the doorknob.

"SMART BOY, BUT HOW QUICK ARE YOU TO GET HER AND YOU OUT BEFORE I KNOCK THIS DOWN WITH MY AXE" He yelled, his confidence taking over his anger.
"GO TO HELL" Aron yelled and took off.

He made it to the office,
"Laura?" He whispered. He checked the closet, he shuffled threw the clothes and darkness. She was gone. He looked at the window, it had been smashed open, the torn pieces of fabric on the glass revealed that someone had crawled out.