Virulence

Chapter 9 - Rias Acts on Impulse

I don't know what came over me. Once I saw those mercs grab Lark and shove him in the back of that truck, I got angry. I wanted to kill those bastards for hurting him. I followed the truck along the rooftops, careful to stay out of sight and not draw attention to myself.

The truck came to a stop in the outskirts of South City, outside a run down shack on the border of the river. I watched from the tree as they carried Lark inside. I waited until they had all went inside before sneaking closer to a window.

The mercs had chained him to a crossed pipe, letting the weight of his body pull against his chained wrists. The one that seemed to the leader threw a bucket of water in Lark's face, waking him up. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I could see that Lark was irritating the mercenary. That foolish brat, what he trying to get himself killed?

Once the leader motioned for all the underlings to start beating on Lark, I felt my entire body tense up. I wanted to jump in and save him, but that would be stupid to do right now. I might accidentally kill Lark in the crossfire. I had to be patient.

I waited until it was the leaders turn to attack Lark, waiting until everyone in the room had their backs to me. I pulled my hood over my head, pistol in one hand and my dagger in the other.

I crawled through the window quietly before pointing my gun at the closest man. I pulled the trigger, hitting him square in the back of the head. I struck the next one with my dagger before the first body hit the ground. I yanked the dagger out before dragging it across the throat of the next man.

The leader had turned his attention to me now, ready to charge at me with his weapon. I ducked under the wide swing of the last goon before ramming my dagger hilt deep into his chest. I aimed my pistol at the charging leader and waited till he was within point blank range to pull the trigger. The gun may be small, but the bullets were powerful. Blood spurted from the giant hole in his chest as he fell backwards at Lark's feet.

As I pulled my dagger out, I could feel Lark's eyes on me. I put away my weapons before moving to free him. I could hear him mutter something before he is out cold, his full weight falling against me as I unchained him. A weird feeling went through me when I caught him, the same feeling I had when he was attacked by the mountain lion.

I shook my head, clearing all that nonsense out of my mind before shifting Lark around until he was on my back. I hooked my arms under his knees and started the long journey back to the Shadow's cave. Every now and then I needed to stop and readjust him higher up my back. His soft breath on the back of my neck sent chills up my spine.

Luckily, no one was awake by the time I got back to the cave. I would have been surprised if anyone had been this late. I took Lark up to the private room, not wanting to risk any of the others seeing.

It took some maneuvering, but I managed to get his shirt off without waking him. I was surprised to see that the damage the mercs had caused wasn't as bad as I feared it would be. There were just a few cuts and bruises that would heal in a few days.

The worst injury he had was his jaw. The left side was swollen and turning purple. I pulled an ice pack out of the med kit, broke it, and pressed it gently against the bruise. Lark flinched in his sleep, making me worry that he was going to wake up. He groaned and wiggled but remained asleep. I was surprised how relieved I was.

I taped the ice pack to his jaw before packing up and sneaking out of the room. After returning the med kit and disposing of the bloody gauze, I climbed the rafters to my lookout to think. I sighed as I leaned against the ledge, looking out into the dark forest.

I realized that I didn't want to be around Lark when he woke up. I didn't want him to know that I was his rescuer, so I wore my hood. Why is that? Why am I afraid to take credit for this? I couldn't think of a reason. I rested my head in my hands, slowly sliding them to the back of my neck and lacing my fingers together.

"You need to stay away from him." I said to myself. "Being around him makes you crazy. You lose your temper around him."

I laughed quietly, moving backward to lean on the wall. I was already crazy for talking to myself. I looked out at South City, watching the lights flicker. I sometimes wonder what it would be like to be a normal person.

"Stay away Rias." I bumped my head against the stone after each word. Maybe then I would remember them.

I slid down to sit on the ground, staring up at the starry night sky. I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm my pounding heart. All these emotions are completely foreign to me. They make me feel helpless and trapped. I hated feeling like that, especially in my home. I was supposed to feel safe here, not unstable.

I cursed before punching my thigh, hard enough that I knew there would be a bruise there tomorrow. Enough thinking about all this. I needed to go do something to get my mind off of all this. I need to go to the bar and find another target. The booze wouldn't hurt either.