Burning Souls (F.T Sequel)

Thirty-Three

A/N: I was so inspired for this chapter! I hope you love it as much as I do. Enjoy reading =)

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The two males are infuriated, blinded by the thirst for spilt blood and death. They're a writhing pile of limbs, kicking and snarling and biting and tearing. It's only when the first streaks of red scream at me for attention that I snap out of my daze and dash towards them. I force the crimson out of my vision and focus on the matter at hand. Jay must have needed to tell us something important if he was willing to interrupt something as import as tonight. "Hunter!" I yell. When all I get in response are more groans and more snarls, feel anger mingle with the annoyance. "Fuck it." I throw myself onto Hunter's back who's currently got the upper-hand, and koala bear-hug the unkillable life out of him. He thrashes around and I feel my hands and feet slipping from their tight grasps. "Damn-it-Hunter-" I wheeze, looking past his shoulder to where Jay's eyes are blazing pits of fire, staring right up at his assailant. It's as if I don't exist to both of them. I'm suddenly clutching onto Hunter's rippling body for dear life as Jay throws him off of him and rolls to his feet. Hunter falls onto his back and flattens me to a pancake right underneath him. Just before Jay's about to spring again, an infuriated, ear-piercing scream splits the night air in half. Everyone freezes like deers caught in headlights, but then I realise that I'm shaking. It was my own scream. Hunter turns around sees me standing there, completely livid.  

"Let's just-" I stop, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, "Let's just listen - to him. Okay?" Hunter doesn't say anything but ends up nodding anyway. When Jay takes a step towards us with a calmer look on his face now, Hunter instinctively takes a protective stance beside me. Jay's eyes narrow again abruptly and zone right in on the two, bleeding puncture wounds by my collarbone. I can practically feel the tension rolling off of him, engulfing us all in a delicate encasement, more fragile than glass. One wrong move, and it'll break once again. I avoid his heavy gaze and walk past Hunter, towards a small, woven basket. I lift up the lid and wordlessly pick out two bottles of fresh blood. I hand one to Jay and then I walk back over to Hunter, placing the liquid in his vividly trembling hand. "Drink. You'll heal faster. And you," I turn towards Jay who's lips are already stained with blood. "Talk." He wipes his mouth with his sleeve and caps the bottle, regarding it absent-mindedly. 

"I came here to explain myself to you both," he begins. Then, our eyes lock and he offers a saddened look, "Especially you Em." 

"Don't call me that," I hiss. His expression falls but he nods slowly, letting my words sink in. 

"You're right. I don't deserve your friendship after everything I did, or rather, didn't do. I let Gabriel torture you and use you. I'm sorry for that, I really am."

"An apology isn't going to cut it, Jay," I throw back. When I hear the harshness in my own words, I let a calmer edge settle into my tone. "I want a valid explanation. For everything." He nods and twirls the glass bottle around in his hands. They twitch with nervosity. 

"When you umm-" He shifts uncomfortably as realisation washes over me and I stiffen. Hunter's hand skims my arm, brushing down in a calming manner. But flashback after flashback fills my head abruptly, letting blood-curling visions fill my head with destruction and chaos. The old feelings that I've tried suppressing since all those years ago come rushing back, pushing their way to the surface. We were sweethearts. I see my own, cold hand clutching the dagger and pushing into Jay's flesh. His cry of pain, his fall to the ground. Then, my own body folding over him, clutching his still body in my shaking arms, cradling his head in my lap, those lifeless eyes staring up at me. When I manage to rip myself away from those memories I look up and clash with Jay's knowing gaze. He clears his throat and fills the silence once again, choosing to modify his choice of words. "When Gabriel resurrected me with that witch of his, he started out by caring for me. But then, he'd use that thing, that Shadow, to suck all of the humanity out of me.