Blood in the rain: Chronicles of the Hunter

Chapter 2 & 3

Chapter 2 – The Devil Deals in Darkness

"It's going to be alright Cyrus." The young boy assured the dying man, as he tore off the man's belt and began fastening the wound, which was bleeding profusely, everywhere on the ground. Inwardly, the boy cringed at just how much blood Cyrus had lost. The smell alone was permeating through the garbage and stench of the city alleyway, they were crouched in.

"John..." Cyrus called to his helper desperately gasping for each breath. As John worked on tightening the belt, keeping pressure on the wound, he jerked his head up at hearing the injured's plea.

"Cyrus!" John chastised the dying man. "Save your strength. Don't talk."

Cyrus could see the glint in John's eyes that meant he was not joking around. Finally, he calmed down, whether it was due to the silence that filled the air or the loss of blood, he was unsure. Cyrus only knew that a sense of calm washed over him some time later, as John sat with him in the cold, steam filled air. The others stirred and shifted uncomfortably in the dark damp night.

The only source of light within the alleyway was the still burning werewolf, who whimpered helplessly awaiting for the remaining combustible fur and flesh to simmer out. They looked to one another as the woman who had previously cried, pulled a piece of cloth from within her pocket and began to dab away at her bloodied face.

"We need to get the hell out of here!" She grew frustrated, as she stamped back and forth across the pavement.

"Just calm down Carla, we can't just leave Cyrus like this." The other woman stepped forth and placed her hand on Carla's shoulder.

"The hell we can't!" She yelled as she flung back the woman's hand and stomped away. "We left Alice didn't we? Cyrus is worse off than she was. Why can't we just leave him too?" This time John turned around, carefully placing Cyrus's left hand over the makeshift tourniquet.

"Stop it! We need to stay calm. We have gotten this far. We can still make it the rest of the way. We can find someone in the resistance. They'll take us in." Carla sneered and laughed at John as she walked over to Cyrus.

"Your precious resistance doesn't exist, John. We have no hope now. You led us on this silly crusade of yours and now we are all dead. You hear me? They are dead now, because of you. Alice, Keagen, Cyrus and the rest of us."

"Carla stop, it isn't his fault. We all agreed."

"We all agreed to what? To run out here in the middle of the night, with no plan and no hope? Just to be slaughtered like animals." John spoke up still trying to hold onto Cyrus.

"Carla, no one is keeping you here. If you will not help me with Cyrus, please leave." Carla glared at John's back and fumed angrily before stomping away.

"Jocelyn, will you please help me? We need to move Cyrus away from here, before the others arrive for their friend." He spoke as he gestured towards the smoldering beast. Jocelyn trembled uncontrollably as she looked between John, Carla, the beast and the pool of blood that had formed around Cyrus.

"I...I..." She turned her head toward the werewolf again and then looked back at John. "I can't John. I'm so sorry, I can't." She ended as she ran down the alley and vanished in the night.

"Jocelyn, stop! Wait!" John attempted to call out to her as she ran off into the darkness with Carla, leaving him alone with Cyrus, desperately clinging to life.

"Don't worry Cyrus, I'll get you out of here, I promise." John placed Cyrus' left arm around his shoulder and slowly lifted him from the ground, carefully placing one foot in front of the other.