Reaper's Touch

Lucas: Primal

"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing..."
-Edgar Allan Poe

Lucas, Nora and Hex were at Jeff's place packing. It had been two weeks since that horrible night. The funeral had come and gone. Life was going on without Jeff... and now without Gus.

Moon mourned for Gus like her heart was broken, refusing to eat more than a few bites each day. She was losing weight rapidly and howled at the front door at night.

The day after he died, Jeff's sister, Michelle, flew in from Rhode Island to attend the funeral and take care of her brother's will and property.

Michelle had a lot of sympathy for Hex and Gus, but she'd made it clear from the beginning that she was putting the house on the market right away so that she could return to Rhode Island as soon as possible. An offer had been placed two days ago and accepted, which meant Gus, Hex and Moon were currently homeless. They had three days to pack, move out and move in to Ember's tiny apartment.

Hex's phone rang, and she put down the box she was carrying to answer it.

"Hello?"

Lucas anxiously watched her face. They hadn't seen or heard from Gus since the night Jeff died. Maybe this was good news.

"You did?" she gasped. "No, that's fine. I know exactly where to look! Thank you!"

Hex sighed with relief as she hung up the call. "That was DF. Gus is alive!"

Lucas's knees went weak with relief. "Where is he?"

"I don't know, but my first guess is Adam's Bridge."

"Then let's go!" he exclaimed.

——————

Hex's hunch had been right. There was Gus at the bridge, shirtless, gripping handfuls of torn pages out of a stained, waterlogged Bible in his lap. The book was filthy and falling apart like soggy bread, and Gus was mumbling to himself, arranging the shredded pieces into shapes that only made sense to him.

"Gus?" Hex asked gently. "DF called. He's worried. Are you okay, baby?"

Lucas was horrified. Gus had lost a great deal of weight, he was filthy, covered in bug bites, his skin pink and raw from the cold like a newborn mouse. He would have been unrecognizable if it wasn't for the blazing forest fire tattoo on his back.

Gus looked at Hex with wild, animal eyes and screamed at the top of his lungs. He grabbed a nearby rock and threw it at her. Shocked, they all watched as the rock, in slow motion, hurled toward Hex's head. She dodged it just in time, and it rolled down into the muddy ravine. 

Lucas grabbed Nora's hand and took a step back with her. The stark difference between this Gus and the one they knew was frightening. Lucas had no idea what he was on or how many drugs he'd mixed during the long morning, but it was clear he was out of his mind.

"What's wrong with him?" Lucas asked Hex softly.

She shook her head. "Psychosis. It would happen to Adam too after a bender. They see things that aren't there, hear things, and they can get really aggressive."

"Well what do we do? He won't listen to us if he's not in his right mind!" Lucas exclaimed, feeling helpless.

"We call the cops or we wait it out. That's the choice," Hex said.