VAGUE

CHAPTER 9 (PART 2)

CHAPTER 9

-PART TWO-

-STORY OF TRES DIABLOS-

-MEETING THE ACHILLES HELLHOUND-

His eyes

Held a gaze more fearsome than a Panther. A thin paper cigarette hung from his bottom lip, a small trail of smoke escaping from the corner of his mouth danced its way to the ceiling above. In one hand a gun lay loosely, his finger gently pressed against the trigger sending a bullet millimeters away onto the wall behind with a bang that echoed throughout the room. His eyebrow raised in amusement at his allies' reaction,

nothing

not a flinch,

not a single damn thing

Lock let his eyes roll up to the woman that had entered. Her heels clacked like they were damaging his walnut floor and he wanted to tell her to take them off. She was a red head in a dark suit, but that isn't what grabbed his attention. Before her she held a dagger,

She killed someone.

He cursed inwardly moved to stand, but then sank back down. He was lower than her, but sitting was a powerful position so long as he was relaxed enough. Instead he extended his hand open palmed and invited her to sit. She stopped with no emotion. And ignore him.

...

Sometimes memory can make a person sad, fiercely loyal and overprotective,

like I ever needed that.

The sun streamed through the windows, yet his mind was clouded with grey. His mood ricocheted between low and lower. He had no energy or motivation to get done the mountain of work that awaited. This melancholy is a cloak he can't simply let fall to the floor, and though he holds it so tight he can't find the warmth he need,

yet it clings.

It is the anchor to his feet, the reason he can't find the surface or the sunshine, that feeling of soft joy that lives in memories that can't rise within.

Can't rise again.

...

Even the shadows now were swallowed by the encroaching darkness. In the gathering gloom the stars and the moon shone brighter in the sky, as if to remind that even in the darkness there is light. The warm bronze moonlight was swallowed by the horizon.

A beautiful darkness.

A darkness where his laughter lines illuminated and seemed to turn from creaks to craters as he smiled at the scintillating moon. Somewhere in the distance an owl sounded, awakening the nocturnal nature. The lustrous, dancing stars glinted in the sky, brightening it even more. As long as the moon is iridescently shining and the stars gleam above, the nightfall brought a welcome coolness to the land after the sultry day. Described it as like 'the breath of God after the fires of a hellish day, soothing us to sleep like a lullaby, refreshing the souls for a new journey in the morn. Nightfall cocooned to everyone in its protective folds, they would not search for one in the darkness. Now he was protected and hidden in its velvety blackness. I could curl up under the white gold moon and sleep under the constellations for a couple of hours, then rise before the dawn and follow the stream toward the river and the boarder to freedom. The familiar trees and rocks of the daytime took on new and ominous forms. It was as if by stealing their colors the night also stole friendly spirits and replaced with malicious demons.

Returning to the demon they once become.

Even the stars and mood could not make seem any less threatening. The lack of bird song made the woods eerie and imagined every leaf flutter or twig snap to announce the arrival of a dangerous man or beast. Shivered in the inky darkness until the dawn chorus broke the malignant spell, voices had never sounded so sweet and the return of the watery daylight slanting through the canopy above had never been so welcome. Bathed in the gentle glow of the street-lamps, now there is only darkness. Once the darkness of the night is complete there is nothing more terrifying than light. Pastes his body to the cold dark wall behind while drinking a glass of sapphire alcohol. The night's mauve spittle is staining the marigold and medallion of the day, lines of Eagan blue teeth ripping at the seams of light. The night is a dark tiger, savoring its tasteful prey of the sun. The land beneath the night is deserted, for with the tiger's arrival comes threat. Long gone is the time when humans watched as darkness devoured the light. But one stays.