Prophecy: Tome of Skin

16. A Light at the End

It was like a bad horror movie, the way the scene was laid out when she arrived. The door was already open, not all the way, swinging freely, but just a crack. Through that crack she could see the light within flickering, painting the room a threatening yellow color with its last ounce of life. Still, she was not dissuaded from going in, and she remained halfway in the hall as she pushed on the heavy wood to get a better look at what was inside. Once she had, she understood that it was only fitting that the entire act was so dour, and she stared in without blinking to what was within.

"Alistair?" Angel whispered quietly, the sound bouncing around the dead silence as she forwent the usual nickname that she called him by. No, it seemed right that she should address him properly as she viewed the body that lay on the floor. There was no mistaking his condition, and he stared at her with wide, glazed over eyes while flies buzzed about his lifeless form. Part of her was almost afraid to approach. Almost. After moving further into the flat she turned and closed the door, going over to his body and lowering herself until she was on her knees next to him. "Alistair."

At first sight it was clear to her that he had not died there, in his apartment, because there was no blood around him, despite the very clear wound he had in his chest, accented by the knife that still stuck in him. Obviously he had been placed there, out of the way and forgotten by the rest of the world. Angel couldn't tell how long he had been there, hours, days, but it had certainly been a while judging on the stiffness that had already gone through his limbs. She knew that by touching him, by softly placing her hands all over his body without thought.

Though he was dead she was not afraid to be near him, after all she was so accustomed to seeing death's ugly face so personally. Yet there was a part of her that was afraid, and she was unsure of why that was. Was it because she knew who had done it? That perhaps she was next? Or was she simply afraid because he was the last person on earth who cared about her at all? Now he was gone too, and she covered her mouth while her tears glided down her face and found their home on the corpse.

With soft cries she cooed over him, telling him things she had neglected to tell him in life, continuing to keep her hands on him. Though she knew it would be really over when she let him go, she still did, grabbing ahold of the knife and breathing heavily before ripping it out. The sound it made was sick and she had to stop herself from gagging, leaning over him one last time to kiss him on the forehead before getting up. As her last act, she went over to his phone and dialed the emergency number, waiting until the dispatcher answered to set it down and walk out of there, leaving it all behind.

While she dealt with her own demons, so too did the gang over at Myrna's shop-though their demons were perhaps more literal. Toby had called together a meeting, wishing to deal with a problem that he thought affected them all, and was shocked and dismayed to learn that his call had been ill received. When he had arrived he discovered that the only one who had shown up was Dill. Percy was there too, of course, but that was more a direct result of her living at the shop. Myrna was there also, though she made it very clear right away that she did not want to be.

"I can't stay long, what's so urgent?" She asked, not bothering to even sit because she hoped it would be over soon. Though Cliff was quite capable, she didn't like having to leave him alone for longer than she had to.

"We need to talk about the super soldiers, once and for all we need to decide what we're going to do with them. Monica has been using the bastards hot and heavy now to try and beat us out, and even though we've been fighting back against them pretty well I know it's only a matter of time." Toby stated, looking between them.