Moonlight Sonata

29. Martyrs

The pitter-patter of small feet dragged me from my slumber, bringing me into the bright world around me. Sun shone inside from the window and I found my blankets empty, noting how warm they'd felt to the touch. The space beside me was taken though and I rolled over to find Nolan curled away from me, his soft snoring reaching my ears. I smiled and wrapped my arms around his waist, taking respite against his warm skin. He stirred beneath my touch and turned in my arms, pressing his lips to mine in a groggy fashion. A laugh escaped my lips and his eyes blinked open, but he didn't pull away; he only smiled and pulled me closer.

"Good morning," I whispered.

"Is it morning already?" He asked, his raspy voice causing me to cave slightly.

"It's probably around eight," I chuckled, "are you ready to get up yet?"

"No." Nolan stated, and I snorted quietly as I held back giggles.

"Come on, we've got work to do today." I prodded his chest and he let out a groan of protest, rolling over and onto the floor ungracefully. I took a more careful approach to exit the blankets, pulling off his shirt as I did and tossing it over to him.

"Sorry about the blood," I winced, pulling my own shirt on over my head.

"Don't worry about it," he grinned, "how are you feeling?"

"I'm alright, just a little shaken up over that stupid dream." I laughed, grabbing my shorts again. I didn't bother with shoes, and instead enjoyed the freedom of walking around barefoot.

"Would shooting some stuff make you feel better?" He raised an eyebrow, and I weighed my options before nodding.

"Let's get some breakfast first."

I pushed him out of the way and ran out into the hall, listening to his footsteps as they pounded along behind me. I rounded the corner into the kitchen, finding that the poor table had been lined with weapons and there was a large box of ammunition beneath it. Medusa had taken up the cooking duty today, placing pancakes on plates before handing us both our own.

"You guys are up early," she smiled, "Dev is still sleeping, so is Libra."

"That's fine, they don't need to train very much anyway," I said, "do you know how to handle a gun?"

"Not well." Medusa winced, and I squeezed her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, that's what we're handling today."

She let out a sigh of relief before returning to the stove. Nolan and I walked back out and found Ritter, Lily, and Crowe sitting on the couches and watching the news. I plopped down beside Lily and watched as she chomped down on her fork, obviously hungrier than I'd first imagined. Her hand shot out suddenly and she smiled, her mouth full of fluff as she spoke around it.

"Look! It's Tammy!"

My eyes snapped to the screen and I watched as a woman in an evening gown sauntered down the hall with Murmur by her side. The footage was from a CCTV camera and it appeared that the screen was being recorded on a phone. The footage flipped to the other end and we were looking at them from behind as they trotted towards a wall of PASCI agents, shields and guns raised. Thamyris pulled her bandages off and let them drop, just as the men shouted something. The screen went blurry for a second as she screamed and the collective faces of the soldiers grew dark before they collapsed. The screen came back on normally and she turned back around, her figure no longer that of a phantom. Thamyris had grown solid, the consumption of human souls turning her downright into a demon. Murmur looked like he was enjoying it.

"Baton Rouge," I said, "they're in Louisiana."

"That means they're coming here!" Lily squealed, "they got your message!"