Cloud flicks the lid of his lighter open and closed, being squeezed against the car door by Hunter who has an even harder time fitting in.
They'd given the Hellhound a turquoise hoodie and some shorts to cover up after he transformed back but neither Helel or Mr. Jefferson said anything more to either of them.
They're mad.
Cloud snaps the lighter shut, looking up at the frowning reflections in the mirror. More than that...they're furious.
Mr. Jefferson sits in the driver's seat whilst Helel glances out of the passenger side window.
Cloud can tell the two of them have a plan and he is dreading to learn what it may be.
In the Olympia he made a decision, one that he considers to be the correct choice if he's ever going to get the answers he seeks, but that decision may have put him in more danger now than he ever was before.
'So be it.' he thinks, pushing forwards in his stubbornness to deny how anxious he feels.
Cloud's eyes flicker down to Hunter's hands resting on his own exposed knees, watching him claw at his beige skin until he draws blood.
Cloud covers his hand with his own to stop the nasty habit, having a moment of self reflection when he thinks back to the earlier days inside the bunker. I'm sorry he made you snap your fingers...I wish...I should have been better.
You're being too hard on yourself.
Cloud looks around once Mr. Jefferson parks the car, finding fields of wildflowers surrounded by trees and nothing else for miles.
I'm just glad you have a healing factor otherwise I'd feel even worse.
Hunter looks down at his knees, observing the skin knit itself back together. If I didn't I'd already have taken your head off.
Cloud whips his head around towards his backseat neighbour. You're joking right...right?
Cloud almost falls out of the car when Mr. Jefferson unlocks the door with his left hand, his eye immediately being drawn towards the loaded shotgun in the man's other hand.
"Son, step out of the car." he says so calmly that Cloud's heart almost skips a beat.
Instead of arguing, Cloud shoots Hunter an uneasy look to confirm the shift in energy before unbuckling his seatbelt, acknowledging that it would be wise to not hit the hornets nest whilst it's hot.
However, after clumsy stumbling out of the vehicle, Cloud flinches when hearing the soft pat of the door closing behind him, awkwardly clearing his throat in hopes that they didn't notice, unable to ignore his sweaty palms or his difficulty in focusing on one detail.
They make him walk silently in front of them for ten minutes, being ordered to look straight ahead whenever they catch him trying to look around at their immediate surroundings.
After a while Cloud eventually becomes fed up, summoning up the courage to confront the pair.
"Cloud do not test me. I'm not in the mood after the stunt you just pulled." Mr. Jefferson voices, using an apathetic tone that he's never heard him use before, every word sounding stern, cold, distant. "Turn around!"
When neither man can properly look him in the eyes, that's the moment when Cloud stops pretending to not know what he already knows to be true.
"Why bother?" he replies, kicking a loose stone on the ground. It doesn't go far as it is swallowed up by the blades of grass coming up to his knees.
"Don't do this, not now."
"Me not do this?" he scoffs, taking a step towards Mr. Jefferson. "Are you seriously going to let me walk five miles to my own execution?"
His question is answered swiftly as Mr. Jefferson raises the shotgun once Cloud takes one step too close.
The world suddenly comes alive after that; the cicadas buzz louder than before, a flock of birds emerge from their trees all at once, the swishing sound of the green ocean intensifies as the direction of the winds change.
Cloud takes a giant step back, biting down on his molars whilst nodding his head in disbelief. "Are we really doing this?"
"You forced our hand." Helel answers, surprisingly having found a white shirt to cover his inked torso.
"And I wouldn't have had to if you'd just tell me what this is all about!"
After a moment of silence Mr. Jefferson adjusts his grip on his weapon, steadying his breathing to slip back into the part of him capable of doing something like this. "Cloud turn around. Look towards the sunset."
"I am not-"
"-son...look towards the sunset."
Cloud holds onto his tears, adamant to not let either of them see him cry, his eyes stinging until they're red. "Does mom know?" he asks, almost choking on the words he has to swallow.
Jonathan becomes just as teary-eyed as Cloud upon receiving the question, his rough hands suddenly beginning to tremble enough for him to tighten his grip.
"She doesn't know." he whispers with his frown lines deepening and his greying hairs looking harsher in the sombre afterglow of the setting sun.
Cloud shuts his eyes, finding an odd sense of comfort in that, only opening them once he hears Helel tell Hunter to stand down.
He finds the beefy giant standing in-between them, baring his fangs and claws in a sort of semi-transformation with vein-like cracks of glowing magma crawling up his arms and legs.
"I always knew letting the two of you bond was a mistake."
Helel tries a few more times but Hunter doesn't seem too interested in backing down, not until the order is given by someone else.
"Stand down." Cloud commands, rubbing his nose to help with some of the stuffiness afterwards. "Hunter, I mean it, stand down."
Cloud watches the fight leave Hunter's body, sensing all of the demon's conflicting emotions as he unwillingly backs away.
You don't have to bleed for me...not anymore.
"Look towards the sunset." Jonathan repeats for the final time, more than surprised when Cloud rushes up to him and reaches for the gun.
"You don't get to raise me and then shoot me in the back of the head like a damn pet." he spits, raising the barrel to his head, holding it firmly with both hands so that it remains levelled. "If you're going to end me. You're going to look me in my eyes when you do it!"
The tears that were once sad now burn hot with rage, falling together as his knuckles turn pink with effort. "Do it!"
YOU ARE READING
The Initials | Nanowrimo 2023
Fantasy[Book 1 in the Displaced Angels Series] "You took the life of my best friend, made her life a living hell...so I took your building and everything inside, and turned it into ash." °°° Being abducted the first time was already crazy enough, but twice...
