There's only about one maybe two chapters left for Clouded Vision. I personally can't wait!
Chapter Fifteen
Deathly Memories
The scent of human and footsteps echoed toward Adair's lair. The human was scrawny and had wild, frightened eyes. Adair leaned forward in his chair, leering. The man looked even more skittish when he spotted Adair's obvious prisioners. The man stood in front of Adair, as though deciding to bow or simply speak. In the end, he nodded his head awkwardly and asked, "Are you Adair?"
Adair grinned. "Perhaps. It depends what you want from him."
"I...I hear that you give individuals power."
Adair's eyes glinted with relish. "To those who deserve it."
Todd's, Adam's, and Vivika's chest automatically swelled upon hearing this.
"I need help." The man begged helplessly.
"How did you hear about me?"
"There's a rumor floating around. Please, please. I just lost my job with a wife and kids to feed. We'll-"
"Kill him." Adair interjected.
Adam lifted his gun.
"No!" The man screamed. "Why?! I can-"
Adam didn't pause. He pulled the trigger and the bullet screamed into the human's stomach. He screamed in agony, clutching his stomach, eyes dancing wildly. Adam aimed again, this time for the fatal blow. Adair raised his hand, eyes on the dying human glinted in delight.
"Wait." He said. "Let him bleed a bit more." Adam lowered his gun obediently, immune to the sickening sight.
"You bastard!" Devin screamed. Vincent's eyes were wide with horror, his mouth agape. Adair sneered, and shivered into his wolf form. It radiated with power, its hide shining as bright as a gray moon. It strode toward the human. The human's eyes were on Adair, however it was unclear whether he could actually see Adair through the pain. A terrible shiver ran through Vince, and although this was too much even for him, he found that he couldn't tuen away. Crunched and snaps of bone reverberated against the wall, almost louder than the screams. Entrails were spread across the floor. Blood dripped from Adair's chin.
"You son of a bitch!" Vincent snarled, struggling to stand despite the chains around his legs. Todd's gun was pointed at Vincent's head, but he didn't care. Let Todd shoot him. Let someone eat him. Just let him kill that asshole first.
"Sit down!" Todd commanded.
"Why?!" Vincent demanded. "Why did you have to do that?"
Adair licked his chops grinning toothily. He's a human. He replied shrugging. What does it matter?
Vincent's fists cletched. "He was a life." Vincent croaked. "I'm sure that's what humans said when they began to kill us off. 'He's a beast. What does it matter?'" Vince chuckled humorlessly.
You poor fool! Adair exclaimed. Your heart has gone soft. You probably killed off your old pack yourself, just to make it easier for the humans!
Vincent's sight turned red with rage.
Let me guess, Adair went on pleasantly. You feel horrid when you accidently kill. As if your soul was being ripped. As if you wish you never had a wolf form.
"I'm proud of what I am." Vincent growled.
Ha. Adair smiled. You're just like my bastard father. His stance was relaxed and sitting, while Vince was too stunned to move. Let me tell you a story. Adair invited. Since I already know yours, it's only fair. Vince found himself strangely curious.
Has Faith mentioned to you that she was my little sister? His eyebrow raised, but when Vincent showed no surprise he frowned and continued. I, my mother, father and Faith all lived in the city together as a family. We could have lived in the country I suppose, but my father liked the energy in the city, so my mother tolerated it for him. But he still wasn't happy, because he couldn't have the life his co-workers had. They were happy and human, while we were a family of beasts. Every once in a while a co-worker would try to get close to him, and he would have to push them away. IT ate away at him, until he felt empty. My mother struggled to keep us together, and when he even pushed us away, she kept us near just in case he came back to his senses. Eventually he felt so empty he picked up another habit-drinking. A growl escaped Adair's throat, and suddenly he looked younger. More innocent, and deeply hurt. Vincent hadn't much experience with liquor, but he knew that it had the power to make personalites stronger. The happy were happier, the sad were more sad, and the violent were more violent. Adair paused, and Vince realized his father was the type to get more violent. Who knows what tortures Adair's father forced him and Faith through.
Adair cleared his throat, looking as though he didn't want to finish his bitter story anymore. One late night my father came home very drunk. He consumed so much that it would have killed a human. We weren't so fortunate. Instead it turned him insane, and convinced him what he thought all along; that we were monsters. Adair closed his eyes, and suddenly Vince could see that night he was thinking of so hard.
Faith and Adair were in their room, on the floor, talking, although it was clear they weren't supposed to be. Faith was laughing freely, her eyes twinkling with delight as Adair talkied wildly, moving his hands for more effect. Vince noticed the bruised on Adair's arms, and one of his cheek. Faith had many less, but they still marked her pallid flesh. Adair's ears perked up as the door smacked open. Adair crawled to the door, listening, but held up a hand to keep Faith back. She was cowering on the floor. Vincent could see her lips moving, mouthing 'don't do that, come back.', but Adair didn't seem to hear het. Instead, he opened the door just a bit so that light flooded into the room. Through Adair's young eyes he could see the living room.
What must have been his mother sat on the sofa, looking up at her husband, searching for the old him. Apparently she didn't find it, for her yellow eyes dropped to the ground. Her thin lips were pursed, but otherwise she gave no indication that he was there. The father with sandy blonde hair closed the door with careful persission despite his drunkenness, and locked the latch. He looked over at his eife. She was staring at her cracked hands. The father pulled something out of his pocket, unseen to Adair, and banged the door with it. When he turned away Vince noticed that he had broken part of the lock so that it was impossible to undo the lock. He walked toward his wife with crazed eyes. She finally looked up at him. She stood, eyes widened, and stepped back with her hands sticking straight out. Her eyes were on whatever he was holding in his hand.
"H-Hon?" he voice was trembling.
He struck her like a whip, a knife slicing her throat. She grasped the wound, eyelids flicking back and forth like a fish. Vince could see that he had cut half her neck. She could live. The man above her was mouthing furotiously in madness, although Vince could see him mouth the words 'dirty bitch'. She fell to the floor, and her eyes found Adair's. She reached toward him with a shaking hand, eyes still blinking rapidly.
Adair found himself somehow standing in the hallway. "Mum!" he cried, trembling, tears streaming down his face in the pain of loss. The father's head snapped in Adair's direction, his eyes soulless yellow pits that seemed to lead straight to hell. Adair's body trembled harder, his entire body racking in fear. The father stumbled toward him, vodka hot on his breath, the blade at his side dripping with his mother's blood.
Adair suddenlt changed into a miniature version of the gray wolf he knew so well and leapt at the demon man. He slashed and Adair fell with a bleeding throat. He lay on the floor, still. The father creaked open all the rooms, one by one. When he opened Adair's room, Adair's brain was in a frantic whirl. But after a moment the father came back into the living room, kissed his dead wife's forehead, and sat on the sofa. He pulled out a revolver, and shot the bullet reserved for himself. Adair's brain skipped ahead, giving the impression that several hours had passed before Faith stepped from Adair's room.
No Faith, don't look! He cried, but she looked anyway. Faith shivered once, then turned her attention to Adair.
"I need you to turn human." She told him.
He shuddered into human form.
"Lift your chin a bit."
He complied.
Faith gasped quickly, and looked down.
Adair was too afraid to try to speak. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, shock was starting to kick in.
Faith looked again, and sighed. "It's starting to heal." She told him. "We should wait until it's done. It's...it's pretty bad."
Later, Adair had looked at his throat in the mirror, before it had completely healed. It was a mess of blood, and when he wiped that away, he could see the entire inside of his throat. Veins, voice box, everything was visible. A couple of hours later, the only remnant was an ugly slashing scar against his throat.
Faith checked Adair's wound to make sure it had completely healed, and smiled when she saw he was alright. Adair was afraid to speak at first, afraid that if his voice box vibrated the scar would split open again.
Faith hugged Adair for support. "You're okay." She told him. "It's over."
"We're leaving." Adair sighed. Away from the disgusting city. Away from his disgrace of a father. Away from everything except the sister he loved. He'd take care of her, no matter what. He'd always be there for her.
Adair glared at Vincent with such intense fiery hatred that Vincent immediately understood that no matter how much Vince hated Adair, Adair hated Vince that much more. And now, after seeing Adair's past in that flash, he felt pity and understood that Adair had replaced Vincent as Adair's father, and all of Adair's anger, shame, and hatred was fueling his hatred for Vincent.
"You tore apart my pack." Adair snarled, confirming Vincent's suspicions. Pity flooded into Vince's heart that was unwanted. Damn it. He thought. I don't want to feel pity. How could you kill someone you pitited? He was killing humans, and twisting their forms! It was madness.
"How dare you show me your past and refuse to see mine! Damn it!"
Adair sneered. "I don't care. And you know what? I'm done with this game." A devilish smirk grew across his face. "It's time to end this."
Adam and Todd raised their guns, but Adair waved them away. "No, no. First let's play one last game. I want this to really hurt." After a moment, Adair asked, "Do you remember I told you about knowing your enemies, and using your resources?"
Vincent nodded warily, and Adair grinned. "I discovered something interesting while rummaging through your mind. A little boy? Jake?"
"Don't you dare touch him." Vincent warned.
Adair smiled warmly. "Don't worry. I'll bring back your head so you have something to look at as I kill you too."
Vincent rose, and his claws lengthened into swords. His teeth were sharp, making him look like the devil. He took a step forward. Someone wrapped his arms around his back. Vincent wriggled, struggling to tear off the arms holding him.
"Let go!" he screamed. "Let me go, damn it!"
All pity for Adair was gone. "Leave Jake alone! He has nothing to do with this, you son of a bitch!"
Adair turned around emotionlessly and began to walk away.
Shit, shit, shit. He couldn't get ahold of his restraintant to rip him away.
"Vincent?" Adair asked, turning his head.
Vince automatically froze.
Adair nodded toward the pool of blood and reminants. "If I did that to someone I don't even know, imagine what I'll do to your little human. Imagine what I'll do to you."
Vincent dug into the stone, howling wildly. His claws against stone released sparks. The other wolfman had gone over to hold Vince back.
"Devin!" Vincent howled. "Do something damn it! Do something!"
Devin looked shocked. Apparently the fact that Adair would willingly torture a child was too much even for him.
"Adair?" he uttered. "You could still come back to the pack." Vincent looked at Devin and saw it was a lie. "It's not too late. But if you kill Vince, there's no chance."
Adair spun around. "I have to kill him." Adair spat, but now he seemed unsure.
"Eve misses you." This made Adair freeze, a shiver running down his spine. "She still misses you." Even though it killed Vince, this was the truth. Seeing Adair go mad was eating away at her.
"I need to kill him." Adair growled, but it was hollow.
"You know Eve will hate you if you do that. Like it or not, she cares for him too."
Adair stood still, warring with himself. A glimmer of hope rested on him. Perhaps everything would be fine if his human side won.
"Sir?" Adam questioned from behind Vince.
Adair silenced him with a glare. His coat rippled, and finally he sighed, letting anything human slip into the twilight.
"If I let you live," Adair said directly to Devin. "Tell Eve that I still love her. But not enough. I gave up my soul. I could care less for human things like relationships."
"Even werewolves have relationships." Devin cried desperately. "That's what a pack is."
Adair sighed. "I'm not a werewolf. I-I'm something else. My human half is gone. And relationships-besides ones of hate-are purely human."
Vincent found that he resumed his wild howling as Adair walked into the dark alley and out of sight.