All The Lost Souls
A Moment?
Ruby
“Son of a bitch, that hurts!” I shouted loudly. The adrenaline had effectively worn off and was replaced by pain, a lot of pain. Not that I was expecting a gunshot wound in the shoulder to be “Sunshine and Daffodils”, but it still hurt. Nathan and I were back at my apartment and he was using a pair of tweezers to dig around the hole in my arm for the bullet like a kid in a sandbox. I swear, every time I winced or gasped from the pain, his smile got bigger and bigger. Creepy bastard.
“So, how did it feel to be out and about?” Nathan asked in a very nonchalant voice. He handled the tweezers with surgeon-like precision, but occasionally made a twitch and caused the pain, and I wasn’t sure if it was on purpose or not.
“Oh, it was great,” I replied, sarcasm practically oozing from my words. “I really had fun standing in the background while you commanded a legion of monsters, set a guy on fire, had your jawbone shot off and then I got shot. Just a kicker of a night!” When the only response I got was a condescending chuckle, I resorted to staring angrily out the window. Then a question popped into my head, well a few actually. “What were those monster things?”
Nathan looked up from the wound. “Vampires,” he said simply, like it was no big deal.
“Um, vampires?” I asked, having a little trouble processing the phrase. “Like the whole “I vant to suck your blood!” walking around in a cape thing?”
“Yeah, not exactly,” Nathan replied with a laugh. “They’re more along the lines of savage Hell-beasts. They do drink blood, but they’re not impartial to consume arms, legs or any other body part that’s in the way.”
“Then why were they so well-behaved?” I asked.
“Just a little skill I have,” Nathan replied.
“Well then who was that guy who shot us?” I asked. I remembered his face, not a trace of infection to be found, but there was something else about him, something mysterious.
Nathan shrugged. “I have no idea, but I get the feeling he’ll be back,” he pondered. He began subconsciously rubbing at his jaw. “I have to admit he’s quite a good shot. Was he infected?”
“Ummm, no,” I replied uneasily. I neglected to mention that he was something different. “Well then who was he if he wasn’t an infected working for someone else?”
“Probably just an idealistic zealot who believes this city can be saved,” Nathan answered, more to him than to me, I was guessing. He finally retracted the tweezers which were clamped onto a small piece of lead. “There you are,” he said to the bullet. He dropped it into a small bowl, dropped the tweezers and grabbed a bottle of antiseptic and a rag. He slathered the rag with the antiseptic and placed it on the wound.
It hurt, a lot. “Son of a fucking bitch!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. Nathan just stared at me. “Seriously, that stuff hurts more than getting shot in the first place!”
The Do-It-Yourself First Aid session ended with Nathan wrapping the wound in a bandage. “There we go, all done,” he concluded. I had to admit, minus the bullet retrieval and the antiseptic, Nathan had been pretty nice about it, considering he’s a sadistic asshole.
“Thank you,” I said, with a hint of gratitude in my voice. I was finally getting to the point where I could look past the disgusting image that was Nathan’s face and see him normally, and he was quite attractive. Curly golden hair, a chiseled jaw (I wonder why) and piercing green eyes. “Wow, you’re actually quite good-looking.”
Nathan was taken aback. “Really? Well you aren’t so bad yourself,” he replied.
“But I still think you’re a vile wretch who should burn in Hell where you belong,” I added, “I wouldn’t want to give you the wrong impression.”
“Fair enough,” he responded with a devilish grin. He glanced up at the clock. “Well it’s after two in the morning, so you should probably get some sleep. Just don’t lie on that arm.” He stood up to leave.
“Am I ever going to see you again?” I asked, I’d rather know beforehand whether I’d have to stare at his disgusting face.
He paused at the open door. “Oh you’ll be seeing me around,” He replied cryptically, then closed the door as he left.
“Son of a bitch, that hurts!” I shouted loudly. The adrenaline had effectively worn off and was replaced by pain, a lot of pain. Not that I was expecting a gunshot wound in the shoulder to be “Sunshine and Daffodils”, but it still hurt. Nathan and I were back at my apartment and he was using a pair of tweezers to dig around the hole in my arm for the bullet like a kid in a sandbox. I swear, every time I winced or gasped from the pain, his smile got bigger and bigger. Creepy bastard.
“So, how did it feel to be out and about?” Nathan asked in a very nonchalant voice. He handled the tweezers with surgeon-like precision, but occasionally made a twitch and caused the pain, and I wasn’t sure if it was on purpose or not.
“Oh, it was great,” I replied, sarcasm practically oozing from my words. “I really had fun standing in the background while you commanded a legion of monsters, set a guy on fire, had your jawbone shot off and then I got shot. Just a kicker of a night!” When the only response I got was a condescending chuckle, I resorted to staring angrily out the window. Then a question popped into my head, well a few actually. “What were those monster things?”
Nathan looked up from the wound. “Vampires,” he said simply, like it was no big deal.
“Um, vampires?” I asked, having a little trouble processing the phrase. “Like the whole “I vant to suck your blood!” walking around in a cape thing?”
“Yeah, not exactly,” Nathan replied with a laugh. “They’re more along the lines of savage Hell-beasts. They do drink blood, but they’re not impartial to consume arms, legs or any other body part that’s in the way.”
“Then why were they so well-behaved?” I asked.
“Just a little skill I have,” Nathan replied.
“Well then who was that guy who shot us?” I asked. I remembered his face, not a trace of infection to be found, but there was something else about him, something mysterious.
Nathan shrugged. “I have no idea, but I get the feeling he’ll be back,” he pondered. He began subconsciously rubbing at his jaw. “I have to admit he’s quite a good shot. Was he infected?”
“Ummm, no,” I replied uneasily. I neglected to mention that he was something different. “Well then who was he if he wasn’t an infected working for someone else?”
“Probably just an idealistic zealot who believes this city can be saved,” Nathan answered, more to him than to me, I was guessing. He finally retracted the tweezers which were clamped onto a small piece of lead. “There you are,” he said to the bullet. He dropped it into a small bowl, dropped the tweezers and grabbed a bottle of antiseptic and a rag. He slathered the rag with the antiseptic and placed it on the wound.
It hurt, a lot. “Son of a fucking bitch!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. Nathan just stared at me. “Seriously, that stuff hurts more than getting shot in the first place!”
The Do-It-Yourself First Aid session ended with Nathan wrapping the wound in a bandage. “There we go, all done,” he concluded. I had to admit, minus the bullet retrieval and the antiseptic, Nathan had been pretty nice about it, considering he’s a sadistic asshole.
“Thank you,” I said, with a hint of gratitude in my voice. I was finally getting to the point where I could look past the disgusting image that was Nathan’s face and see him normally, and he was quite attractive. Curly golden hair, a chiseled jaw (I wonder why) and piercing green eyes. “Wow, you’re actually quite good-looking.”
Nathan was taken aback. “Really? Well you aren’t so bad yourself,” he replied.
“But I still think you’re a vile wretch who should burn in Hell where you belong,” I added, “I wouldn’t want to give you the wrong impression.”
“Fair enough,” he responded with a devilish grin. He glanced up at the clock. “Well it’s after two in the morning, so you should probably get some sleep. Just don’t lie on that arm.” He stood up to leave.
“Am I ever going to see you again?” I asked, I’d rather know beforehand whether I’d have to stare at his disgusting face.
He paused at the open door. “Oh you’ll be seeing me around,” He replied cryptically, then closed the door as he left.
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If anyone is confused, these events in Ruby's story actually took place before the previous chapter.This chapter dedicated to AJDWriter, a very talented and interesting friend of mine and fan of Mr. Nathan Alexander.