Chapter 4 - Taking Stock

Chapter 4

"What do I do now?" Ezekiel asked himself.

In the deathly silent moments that passed after the mortal fell unconscious, this was the only question, out of the other hundred buzzing around in his head; which Ezekiel most desperately wanted to find an answer to.

Still leaned over the mortal on the ground, Ezekiel felt harsh twinges of pain lance down his arm and across his collar. Reminding him that he had just in fact survived a deadly blow. Ezekiel took a moment to reassure himself that the stranger wasn't going to jump up and stab him again.

Calling on the beast inside him, he felt warm energy flowing out of his core and into his eyes. With a slight sting, Ezekiel then felt his eyes slit, taking on the shape of a cats gaze.

With glowing blue eyes, he swept his hands across the stranger's hips and ankles, searching for more blades. With the beast inside lending him its sight, the darkness melted away and for the most part Ezekiel could see as though the sun was sitting overhead. But even with his sight improved he quickly came up empty.

He didn't discover any other hidden blades, but he did find a pair of gloves stuffed into the mortals back pocket. As dark as the night sky and made from a supple leather, Ezekiel took a moment inspect the gloves, but like the rest of the mortal, they were empty. Ezekiel slipped the gloves into his back pocket and sighed.

Who are you?

Ezekiel said to himself shaking his head. Even though his search had been brief, Ezekiel hadn't been able to find one scrap of information on the intruder that would have pointed to the man's identity.

Yet his search had given Ezekiel somethings to think about.

Like the fact that every inch of the mortals stomach and legs were covered in his odd smelling blood. His clothes were also sickly warm to Ezekiel's touch, and Ezekiel could feel more of the warm fluid staining his own pants as he continued to look over the mortal; which told him that the mortal had been bleeding for a long time. Heavily.

As Ezekiel searched the mortal over for signs of injuries. He soon realized that the blood was coming out of his side. Without hesitation Ezekiel shimmed back on his knees and slowly peeled the mortals blood soaked shirt up so that he could see the wound.

A milky, pussy, glob of flesh and stench was all he could make out though. The hole in the man's side was a fevered red shade of irritation and it stunk of sour rot.

With a gag Ezekiel closed his eyes and let the mans shirt fall back over the disturbing sight.

That's not a cut.....a piece of his fucking body is just gone.

Ezekiel thought.

Something must have eviscerated him......How the hell is he still alive....!?

Ezekiel gagged on the smell once more as he opened his eyes and tilted his head trying to listen for a sign that the mortal was actually still alive. His breathing was nearly nonexistent....but his heart. Ezekiel strained his ears for some sign of life.

"HOHOHO!!" With a robust hoot of victory an owl tore across the canopy overhead. Breaking the silence abruptly.

Ezekiel shook off the needles that fell from the trees. And with his concentration haven been destroyed, Ezekiel tried again.

Putting a hand to the mortal's mud stained throat, as he leaned down to his chest, Ezekiel slowly let the beast inside fill him up and alter his hearing. He tuned its senses into the silence. Cutting out the shifting winds and pines above, as well as the harsh, excited chirp of the crickets below. And still....he didn't hear anything.

Normally the beast inside would have picked up the mortals heart beat from across the clearing, but his breathing and his heart beat had vanished.

Long second's passed and still, there was nothing. Ezekiel found himself with his ear pressed right over the stranger's heart.

Come on.....

Confused as to why it mattered to him at all that the mortal didn't die, Ezekiel just listened harder. As though that would make the mortal take a breath.

Come on...!

Ezekiel found himself urging the stranger to breath even as he held his own breath to escape the smell of the rot on the mortals clothes, but even with his ear on the mortals chest, there was nothing there.

No shallow breaths....no heartbeat. The mortal was gone.

Ezkeiel felt something cold brush his heart....as if he had just been thrust into the underworld. And he didnt know why.