Part Four: Formulation of the First Step (Through the Eyes of Victor)
"It's going to be okay… I'm here for you… It's all going to be okay… Everything will be alright… Just… Please Victor… Talk to me… Please."
I don't know where I was or what was going on, but the fact I heard those words was enough to put my mind at ease… I found myself in a situation I found myself in often… just reversed… I know that might not make sense to you now, but normally, it would be me who was holding her and telling her everything would be okay, not the other way around… How I even got in this position was a mystery to me… Last thing I remember I was screaming at Rayven, who convinced me to go to bed… and now I'm in my sister's arms, who is telling me that everything will be okay… This was the most fucked up week of my life… NOTHING, and I repeat this with full emphasis, NOTHING is making any sense…
"Rose?"
"VICTOR!" I felt the embrace I was in tighten… maybe out of joy or relief… but I could tell whatever was worrying her originally was all gone… "Oh my god! Victor! I was so worried about you!"
"Um… Can I ask why you decided to wake me up from my sleep and telling me everything will be okay?"
The hug broke and she just had her hands on my arms and she was looking me straight in the face. "Wake you up? I was in my bed heavily sedated, being told by Rayven that I just lost my leg, and going through all his dia-something tests…"
"DIAGNOSTIC! DIAGNOSTIC TESTS! HOW HARD IS IT TO SAY SUCH A SIMPLE WORD?"
"Yeah… those tests to make sure it was working properly… and out of nowhere, you scream Bloody Mary… When I came in, I saw you sitting on the bed like you are now, just more like a potato…"
"Huh?"
"Long story short kid, you yelled, she ran in here, found you like a potato, and she was worried…"
"Um… thanks Rayven… that cleared up a lot."
"Hey… we tried to explain it in more than one way… if you don't get it, then you got issues, not us."
"Rayven, leave him alone… I just want to know why I found him the way I did after he screamed the word No really loud, clutching his chest like he was trying to keep his insides inside him…"
Something about that sentence sounded familiar… but it was a little off… "Say that again, just this time, try to be as specific as you possibly can be…"
"Um… O…kay… You screamed the word no really fucking loud… almost like you were scared or in the middle of a losing fight. So I came in here holding a wrench hoping to catch whatever it was that I thought was in here off-guard. Instead, I found you sitting up in your bed, clutching your chest like you were about to lose something, and you were sweating like crazy, but strangely, cold… I don't know what else to tell you other than that…"
It was coming back to me now… but only bits and pieces… I remember the cold… the weird inn… and the fear… but nothing else was coming back to me…
"Is this ringing any bells to you Vic?"
"No Rayven… but whatever it is, I don't think I want to remember it… so how about a nice change of topic like food, and what our next step will be."
"Next Step?" It was kind of funny hearing Rose and Rayven speak simultaneously… the difference in tones and the unison in confusion just had an interesting ring…
"I don't know… I honestly don't feel like hiding out in this house for the rest of my life while some fucked up demon who decided to kill our mother is on the loose out to get us."
"How do you know he will even be on the lookout for you in the first place?"
"He said that he made a deal with our mom and that we were the price for her breaking on that deal…" Rose seemed to get where I was going with this… but the question was, is she willing to join in and back me up?
"Okay... how about filling me in on these small yet VERY IMPORTANT details after I fix you guys something to eat."
Honestly, food was sounding so good right now... I felt like I just ran a marathon and was waking up from a fit of a vodka/tequilla mix and an ass kicking... "Okay... but make it fast..."
"Now that you're fed, care to fill me in on what happened?" Rayven... always quick to the point... sometimes an admirable trait... but right now... I just wanted peace and quiet... some time to rest...
"I only know a name Rayven... other than that, I don't know much other than what happened that day."
"Okay... so what is the name?"
"Adramelech"
"Wait... Adramelech... THE Adramelech?" Rose sort of jumped at the way Rayven was asking this specific question... I was honestly confused as hell as to what he meant by THE Adramelech, but I had a feeling I was about to find out...
"Whatever that means..."
"You don't get it... Adramelech is bad news... VERY BAD news... Worse than the normal trash you deal with Vic. Very little is known about him, but it is said that Adramelech became the President of the Senate of the demons. It is also said that he is also the Chancellor of Hell and supervisor of Satan's wardrobe."
"Wow... all of that just went over my head... and what the hell did he mean by 'you deal with Vic'?"
"Sooner or later, this will all be second nature to you Rose, I promise, and what he meant by it was that I used my skills, along with Dad's knowledge to track, hunt, and either kill or exorcise them... generally speaking... it was the former rather than the latter..."
I saw Rose shift a bit in behavior... She got scared... scared of me... "Vic... you actually didn't kill anyone... did you?"
"I'm sorry Rose... but if I didn't strike when struck, I would be all Automail... The fact I came back with just my side and arm gone is a miracle in comparison to what normally happens to some people up against demons..."
The fear grew as I spoke... Rayven wrapped his arm around Rose and just did a small shh to snap her out of it... "Despite what Vic is telling you Rose, he is still your brother. The same loving and caring brother you always knew and loved... Don't ever forget that..."
What Rayven said was true... I never changed... or I hoped I never did...
"I know... I just never knew my brother was capable of such actions..."
"It wasn't just your brother Rose... Your father and mother were in on it as well..." at that moment, I facepalmed and was on the verge of ripping Rayvens head off... She honestly didn't need to know that Mom was in on it as well... Now Rose is going to go on this huge tangent about how this was the reason Mom died and find some exucse to not make me continue what it is I do and...
"I'm in Vic..."
She will never agree to... say what?
"Come Again?"
"I'm in... Teach me. Show me. Train me."
"Anyone want to clear me in on what it is you two are planning on doing, because, honestly, I don't like the sound of it at all."
"I want to do what Vic does. I want to know what it was my mother and father died doing."
"Rose... this isn't right."
I then saw Rose do something I never expected her to do the second Rayven said those words. She punched him in the face, stradled him, and held a knife to his throat. "Whether it's right nor not isn't the issue now Rayven. I made up my mind and I will follow it through to the bitter end. Don't you DARE try to talk me out of it or I will SERIOUSLY show you a world of hurt!"
"Okay... One. Never, and I mean this, never ever hit me again. Two. Before you go on threatening me... you might want to learn my weaknesses and how it is you can get me to cooperate before you do something stupid as you just did..." And with that, he just put his hand on the upper part of her chest closest to her neck and just moved his wrist away. Rose was on the floor with very little effort and Rayven was already up and holding his butterfly knife.
Rose was a little surprised, but decided not to push Rayven any further. She just got up, dusted herself off, and looked me in the eye... "Where do we start?"