First Carnage
"So?" Gabrielle asked when he walked back into the house. "Where did you go?" There was something about the calm smile on his wife's face that told David he was in for trouble.
"Well," David said cautiously. "The caravan didn't arrive this morning."
"Beltanus told me," Gabrielle cut him off. "You just can't stay out of trouble, can you?"
"There wasn't any trouble," David offered.
"That's because you just walked in the door," Gabrielle countered, rising from the chair and standing before him. "Why do you have to get involved in everything that just happens to pop up?" Now her anger began to show.
David shrugged helplessly. "I just-"
"You just jump right in up to your neck, all the time!" Gabrielle cut him off. "What would happen if you didn't come home? What if something bigger than the two of us could handle had been waiting out there? What are we supposed to do?" She looked back at the tiny figure in the bassinet and then back at her husband angrily. "Xena lost her father the first time! I don't want her to have to grow up the same way again! And I don't want to grow old alone, you big lug!"
David smiled and enfolded her in a hug, despite her angry protests. That anger quickly dissipated.
"Were you trying to get back at me for that whole Gurkhan thing?" she asked angrily.
"No," David replied. "I was there, and the kids going out to find the caravan looked a little nervous. I thought my tagging along would help them stay calm and do their jobs, that's all."
He was about to say more when there was a knock on the door.
David opened the door to find Nuris standing on the stoop.
"Hey," he said, inviting the frigid soldier into the house. "What's up?"
"Good evening," Nuris said politely, acknowledging Gabrielle. His eyes took in the inside of the home appreciatively. Then his eyes snapped back to David.
"I'm sorry," he continued. "Lieutenant Martus asked if you might return and question the prisoner. He's said nothing except that he would speak only with you?"
"Well," Gabrielle replied. "At least someone will be speaking to you." She folded her arms across her chest and looked at him sternly.
David sighed and looked back at his wife. He knew he had more "damage control" to do, but they also needed information about the missing food and supplies.
"Honey," David said gently. "I promise I'll be back as quick as I can?"
She still had a look of disapproval, but there was something else in her expression now. A sense of angst permeated the room.
"Gabrielle?" David asked.
She sighed. "Just go. We'll finish this when you get back."
David took a long hooded cloak from its peg and shrugged it over his shoulders, attaching the golden clasp at his throat. The garment had been an anniversary gift to him from Gabrielle, to replace the long duster that he always wore. That old coat had gotten pretty beaten up during their travels, and needed repair. Next, David grabbed his sword belt and wrapped it about the outside of the cloak. He drew the beautiful katana half way out and checked the blade, then he faced the young soldier.
"After you?" David offered.
Nuris exited first and David turned back to look at his family again. Gabrielle looked as if she were about to jump out of her skin. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Then he vanished into the chill.
Gabrielle looked at the door for a long moment and then threw up her hands in frustration. A tiny voice drew her attention back to the bassinet and she lifted the baby into her arms and looked into the tiny face.
The pale blue eyes of the child looked at her knowingly. Finally, as if the child in her arms had spoken to her mind, she sighed.
"Yes," she admitted. "I guess I am feeling a little left out, okay? It's not like you can take care of yourself now, is it?"
Xena's lips widened into a grin and she squealed happily.
>>
David entered the jail house and looked at the first thick oak door. He moved to the side of the window and peeked in. The prisoner was still bound and lying with his head on the table, as if asleep.
Closing his eyes, David took a deep breath and calmed his mind. When he opened his eyes again, he could see the aura of energy surrounding the prisoner. It was a tight, deep band of red that seemed to hug the figure closely.
"He's anxious about something," David whispered.
"Must not be too anxious, if he can sleep?" Nuris countered.
"He's not asleep," David smiled grimly. "He's waiting." He nodded to the lock, and the second guard standing post inserted the key and pulled the door open.
David stepped into the cramped cell and seated himself on the stool across from the prisoner.
"Good afternoon," He said pleasantly. The prisoner made no move.
David smiled. "Where are the goods you stole from the caravan?"
The figure's head didn't move.
"It's evening, actually," he said, and he lifted his head and stared at David with intense brown eyes.
David smiled again at the correction. "Where are the goods that you stole?"
"It's funny, really," The man said. "When does afternoon end and evening really begin?"
"The goods?" David pressed.
"For some people, evening begins after the third or fourth hour after mid day," The man continued, undaunted. "For others, not until after the sun sets? Why is that, do you think?"
"Couldn't tell you," David replied, matching the man's intense gaze. "The supplies?"
"I think it's because some people see evening as the ending of the day," The man continued, smiling. "They want to hold onto sunlight – day time – as much as possible. Others don't really care that much? What do you think?"
"I think you're wasting my time," David replied.
"I'm sorry," The man smiled as if remembering his manners. "We haven't been introduced. I'm Locarnos." He raised his bound hands and extended them to David. "And you are?"
"Where are the supplies you looted from the caravan?" David asked relentlessly.
"Can't I even know your name?" Locarnos asked pleasantly.
"The supplies?" David pressed.
"It's such a small thing, you know?" Locarnos responded, a mildly confused look. "I just want to know who I'm talking to?"
"Someone who doesn't like their time wasted," David replied, rising to his feet. "Door!"
The cell door opened and he moved to leave.
Locarnos laughed suddenly. "You're the one called David, aren't you? The Warrior Priest?"
David paused in the doorway.
"I've heard so much about you," Locarnos continued, still chuckling. "This is good. We can talk now."
David turned back and stared down at the man before him, ragged, bound, and seemingly unconcerned about his own plight.
David shook his head and smiled ruefully. "Warrior Priest? Never heard that one before?" He commented under his breath.
He reseated himself and the cell door slammed shut again. "Satisfied?" he asked.
Locarnos nodded politely.
"Where are the supplies?" David asked again.
Locarnos seemed to consider that for a moment. "I'm not ready to tell you that, yet."
"Well, that's all I'm interested in," David countered.
"That's because you don't know the whole story," Locarnos replied easily. "There's so much more to this than the caravan. So many intricate threads to our existence."
"I'm not in a very philosophical mood right now," David replied. "The supplies?"
"Is it true that you traveled through time?" Locarnos asked knowingly. "What is that like?"
"Read Douglas Adams," David said shortly. "The supplies?"
Locarnos sighed and glanced at the tiny barred window, watching the setting sun.
"I learned about you when we went through Tripolis, a few months back," He said deliberately.
David caught his breath at the mention of that town.
"The supplies?" David asked again, this time with an unpleasant edge to his voice.
"The Amazons in that region are quite amazing," Locarnos continued relentlessly. "Their Queen was most intriguing."
At that, David exploded to his feet and slammed his fist across Locarnos's jaw as he turned back to face him. The man fell sideways from the stool and sprawled on the ground.
"See?" David said angrily. "If you don't give me something, I'm going to have to start roughing up on you! Think about that!" He nodded and the door opened.
Locarnos smiled as David stalked out. "There's something more you should know, David!" He called after him. "There's more to the story! You like stories, don't you?"
Once out in the hallway, he fought to bring his temper back in check.
Nuris followed him as he stalked outside into the chill air of early evening. He saw the sun sinking, blood red, into the hills.
"Sir?" He asked David.
"He's playing me," David said, seething. "Trying to get into my head and mess with me!"
"So, what do we do?" Nuris asked.
David thought for a moment, and then his gaze went dark. "Find Martus and ask him how far I'm allowed to go?"
"How far?" Nuris started, and then he understood the look in David's eyes. "Yes, sir." He gulped and withdrew.
David took a few more deep breaths and then reentered the building. When he stepped back into the cell, Locarnos was back on his seat, his hands folded on the table.
"I'm sorry if I upset you," he said softly.
"Oh, I'm not upset," David said, sitting down again. "Not yet. The supplies?"
"They aren't key to this discussion," Locarnos replied. "At least, not yet. There's more involved here. Much more."
"Well, they're what are important to me, right now," David countered.
"That's because I haven't told you something more important," Locarnos said easily.
There was a knock at the door and David looked over his shoulder. "Yes?"
Nuris stood behind the thick bars. "The lieutenant says – as far as you must."
David nodded and looked back at Locarnos coldly. "Now, then, I suggest you give me something?" He folded his hands on the table, opposite Locarnos and smiled. "The supplies?"
"I know where they are, yes," Locarnos said agreeably. "Is that something?"
"Not unless you tell me where?" David replied.
"Not yet," Locarnos replied.
David smiled, nodded, and then struck Locarnos again, knocking him from the chair. He stepped around the table and hauled the prisoner to his feet, slamming his forearm into Locarnos's gut.
The prisoner gasped and dropped to his knees.
David gave him a hard kick to the middle and then hauled him up again.
"See," He snarled. "This is the part where you want to give me something, since the powers that be have given me permission to mess you up as much as I want!"
"The darkness within you has become stronger, since you came here," Locarnos gasped. "Where you came from, you would never have done this, would you?"
Again, David struck the man. He bounced against the stone wall and collapsed in the corner.
"You had an inherent respect for life, once," Locarnos gasped. "Nothing deserved what you are doing. You watched the beasts in others and stood by, hoping that fate would grant you retribution in some other life. Instead, here, you have become that retribution. You've turned into what you beheld." He rolled over and looked up at David, towering over him. "You left your world and traveled into the wilderness, never realizing that you would become the beast! You believe that you fight for the greater good, when you're really just giving in to your animalistic side! You are becoming what you beheld, but clinging to the hope that you are doing right, and so, you justify your brutality!"
David's eyes widened in realization that Locarnos's assessment had been dangerously accurate. Since coming back in time, he had done things that he had never considered back home. He had done them, and not thought twice about it. Instead of an adversary, armed and fit, he was pummeling a bound and helpless prisoner!
Quickly, he turned and headed for the door, his heart thudding in his chest.
"David!" Locarnos called after him. "This place will be attacked! It will be attacked tonight!"
David turned and looked at Locarnos as he struggled to sit up against the stone wall.
"Now you give me this?" He asked. "Why?"
Locarnos smiled weakly. "Because you stopped."
David studied him closely for a moment, and a knowing smile crept over his face.
"You're lying," he concluded.
"You can't take that chance," Locarnos countered. "Protocol dictates that you have to take that to your superiors! You have to report it!"
David smiled. "What ever gave you the impression that I was part of the military?" He stepped out the door. It slammed shut behind him.
He found Lieutenant Martus in the small closet that served as his office.
"Master David," he greeted from his seat. "Has the prisoner said anything yet?"
David sighed. "He says the village could come under attack this evening."
Martus nodded, musing. "Do you believe him?"
"Honestly?" David replied. "No I don't. I think he was looking for a break, but I figured I should let you know in any case?" Again, David realized that Locarnos had correctly surmised his response to the offered information.
"Has he said anything about the missing supplies from the caravan?" Martus continued.
"Not yet," David replied. "He's pacing this thing out the way he wants to, lieutenant. I don't think he cares how much we pound on him. It's as if he wants us to?"
Again, Martus nodded, his expression, grim. "I've seen that before. Fanatical prisoners who will endure whatever punishments we dole out, merely to prolong the time it takes for us to get required intelligence."
David shook his head. "This guy doesn't strike me as a fanatic, sir. I just don't understand what he's trying to accomplish? What would be the point of attacking this quickly? The majority of us are still in good condition. We won't be in a weakened state for several weeks, at least?"
"Unless the forces arrayed against us are vastly superior?" Martus concluded.
"Then why pussy foot around by cutting off our supplies?" David countered. "If they're that big, why not just mow us down and be done with it?"
Martus smiled. "It's like a form of game." He nodded. "A cat will toy with a mouse before actually killing it." He paused for a moment. "Keep working on it. If there is a game involved here, then he'll give up the location of our supplies when he feels we are no longer in a position to do anything about it."
"And this supposed attack?" David asked.
"I'll post the watches accordingly, and we'll see what transpires." Martus replied. "Thank you, Master David."
David excused himself from the cramped office and stepped out into the deepening gloom of late evening. The sun was gone, reduced to a deep red glow behind the western hills. Everything was bathed in the cool gray of twilight.
Absently, David drew out one of his cigars and lit it in the flames of a nearby torch. He stood, contemplating how he might be better able to get the information that he needed.
His eyes settled on the moon, rising from behind the eastern horizon, large and pale.
He felt strangely calm in that pale illumination. He sighed gently as he let the silver light wash over him, as if it were cleansing his very soul.
Most people liked sunrises or sunsets, but David liked the moon. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply on the cigar.
A terrified shriek split the night, coming from the warehouse. It was followed by another cry of terror that ended with ominous abruptness. Instantly, David had his sword in his hand. He and several of the guards ran down the street to the large edifice.
The big double doors in front were bolted shut.
David and another soldier tugged on them in vain for a few moments before something impacted the door from the inside, causing it to shudder dangerously.
The two men stepped back in surprise.
"What the hell was that?" David cried.
A second blow struck the doors. Then a third. Powdered mortar fell from the edge of the entrance, and the thick wood cracked audibly.
Absently, David wondered why whoever was breaking down the door didn't just draw the bolts and open them. Then there was a final blow to the door and it shattered outward in a cloud of fragments.
A lean, dark shape vaulted into the street with a monstrous snarl. The figure was thin with coarse dark fur covering it from head to toe. Beneath the fur, David could see layers of wiry muscle.
The thing crouched for a moment and then turned its gaze on David. The eyes were brilliant yellow, and filled with mad fury. The face was elongated, like the muzzle of a dog, and the teeth were long, sharp and yellow.
"You have got to be kidding me," David muttered in awe as the creature leapt at him, mouth open as it roared.
David ducked beneath the things claws and swung his blade upward, barely missing the creature's throat.
It landed before one of David's escorts and slashed upwards with its claws.
The blow caught the unfortunate victim in the throat, ripping through the flesh clear down to the bone.
The man fell with a choked gurgle, his blood pooling around his head.
The creature reared back its head and let out a deafening, blood chilling howl before turning and leaping again at David.
This time, the silver katana bit flesh on the creature's leg and it yelped in pain and surprise.
It landed across the square, its eyes narrowed and the ears flat against the sloping head.
Two more soldiers stood between this thing and David. With a roar, it charged again. The first soldier was disemboweled by the monster's claws. He fell with a plop to the packed street. The second guard was more fortunate. He managed to get his sword in front of him as he rolled to the side. He only received a grazing blow from the thing as it barreled by, heading straight at David.
"Why me?" David thought as he stood his ground. He waited until the very last moment before he lunged forward, as close to the ground as possible, and slashed upward with all his might. In the back of his mind, he realized thatit was a suicidal maneuver. If his stroke missed, the thing would have been upon him before he could get back to his feet. Fortunately, his aim was true. The silver blade slashed up through the creature's middle, laying it open. It tumbled past him with a yelp of pain and lay quivering on the ground.
David rolled back over and got to his feet, his eyes fixed on the figure lying near him. As he watched, what he had first thought were the involuntary movements of muscles searching for signals from the brain was actually the flesh of the creature reforming into another shape. The fur vanished and the dog like muzzle shrank to more human features. The claws became fingers and toes and, once everything was done, the nude form of a slim young man, around twenty years of age lay on the street, his blood spreading like a stain around his body. His pale eyes looked up at David with an expression of complete surprise.
The soldier that had receive a grazing slash from the creature stood next to David, looking down at the body, his brows furrowing in confusion.
"What in the Gods?" he asked, cradling his wounded arm.
"Just tell me one thing," David replied. "There isn't anyone by the name of Frankenstein living around here, is there?"
"Who?" The soldier asked.
David nodded. "Good, that's one horror classic that I won't have to deal with." He looked at the bloody arm. "Get that looked at."
"Yes, sir," the soldier replied and he withdrew.
Taking a deep breath, David realized that he still had the cigar clenched in his teeth. He smiled and bit the end off again, spitting the mashedbit out. Setting the tobacco in his teeth, he stepped into the warehouse. The main room was still as before, large and nearly empty. With the exception of the broken doors, everything looked normal.
He paused, listening intently. From the direction of Palos' office, he heard the soft drip, drip, drip of something striking the stone floor.
David lifted a discarded lantern and touched the end of his cigar to the wick, blowing gently. The lamp flared to life suddenly.
Steeling himself for what might come next, David stepped to the doorway of the office and froze in horror. The stench of slaughter wafted out to meet him, causing him to gag reflexively. The portly Palos was strewn about the room in a gruesome covering of blood and body parts. The walls and ceiling were covered in crimson. What remained of his body was folded unnaturally in the corner.
Quickly he backed out of the room, his hand covering his mouth. He burned his hand on the end of the cigar and cursed aloud, letting the offending object fall to the floor.
He found what remained of Mistress Godea covering the small upstairs two room loft that served as there living quarters. As he came stumbling back down the steps, several more members of the village militia came running in. Lieutenant Martus accompanied the contingent.
"David?" Martus asked, seeing the other man's pale complexion. "Are you alright?"
David leaned heavily against the rail and took a deep breath. "I will be, in a minute."
"I saw the body in the street," Martus said evenly. "Your handy work, I presume?"
David nodded. "Though he was a lot meaner when he was alive."
"I heard the report," Martus acknowledged. "The prisoner wished to speak with you, once you were done here. He seemed most certain that you would not have been harmed in this assault?"
"Did he?" David replied. "Considering that the brute came right for me from the start?"
Martus shrugged. "He won't speak with anyone else. He says that the two of you have formed a special bond, and he will not break it by divulging information to any others, unless you are dead. If you die, he promises to tell us anything we wish to know."
"If I die, huh?" David smiled grimly. "Fine, let's see what junior wants?"
>>
Locarnos had his head down on the small table again when David stepped through the door. He looked up and actually smiled.
"So," David asked, reseating himself across from the prisoner. "What was that?"
"What was what?" Locarnos asked innocently. "I've been in here. I could see nothing. However, what I heard sounded most unpleasant?"
"It was," David replied evenly.
Locarnos had an almost eager light in his eyes. He leaned forward expectantly.
"What was the final tally?"
David smiled. "Why should I tell you? You've given me nothing so far, except some vague inference about an attack?" He leaned forward, meeting Locarnos' eager gaze with a stony one of his own. "Tell you what? You give me something, and I'll give you something? Deal?"
Locarnos sighed and sat back. "I can't do that, David," he replied pleasantly. "I cannot give you anything without you speaking first?"
"You can tell me where our supplies are?" David asked, smiling.
"Oh, I will," Locarnos countered. "But not just yet. It isn't time for you to know that."
"Well, I guess we're stuck then, aren't we?" David said, folding his arms across his chest.
"So it would seem," Locarnos replied and he laid his head back down on the table.
David looked at the prone form before him and sighed in frustration. There had to be a way to use this man's arrogance to his advantage. He contemplated his options for a moment and then sighed.
"Five dead, including the perpetrator," he admitted. "Four wounded." He finished, lying.
Locarnos's head snapped up and he grinned wolfishly. "That's better. Now I can give you something."
His eyes flicked to the small window in the oaken door, as if he were afraid someone else might over hear, and then he leaned forward. "If you take my advice, you will put down the wounded."
"Put down?" David said, not comprehending the statement at first. His eyes went wide with horror. "You mean kill, don't you?"
"Put down, kill, eliminate, dispose of," Locarnos replied. "Choose whatever words make you most comfortable, but you must do it, or what occurred tonight will be only the beginning."
"The beginning of what?" David asked.
"Of a terror that you cannot possibly imagine," Locarnos said cryptically. "The wounded will be like that man by tomorrow night. How will you contend with four of them? Always assuming that you did kill the one responsible for tonight's little diversion?" He smiled coldly. "It might very well be five?"
Realization suddenly struck David like a roundhouse punch. "You're one of them, aren't you?"
"Them?" Locarnos asked innocently.
"Like the survivor that made it to the village. You're a creature like him!"
Locarnos smiled and chuckled softly. "Well done, David. Well done. You're half right, but for the purposes of our time together, I will say yes. At the heart, I am like he."
Locarnos sat back and scratched behind his ear with his bound hands. "Did you honestly believe that man was fortunate enough to escape us? Please! He was allowed to escape, in order to set the stage for what must follow."
Suddenly, the missing goods from the caravan were the furthest thing from David's mind.
"What is to follow?" He asked almost breathlessly.
Locarnos rested his elbows on the table and clasped his hands before him, as if in prayer.
"Have you ever seen a village on the brink of starvation?" He asked. His eyes were filled with some distant memory.
"The rivers freeze over, the game animals all vanish, hiding in their dens until spring. No crops, no meat, in the end, anything becomes fair game?"
"What is to follow?" David repeated urgently.
"It starts simply enough," Locarnos continued relentlessly. "First the farm animals are culled in order to stave off the inevitable. The grain set aside for feeding them is used to make something edible for people, once the meat is gone. Then it becomes non-game animals. Horses and family pets are usually next, followed by the rodents, and once they have been consumed?" He smiled coldly and leaned closer to David, as if relishing the image in his mind. "Then, the real carnage begins. The old and infirm are the first ones to die. After that?" He shrugged. His eyes filled with a manic light. "Have you ever seen a mother, gnawing the bones of her own child? A husband consuming his wife?"
"Watch it," David growled.
"It's amazing what conscience will allow when times get desperate enough," Locarnos finished. Then he stopped as if a stray thought had just entered his mind. "You are married, are you not?"
David's fingers scraped against the hard wood as his hands balled into fists.
"And did your wife not give birth a few short months ago?" Locarnos added, grinning hungrily.
David's fist slammed into Locarnos's jaw with such force that the man went flying up off the stool and landed in a heap against the wall.
Locarnos shook the momentary daze out of his head and then touched his finger to the corner of his mouth, seeing the blood on his fingertips. He nodded understandingly.
"Very good," He nodded. "You waited longer than most. You have great control, for one of your kind."
He got to his feet and moved, a little unsteadily, back to his seat. "Others would have struck me at the very thought of starvation."
"What about this imminent attack?" David asked as he fought to regain control of his rage.
"Oh," Locarnos smiled. "That was it."
"One creature?' David asked, disbelieving the statement out of hand.
Locarnos shrugged and his eyes filled with the same malicious light. "Have you ever seen the results of a plague, David?"
The prisoner didn't need to elaborate. That understanding came instantly.
"He was the source," He said. "Now we have four more tomorrow. The next night it could be ten, and after that?"
"Epidemic," Locarnos put the final brushstroke on the picture. "My people do not need to attack you outright. Your own sense of compassion and hope will do the work for us. You will sit here and try to help the wounded from tonight, regardless of what they might become, because there is always the chance I could be lying. Their humanity would not permit it in any event."
Locarnos shifted comfortably on the stool and seemed contemplative for a moment.
"If I were to tell you that I have not lied to you, nor will I lie at any point in our time together, what would that do to your sense of humanity?"
"It depends," David countered. "I believe a lie of omission is just bad as outright deceit."
"I have omitted nothing, David," Locarnos replied easily. "You have asked me where the supplies from the caravan are hidden, and I have told you that I will give you that information in due time. As I said, I have not, nor will I lie to you. Everything I say to you will be the absolute truth."
"Just not necessarily in the order I want," David nodded.
Locarnos smiled and nodded his head. "You begin to understand. Good."
"Fine," David said, switching gears. "Let's get a little background, then. Where does your kind come from?"
Locarnos shrugged. "We have existed for centuries. Our homes are where we are born. Beyond that, we keep no history. No tales of our past, or our origins. We simply are. My home country is in the region of the town you know as Tripolis. That is my ancestral home. Where my kind dwelt before then, who can say?"
"Obviously, not you?" David replied.
"Not with any certainty," Locarnos answered. "And since you consider a lie of omission to be a lie, then I will not lie."
More games, David thought. "You enjoy all this, don't you?"
"I find it interesting, yes," Locarnos replied. "It's fascinating to watch your people in these situations. Sometimes they are brutally ignorant, while others, like you, are more patient. Once all is played out, however, the end is always the same. Your kind perishes."
"So, you went back to Tripolis for what?" David asked. "A homecoming, or an all you can eat buffet?"
"Neither," Locarnos replied icily. "It was merely a settlement between where we were and where we are now."
"You said the Amazons in that region were amazing?" David asked. "So, does that mean they fought well, up to the bitter end? Then you had a little fun with their queen before you finished her off?"
"I never said we fought them," Locarnos replied steadily. "We merely paused to observe for a time."
"Why not take them out, or Tripolis for that matter?" David asked.
Locarnos looked at David studiously for a moment, and then he nodded. "Are you not married to an Amazon? An Amazon Queen, if memory serves?"
"What of it?" David asked, now on the defensive.
Locarnos gave David a genuinely apologetic look. "I fear our time is over, for the moment. I will speak only to the Amazon Queen."
"And if she refuses?" David asked.
"Then, I fear that your people are in for a long and unpleasant winter, David." Locarnos replied. Then he added quickly. "Ask her to tell you about the Garou. That might persuade her to speak with me? If she truly was an Amazon Queen, she would have been given secret knowledge about us?"
"A friend of mine said something earlier about a cat playing with a mouse," David smiled as he rose. "Kind of like these games that you're playing now, with me? Where I come from, we have stories about a big blue cat and a little brown mouse. This cat constantly hunted this mouse. He came up with countless devious ways to trap it and kill it, but the mouse always seemed to win in the end?" David knocked once on the door. "Talk to you later, Crambone."