Radcon had inspired this fear in me. All I could think was how unfortunate I was. Or maybe I was too unobservant. I tried to think of a way out of this rather serious situation. I was drawing a blank. All I could think about was the Colonel getting closer, that self-satisfied smirk on his face.
I could see what was probably a whole platoon behind him. The men all staring straight ahead, no emotion showing on there faces save the occasional flicker of uncertainty about what they were expected to do. These men, men of Istvan, were prepared to just stand by no matter what Radcon did. With that realization I felt a chill take me over again.
"What are you doing out here at a time like this?" Radcon asked, that smirk never leaving his face. I noticed the pincer like teeth again. I felt my neck burn in memory of the previous encounter.
"It's market day today. I needed to buy some things, Colonel." I managed.
"I see. You live around here then?"
I froze momentarily. Why should that information interest him? I could not let him find out where I live.
"No, colonel. The market on this side of town is much better."
His smirk faded slowly. Suddenly, in one fluid movement, he grabbed the neck of my jacket and slammed me into a nearby wall before letting go. I slid down to the floor. I could feel warm blood trickling down my neck.
"You shouldn't lie." He snarled. "I'm not stupid."
I received a sharp kick in the chest.
"You sure had me fooled." I hissed under my breath before I even realized.
I prayed he had not heard. He had frozen in his turn away from me. Slowly he turned back, his face a horrifying mask. He delivered another kick to my chest and I could swear I felt a rib crack. It did not stop there, he kicked me several more times before turning and marching away with his men. I wanted to move but my muscles did not agree with my sentiment.
Suddenly, I felt arms slid under my back and lift me gently up. I turned my head and saw the Major was the one holding me. He did not say anything, and neither did I.
I felt giddy, blood still seeping from the wounds on my body, and I felt light-headed.
"Remain calm. You are .23 litres away from losing too much blood."
It was spoken in the same monotone as always. Under normal circumstances I would call the tone uncaring. However, in this situation I felt it was the most comforting sound I could have heard.
My vision began to darken and I blindly reached out a hand and grabbed at his jacket. Then slowly I faded from consciousness.
It was strange, but I could have sworn I felt a crucifix beneath the robes.
When I woke again I was lying on my back in my room. I could feel that my head had been bandaged up tightly and my chest was in a similar state. I groaned and pulled myself up into a sitting position. I was alone in the room. Something felt odd. I felt really good.
That seemed kind of ironic. I had just been beaten quite badly and I still had this self satisfied feeling. Maybe it was because I had been able to openly insult Radcon or maybe it was because I had survived. Or maybe it was something else.
I stood up, my chest aching, and headed for the door which led into the kitchen. Jess was chopping vegetables for dinner and humming quietly to herself.
"Jess." I said, a little flatter then I would normally.
She spun around, dropping the knife.
"Percy! You shouldn't be out of bed!" she said, dropping the knife and rushing forward to support me, despite the fact I didn't require the assistance.
"I'm fine, really." I said. I was led to be sat down at the table where Jess had been cutting the vegetables just before. "It's not like I was hurt that bad."
"You've been unconscious for the past two days." Jess said, somewhat incredulously.
"Really? I feel as if it's only been a couple of hours." I said with a frown. It felt really odd.
"Well, you were asleep." Jess said, almost as if she were pointing out a simple fact to a child.
I nodded. My vision spun slightly from the sudden movement and I grabbed my head.
"Ok, that still isn't a good idea."
I felt a little sick now. As if something were squeezing my stomach, just slightly.
"You ok?"
"Yeah, what happened anyway?" I asked, leaning my elbows on the table and watching as Jess began slicing the carrots again. There were a lot less then there had been previous times I had seen her make the stew.
Jess looked at me oddly, "You don't remember?"
"No. Nothing after I was slammed into the wall." I said, then added as an afterthought, "Although, I think I vaguely remember being lifted."
"Well, the Major bought you back here and helped me to bandage you up." She said, "So that is quite possible."
"Actually, I do remember his voice." I said. That same impassive voice which could inspire fear in the most hardened of men. I had been so thankful for that voice.
"Mm… he said you were muttering incoherently for some time." She said, "Way to look good."
"Still… why would he wear a crucifix?" I said, not really listening to what Jess was saying.
"A crucifix? What are you talking about?"
"Hm? Oh nothing, just thinking out loud."
"Ah… ok. You want something to eat?"
"Yeah, I am hungry now you mention it."
Natural curiosity was urging me to investigate further into the current circumstances of the Major and I was seriously considering a number of previously doubtful stories I had been told by the general public about the young major.
I felt it was a duty to myself to find out who the Major really was.
By the end of winter we were getting close to going bankrupt. The manager decided enough was enough and the Third Eye was closed down. What was left of the profits was split and we all went our separate ways.
As Jess had family in Franc she decided to catch the train out of town and leave for the border. After a teary farewell, we parted ways.
I had nowhere to go, and the only ties I had were with the city itself. For whatever reason, I didn't leave. Instead I found accommodation in a small apartment with another girl my age, called Bethany.
She worked for a small grocer not far away and was very welcoming and friendly. She reminded me a lot of Jess.
Finding a new job was quite difficult, and I found myself having to do odd jobs at a variety of places. Finally I managed to secure a jobs helping with produce at a small dairy store.
It was then I began to see the Major more regularly. The first time had been surprisingly un-embarrassing.
"Hello Major." I had spotted him walking past me, clearly on patrol. I had only expected a nod of recognition. Instead he turned and walked to where I was standing
"Miss Svendrey." He said with a military born bow.
"What are you doing out here?" I asked, a little shocked by his reaction to my greeting. He seemed as stoic as always, but something was definitely out of place.
"I am on patrol." Came the clipped and well executed answer.
"Oh, I see." I said, finding nothing else of consequence to talk about or ask.
"I passed your previous residence. I did not expect you to remain in Istvan." He said.
If I was shocked by the fact he had decided to stop and speak to me, I was surprised I didn't faint when he provided a topic for the conversation.
"Well, this is my home."
"Home… Confirmed. However, financial gain in this area should not be suitable to maintain living arrangements."
I smiled to myself. I was getting better at understanding the Major's speech. In fact, I had begun to see it as normal in many ways. "Well, it's more work but I'm getting along alright."
"Confirmed."
"I just wanted to thank you for that time. I probably would have died if you hadn't helped me."
"It is the Duty of the City Police to protect the law abiding citizens from harm. Therefore, no thanks is necessary, I was performing my duty."
"Well, the City Police don't tend to follow those duties anymore."
"Positive. However, it is important to not deviate simply because others are."
"That's very admirable of you." I said with a smile.
He was silent for a moment. Then he said, "In order to increase financial gain, it is suggested you spend less time engaging in conversation."
"You're right of course, Major. I'm sorry to have held you up."
"The apology is not necessary. If the delay were against orders I would not have stopped."
"Well, feel free to drop by anytime. It's a lot better to talk to you then to work."
Somehow, I think that comment acted as the catalyst for a growth in communication between the two of us. He started to pass by regularly. Maybe he felt a certain amount of responsibility for me, or, more likely, he felt if he didn't check on me I would end up dead. Although why he cared still remained a mystery to me.
I found he became very evasive whenever I would try to ask him something about his past. He would either ignore the question, or turn it around on me. It just made me more curious. At the same time, he seemed so sincere I was beginning to doubt I had felt the crucifix. It wasn't completely unbelievable for it to have been a hallucination brought on by blood loss.
Still… there was definitely more to him then I had learnt, of this I was sure.
"Gyula returned. I saw the City Police waiting to greet him today." Beth said, walking into the laundry where I was currently doing the washing.
"Excellent, a little order." I said, somewhat sarcastically. While it was true Gyula did cause a little more control, it was also true that the difference was so minute it was hardly worth thinking about. I tilted my head slightly, "Was the Major there?"
"Yeah, and the Colonel. The colonel is a monster, he gives me the creeps."
"Yeah… me too." I said.
Now I thought about it, it would have had to be at least two months since I had last seen Radcon up close. I was fortunate enough to be living on the other side of the city now, much further away from the barracks. But I still saw the Major often.
"Why did you ask, anyway?"
"Oh, I was just curious. I see him around a bit."
"Ah… yeah. I hear lots of weird stories about that one."
"Me too. I wonder how much of it is true."
"It's all speculation I expect. I heard someone the other day say he wasn't human or vampire. What would that make him?"
I sighed and leant on one arm. "A mystery."
"You alright. You've been zoning out a lot lately."
"Yeah, just a bit tired I guess."
"Mm… me too. It's alright, it's nearly Sunday."
I nodded. Sunday was a rest day. I planned to sleep the whole day to make up for how little rest I got during the week.
The world had different plans.