The Taste of Crimson

Chapter Four

Disclaimer: Saiyuki and all associated characters were created by Minekura Kazuya. I am making no money from this and am merely using the characters and setting for storytelling purposes.

Author's Note: In the manga, Gojyo is shown smoking at a very young age while listening to the noises coming from his mother's room. This chapter was originally going to be longer, but it works better broken into two parts, since the next scene is going to rewind things a bit and show it from someone else's PoV.

Sanyin glided through the halls of her clan's fortress, basking in the power from killing five humans in one night. It felt so good to finally be able to hunt without the other youkai interfering and protecting the pathetic humans.

The silver-haired shadow youkai frowned, slowing as she felt the faint stirrings of someone coming in through the Shadowed Ways. The only reason to do so, especially at this time of day, was to attempt to enter undetected.

The lower level shadow youkai didn't have the power to feel the disturbance while the high level ones couldn't sense it over their own energy. Only the clan's mid level members, such as Sanyin, would have felt the clandestine entrance, and most of them were out marking the prey they would take in the night. The only reason Sanyin herself wasn't doing the same was due to her good fortune the night before. After draining the two humans she had marked during the day, she had come across three drunken young men out on a youkai hunt.

Her curiosity piqued, she followed the trail of energy, slipping into a small library just as someone rose up from the shadows. Her eyes narrowed when she realized who it was. How had her pathetic little cousin Heniao, who was barely able to kill more than one human a night, gotten enough power to travel the Ways? There was only one possibility, really. Her nose wrinkled in disgust at the thought.

"You've fed from a youkai," she accused, once Heniao had fully come up from the shadows.

"S-Sanyin!" Heniao squeaked, startled. "It-it's not what it seems. I didn't-" She abruptly stopped. Why was she trying to explain herself? She gathered her power, prepared to attack the other woman.

Sanyin laughed in contempt, and Heniao screamed, suddenly finding herself wrapped in bands of shadow.

"Idiot," Sanyin said with a sneer. "You may be overflowing with power right now, but that doesn't mean you can effectively use it. Now, tell me what you fed from."

She believed Heniao's earlier denial. Her cousin was well known for being clever but essentially as dumb as a brick. Carelessly blurting out the truth would have been her first instinct.

Heniao just glared at her. Sanyin sighed and sat gracefully on one of the library's elegant leather couches. "Let's see if I can at least guess what you have planned, shall we? You've found a food source that gives as much energy as a youkai, but has a more palatable flavor. You either killed your prey or left it behind, managing to realize that bringing it back here would be a bad idea. Either way, you have access to more of what you fed on last night, and you came here to recruit some of our lower ranked people."

Sanyin paused and smiled. Heniao's sullen expression proved she was on the right track. "It would be quite foolish for you to try to take over, you know. You aren't cut out for leadership. Being second-in-command, however…. Well, it's most of the perks with less of the responsibility and danger."

Heniao's sullenness vanished, a speculative look filling her eyes. She didn't like it, but Sanyin was right. Being second-in-command to the arrogant bitch would be easier than trying to hold on to the position of clan leader.

"I marked a pretty redhead in one of the human towns," she explained. "He turned out to be a half-breed."

Sanyin stared at her incredulously. "Turned out to be…. How the hell did you not realize that a red-eyed redhead was a half-breed?"

"I didn't know his eyes were red when I marked him," Heniao said defensively. "He was wearing sunglasses."

Sanyin held her head in her hands. "Your stupidity is astounding. A redhead wearing sunglasses in an area where everyone knows the characteristics of a half-breed, and you didn't even suspect he might be one?"

The bound brunette glared at her. "That's not the point. The point is, his blood wasn't the way we've all been told. It was almost as powerful as the blood of a full youkai, and the taste was like a human, with a hint of bitterness. We've been lied to about half-breeds. They're the perfect prey."

Sanyin's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "No…. No, I don't think we were lied to. The distribution of recessive and dominant genes isn't going to be the same for every half-breed. It's likely they each have their own unique taste and level of power. It was just bad luck that the first half-breed ever tasted had an unfortunate gene distribution."

Heniao blinked, completely lost by her cousin's explanation. "What?"

Sanyin sighed and waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it," she said, releasing Heniao from the shadow bonds. "Get some rest for now. Tonight, you'll take me to your half-breed."

That night, Hakkai sat awake, gazing into the fire. Goku slept near him with Hakuryu cuddled close for comfort. The boy had been able to handle tea and broth for dinner, and Hakkai thought he'd be completely over his bout of food poisoning by morning.

Maybe I can get Sanzo to take him into the next town for a good meal. He-

His thoughts were interrupted by a soft sound from the other side of the fire. Gojyo had curled his tall frame into a tight ball and was twitching and whimpering in his sleep. He'd been unnaturally quiet ever since Reishu's visit, spending most of the day sitting and staring at the limiter she had given him. Sanzo had eventually taken it away from him, claiming he didn't trust the half-breed not to lose it. It was the closest the monk would get to admitting that he found the other man's silent brooding unnerving.

Hakkai stood and quietly went over to his friend, sitting by his side.

"Sorry, Mom. Didn' mean ta be bad," the redhead mumbled.

Hakkai winced and gently pressed his hand to the back of Gojyo's neck. Sometimes the simple touch of skin against skin was enough to pull him out of his nightmares. The soft whimpers ceased as Gojyo's body relaxed into a more peaceful sleep.

Hakkai sighed and slid his fingers up into Gojyo's hair, absently combing through the scarlet strands. His own nightmares weren't so easily dispelled, though they had been bothering him less and less often over the past couple of years. Sometimes he thought there really could come a day when his heart would be healed, allowing him to love again.

She'd have to be a strong woman, though. Someone who could take care of herself. We'd have lots of kids, and live in a big house, with a basement for Gojyo.

He smiled slightly. It was amusing to think of stashing his friend in the basement, but the truth was that he just couldn't imagine life without him. Almost his entire life as Hakkai had been spent either living or traveling with the half-breed. Gojyo defined his existence as much as Kanan had defined Gono's, though in different ways.

He shuddered, remembering when Gojyo had left them to go after Kami-sama. He had tried to suppress it, but he had felt… lost. Like his center of balance had been ripped away, leaving him struggling to remain upright.

I don't know what I'd do if I had to go through that again. Not really knowing where he was or if he was all right. It-

His thoughts were once again interrupted by Gojyo. This time, the redhead abruptly sat up and got to his feet.

Hakkai stood as well, frowning at the blank look in his friend's eyes. "Gojyo?"

The other man brushed past him, seemingly not even aware of his presence. Hakkai grabbed his arm, keeping him in place as he struggled to move forward.

"Have to…go," Gojyo said, his voice dull and empty, just like his eyes.

"Go where?" Hakkai asked.

"…calling…hafta go…."

"No, Gojyo," Hakkai said firmly. He heard the faint noises of someone stirring, but he ignored it, completely focused on his friend. "You need to stay here. If you leave, I'll be lonely, Goku won't have a playmate, and Sanzo won't have anyone to smoke with."

"…go…let go…."

WHACK!

"OW! What the fuck did you do that for, you stinking monk?" Gojyo shouted, pressing his hand to his injured head. Then he blinked in confusion as he realized he was standing in the middle of camp with Hakkai clinging to his arm and Sanzo glaring at him. The last thing he remembered was going to bed. "Huh? What the fuck is going on?"

WHACK! WHACK!

"OW! Damn it!"

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to sleep with you babbling and trying to run off in the middle of the night?" Sanzo growled in irritation. "Go back to bed and stay there. If you try to wander off again, I'm going to fucking shoot you in the kneecaps."

Hakkai led Gojyo, who was too confused to argue, back to his place by the fire. He glanced over at Sanzo, who was giving him a look that clearly said they needed to talk privately as soon as there was a chance. Hakkai nodded slightly in acknowledgement and settled down beside Gojyo. He would stay with him for the rest of the night, keeping him from going to whoever was calling him.

Heniao growled in frustration. "He snapped out of the trance. One of his friends probably slapped him or something." Nothing other than death could sever the connection between a shadow youkai and their marked prey, but pain would usually break through the trance state. That was why their bite caused pleasure. It kept the prey pliable and under their control.

"Friends?" Sanyin repeated with a frown. "You didn't tell me he was traveling with others."

"He has three companions, all male," Heniao said dismissively. "A cute teenager, a pretty brunet with a monocle and a weird pet, and a stunning blond with an odd fashion sense. Most people wouldn't wander about in a robe with a scroll across their shoulders."

Sanyin stared at her cousin in alarm and disbelief. "Do you pay attention to anything beyond your own wants and needs? Your half-breed is part of the Sanzo group." She narrowed her eyes, thinking furiously. "We'll go home for now. I need time to plan."

They both sank into the shadows, traveling through the Shadowed Ways back to the fortress.

Sanzo lit a cigarette and took a deep drag, smiling faintly as he watched Goku excitedly run back and forth from food stall to food stall. Giving him the gold card and telling him to get whatever he wanted had probably been a really bad idea. Oh well, it wasn't his money, and it didn't hurt to spoil the monkey from time to time.

Goku had woken up that morning starving and back to his usual behavior. He had devoured almost all of their food supplies, getting into one of his typical fights with Gojyo over who got what. The kappa had been a little subdued, but more or less normal, for him anyway.

Once he was sure Goku was completely occupied, Sanzo glanced over at Hakkai. The human-turned-youkai hadn't been happy about leaving Gojyo by himself, especially during the early evening, but Sanzo figured it was safe enough until full dark. Just in case, they had left Hakuryu behind as well. The little dragon could bite Gojyo if he zoned out again.

"One of the vampiric youkai got Gojyo somehow," Sanzo said, stating out loud what they both already knew.

"Yes," Hakkai agreed, frowning slightly. "I don't think it was Retsuko, though. She's new to the area, and the attacks on the towns and villages have been going on for a while now."

Sanzo nodded. "It wasn't her. He took a long time to come back in that night. I assumed he was making up for lost smoking time." His voice was heavy with irritation, most of it focused inward. He really should have known better than to make assumptions. It was dangerous and careless.

"Yesterday, he told me about a rather nasty dream involving a woman from the inn. I wondered at the time if maybe it wasn't really a dream and was related somehow to the bite marks on his neck, but then he mentioned details that couldn't have happened in real life."

Sanzo exhaled a stream of smoke, going over what he knew about the various types of youkai. "There are five clans that can convert blood into energy. Four of the five are able to induce a trance-like state and can cloud the memories of their victims. The subconscious is still aware of what happened though, and parts of it can come out in dreams. What was the dream about, anyway?"

Hakkai hesitated for a moment. Well, Gojyo hadn't said not to tell anyone, and there was no reason for Sanzo to hear about the aspects of the dream involving his stepmother. "The woman from the inn forced herself on him sexually."

Sanzo's eyes narrowed. "Hn. That leaves only three possible clans, and of those three, one doesn't get any extra energy from feeding on youkai. There would be no reason to drain humans dry and leave Gojyo alive." He frowned. "Shadow youkai seem most likely, since it's only been young, good-looking people getting killed, but it doesn't make sense for one to go after Gojyo. They don't feed off of other youkai. They'd get more energy from a lot less blood, but youkai taste like crap to them, or something."

"But Gojyo isn't a full youkai," Hakkai pointed out. "Perhaps the addition of human blood alters the flavor without noticeably diminishing the potency."

Sanzo considered the implications of that for a moment. "Shit. If that's the case, Gojyo is pretty much the perfect prey for a shadow youkai. We'll have to keep him from going to her. Maybe I really should just shoot him in the knees."

"That wouldn't be very practical, Sanzo. If you shot him, it would only be fair for you to be the one to carry him around when we go through places Hakuryu can't manage," Hakkai said cheerfully. Then he turned serious again. "If we don't let him go to her, she might come to us. How dangerous are shadow youkai?"

"They turn blood into energy, and the more energy they have, the more of their techniques they can use. And some of those techniques are a serious pain in the ass to deal with," Sanzo said sourly. It wasn't anything they couldn't handle, but it would be annoying.

"Are we going to tell Gojyo about this?" Hakkai asked.

"No. The idiot might try to confront her on his own. We won't tell Goku either, unless absolutely necessary. He couldn't keep a secret even if his life depended on it."

As if summoned by the mention of his name, Goku came back to them, his arms full of bags. "I got food for you guys, an' for Gojyo an' Hakuryu too," he chirped excitedly.

"Hm." Sanzo reached out and briefly laid his hand on Goku's head. He'd never admit it, but it was good to see the little monkey so lively again.

"Hee." Goku beamed at him. "Are we going back to camp now, Sanzo?"

"Yeah." The monk took one last drag from his nearly spent cigarette and tossed it to the ground, crushing out the embers with his boot. "Let's-"

He was cut off by a sudden commotion down the street. A mob was gathering, and he heard people shouting about youkai. He could just barely make out two cloaked figures, one tiny and fully covered, the other adult-sized with the hood thrown back.

Goku frowned and sniffed the air, his eyes widening as he caught a familiar scent. "I smell Retsuko and Kyoko!" He set the bags of food down and raced toward the growing crowd.

"Goku, get back here!" Sanzo yelled uselessly. "Damn it, why the hell do we keep getting caught up in things that aren't any of our business?"

"Come now, Sanzo," Hakkai said cheerfully, "surely a pair of self-respecting young men, such as ourselves, shouldn't pass up an opportunity to rescue a couple of damsels in distress, should we?"

Sanzo sighed. "Let's hurry up and get this over with."

"Hah! Four of a kind," Gojyo said, laying out four queens and the three of spades. "Beat that, you mangy lizard!"

Hakuryu carefully used his teeth to remove his cards from their holder and laid them out, revealing a straight flush. "Kyuu!"

Gojyo twitched and hung his head. "Damn it, you have the same unnatural luck as your master, don't you?"

"Kyuu! Kyuu!"

He sighed and pushed Hakuryu's winnings, a pile of shrimp chips, over to him. He scratched the dragon's head and glanced down at the four queens. "Well, at least I'm still popular with the ladies."

He shuffled the cards, wondering when the others would be back. They'd once again found a spot near the river, his companions staying only long enough for Sanzo to order him to set up camp before they abandoned him. At least they'd left Hakuryu behind to keep him company.

He sighed again and gazed to the west at the setting sun. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't like the idea of having only the little dragon around once night fell.

"This fuckin' place is getting to me," he muttered, lighting up a cigarette. Life, in his opinion, was a long stretch of pain and loneliness, broken only by fleeting pleasures and people who would always leave.

The only way to deal with it was to laugh or to cry, and he'd only ever allowed himself to do the latter once, when he'd been on the stairs to Kami-sama's palace and had realized that maybe it was okay to cry when something hurt. Even with that realization, he still preferred to laugh in the face of his own pain.

Damn, I'll be glad when we leave this area. I want to go to a big city where there are bars and women and no one knows a half-breed from a horse's dick.

He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't notice the arrival of the others until a small, squealing bundle flung herself into his lap.

"Gack! Kyoko?" He blinked and cuddled the girl, frowning at the bruise on her cheek before glancing up at Retsuko and his usual companions. He pushed away his instinctive thought that the youkai woman must have hit the child. "What happened?"

"We went into town to get some supplies, and my hood was knocked back," Retsuko admitted, hanging her head in embarrassment. "The townsfolk didn't take it very well."

"Hey, Retsuko, you're going to cook for us, right?" Goku asked, his eyes shining brightly with anticipation.

"You just ate," Sanzo pointed out incredulously. Even after all these years, the sheer amount of food the monkey could put away still managed to surprise him at times.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Goku asked. "I'm still hungry. Plus, no one else has eaten, and she did promise!"

Retsuko laughed and summoned her weapon, a short hunting spear. "Don't worry, I'll keep my promise." She glanced over at Gojyo. "You'll watch her for me?"

"Sure. No problem," he said, taking one last drag from his cigarette before putting it out. "Want to learn how to play poker, princess?"

"Yeah!" Kyoko exclaimed gleefully.

Gojyo grinned at her, trying to ignore the nagging feeling that it hadn't been the townspeople who had caused the bruise on her pretty little face.

Retsuko prowled through the woods, her youkai powers allowing her to feel her prey as she tracked it.

"Your powers aren't limited to forests," the voices whispered. "You could go back to the town and hunt down the humans who dared raise their hands against you."

Shut up! Retsuko thought. She picked up her speed, closing in on the deer she was following.

"They're humans, little better than prey. Go back and kill them all."

Shut up! She shuddered, remembering how close she had come to giving in to the voices and slaughtering the humans. She would have done it if Goku hadn't shown up when he did. Somehow, he and his friends had managed to get them out of the town without doing more than knocking a few people out.

"They shouldn't have interfered. Think how wonderful it would have felt to shred their skin with your claws."

"SHUT UP!" she screamed, throwing her spear. The deer bolted at the sound of her voice, but the spear flew true, killing it almost instantly.

"I'm stuffed!" Goku declared after his third bowl of venison stew. "That was great, Retsuko!"

The youkai woman smiled. "Thank you, Goku. I'm glad you liked it. Though I wish there was something I could do in return for your help today."

"It's quite all right, Miss Retsuko," Hakkai said pleasantly. "If you don't mind some friendly advice, you might consider wearing a limiter. Kyoko would still need a disguise, but you'd be able to go into towns without anyone realizing you're a youkai."

Retsuko shook her head regretfully and sighed. "I'm not strong enough to protect her while wearing a limiter." She smiled sadly and stroked Kyoko's hair. The little girl was curled against her, drowsy after a big meal. "Her father, though…. He could have taken care of her even with a limiter on."

Gojyo blinked and looked up from the cup of tea Hakkai had insisted he have, rather than drinking a beer in front of Kyoko. "Eh? Wait a minute, wasn't her father a human?"

"Ah, no. You see, my husband wasn't exactly faithful. He had a human mistress. She died in childbirth, and he died a year later. I was the only one left to take care of Kyoko. Most of the time, I forget she's not really my child."

There was the sound of shattering pottery as Gojyo's cup fell to the ground from a suddenly lax grip. "You… forget? How the fuck do you forget something like that?" Gojyo asked harshly. "Her coloring should be a constant reminder!"

"Gojyo," Hakkai said, worried about his friend.

The half-breed abruptly got to his feet. "I'm going to go smoke," he said shortly, leaving the camp.

"Did… did I say something wrong?" Retsuko asked, utterly bewildered.

Hakkai glanced at Sanzo, as if asking for permission to answer her question. The monk shrugged irritably. "Do what you want. He's your friend." He stood up and pulled out his own smoking paraphernalia. He wasn't going to let the idiot redhead fall victim to the shadow youkai again and put them all in danger just because he couldn't get over his damn mommy issues. "I'm going for a smoke, too. Watch the camp, Hakkai."

Hakkai nodded and watched as Sanzo left, turning his attention to Retsuko once the monk was out of sight. "Gojyo was raised by his stepmother as well, but their relationship wasn't as… amicable as the one you have with Kyoko."

"I see," she said quietly. "I didn't mean to upset him."

Hakkai sighed and stared off into the woods. "Don't worry. He rarely lets himself brood on things for long. He'll be fine soon."

Gojyo sat down at the base of a tree and lit up, his mood improving slightly as the fresh hit of nicotine entered his system. "That damn monk is supposed to be the moody one, not me," he muttered in annoyance. "His PMS must be fucking contagious."

The smell of smoke from a Marlboro told him the monk in question was somewhere nearby, but the lack of bullets shot in his direction implied he wasn't close enough to hear Gojyo muttering to himself. He decided to ignore Sanzo and focus on his own thoughts.

He wondered briefly what it would have been like if his mother had been like Retsuko. Then he wondered if the youkai woman would sleep with him again. He snorted. Yeah, right. Not fucking likely after making a royal ass of yourself back there, moron.

He blew out a stream of smoke and idly watched it float up into the air. He'd been smoking since he was around Kyoko's age. Maybe it was about time he learned how to make smoke rings.

"Gojyo."

He looked down, yelping in surprise at the pair of bright red eyes staring at him from less than a foot away. "Jeez, kid, don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Sorry," she said, still staring at him intently. "What does ami-coble mean?"

"Ami-wha?" Gojyo blinked at her, wondering why she had tracked him down just to get the meaning of a word.

"Mister Hakkai said that you and your mommy weren't ami-coble like me and my mommy are."

"Damn Hakkai, always telling people about my business," he muttered, though he had figured the other man would probably feel compelled to explain his outburst. "Yeah. Heh. Not 'ami-coble' is definitely one way to describe it. Amicable means friendly, kid."

"Did… did your mommy hit you?" she asked solemnly.

"Shit!" he swore harshly as what had been bothering him all night finally clicked into place. Some injuries bruised almost instantly, so she could have already been showing signs of the townspeople attacking her, but Gojyo was well versed in how bruises aged. The one on Kyoko's cheek was at least a day old.

The little girl jerked back slightly, watching him warily. He reached out and ruffled her hair. "Sorry, kid." He narrowed his eyes and studied her critically. "Listen, Kyoko, I'm going to ask you something, and you have to promise to tell me the truth, okay?"

"Okay."

"Has your mom ever hit you before? And I don't mean giving you a swat because you did something you knew you shouldn't have."

The girl shook her head. "She was acting weird, and then I must've done something bad, but I don't know what I did, so I didn't know I shouldn't've done it," she said, misery clear in her voice.

"The Minus Wave, then," Gojyo said with a mix of relief and regret. Retsuko wasn't a child abuser, but succumbing to the Minus Wave wasn't much better. If she went nuts and attacked them…. "You didn't do anything bad, Kyoko. There's something making youkai go crazy, and it's starting to affect your mom. We're on our way west to put a stop to it, but it's going to take a while."

He raised his voice slightly, making sure Sanzo would be able to hear him. "Your mom doesn't want to hurt you, so why don't you come with us to that Village of Taboo place? We'll get you settled there, and your mom will find you once all the youkai are back to normal."

"Really? Mommy will go back to normal?" Hope shimmered in her eyes.

Gojyo took a deep, shuddering breath. It was more likely that Retsuko would end up dead. "Yeah, kid, she'll be normal again. I promise. Why don't you go on back to camp?"

"Okay." She hugged him before dashing back the way she had come.

Gojyo slowly stood up and followed her, pausing for a moment at the tree Sanzo was leaning against.

"Do you really think you should be making decisions that affect everyone like that?" the monk asked.

"You know Hakkai will back me on this one," Gojyo said quietly. "Go with it, or you can fucking walk the rest of the way."

"Hn. Just keep in mind that she'll be your responsibility. Don't come crying to me if she gets killed by the assassins after us."

"Yeah, well, that won't be a problem, even if the worst does happen. I never cry, and if I did, it sure as hell wouldn't be on your unfeeling shoulder."

Gojyo continued on to camp, his longer stride allowing him to come within visual and hearing range just as Kyoko ran to her frantic mother.

"Where have you been?" Retsuko shouted. "I've been worried sick about you!"

Gojyo froze at the sound of her voice. He knew that tone. It was the half-hysterical, half-crazed inflection his mother had sometimes used right before she started in on him. Shit, shit, shit! He ran toward them, hoping he'd make it in time.

"I-I'm sorry, Mommy," Kyoko stuttered nervously. "I just went out into the woods to talk to-"

"Stupid brat! Didn't it occur to you to ask before you left?" Retsuko snarled. "You're a selfish, horrible little creature!"

"Retsuko, what are you doing?" Goku asked in alarm, jumping to his feet.

"Miss Retsuko, stop!"

Retsuko ignored him, raising her hand to deliver a harsh blow to the frightened six-year-old. Goku and Hakkai were too stunned to react, but Gojyo wasn't. He slipped between them, grabbing the youkai woman's arm.

"Don't touch her," he said, his voice deadly quiet. "Don't you fucking touch her."

"Don't hurt Mommy!" Kyoko begged. "You said it's the Minus Wave. It's not her fault she's like this."

Gojyo looked over his shoulder at her, his own voice as a child echoing through his mind. "It's not her fault. It's mine. If only I didn't exist, she wouldn't be like thi-"

His grip on Retsuko's arm had loosened, allowing her to break free and summon her weapon. His memories were interrupted by a sharp explosion of pain through his head as she hit him with the spear shaft. He dropped to his knees, dizzy and confused from the sudden blow.

"Filthy, half-human mongrel!" she screamed, using all of her strength to slam the weapon against his head over and over again. "I can't believe I let something like you touch me!"

He didn't do anything to stop her, not even so much as lifting an arm to protect himself from her blows. He heard someone calling his name as he toppled to the side, unable to remain upright. There was a brief respite from the beating, followed by a little girl's pain-filled scream. He thought he heard Goku calling for Kyoko, but everything was fuzzy, and Retsuko was hitting him again.

They're similar. Maybe letting her kill me will be the same, was his final confused thought before he drifted away into the darkness, the sound of a single gunshot following him down.