He couldn't sleep.
The house was too quiet, and his senses were too alert for him to settle. He opened the window at some point to get sound, and the soft wind was a small distraction, but he could still hear his heart beating in his chest. He lay a hand on the pillow above his head, and the soft ringing of the chimes on the back porch were pleasant enough, reminding him of bells. It was still too damn quiet, and he was not used to it from two years of constant noise around him.
He stared at the shadows above the bed, his injured hand against his chest and his thoughts his own. He had observed their conversations, picking out things of use to him and storing them away for later. Things he could use against them if he had to, and he was sure their hatred toward him would leave him in need of such information. He would also guard himself by not saying too much around them, not reveal too much information as he always did.
The male Mortal, Mark, showed him how to operate what they called a shower, and he bathed after the four of them ate a dinner of poached fish and roasted vegetables that was actually quite flavorful and perfectly seasoned. He liked the shower too and stood under the spray, using the soap that was left by Sara to wash himself. He had nothing for his hair, so he let it dry and the natural curls and waves hung around his shoulders as he lay in the gray, cotton trousers that he found in the chest of drawers. And took out the black tunic and lay it over the desk chair, he would wear it in the morning in his leather trousers when they went out.
The bed was comfortable enough also, and it was clean. The sheets and blankets smelled fresh, and were a far cry from the bed he was given in the dungeons of Asgard. The room had a much better view also, he wasn't watching the other prisoners grunt and masturbate while dreaming of whores as they lay restless and stinking so bad he fought the urge to vomit. Instead, the open the window, and the fresh air, mingled with the scent of Night Blooming Jasmine and lavender, calmed him a bit as he studied the ceiling above him.
A soft sound then got his attention suddenly, and the woman, Sara, walked into his room and stood over the bed. She had her eyes open, and she pushed on the mattress next to him. He blinked at her, and she stood back up and he shifted as she stared ahead with a blank expression on her face. What struck him next, was the fact that she was wearing only a cotton tunic that came to her thighs. He shouldn't have stared at her pale legs, but he did and started a bit as she spoke as she stood over him.
"Daniel, you have to get up. I finished breakfast, and you have class." She mumbled, and walked out of the room. Her bare feet padded across the floor, and he got up and followed her to the grand staircase. She walked down it, her hands at her side, and she went through to the kitchen. Loki watched her, and she opened the refrigerator and took out a container of eggs. His eyes followed her movements as she stared ahead, and he made a tap on the table with two knuckles to get her attention. She jerked, abandoning the eggs and released them as he reflexively caught the carton before it broke on the floor. He set them on the counter, and walked through the still swinging door and stood in the formal dining room as he stared at her. She did not even blink, and her body swayed as he searched his memory for an enchantment that she could be under, finding none that he had heard of.
She stared at the far wall, and he took wary steps around her. She stayed in the same spot, the same blank look on her face as she stared ahead. He waved his hand in front of her pale blue eyes, and she didn't move, her eyes still unblinking as she turned and screamed as she threw her arms up.
"Sara!" He heardfrom above, followed by the sounds of two people running down the stairs. The sudden light almost blinded him, and Emily held the wooden club up, ready to strike. The firey haired girl glared at him, ready to swing and she looked around. Sara swayed on her feet, her eyes fixed on the wall, and Mark rubbed his face. They watched her as she took a plate from a cabinet, followed by a lace mat, and she began to set a place for someone to dine at.
"Yes Miss. Darla, I will get your tea." Sara muttered, and Emily lowered her weapon. She sighed, walking past Loki, and she motioned for Mark to approach from the other side of the table.
"Bugs, it's the middle of the night. Too early for breakfast, let's go back to bed. Can T.D. take you sweetie?" She asked and Sara set the China plate down on the table and nodded. Mark took her hand, and Emily put the plate and mat away. She went into the kitchen, putting the eggs away, and she pointed her club at Loki as he followed her.
"Turn off the lights before you go back up, and if you pick on her about this... I will smash your knees." Emily said, and he walked to the front room to see Mark carrying the now limp Sara back up to her room. He almost stumbled, but caught himself by grabbing the handrail. Emily called her friend on her communication device, and leaned against the newel post.
"Hey Giggles, sorry to wake you up, Sara did it again." She said, and Loki walked up the stairs to see Mark leaving the room at the end of the hall. Emily pushed past him, still talking and she leaned on the wooden club for support.
"I don't know what triggered it. I'm not a Medical Professional, but she screamed at the top of her lungs while setting the table for breakfast." She groaned, and Mark put his arm around her. Emily wiped tears on her fingers, and she sniffed. Loki walked into his room, and sat down on the bed. Mark walked in, streching his back and rubbed his face.
"She does that again, just get one of us. Sara does not handle her stress right, so she sleepwalks, it seems bizarre but she does it. Emily almost caved in your skull because she thought you were attacking her." Mark said, and walked back out of the room. He had questions about the phenomonea he had just witnessed, but Mark put and arm around Emily and gave the firey redhead a hug as the girl sniffed.
"What if all this is too much for Sara? What if we are not around and she gets hurt?" The girl whimpered, and Mark comforted her.
"Hey, Bugs has survived worse. She is a tough little firecracker, let's just try and get some sleep. Okay?" He said, and he heaved Emily over his shoulder and she giggled as he carried her into the next room. Loki heard everything settle again, and he lay back on the bed. He relaxed his body, trying to understand what he had just witnessed.
--‐--
Sara walked through the doors of Walmart with her own cart, Loki following her and she watched as he looked around as Mark pushed a shopping cart to catch up to them. Emily had work that day at the library in Graham, so she left early, leaving she and her beefcake boyfriend to do the shopping. Loki was taller than Daniel, so he put his leather pants from the previous day on, and was wearing a black t-shirt in the July heat. Sara cornered him that morning, and helped him by putting a hair tie around his stray waves and keeping it out of his face.
"I have a grocery list, do you want to tackle that? Or do you want to get tall, dark, and moody clothes?" She asked Mark. He took the grocery list with a flourish, and Sara sighed as she pushed her cart toward the clothes section. Loki watched the exchange as she waved for him to follow, and two children ran past him while shouting for their mother, making him stop suddenly to avoid knocking them over.
"Girls are way better than dressing guys anyways, you should also look into some proper pajamas. In case..." Mark teased, and Sara felt embarrassment creeping up her spine at what happened the night before. She hadn't done that in a month, and she knew it was part of the trauma and stress, because it started again about a day after the funerals. At least she didn't undress again, Robert found her completely bare assed in the long driveway when she did sleepwalk one time. He had to wrap her in a blanket, and get her shirt back on her to get her back into bed.
This time she was only wearing a shirt and her underwear, her thong underwear.
"Okay. Loki, this way!" She said, snapping her fingers, and Mark gave her a laugh as the six foot two Exiled God followed her. She decided to pick out a couple cute pajama sets in her size first, and a woman gave them both a wide berth. She found a purple set with little green dinosaurs on it, it was shorts and a shirt, so that would work. She then found a blue set with Little sheep all over it, the shirt said "Baaad to the bone" and had a cartoon lamb chewing a toothpick and wearing a biker jacket. She saw some pretty sundreses on a rack then, and she debated buying a couple.
Her biological mother loved putting her in dresses, even braiding her hair with ribbons. Part of her cried when it all ended, and she felt it still. After she was brought to Yelm, it all changed. Darla forbid her from looking overly feminine, the idea that she would get pregnant and turn into her mother was a constant threat that kept her in the shapeless and overly masculine hand me downs from her older half brother. She looked at the dresses with longing, wanting them now and walked over, finding two different ones in her size and putting them in the cart as a fuck you to the abusive witch.
She them went over to menswear, and he followed her like a shadow, and looked at all the items around him. He seemed to scan the rack of denim jeans in front of him, and he looked at her and she picked up a pair and held them to his body and chewed her lip as she tossed them aside and picked up a smaller pair.
"You definately have a twenty-nine inch waist, I am not sure about your inseam. You will have to try stuff on." She said, Loki looking at the dresses she picked out in the cart and lay them back down as she handed him four pairs of jeans. She found a package of boxer briefs for him, and used the chart on the back to find his size. He picked up a package of them and studied the picture on the front and let out a long breath, and she chose two packages in his size. She then opened a package of socks, and looked at him.
"Make a fist. I need to check the size, unless you already know your shoe size." She said, amd he made a fist at her. She wrapped the sock around his hand, and saw that they were a shoe size of eleven to thirteen. She grabbed a package of white, and a package of black. Tossing them in the cart.
"You don't talk much, not that I care. But it is like having a weird mute ghost following you around, and I have plenty of those in my house already." She said, and selected several more pairs of pajama pants for him. She handed them to him, and pointed to the fitting rooms. "Go try those on. Keep the pairs that fit, and I will find more in that size. I'm going to get you some t-shirts."
"I only talk when there is something interesting about the conversation, this one is incredibly dull." He snapped at her, taking the denim pants from her hand and she rolled her eyes as he went to the fitting room. The plump old woman handing him a key after counting how many pairs of the pants he had, and telling him to bring the ones that don't fit back to her. She didn't even raise an eyebrow at the leather pants, amd Sara hid a giggle, Walmart was a subspecies of its own sometimes.
Sara found several black, gray, blue, and green shirts for him, and she almost jumped out of her skin as she added two button up, dress shirts to the pile. He had a pair of the jeans in his hand, and she checked the size. She handed him the dress shirts, and he started to walk back to the fitting rooms to try them on. She stopped him, and he glared at her.
"Just try them over your shirt. They have lots of colors, and I found you some cool graphic t-shirts too. We will get warmer clothes when fall hits." She said, and he tried the shirts on over the one he wore. She checked the fit, Mark walking over with the groceries, and she found more of clothing in his size. She put four more pairs of jeans in blue and black in, and tossed in a pair of dress pants in charcoal gray as Mark rolled his eyes at the stuff she was picking out. She was walking toward shoes, when Loki reached into the cart to pick up a shirt that had the poster from Star Wars on it. He tossed it back in the cart, and rolled his eyes as he picked up one that said Rolling Stones on it too.
"We will have to go to Famous Label over in Puyallup for better shoes, but these should work for now." She said, and Loki started adding them to the cart and she shook her head. "Try one on, that way we know they are going to fit."
He sat down on a bench, pulling off his boot, and she shook her head as he tried to get it on. She went up a size, and he was able to get his foot into the shoe. She gave a nod, and he placed the black, skateboard style sneakers into the cart with the rest of the clothes. He began pushing the cart himself, following them through the store, and she dug through the candy bin, and then the nine dollar DVD bin.
"Apollo 13! This movie is awesome!" Mark said, and Sara read the back of it. She added it to the cart, and then picked up Reign if Fire, the cover looking interesting and she handed it to Mark. "Dragons and heroes, count me in. You so know me Bugs."
"Why do you call her Bugs?" Loki asked them, and they both stared at him in shock. Sara gave a laugh, and Mark joined in.
"Holy shit, he speaks!" Mark said, and Sara cracked up as she walked through a display of books. "She has a weird interest in bugs, she used to collect them and drew them all the time as a kid. There was this annoying bitch at school, she was picking on Amy, so Sara threw a spider down her shirt. I'm T.D, short for touchdown. I played Football in school, and blew my knee out in my Junior Year when I fell on the wet field. I managed to stay in shape though, and I work as a Personal Trainer at the 24 Hour Fitness in McKenna. Robert is Dobby, because he has the most pairs of socks I have ever seen anyone own. Emily is Irish, because of the hair and eyes. Amy is Giggles, after a horror movie called Doctor Giggles."
"I see." Loki replied cooly, and Sara added three books to the cart, as she picked up another one. Mark picked one of them up, and read the back.
"Sara! This is Porn, ya nastay!" He teased, and Sara rolled her eyes as he tossed the book back. She gave him the finger over her shoulder, and Loki walked along as Mark pushed his cart.
"I'm a lady, and we don't watch Porn, we read it." Sara snapped back, and they laughed as a woman gave them side eye as she passed. Sara gave it back to her, and started laughing with Mark as they walked to the personal care section. They stopped in closet and storage, and Sara tossed four bundles of clothes hangers into the cart. They moved on to Health and Beauty, and Sara pointed to the section of Men's deodorant.
"Go pick one that smells the best to you, and toss it in the cart. I'm going to grab you a toothbrush, and some toothpaste." She said, and he began looking at the rows of anti persperant smelling some of them. Sara found what she was looking for, and grabbed two packages of menstrual pads for herself when she heard a woman shouting. She ran back to the aisle, and saw Loki dropping a stick of Old Spice in the cart, and Mark trying very hard not to laugh as Crazy Mary held her crucifix out in front of her.
"I cast you out Devil! In the name of Jesus." She shouted, and two employees hurried over to stop her. Her daughter, Jenny, looked mortified and tried to cover her face. "You are a Demon! And will obey the Lord!"
"Mary, calm your tits!" Joe the Pharmacist shouted at her, and Sara was impressed by how Loki was ignoring the woman. She shook her head, and Loki let out a long breath as he walked with Mark. Sara added the stuff she got to the cart, and they did their best to get away from the situation as fast as they could.
"Bitch be nuttier that squirrel turds." Mark groaned, and Sara laughed at his reaction. They picked a check out lane, and Mark started unloading the carts onto the belt. Before she could react, Mark picked her up, and put her into the basket of the cart he had just emptied. She laughed, digging her purse for the credit card that was linked to the Shipping Company her family owned and handed it to Mark to pay. The checker started ringing up their items, and Mark helped bag as she sat in the cart. He loaded the empty one first, and then started burying her under the bags of clothes they bought. She leaned back against the side, crossing her legs and Mark ran the card.
"I need to see her ID because of the amount of the purchase." The Lady said, and Sara handed Mark her Drivers License. Loki waited with the other cart, and the numbers from her I.D. were entered and she shoved everything back into her purse. Mark then handed her the receipt, and Sara held it up for the old man at the door checking items. He gave her a wink, and checked their reciept and looked at Mark and Loki.
"How much was the pretty girl? Because I don't see her on the reciept." He joked, and handed Sara back the receipt. She stuffed it in a random bag, and she laughed as Mark patted her head.
"She wanders off, so we have to keep her in the cart." Mark joked, and Sara laughed at they walked out the doors. Sara hit the button on her key fob for the trunk, and it opened as they approached. Mark emptying his so he could get her out, she grinned up at her friend as he grabbed her arms and threw her over his shoulder and put the carts back in their corral.
"Come my pocket sized friend! There is fuckery to spread!" He said, and Sara laughed as he carried her back to the car. He put her down on the roof of it, forcing her to slide down the windshield and hood to get off the car. She laughed at him, always loving his fun nature and never regretting when he joined their friend group in High School.
After he had to quit playing Football, most of his jock friends started filtering away from him. And eventually June, his girlfriend dumped him to go out with the new top dog in the team. One day in Biology, the teacher partnered them up for labs, and he asked her about the sketch of an Elf Girl on one of her binders. They spent the rest of the class finishing the assignment and talking about Dungeons and Dragons, they formed a friendship and she invited him to join their group. She had a little bit of a crush on him, but it did not pan out because of Darla, but was happy when he started dating Emily. The group adopted him, and he became alot happier to be part of their gang.
Everyone needed some tough friends, even if it was the biggest outcasts in the school.
Sara got into the car, Mark taking shotgun and Loki sitting behind Mark. He let out a huff from the back, trying to situate his knees, and ended up sliding across the seat to sit behind her. She started the car, letting it idle a moment and backing up. She turned on the radio, the quiet getting a bit thick for her liking, and Mark began to sing along with Smells like Teen Spirit. She grinned at him, backing out of the spot, and making the turns to head back to Yelm.
"Why didn't we leave this town?" Mark said then, and Sara shrugged. She didn't understand it herself, the only physical thing she had here was the house, and it could be sold and she could move anywhere. The only things she would really miss was her friends, and the thought of leaving them hurt too much for her to think about.
"Maybe, we all stayed for eachother, like we found one another, and leaving was just way too hard in the end. I know I would miss you guys." She replied, and Mark gave her a shoulder nudge as she drove. She laughed at him, and he nodded back. They drove on, and Sara turned to pull into the drive through of Starbucks. They were waiting, and Mark sang along with the next song. Her phone went off, and she dug it out of her pocket, answering it and putting it on speaker.
"Miss. Pruitt?" The voice said on the other line and she blinked at the screen, not knowing who it was.
"This is she, may I ask who is calling?" She responded, and she drove up to the speaker and the chipper voice welcomed them and wanted their order. "We... we are still deciding!"
"I confirmed that you are at the Starbucks on Old Nisqually Highway in McKenna, the tracking chip in the subjects hand showed that he had stopped there. We were just ensuring he was with you, could you verify his current whereabouts?" The man on the phone said, and she and Mark both looked at eachother. Their mouths open, and she turned her head and Loki raised his still bandaged hand. She rubbed her face, and leaned forward, bumping the horn on accident. She sat back, and let out a breath.
"Yeah, he is in the back seat of the car now. We didn't think you would be that strict, we can leave and head straight back to my house if you want." She replied, and the man gave a polite laugh.
"Not necessary Ma'am, I will update the trip for you. In the future, you can update outings in the tablet while you are out of the main domicile. It will save you a bit of a headache, and us calling you should you decide to change up your plans." He said back, and she could hear a keyboard clicking in the background. "I updated it to give you thirty minutes at your location. Have a good day."
The phone disconnected, and Sara stared at it, Mark laughing to himself. He rubbed his face, and she rolled her eyes. She laughed with Mark, and rolled the window down again to order drinks.
"Damn! He is really locked down!" Mark said, and he laughed into his hands. Sara rolled her eyes, and shook her head as she leaned out the window to give their order.
"A Caramel Latte, in Grande. A Grande Mocha with whip, and an Iced Hazelnut Latte in Grande." Sara said, and the woman gave her her total. She drove around, still suprised by the phone call, and shrugged it off. "We are on the way back to the house, I didn't think it was that big of a deal to be honest. It's like having a stalker or something, but without all the serial aspects."
She payed for the drinks, giving the Barista a tip, and passing the Caramel Latte back to Loki. He took it, tasting a sip of it, and shrugged as he took a drink. Mark got his Mocha, and Sara put a straw in the iced drink.
"Is giving him caffeine a good idea?" Mark asked and Sara shrugged, sipping hers through a straw. She savored the sweet flavor, and laughed to herself.
"If he vibrates across the floor on his ass, then it is. But it is unfair if we don't get him something, especially if we get drinks." She replied, Mark laughing at her joke as they turned back on to the Highway.
--
They unloaded the Car, and Sara divided up the bags by where they went, she handed Mark stuff bound for the kitchen, and she put her personal items in two bags and handed them to Loki. He took them to her room, leaving them by the door, and then returning to get his clothing. When the trunk was empty, she drove the vehicle to the outbuilding and returned on foot with her drink. He carried his bags to the room he occupied, and began putting the clothes she bought him away. He put the toiletries in the bathroom, and he relieved himself, his bladder full after the beverage she gave him.
He decided to put on a pair of the cotton trousers, and he found a pair of sharp scissors in a desk drawer to remove the tags on them. He placed them into the waste basket, and took out a pair of the cotton undershorts and returned to the bathroom to smear some of the deodorant under his arms. He changed his trousers, and sat down on the bed to put the socks and shoes on his feet when he heard footsteps coming toward him. He looked up, and saw Sara standing in his door.
"I'm making sandwiches, you want chips or some of the potato salad I bought from the deli?" She asked him and walked in. She picked up his boots and Leather trousers, folding them amd putting them in a drawer and then setting the boots on the bottom of a wardrobe. She busied herself, hanging up the shirts and adding them to the growing selection hanging on the rod. Her restlessness coming out as she worked, she was used to having to constantly clean, it became obvious who kept the house so tidy.
"Either one sounds appetizing, I do have a bit of a hunger at the moment." He said, and pointed toward the bathroom. "How do I remove my waste from the toilet?"
Her face fell, and she sighed as she walked into the room as he watched. She pushed down on a silver lever, and he was secretly glad that it was just urine at the moment. Her heard the bowl empty, and then refill, her demonstration over, she washed her hands in the sink and used some of the soap. She dried her hands on the hanging towel, and crumpled the empty bags in her hand.
"Indoor Plumbing must be a new concept to you, it is the greatest thing since sliced bread." She said, heading out the door and stopping. "I will give you a bit of both, I will put it on the table for when you are ready. Don't let the mayonnaise sit too long, it will tear your stomach up."
He put the socks and shoes on, moving his feet in them, and finding them a bit flimsy. They would do for the time being though, and he tucked the rest of the clothing away before walking down the stairs. He heard Sara and Mark laughing in the kitchen, and he saw light from another room pouring into the hall. He walked toward it, and he stepped into a Library of sorts. The floor to ceiling shelves filled with row after row of books, and he walked past them with his fingers dragging over the spines.
This room was one he would spend a great deal of time in, he decided, and read the titles as he passed them. Cloud Atlas, To Kill a Mockingbird, Bone Collector, Neverwhere, Hamlet, Lord of the Rings, The Once and Future King, Cannery Row...
Each book was neatly placed on the shelves, and newer volumes lay on a heavy table for Sara to put them into their spaces. Each book arranged by the Author's last name, and cared for as if they were made from the finest gold. He had to appreciate how this Mortal Woman cared for these texts, and respect her love of the written word. He walked through another opening, and saw overstuffed chairs with Tiffany lamps by them, the colorful glass cut to resemble dragonflies. And several rows of books arranged in the shelves there, his eyes not knowing where to focus first.
His fingers stopped over one title, and he pulled it from the shelf. He read the description of the story, and he carried it to the center of the room and opened the cover. He read the first few pages of Tommyknockers, by a Mortal named Stephen King, and found himself drawn into it. He was almost done the the first chapter, and he heard a cough behind him. And he turned to see Sara standing between the rooms with a basket of laundry in her hands.
"You lunch is waiting, I guess you found the library. Darla hated all of this, but my Dad and I made it. She called it a waste of both rooms, but she never really had the patience to read a book." Sara said, and she touched all the books on the shelves just as he did. Her fingers tracing over each volume, and she smiled at the memories. " I've read every one of these, some of them twice. Dad ordered the ladder put in so that I could reach the top shelves. I'm short, so it helps."
She dragged the rolling ladder that moved on a brass length of pipe around the room, and he gave her a thin smile. He then realized how many books these rooms held, and he looked forward to reading them all. He closed the book in his hands on his finger, and Sara pulled out a small drawer in a desk with carefully cut ribbons. She handed him one, and he used it to mark his place.
"You can read any of them you want, I read that one four times, there is a pretty gnarly part near the end. The thing about Stephen King, if he can't scare you, he will gross you out. It was my first scary book, and I got in trouble lots of times when Darla caught me trying to read in my room with a flashlight instead of doing chores." She mused, and she picked up some of the texts and kicked her low, canvas shoes off to climb the ladder to put some if them away. She pushed herself around the room on the ladder, putting away another book and climbed down, wiping her hands on her trousers and slipping her feet back into her shoes.
"Dont waste the food I made, Mark has to go to work at the Gym. So, try not to murder me while I do laundry." She said, picking up her basket of soiled clothes and walking off to another part of the old house. He walked to the kitchen with the book under his arm, and sat down at the table to eat the food waiting for him. As he ate, he opened the book again and continued reading the tale in the pages.
She was so strange, an ignored girl who escaped her life with stories in a corner of the house that another woman hated. He found himself beginning to like her a bit, and knew he would never let that information out.
--
Sara heard the cat shrieking, and the sounds of the coyotes chasing it as she read her book. She sat up from her chair in the library and ran up the stairs to get the shotgun from her room, and hurried as she put on a pair of hiking boots and slipped extra shells in her pocket. She racked the slide, and chambered the first one as she passed Loki in the hall and walked down the stairs and out the door.
She rounded the house, the stock against her shoulder and she aimed it at the open basement window the cat had run into to escape the pursuer. The cat was feral, but it deserved to be safe sometimes, and it never peed or shit in the house. It just slept on her old bed, and brought her random dead mice that she would have to throw away.
"Baxter?" She whispered, walking forward slowly and keeping her ears open for the wild hounds that chased the cat. "Here kitty."
A growl to her right got her attention, and she saw the blonde beast snarling at her. It shook its head, and snarled, foam around its mouth as Sara held the barrel of the gun on it. It limped, acting erratically and more saliva drooled from its open mouth.
"Oh fuck." She whispered, and she realized that the animal had rabies. She aimed, and heard Loki coming around the corner and she saw him freeze. "Get back in the house, it has rabies. If it bites you, you will get sick and die." She hissed at him and slowly backed herself away, one foot crossing the other as she moved to put distance between her and the coyote.
"Are you a good aim?" He asked and Sara fought the urge to roll her eyes, staring down the animal instead. She clicked the safety off with her thumb and gave a nod, not taking her eyes off the dog.
"With this, I don't have to be, but I am a surgeon with it." She replied and he took a step back. She joined him in moving, and he swallowed as they both kept their eyes on the animal. "Keep going, just don't turn around or run. You will activate its instincts, and it will see you as prey."
"I know that, I have dealt with much worse." He hissed back, and the coyote took that moment to dart from the bushes toward Loki. She aimed the gun carefully, and pulled the trigger, the recoil knocking her backwards to her ass, and she fumbled into her pocket for another shell. She dropped one, and got the other loaded and aimed on the dying animal. It was whimpering in pain, and she saw that its spine was completely severed. She racked the slide again to chamber the shell and shot it again, just to end its suffering.
"Fuck." She groaned, and a hand was offered to her so she could get up. She got to her feet, and picked up the fallen shell and loaded the shotgun with it. She had several more in the box, so it did not bother her to waste two. She looked at the dead animal in her yard, sighing as she gestured to the house and feeling slightly nauseated. "I gotta call animal control to pick up the remains, don't touch it. Some of those diseases can still be spread even if the animal is dead, let's go back in."
He gave her a nod, looking down at the dead Coyote and also let out a breath. He regarded it a moment more, and turned on his heels and walked back into the house. She took out her phone, and called the Sheriff to report the rabid Coyote that she shot, talking as she walked back up the stairs to put the gun back.