Breakdown - 26. 24 The Hunt

Jared never saw his face. But he was sure, sure, that if he ever saw those cold, calculating eyes again, he would know the demon. They way they glittered like ice chips suspended in the deepest of space, devoid of anything human and sane and warm…

He was sitting in the chair, slumped over. He could feel blood running from him. He didn’t know the answers to any of the questions that this other was asking. He didn’t know why he thought that this other would think he would know them. He wanted to know where Cam had gone, and by God, Jared would have told him a thousand times over if he had known.

There were things this man could do with his hands… unholy things. The flesh of his arms and face were in tatters. One of his eyes was swollen shut.

The other was standing in the room, thoughtful. He had been silent and still for several moments. The silence made Jared even more afraid; he was sure that this other was going to kill him before he was done with him. What a pathetic death; wanting to give up information so badly that he didn’t even have…

“It’s a shame you don’t know anything,” the demon said. “But at least now I have a place to start.”

Jared raised his head with some difficulty.

“For even this time wasn’t a loss,” the demon continued. “This will be a lesson.” There was a heavy, metallic click. Jared saw the gleam of chrome in the dark.

“W-wait…” he gasped. “Please, no…”

“Are you going to beg me to spare you?” the demon asked. “With your face in ruins and no way to pay to get it back? You’re already reduced to a monster, Jared. Putting this bullet in your brain is the only way to release you from the horror that you now live.”

“Jesus, no,” Jared gasped.

They were the last words he uttered.

The silenced pistol snapped, exploding into light. There was a soft sound, like the breath of angels being let out all at once. The chair jerked and the chains rattled. Jared slumped forward, a new river of red pouring from his temple.

Aziel sighed and unscrewed the silencer. He had to admit, it had been fun. He’d known that Cam wouldn’t have told him anything. It was too clumsy. Obviously, his little experiment had put a lot of thought into what he was doing. Aziel just had to hope that Cam would try to contact Jared… And then it would just be a matter of tracing the phone call.

He wasn’t out of leads. He was leaving some doors open. Aziel removed the clip from his weapon and carefully packed it all back. He looked over at the glistening red corpse. What was the saying? If you think God has closed a door, somewhere he’s opened a window?

Aziel chuckled, and snapped on some rubber gloves. This was the grisly part of the equation; he had to find his bullet.

He had been fortunate; the angle and proximity of the entrance had given the bullet enough energy to pass out of the back of Jared’s skull, down and to the right. Aziel picked his bullet out of the plaster and slipped it into a small Ziploc bag. He pursed his lips and unlocked the corpse from the chair.

He was in a small abandoned apartment complex. Specifically, in the modified basement, where even if the building had been demolished, Aziel would have been able to reroute his access. There was a large iron trapdoor that kept the basement locked to prying eyes, as well as a back entrance that ran through the sewers. There were three rooms that Aziel had modified here; an interrogation room, a workshop and a disposal room. The interrogation room was just basic cement with a single light. The workshop consisted of a variety of tools that Aziel could use to sharpen or change the shape of his instruments. The disposal room was a large bathtub and several pounds of lye.

Aziel thought about his next course of action as he started to drag the corpse into the disposal room. He tossed him roughly into the bathtub and started to mix the acid to dissolve him. He’d already removed Jared’s cell phone for later use.

So far, his best lead was going to be the school. Cam had been adamant about finishing his education once he’d started. And the only way for him to continue from where he was to get his transcript sent from one school to another.

They wouldn’t allow Cam to take it out; it wouldn’t be official.

So, Aziel could hack the system and see if there had been a request for Cam’s transcript. Finding out where it went would give him the city, if not the address of the school that he had been going to.

Cam was careful, that was sure, but not too careful.

Aziel smiled as he turned on the water. The acid started to hiss and immediately dissolve the clothing Jared had been wearing. Aziel plucked the rubber gloves from his hands and considered. He could go home, be with Mark, and do his hacking from there.

Perfect.

Aziel turned off the water and left the small room. It would take a couple hours for the bones to soften up…

Cam awoke from a vague nightmare that he could barely remember. All he was sure of was that the waiting, ice-chip eyes were gleeful as they closed in on him. Standard of all dreams of chase, Cam had been frozen, unable to move. He just watched as the dark demon with blue eyes bore down on him.

He awoke with hair stuck to his forehead and sweat trickling down his chest. His sheets felt slimy, and the little old ladies room felt cold and sick. Cam, wearing nothing more than his undershorts, turned and put his feet on the carpet. He ran his trembling fingers through his hair.

With direction, Cam went to the window and looked out over the city.

It was a different city. Different place. Different people. Why did he feel like he hadn’t gone far enough? Should he really have tried to smuggle himself into Canada? However, if he got caught, he knew that it was going to be all over. There would be no second chance… Aziel would find him.

Aziel.

He couldn’t get away from him, Cam knew that. Not really.

The other annoying problem that had been surfacing was that Cam found himself physically wanting. Going from being a whore, and then just getting some regularly, and then getting nothing…

Cam swallowed back the lump in his throat and lay back down on his bed. He stared at the featureless ceiling before closing his eyes and pushing down his shorts. His member was half-erect, lying along the line of his hip. Cam bit his lip.

He couldn’t think of Aziel. As much as it bound him to the Craving, it bound him to a past that he needed to let go. Squeezing his eyes tightly shut, he searched for another image to take the place of the cruel demon that had mastered his life.

A different face popped up in his mind’s eye. He saw the smooth shiny hair and the half-rim glasses. He smiled softly, thinking about what Gabriel would look like if Cam removed his glasses. How his lips would feel, both on his own and elsewhere.

Cam’s member jumped to attention. Lightly, Cam dragged his fingers over the underside of his member. He stroked around the tip, lightly playing with the slit. He spread his legs just a little, getting a bit more comfortable as he thought about Gabriel glasses throw off, moving slowly down his body.

Cam imagined that it was Gabriel’s fingers instead of his own. He squeezed his own balls, imagining how Gabriel’s mouth would feel against his shaft. Warm and wet, soft and sucking. Cam wanted to feel Gabriel against him, another warming his bed and helping to take away the pain of both his addiction and his past. He moaned softly, shifting his hips as he stroked his member from base to tip.

The former whore’s hands sped up on his body. He felt a flush on his cheeks, pushing back the chill of his bedroom. His nipples were stiff, his body writhing of its own accord. He wanted release, wanted to come and wanted to say the name that was trembling on his lips. Cam kept his eyes firmly closed the image of Gabriel over top of him firmly embedded behind his eyelids.

Cam’s fingers graced his shaft, touching over the throbbing veins and the heated flesh. He felt the moistness that was gathering at his slit and the softness of his skin. He squeezed his balls, lightly playing with the orbs as he stroked his member. His body rocked, his muscles tightening.

“Gabriel,” he whispered with intensity.

His resolve vanished as he coaxed the orgasm from himself. He felt his blood flood down his body, like a warm waterfall. He felt the spasm of his pleasure, the flow of the hot, thick fluid. His fingers were soaked in the white mess.

Cam was left slightly dizzy in the wake of his climax. He opened his eyes and looked down at his hand, covered in the fluids of his pleasure. He felt ashamed of himself, and put his wrist over his eyes. Slowly, as he felt the semen cooling into a scale on his belly, Cam decided that he’d better have a shower. He had no idea what time it was, but it wasn’t too early to have a shower. There was no way he could just roll over and go back to sleep like this…

Aziel was in his laboratory, gently mixing a flask over a Bunsen burner. His attention was rapt, eyes appraising the precipitate that was slowly dissolving inside. His mind was flying at an incredible pace, attempting to solve the problem of his experiment. There was the matter of Mark of course, who would be curious if Aziel disappeared for too long. This hunt would have to be very carefully managed.

Also, Aziel didn’t want to waste any money flying to random cities on the off chance that Cam might be there. He wanted to make sure of his location so he could show up completely prepared.

For now, Aziel had put his real job on hold. He wasn’t going to take another assignment until Cam was found and put back in his place. Aziel smiled as he thought of the punishment that he was cooking up.

He glanced to the slim vials that were lining the edge of his bench. The gleamed in the light of the lab like pearly gems, each labeled with its own deadly poison. Cam might have been able to escape his mix before…

But Aziel could change that.