Lost Souls - 6. Felix Rhodes: You only live once, unless you never lived at all

Scott was slicing through the woods like the wind, he knew he’d catch up with at least one of them; what he didn’t know was what he was going to do when he got there. Leaving Mathei his resolve was pretty solid but it was founded on rage, he knew that sort of motivation wouldn’t last and if it did it would only lead to regret.

The moonlight was slowly trickling through the pines now, time had really flew by and he wasn’t familiar with this area. Up ahead he saw a man kneeling in a glade, his hair was pulled back and tied tightly in a bun, Tremaine was looking straight down in front of him, pass his open palms and into the earth.

What the fuck is he doing

Scott slowed opting to gather information than go in guns blazing, in hindsight that probably wasn’t the best option because he waited and waited in the surrounding pines for what seemed like hours. Tremaine didn’t move an inch from his position. He studied the back of the man’s form, Tremaine looked more slender than his usual self, his shoulders were narrow and he looked emaciated even from behind. Scott had made up in his mind that this could be summed up to guilt, after the fire he came out here, the gravity of the situation now hitting him but this, the weight loss and comatose behaviour, this was slightly out of the ordinary.

He had enough, the scenes he saw before were clawing in his mind, Felix’s final state was right in front of him, and the man that did it; zombie or not was within his grasp. Scott held the axe in both hands and stalked up to Tremaine’s back, he was in the glade; mustard and violet grew low from the ground, their bold colours interspersed with dark brown sedge seeds and fallen pine needles, the latter causing his step to go unheard.

The moonlight wasn’t particularly offensive tonight, for some reason the full moon seemed softened, a gentle grey shadowed the area instead of the harsh floodlight type white that he had grown used to over the years. Only about 3 meters away from him now, Scott held the axe down low in one hand still uncertain what to do with it despite the twitch in his arm begging him to swing. Tremaine was still motionless and appeared unaware of what was coming to him.

Right behind him now Scott held the axe right to his neck, cold steel pressed up against his flesh.

“Convince me why I shouldn’t?”

Slow, unwavering, calculating, his eyes matched his voice his resolve was back and he knew he could do it.

“Talk Tremaine! Or by God I’ll take your head here and now.” His head rose, he didn’t make a move to turn around he just stayed there, looking straight ahead out of the glade and into the dark. “SAY SOMETHING!!”

“Scott McLeod, there is nothing to be said about your grief and the judgment you birthed based on your own inaction and guilt.” The voice boomed like a volcano and rumbled through the forest floor like a landslide. Scott stumbled back and the axe dropped from his hand.

“Tremaine what the fuck?!”

“Scott McLeod you have nothing to fear, the safety of your love is also precious to us. We have seen the ages and guided the mountains, we who have kissed the depths of the oceans and watched the leaves dance through the seasons. The collective voices of the universe have wept at the atrocities of this world; we who hear the tear of flesh and harmonies of life, the shrill cries of pain and the moans of pleasure, we can do this no more. Through the sins of six the lights have aligned again; we who govern the well and guard its patrons, we have shared the gate with the blood of the sinner. The sins of six are the hope of man and only then will the gate reach its master.”

By now Scott’s chest was on fire his ears felt like a bomb was continuously going off next to him. He felt warm and alive and yet terribly afraid and then there was what he was saying; Scott didn’t know what the hell Tremaine was on, if he was on anything at all but he believed him when he implied Felix was safe. As ridiculous as that might sound because it was only moments ago that Scott saw Felix’s burnt body, he believed this voice, he believed that Felix was alright. “Tremaine, are you alright?”

“He shall not survive the night” The voice and what Scott thought was Tremaine’s body turned around, it was almost mechanical. His head spun all the way around first, he was still kneeling but slowly his body followed while simultaneously standing up. Scott faced an obsidian face that contrasted with the rest of Tremaine’s usually pale white skin, the eyes glowed a powerful green, bright and steady like a viridian sun. He wasn’t dreaming this was real and if what this thing said was true Tremaine wouldn’t survive this… possession. “Your shock is understandable, you have nothing to fear Scott McLeod, you are a vital light on the guardian’s path even if your flame can never outlast his own. Now, look to the east and take charge of your joint destiny, the sinner’s path has awakened, his tether to the broken world is you Scott McLeod”

The green light vanished from Tremaine’s eyes, Scott stared in horror at the swirling dark void that was left behind in each socket. It was dark and empty and rippled like a murky pond, his face was now completely black, the colour was impossible, it was darker than night and it slowly crept all through his body covering every inch of his skin with this celestial darkness. Tremaine’s body remained still during this process until he was completely covered, then he vanish, his black body transformed into tiny specs of glistening black dust, like black diamonds in the wind.

It took Scott a few seconds to blink again, and a few minutes to understand what just happened. He had to remember, he tried to remember everything that that thing said to him, if he was right about Tremaine then everything else must be accurate too. Only one thing flooded his mind over and over, Felix could be alive… well not alive, but reincarnated, at least he thought that was what was going to happen.

Look to the east he remembered. Scott slowly turned his head to the east of the glades, looking into the dark shadows of the surrounding pines, instinctively he walked towards the dark, but he didn’t get far. He saw a muscular figure walking towards him, Scott froze, unsure of what to expect but hoping for the best.

“Felix?”

No reply, the figure advanced not fazed by the call it surely just heard. “Felix is that you?” Scott’s heart raced again, if it was one thing he was certain of it was that he couldn’t compete with whatever things he encountered tonight, so if this was one of them he was shit out of luck. The figure moved into the clearing and the light bathed Felix’s figure, his skin was smooth and shone the beautiful natural tan Scott remembered. His arms and chest bulged more than usual, he was bigger, more muscular now but his 5’11’’ height didn’t change.

“Felix!!” Scott bellowed tears welling up in his eyes; he couldn’t believe the sight in front of him. With that last call Felix slowly looked up, bewilderment plastered all over his face. Scott wrapped his hands around Felix’s naked body and held him, he was warm, almost on fire. his body radiated a pulsing heat, each time his heart beat felt like a blast of warm air surrounded both of them. Scott leaned out of his arms and looked into Felix’s eyes. “Are you there buddy, can you hear me”

“Scott” Felix blinked rapidly, visually coming back to reality. “Scott my head hurts man, and… Scott why am I naked?”

“I- I really don’t know where to begin or how to explain everything that happened to you. Are you saying to me you can’t remember anything?”

“Of course not asshole” yup Felix was back “I remember getting off the phone with you and heading to the Bridges, and now I’m naked with you all over me”

“Not that you mind me being all over you” Scott raised an eyebrow and Felix backed away from Scott’s hold faster than Scott realized what happened.

“what the hell has gotten in to you? And why the fuck am I naked”

“I need to get you home” Scott sighed, he didn’t really think about the logistics or the reality of the situation but it just hit him, two people were dead tonight, one of them was Felix’s girlfriend and Felix didn’t remember the conversation that two of them had about how they felt for each other

Fuck that! I’m not gonna let this shit simmer between us for another 5 years.

Scott closed the gap between him and Felix and crashed his lips onto the other man’s, Felix protested; his strong bulky frame almost succeeding in prying free of Scott but Scott held on and 5 seconds later he depended the kiss plunging deep into Felix’s open mouth. Their moans were loud and unsynchronized it was lust, carnal desire and frustration. It was Scott’s release, his anger his grief and his elation all tied up in one and highlighted by the growing bulge in his shorts poking Felix’s hardened member. He wanted to take Felix there, the pine needles bathed them in a fresh oily scent and the forest floor was littered with them. He wanted to throw him down and show him it would be alright, show him that he was going to be there for him but he knew he couldn’t he knew he needed to get them out of there. Scott pulled back from the kiss and stepped back.

“We waited too long to do that and you know as much as I do how much we truly mean to each other, for now that’s all that matters”

“how did you know, why, why did you do that, and I still need to know what is going on here” Felix’s voice was less demanding now, instead he pleaded to Scott, almost like a child and his father, he knew Scott would protect him.

“baby, I’ll give you everything you need, but right now we need to get out of here.”

“baby?!” Felix laughed and walked pass Scott “we aren’t at baby just yet bro, that kiss wasn’t that good”

“smartass" Scott walked pass Felix and swatted his butt "Your dick don’t lie so shut your hole and follow me, my truck is down the hill”

So many loose ends, Scott had no idea how he was going to get all this done, no idea why what happened, happened or what was that that possessed Tremaine; for now the only thing that mattered was the man walking behind him, he was going to make sure he never left Felix again.