Self Destructing Messenger

#35 - Fracture

Immediately after Azalea stormed out, Pyro and Elaine spilled through the connecting door. It could have been the crash that alerted them, or the raised voices or maybe it was that they had been eavesdropping the whole time.

"Wow," Pyro said, looking at the wreckage. "Trouble in paradise? Maybe I should go comfort her, you know, like a real friend."

Cayce lunged at the crimson crusader. All his self restraint was used up on Azalea. Hell she was the only reason that he didn't beat the guy's a$% in the first place.

Elaine's eyes widened. She grabbed the door and swung it hard. It struck Pyro and sent him reeling backwards into the other room. Hunter yelped as the back of Pyro's legs hit the shepherd and they both fell over. The door bounced back and the redhead pressed herself against it while securing the lock. A breath later and the crimson crusader was pounding on it.

"Elaine open this door!" His voice was muffled but the message was clear. "Fine don't open it! I'll just go around!"

"I'll meet you halfway a$#hole!" Cayce replied and started towards the other door.

"Wait!" Elaine said, scrambling to get in front of Cayce.

The mohawked man picked her up and set her aside. This didn't deter her. As he reached the front door, she jumped on his back, reached over his shoulder and locked that door as well.

"Damn it woman! Quit!" Cayce barked, trying to untangle himself from her grasp. He didn't want to hurt her. She probably didn't weigh more than ninety pounds.

"No!" She said. "Calm down!"

There was a loud clank of metal as the latch on the door caught, preventing it from being opened.

"And you calm down too!" She said through the door to Pyro. "Go find Azalea!"

A pause then, "Whatever." His steps retreated down the hallway.

When she was convinced that the crimson crusader was far enough away, she sighed and slid off Cayce.

He cut his eyes at her. "I'm not really pleased with you at the moment, Red."

"That's fine." She smiled halfheartedly. "I just didn't want Christmas to take place in the hospital."

"It wouldn't have for me," Cayce said.

"I know, I was talking about Pyro. You get a trip to a tailor."

"Not amused," he remarked and sat on the edge of the closest bed. Rage tremors continued to vibrate his body but there was also something else. Fear. He swallowed a lump in his throat, then looked up at Elaine. "I couldn't tell her," he said. "I didn't even want to. I don't want to but I should. I know I should. What in the hell is going on in my head?"

Elaine crawled up on the bed beside him. "Your voice is just protecting you."

"Bulls#$%," he said. "Protecting me from what? From Azalea?"

"Sorta," she replied. "Az is pretty close to that guy, that hex idol. He can't exactly be trusted."

Cayce scoffed. "No s#%$. That's what I've been telling her. But so what? He already suspects I'm immortal."

"Yeah but he doesn't know how. It's not even that he might do something but he might spread the info around. Then you end up in five million pieces, buried all around the world, possibly even still self aware."

"Uh huh," he said quietly. "I still think Az should be told. You could tell her."

Elaine scooted closer to him, propping her chin up on his shoulder. "Alright but later. I don't know if you noticed, but everyone is gone." She peered at him mischievously.

Cayce couldn't argue with that and he didn't want to either as the redhead pressed against him. In fact it worked out better this way. He could feel all the tension from moments ago melting away and Azalea would calm down too. Then he'd fix it. That was his last thought before his brain ceased functioning.

Locked in the other room, Hunter resigned himself to solitude when he heard the first sounds of human mating. Big Papa never let him near his b@#$%es during times like this. He took a deep breath and laid his head down.

Pyro had long since given up on finding Azalea. He would tell you that he searched for her forever but in truth he had looked down both ends of the hallway and saw nothing so he moved on. Later he made a much more important discovery, a bar across from the hotel that was actually open on Christmas Eve! And so he drowned his sorrows in alcohol and a pretty blonde waitress that kind of resembled Azalea after a few shots of Jack.