TELL ME, ARE YOU FREE, WHEN THE FEAR FALLS ON YOU?

Private; Halifax. 542



She was back. He could feel her there, in his thoughts, even if she wasn’t always visible. He could feel that accusing glare of hers fixed on him at all times. Sometimes he would see her, just sitting silently in the other side of the room, staring at him with those violet eyes. When she disappeared out of sight, he could still feel that accusing glare hanging on him like a heavy weight. And really, it wasn’t simply an accusation. It was truth. Dante couldn’t forget it, as much as he wished he could. Yet part of him didn’t want to forget, and it embraced these memories because he couldn’t forget his family. Even if the only memory of Viola his mind could conjure up was of him taking his bat to her in a blind rage, he didn’t want to forget. Even if it was driving him crazy. Just like her.



He hated that he couldn’t simply push the thoughts away, banish them with a simple wave of his hand. All they served to do was to sour his mood and keep him in a rather angry fog as he wandered through the city. Andante thought he had been rid of those rather persistent visions after drowning his sorrows and losing himself in the alcohol a few times. Despite the horrid (and well deserved) side effects, the hybrid boy felt rather clear-headed afterward, and saw no sign of his ghostly sibling. He continued on in his usual anti-social manner, feeling rather relieved to be rid of the guilt-tripping vision of his sister. But for a week now, she had returned, always watching him and never saying a word. It was starting to get on his nerves.



The violet-eyed boy reached up and grabbed the handle of the baseball bat slung across his back. He gripped it tightly in some odd effort to calm himself, but left it where it rested in the makeshift holster. He walked through the dirty streets like that for some time, arm reaching awkwardly behind him, his hand gripping the aluminum bat as tight as he could. After a time, he relaxed a little and released his grip on the bat, still feeling rather on edge. Amethyst eyes glanced around, taking in the sights of unfamiliar buildings. Somehow he had wandered to a portion of the city he had never ventured to before. Unafraid of getting lost in the tangle of old streets, he continued onward.



Andante found himself stopping before an old gas station, long out of service. He walked past the service station inspecting the pile of cars surrounding it, likely piled up when a mass of crazed refugees decided to take the risk to refuel. Aside from the chaotic nature of the pileup, the vehicles did not catch Dante’s interest and he continued on. He led himself to the small service building, stopping to contemplate it for a moment before lashing out and kicking the door down out of the agitation that still hung over him. The hybrid boy stepped inside, glancing around briefly. Maybe he could find something in here to entertain himself with. Keep his mind off things, maybe. He laughed bitterly at the thought; yeah, like that was going to happen.

TELL ME, ARE YOU FREE, WHEN THE FEAR FALLS ON YOU?

589



The interior of the building was a mess, just as disastrous as the scenery that surrounded it. Magazine racks and small display cases were knocked about, their contents lying scattered around the floor in small crushed and torn piles. The place sure as hell wasn’t very interesting, and as Dante walked through the cramped and dirty little building, he was beginning to wonder why he even thought it would be a good idea to wander on in here in the first place. The only good this god-forsaken hovel offered him was some shit to destroy to vent his frustrations somewhere other than himself. And with no better alternative in mind, he took to doing just that.



The doggish male unleashed a swift kick at a nearby magazine rack and sent the wiry thing flying across the room. It ground to a halt when it collided with a long-defunct soda machine. He stood silently for a moment, simply listening to the ringing thud that had sounded from the impact. The noise cut through that angry fog that hung over him for a brief moment, much as it always did. He savored that random destruction, that small bit of chaos he could conjure up himself. Such rash and unnecessary actions seemed to have a calming effect on him, a curious fact he had picked up on as a child. Having clung to such methods at an early age, he simply grew to believe it to be the best way to tame his damaged mind.



He could feel that anger creeping up on him again. Andante moved the short distance to the abused rack, intending to pick up his slowed progress of damage. A short call shook him from his task and he froze before he could send another unnecessary kick to the innocent object. He slowly glanced over his shoulder for the source of his call, his amethyst gaze glinting in the dim lighting of the small building. He spotted a silhouette lingering near the doorway he had kicked in shortly before. The figure backed away rather quickly, but instead of bolting the stranger held their ground and remained silent. Dante turned and straightened himself before making his way back to the doorway, the task at hand already forgotten.



Oh, goody, he crooned to himself, a steely mock-joy lacing the thought. This would surely be more entertaining than rummaging through the vestiges of humanity like a vulture. He stopped in the doorway, setting his arms against either side of the doorframe and leaned forward, taking in the sight of the stranger with an angry gaze. It was another female, this one adorned with a pelt of grays and creams. Her scent told him that she was a pack wolf just like all the others he’d run into, though this particular scent was unfamiliar to him.



What caught his attention most though was the flash of white teeth she bared at him. She had interrupted him while he was busying himself and then had the nerve to snarl at him as if he had been the one to waltz over and begin pestering her. She certainly didn’t scare like that other young woman he had run into recently. That was perfectly fine with the hybrid boy; he was feeling far too confrontational to sit back and play some stupid mind game with another right now. He set his own features into a snarl in return, nose wrinkling in agitation and teeth glinting as an unspoken threat. “What the fuck do ya want?”