Mortuus sat up abruptly, his head hazy and vision spinning slightly. He wasn't sure if he was awake or asleep, and he kept slipping in and out of consciousness for nearly a week before finally sitting up. Mortuus looked around, and his eyes landed on Death, who was leaning on his scythe in the corner.
Death locked his concave sockets onto Mortuus and spoke up. "Morning, sleeping beauty." he retorted upon seeing that Mortuus was finally awake. Mortuus shifted to sitting on the edge of the bed, coughing some blood as he spoke. "Can it, Rattle bones."
Death laughed coarsely, "It would appear that someone is vexed." Mortuus rolled his eyes beneath the bandages. He pushed against the bedframe and stood up. Mortuus walked over to the mirror and looked into its shattered glass.
Waking up in a completely different place wasn't exactly new. Mortuus wasn't sure how he'd gotten back in the bunker, though. Before Mortuus could even turn to speak with Death, the spirit said, "What happened between you and Sate is only for you."
Mortuus groaned, "What in the mystical bullshit is this." he threw his hands up in exasperation, "You're a shit therapist."
Death shrugged and responded rather blatantly, "Perhaps thou mistook honesty for empathy."
Mortuus sighed and added bandages over the torn ones rather than removing and reapplying them. After finishing, he quickly ran for the main room. He flew past the damage and ran for Kassandra's tank in the back of the main room.
Mortuus stood before the tank and checked a few dials. Everything appeared to be normal and within a safe margin. Her heart rate was steady as the lines of the Holter monitor went up and down in gentle, rolling hills of green. Her breathing rate had slowed, but that was expected when in cryo-freeze.
After making sure that the tank was in good shape, Mortuus made his way through Angus Woods and entered the sleepy town of Crater Hollow. He went to the small bait and tackle shop, which also carried bullets, and opened the door.
A small tinkly bell rang out its little song as Mortuus opened the door, and he was greeted with a friendly hello from the cashier, who was quietly reading a magazine on the latest hunting riles. "Haven't seen you here in a while. What brings you around today, Mortuus?" the young man asked politely, glancing up from the magazine to look Mortuus in where his eyes would be. The young cashier had on a pair of black headphones with copper gear symbols.
Mortuus was about to look at the selection of bullets until something about the cashier caught his attention. Pinned to the cashier's white and green polo was a little silver name tag. Normally, it would be something menial, but the name on it was of interest. "Ed Nicholson..." Mortuus mumbled quietly under his breath as he read the tag.
Mortuus made his way to the back of the story and crouched behind a rack of bullets, acting as though he were looking at them rather than watching Ed. Mortuus was confused. How had he never managed to connect the dots that this cashier was working for Ventura?
To be fair, Edward was fairly unassuming, and so many people probably wouldn't have realized. He was a helpful young man with an average build, and the only unusual thing about him was that he was almost never seen without his signature headphones.
As Mortuus watched him, Ed just quietly read his magazine. Occasionally, he would look up and ask Mortuus if he needed help finding anything, but that was all. He was pretty unremarkable for what Mortuus had seen him do in what Sate showed him.
Mortuus grabbed two boxes of bullets and set them down on the counter in front of Ed. He set the magazine down and lifted the box to inspect it. "Two standard boxes of 9mm bullets for revolver... Will that be all?" Ed asked nicely, seeming to be fully committed to his job.
Mortuus nodded and placed his empty gun down on the counter. "I believe so. It's a fairly old firearm." Ed picked it up, popped the barrel, and checked the stamp on the inside. He shook his head and reached under the counter, pulling out a box of .357 Magnums. "Your model is a 1947 model with a more naval design. You should be using these for the best results." Ed explained, pointing to the stamped cartridge number just inside the barrel. 94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD3NN4U7VT0
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEReLyBKfl2
Mortuus was fairly surprised, to say the least. He wasn't expecting him actually to help him. Mortuus laughed somewhat dryly. "You really know your stuff." Ed rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well... When you're a mafia boss's nephew, you tend to pick up on a few things."
Ed then scanned the items and handed them back along with Mortuus's revolver. Mortuus took the items, thanked him, and then quickly exited. He stood on the side of the building for a moment, thinking.
The whole time he was interacting with Ed, he could hear a faint sound that seemed to be T.V. static. It didn't entirely make sense, but it might have been a method of focus, a way to hone his unique abilities. That wasn't the part that was interesting to Mortuus.
The way Ed spoke to him was very respectful and kind, definitely not how one would talk to one's uncle's greatest enemy. It seemed like Ed had no issues with Mortuus, which was definitely strange since he knew who he was.
Mortuus thought for a long moment. "Why would he help me?" He pondered. As Mortuus thought, he felt a sharp stabbing pain in his chest. It was feeling similar to a heart attack. Mortuus's eyes went wide as he realized what was happening.
Whoever had their hands on his soul crystal was doing something with it. They were trying to kill him, and if they succeeded, then Crater Hollow was going to be undoubtedly screwed over. Mortuus tried running down the alley and getting to safety before the pain was too much.
He was barely out when the stinging caused him to collapse, rolling forward and sprawling out on the pavement. Cars swerved and honked as Mortuus's limp body fell into the road, a car narrowly missing him. Like a ragdoll, he fell, and his revolver slid, the boxes of bullets tumbling and scattering across the ground. 94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoquvfQGe0w
