More Than Human

Chapter 23: A Little Messy

Alejandro looked up as Ghost and Soap passed. His face dropped slightly when he saw the back of the wolf's torn up and bloodied t-shirt. And noticed that the pair were heading in the direction of the med bay.

"What happened to...?"

Rudy pulled his gaze back, "Shrapnel from the tank. I didn't realize it was so bad. He didn't make a fuss."

Alejandro spun him around, "Do you have any?"

"No, amor. Soap took it all for me."

Alejandro's eyes widened and he moved to follow them. He wanted to make sure Soap was alright, and thank him profusely for keeping his Rudy safe. Rudy held him back.

"Give them some time, Ale. You can thank him later." Rudy always seemed to have a way of reading his mind.

Alejandro relaxed and nodded, "We should check on our room. See of our stuff is still there."

He watched Rodolfo's skin seem to ripple for a moment, and an anxious expression settled over his face, "C-could you check it first. It was a little... messy when I left."

Alejandro furrowed his brow. He still hadn't gotten to hear about how Rudy managed to escape. He was curious for sure. He would have to discuss it with him later. Him referring to the room as messy didn't bode well though. Especially if he didn't want to see it. Rodolfo was a strong soldier, but his siren was a sensitive soul.

"Of course, I can." Alejandro cupped his cheek and gave him a soft kiss on the tip of his nose before darting off toward their barracks.

The base looked awful. But it had gone exactly as they planned, so he couldn't be too upset. The reconstruction would keep the vaqueros busy. The barracks building had minimal damage fortunately. He entered and made his way down the hall and to their room.

The good news was, all of their stuff was still there. The bad news was the mess also was. It could have been worse though. From the streaks in the dried blood across the floor it looked like they had removed some bodies at least. Not super thorough based on the little bits of gore that were scattered about. The smell was awful. Alejandro's eyes watered as his senses were assaulted by them. He would need to start cleaning right away.

He left and came back with a cleaning cart and got started on the scrubbing down of the blood. From the splatter and the distinct pools on the bedroom floor and in the bathtub he got the sense that there were two individuals that had met their end in here. And based on the rotting chunk beside the pool of dried vomit on the floor, Rudy had needed to use his teeth.

Rudy hated doing stuff like that. Most sirens lived primarily, as their ancestors did. Much closer to animals than anything else. It didn't behoove them to try and make friends with surface dwellers. You don't make friends with your food. It was simply their way of life. Not many sirens would be able to find a person willing to feed and care for their needs. And generally speaking, the people they would encounter at sea were dangerous to them. Poachers, hunters, trappers. A siren was a serious commodity on the black market.

It was a kill or be killed situation.

Rudy had told Alejandro that he had never enjoyed the experience of feeding before he met him. He didn't enjoy the taste of blood, and the love he ate was more akin to infatuation, lust, and greed. He was a bit of a black sheep amongst his pod and litter mates. Alejandro always joked that the way he described himself as a pup sounded like Ariel. Always getting a little too close to passing ships out of curiosity.

Maybe it was this curiosity that had given him the distaste for flesh and blood. Either way, if Rudy had used his teeth, he had to have been extremely desperate. Alejandro felt anger churning in his gut as he cleaned the tub. When this had happened he had been celebrating a successful mission, none the wiser. He left Rudy at home so that he would be safe. That had clearly worked out really well.

Graves and his Shadows had heard reports that he and Rodolfo were monsters, sure. But how had they figured out Rudy was a siren. They hid any behaviors and practices that hinted at their species when around individuals who were unaware. So there was no way they could have just guessed. And then there was Soap and Ghost. How did Graves find out about them?

Someone who knew had to have told him.

He couldn't think of anyone around them that would have had knowledge on all four of them. Except...

A low growl worked its way up his throat as he threw down his dirtied rag into the now rust stained bucket. He would finish up here, and then rejoin Rudy.

But tomorrow he would be finding out if his suspicions were correct.