Rogues

Chapter Four

I sit patiently on rough metal, the sound of crows screeching from under me. Polluted air seeps into my lungs as I swallow the cigarette's tar, yellowing my teeth. I sigh and lick my lips, "So much for quitting." Total fatigue tugs my neck back, eyes wide open.

There is no sky today.

I bring the cigarette up and force my lips to part as I lick its edge, ash coating my teeth. In eight grade I read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; I always hated the monster for murdering so many, but now, I envy him. His actions led his master to his death.

I wonder if mine ever will.

Feathers brush up against my skin and a peck punctures my wrist. Wet blood pulls my eyes down to a crow, cocking it's head to the side. Its silky black feathers flare as I stare at its discolored beak. I press my lips together, annoyed by Borem's pets. My finger begins to stroke its head, pleasing the large crow. It relaxes, hypnotized by my touch.

"Your a puppet." I whisper wrapping my palm around its neck. It begins to squawk in pain, shrieking for freedom, as I once did. Instantly, I snap its neck in two, decapitating the bird. I wait as it dissolves into ashes that stain my skin as I sprinkle it over the streets below me.

My eyes follow the specks, looking down at the people walking with their own song stuck in their head. I hear static as I stand on a 78 story building. My ears are plugged, pushing out the harsh wind that compels my eyes to dry as specks of grime stick on the edge of my eyelids. I blink harshly, trying to survey the city.

The ocean is in view, Borem's chosen meeting spot sticking out like a thorn. It had an abandoned boat, floating alone in the freezing waves being licked by frothy bubbles. The only home the lonely boat knows is Rust and dirt, yet it still has more than I will ever have. It lays on the bay teetering side to side while whistling with creaks, hissing out low tunes summoning seagulls to come into view.

I continue to wait until the streets below me are nearly emptied of blind sightseers and surviving residents. Lights flicker off throughout the city like a cleansing wave of primal darkness. Car Horns die and the screaming is replaced by scattered gunshots, night life at its finest. The box of cigarettes that accompanied me runs dry as I pull out the last one, buzzed by the sour tang and cotton stuffing it gagged me with.

My fingers crush the tip of the rolled paper against the metal ledge, feeling the rough bumps against my nails. There was no fear as I stare at the drop below my feet. The cold air tickles my skin as I blow out the cloud of death I trapped within my cheeks. Towards Borem's meeting point I see a sticky darkness coming from the ocean, turning the frosty bubbles into a blight upon the shore."This is how it ends." I whisper as I get up and stand on the ledge, the wind getting harsher against me, pulling my clothes into a ripple. Pieces of dirt begin to stick to my face and I push my weight forward, embracing the empty air. I hold my breath and fall off of the tower as if I was diving into oblivion.

I keep my eyes shut for as long as I could before it woke up. I want to taste the death I should have, just for a second.
I'm starving as it takes over, prying my eyes open and filling them with my blood. My sight turns into a blurred horror as I stare at the cement I am feet away from. The rushing wind peels away my dry skin and replaces it with a hard casing, rocky and heavy, with a stinging pain following it. I feel the transformation dress my body, tearing my thin clothes more.The air within me is sucked out as my body turns inside out, replaced by the dead corpse that lives inside me.

The infestation of yelping cats crawl out from the dumpsters around me. Every thing is cold, the scrapes on my knees do not burn and my lips swell, dead teal coloring them in. My eyes, filled with blood, see only red and my lungs are unnecessary; The dead do not need to breath on this earth.