One step closer

Our scene opens in a darkened room.  We see the shadowy outline of a person, as our focus adjusts we realize the person is rifling through a filing cabinet, a pen flash light in their mouth.  However the face is obscured by a balaclava.  They appear to have found something in the files that looks interesting as they pull out a file and start flipping through it.  Suddenly we hear a door open in the corner and see a security guard, with their flashlight.

 

Guard: Halt! What are you doing?!

 

We notice the guard reaching for his hip to grab a taser gun.  However before he can get a good grip on it the person simply puts a finger to their lips and makes a “shhh” sound before pushing their hand from their lips and out towards the guard.  The guard suddenly falls out flat on their face, completely unconscious.  The shushing did cause the person to drop their pen light from their mouth.  They quickly try to grab the light back up while tucking the files under their arm.

 

???: Shit.

 

The person grabs the pen and cuts it off tossing it into their pocket.  They walk over towards the guard and gently steps over them.  They make their way through the door and gently closes it behind themselves.  They hurry on down a dimly lit hall as we can rather quickly tell it’s some sort of office building.  There is a bit of noise in the distance so they quickly dip into a little cut in the hall, where a snack machine and water fountain is located.  About this time we hear the soft haunting voice of Sarah Mclachlan “In the Arms of an Angel”.  The person quickly starts fumbling to get the phone out of their pocket, as they do the caller id simply shows “Cajun”  The person hits the answer and speaks in a rush whisper.

 

???:What? I’m a little busy! Also did you mess with my phone, how is that your ring tone?

 

Tobias: Oh come on nows Az, we’s both know dat funny as a tree dolla bill.

 

Azrael: Yes, you’re fucking hilarious Tobias, but now’s not a good time.  I’m in the middle of something.

 

Tobias: Well, toss ‘er a few ben’s and tell de snake to stop temptin even eh?

 

Azrael:I’m hanging up now.

 

Tobias: Don’t be like dat mon amie, I’s just as dey say having abitta fun.  I’s just callin to ask bout dat ting I sent yew to look into.  

 

Azrael: I’m looking into it right now.

 

Azrael peaks around the corner to see the bit of rustling he heard early appears to be just a cleaning woman pushing her cart.  He waits for her to be around the corner then makes a bee line down the hall and ducks into a nearby stairwell.

Tobias: Well what did yew find?

 

Azrael: Not a lot in all honesty.  Your little friend Amelia is definitely in the center of it though.  The energy radiating off her has bad ju ju all over it. However you sent me into what appears to be a den of all sorts of mystical and magical things, half of these people got some energy bouncing off them so it’s hard to track who’s…..ah shit

 

As Azrael is making his way down the stairwell he hears someone come into the stairwell a floor or two below him.  He’d rather not cause a scene so he turns around and starts back up the stairwell.  He hangs up on Tobias and immediately starts turning his phone off so he can’t call back.  Azrael starts putting a little more pep in his step  until he gets to the top of the stairwell.  He sees a door that’s marked “Roof access”, however the door has a padlock on it.  He grabs the padlock with both hands, there is a very brief flash of white light as he pops the padlock open breaking it in the process.  He opens the door and quickly makes his way into the room which has a little attic like stairwell that leads to the roof.  As he makes his way onto the roof he can hear the footsteps still making their way up the stairwell after him.

 

Azrael: They probably found their little friend.  Well this is going to suck.  

 

As we zoom out we can tell that he’s on the top of a eight or nine story tall office building.  It appears to be a lawyers office.  Azrael looks around trying to get his bearings.  We can see that to the south side of the building is a parking lot and a major highway runs to the east.  However to the west and north are thin woods leading towards neighborhoods.  Azrael turns towards the north west end of the building and starts running as fast as he can.  As he gets to the edge of the building he leaps.

 

Azrael:  Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

 

We're spared the image but we hear the slam pretty hard and cut to the image of Azrael’s body tumbling after impact down a grass embankment towards the wooded area.  He finally slams up against a tree to stop his moment with a crack hard enough that we’re not sure if the tree is about to fall over or if it was Az’s spine.

 

Well, that’s all to be written in the story of Azrael, not entirely sure who I’m supposed to witness now.

 

We slowly hear the sound of bones popping and cracking as we hear a low groan.  Slowly we notice Azrael's would be corpse moving as his bones start mending back together.  The tissue and muscles sewing themselves back together.  He slowly sits up and leans against the tree.

 

Azrael: Fuck, that never gets easier, hurts like a son of a bitch every single time.

 

“I was unda de impresshawn yew lot flew.”

 

If he was able to jump Azrael would have, but instead he just rolled his eyes to his left where he seen Tobias Devereux just leaning against a tree.

 

Azrael: I’m The Fallen, not the graceful, I don’t fly.  Why the fuck are you here?

 

Tobias: Well I was waitin at de car, but yew took too long, so I’s say, yew know wat, dat ole Az Ray El may need ole Tobias’ help.

 

Azrael: How did you even know I was here?  Further more if you knew where I was why did you risk getting me caught by calling?

 

Tobias: Well de first is easy, dey call it Gee Pee Es mon amie.  I put one of dem on yews car years ago.  De second, it was to be as dey say, a dick.  Now if’n yews done pullin yewself back togetta, I’s ready to go, ole Tobias been gettin ate up by de skeetas.

 

Azrael groans and slowly starts to get back to his feet.

 

Azrael: Of course, how rude of me, keeping you waiting.  Oh how you’ve surely suffered.

 

Azrael slowly unzips the hoodie he has on and pulls from within the files he took.  Unfortunately thanks to the fall and the several bones that came shooting out of his body on impact, alot of the files have blood on them or rather damaged from the rustling.  We just hear Azrael sigh as he keeps walking through the woods, Tobias leading the way by a few steps.

 

Tobias: So, yew lied to ole Tobias and say you workin on what I sent yew on right now.  However we’s in Michigan, which if’n I’s remember correctly where yews was gonna look into dat Vampeer ring.

 

Azrael: No idea if they’re Vampires, they could be Werewolves, Ghouls, or a dozen other things.  You’d be surprised how much further the food chain goes after you Cajun.  You just want them to be Vampires, because you buy into the sex appeal and pop culture spin on what the beasts actually are.  

 

Tobias: All I’s know is if’n I’s choosin between big ta ta tall woman wit de summa hat, or de fella who smell like shitzu afta de rain storm.  I’s taking de woman mon amie.

 

Azrael: I’ve told you before, that woman isn’t real, she’s from a video game.  A real vampire would not step on you, unless it was to squish your head like a grape.

 

Tobias: Yew don’t know, ole Tobias can be really allurin to de ladies.

 

Azrael just shakes his head as they finally make it through the thin wooded area and come out on a little side road of a neighborhood.  There parked by a street light is a baby blue dodge charge, approximately late sixties model.  Azrael approaches the vehicle and pulling some keys out of his pocket he opens up the trunk.  He takes off the balaclava and hoodie tossing both into the trunk.  He peels the blood stained tee shirt off as well, however when he does we see other than some smearing of the blood, there’s no visible marks on his skin.  He rummaged around for the moment before pulling a black t-shirt from the trunk and slipping it on.

 

Tobias: Yew know, I like ta give yew de business as dey say, but dat shit is always impressive mon amie.  

 

Azrael: Yeah, it’d be more impressive if I didn’t feel every last second of it.  Believe me, not being able to die, it’s not the blessing you think it is.  It’s much more like a curse.

 

Tobias: If’n dat what yew consider a curse mon amie, it’s only cause yew not usin it right.  

 

Azrael closes the trunk and walks around the car, he gets to the driver door and pauses for a moment.  He tosses the keys towards Tobias, who catches them and looks a little puzzled.

 

Azrael: I’m going to take a nap, you drive.

 

Tobias: Where we headed?

 

Azrael: New York, gotta follow up on your bullshit.

 

Tobias and Azrael both get into the car.  Azrael leans the front seat forward so he can lay across the back.  Meanwhile Tobias gets himself set up in the driver seat.  The car starts rumbling to life as Tobias pulls off.  Azrael starts to close his eyes.

 

Tobias: Yew did pretty good dis past week for somebody who aint wrassle in a decade.

 

Azrael: Mmhmm, thanks.  It didn’t go as well as I had hoped.  Fighting as a mortal was much more difficult than I remembered.  I may have under estimated it.  

 

Tobias: Speaking of dat, why do yew not just give dem de ole zap or a good ole knock out punch.

 

Azrael:  Because there are certain rules I have to follow to keep the powers.  I broke a rule, hence why I fell and why I’m cursed.  I don’t intend on breaking more and seeing what the next thing he takes from me.

 

Tobias: Fair enough mon amie.  So yew gonna be ready for dis week?

 

Azrael: I think so, at least this week I know who I’m facing and it’s a one on one fight instead of a cluster fuck.

 

Tobias: Oh, who yew got?

Azrael: Some guy named Ozric Mortimer.  I’m not too….

 

Tobias slams on the breaks so hard that Azrael is launched up slightly and into the back of the front seats before bouncing back down onto the back seat.

 

Azrael: The fuck cajun?!?

 

Tobias snaps his head back to look at Azrael.

 

Tobias: Oz?!  Yew’s facin de clown, mon amie, fuck dem rules, yew bes use whatever de hells yew can.  Dat ting aint human.  He like de embodiment of pain, a walkin reminder dat some people just dont need to be on dis earth.  Yew betta call in any favor yews got with ya daddy or someting mon amie.  Sheeewwwww yew couldn’t pay ole Tobias enough to fight dat ting again.  

 

Azrael: So you know him?

 

Tobias: Oh ole Tobias has faced de clown before.  Neva again mon amie, some of us gotta work hard on dat whole livin ting.  Don’t worry dough, as much as yew call it a curse, ole Oz, he gonna help try and find a cure.

 

Azrael: So what I’m hearing is I need to take this very seriously.

 

Tobias: Like a heart attack mon amie, serious as a heart attack.  Yew know he killed a man just a week or two ago in de very ring yew bout to fight him in.  

 

Azrael’s eyes open and leans his head up.

 

Azrael: He’s an actual murderer?  On television, and they didn’t do anything to him?

 

Tobias: Oh no dey lock him up all de time, he just always get out.  He got dat arkham level security.

 

Azrael: Well, still can’t break the rules, but thanks for the heads up cajun.  You going to help me train for the fight?

 

Tobias: Fuck no Az, as soon as we get to de state line ole Tobias gonna take his ass on back down to where he belong.  Which is far away from de clown.  Dat all yew mon amie, yew have fun. Ole Tobias aint no damn cooyon he know when it time to get gone.

 

Azrael: Well fuck.

 

Azrael closes his eyes back and leans his head up back against the side of the car.  Tobias starts to pull off back onto the main road.  Despite the serious warning of Tobias it appears as though Azrael can’t help but wear a small smirk as he rests his eyes as we fade to black.