Page 25 of Pity the Living, Not the Dead

Out of control.

Heightened sense of elevation, as though I’m suspended above them, floating.

Weightless.

Pure bliss.

Pride.

Success at ridding the world of someone not worthy of the air they breathed.

All-encompassing emotions filled me from the moment Elijah gave me the kill order until the last drop of the vile creature’s blood hit my veins. As soon as his heart stopped, I withdrew, allowing him to fall to the ground in a lifeless heap. I stared at the body in wonder. “Elijah, how do you know which ones to kill?” I asked without looking up.

“Auras. Any living, breathing creature possesses one. Think of it almost like a halo. That grimy piece of shit you drained had one as dark as his soul, pure black. When a soul reaches that level, there is nothing left to redeem. They’ve made their own bed, and it’s time they meet their maker. There’s nothing left in them to save.”

As I gazed out into the night, I felt a shift deep within. From afar, I could see the auras Elijah spoke of, in various colors. My head bobbed left and right, absorbing as much as I could. It was as though this kill snapped the last puzzle piece floating around inside me into place.

“Liam, what is it? What do you hear?” Elijah stood defensively at my side, assessing our surroundings.

“Everything and nothing at the same time. I can see with the greatest of clarity, even the auras you talked about,” I admitted. “Is it bad that I want to rid the world of scum like him?” I asked, nudging the corpse lying at my feet.

“In my opinion, no. In the antiquated judicial system that still gives rights to those undeserving of them, yes. Out here, we live by our rules. Don’t kill the innocent. Don’t take what’s not yours and, for us, rid the world of those not worthy of the air they breathe.”

“What do we do with the body?” I asked.

“As long as you’ve sealed the wounds, we can leave him here. We need to keep ourselves off the radar and leaving a trail consisting of bite marks would be sloppy on our part,” Elijah explained.

“Understood.”

“Now, for the more important question,” Elijah said, once we were back in the car to head out on I-5. “How did you handle being near the two humans you escorted out of the park?”

“What do you mean?”

“Bloodlust. Was it difficult to be near them without feeding?” Elijah asked.

“Funny you should mention that. I was hyper-focused on getting them out of danger, to the point that the bloodlust never surfaced. Huh. What do you make of that?” I asked aloud, although it was meant more for self-reflection.

“No clue,” Elijah said. “But I am pleased with the effect this scenario had on you. It easily could’ve gone south in a hot minute.”

“Seattle needs our help,” I said, taking in the depressing scene as we pulled out of the parking garage. So many homeless families forced to the streets due to job loss, preyed upon by the soulless individuals ruling those same streets.

“I couldn’t agree more.”

Nothing more was said as we drove.

“When do you think I’ll be able to see Olivia?” I asked as soon as we walked into the house. “I really miss her.”

“I know you do, love, but we need to be one hundred percent sure you won’t hurt her first. Tonight was a positive step in that direction,” Elijah said. He’s been nothing but honest with me thus far, so I had no reason to doubt he had my and Olivia’s best interests at the forefront. The anger I’d felt upon waking that evening was long since gone, replaced by calm. Never really having reached that level of anger before, I hadn’t realized how draining it could be. Sure, I’d been frustrated in the past, but this was so much more than that.

We continued these nightly pilgrimages into town. As the death toll rose, crime in general in Seattle decreased. Still, we needed to stay vigilant and out of sight by getting in and out of town quickly, before we wound up in some rogue YouTuber’s video.

“Elijah, have you ever seen a video of yourself?” I asked a few weeks after we had established our new routine, having dubbed ourselves Seattle’s saviors.

“Hmm, now that you mention it, no, I haven’t. At least, not that I’m aware of. Get your phone out,” Elijah said, hopping out of bed. “Let’s record each other, moving at mortal speed as well as immortal.”

“Look at this,” Elijah said, handing his phone to me to view the videos he’d just taken. “In both settings, the only thing you see is a blurry burst of light. Even moving slowly, you can’t make us out. We’re just hazy fragments on videos. Well, that’s good to know.”

“How is it we can see our reflections in the mirror then?”

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