6 6. CALAMITY.

Lucah had headed to the kitchen to fetch more booze. He was taking longer than usual to get back. Did he collapse on the way? Or was he hogging all the booze for himself? As Shawn's thoughts ran wild, he thought to have heard a scream. He paused and listened again. Nothing. It must have been his imagination… or the booze.

Even though he had two solutions to his problem, he was still not convinced. Shawn could not shake the feeling that something was coming. Something big. His mind tried telling him of what was coming but he was too drunk to tell the difference between right and left let alone think things through.

"Lucah," he called out, "did you get lost?"

No answer.

If he had been sober, he could be sick with worry. However, he erupted in laughter. Amused by his own joke. Shawn drank the liquor that had been in his glass. And waited. Lucah was still nowhere to be seen. He became alarmed and decided to go get him. He stood up while supporting himself with the table and called out once more.

"Lucah!"

No answer.

Shawn decided to head to the kitchen and check what had been keeping him. As he was about to head to the kitchen , his instincts roared, telling him to duck. With the skills he had collected over the years, this was no feat.

He felt a strong wind blow behind his head as he did. If whatever it was had been swung when he stood, his head would be rolling on the ground. Shawn's hands touched his neck to confirm if his head was still intact.

Immediately, he turned around to face the perpetrator. His vision was still blurry, but as Shawn focused he only met the wall. His senses picked up something again. This time, he jumped back creating distance between him and his attacker. And when he looked up, he only saw a blurry figure before it disappeared. It must be the booze, he thought.

A chuckle escaped from his throat. He staggered backwards trying to balance himself. He landed on the wall, a bottle still in his hand. One he hadn't noticed he had rescued while being attacked until it collided with the wall that acted as his pivot. Shawn looked at it and smiled. He lifted it, analyzing of the contents were still within the bottle boundaries. His eyes picked something at the corner.

Shawn lowered the bottle and looked once more. He still couldn't see anything. What was going on? Once might have been by chance. Twice, a coincidence. But the three times. Three times!

Taking in a deep breathe, he called down and tried to eliminate the alcohol in his system. When he opened his eyes. Everything was still blurry. He was still drunk. How can that be? Shawn could easily eliminate the side effects of alcohol in his system if and when he wanted to. It was one of the basics they were taught back home before being sent out to live in the human realm.

Shawn's memory was an incredible one. So long as he'd seen something once or taught, he could easily remember it. It never mattered if a senior warrior had taught him a complex skill even his own peers didn't do or he had read a whole novel, he could remember it, swing by swing and word for word.

His heart palpitated within his chest. Now he could really tell that something was wrong. He let go of the bottle he'd been holding. The contents spread all over the floor. His world began was spinning. His breathe got stuck in his throat and he felt something warm drip down. His eyes widened. He couldn't move, he was scared to.

"Who goes there?"

Silence.

Shawn tried forcing his eyes to look what was behind him. But that was impossible. His hands held his throat, and swallowed. Something warm came out. Closing his eyes, he let out a breathe that he had been holding. He lifted his hand and saw blood. His blood. A lone tear rolled down his face. His legs trembled. They almost gave in but he held his stance.

His chest tightened leading him to cough. Blood was spat as he did this and some was left in his mouth, giving him a metallic after taste. His left leg gave in and he kneeled. Whatever was around his neck tightened. It cut deep into his flesh, he knew it would leave a scare of he wasn't going to die from it.

Shawn tried to grab whatever was choking him but couldn't. His face was slowly turning from bright red to a bright shade of blue. He heard footsteps coming from the corridor, a whack and thud. He coughed, taking in the air he had been deprived of. A cloth was immediately placed on his neck.

After a few minutes, his ran his hands through his wound. It wasn't as deep as his mind had pictured it. Finally relaxing, exhaustion set in and he fell to the ground. Shawn expected to greet the cold floor but he landed on something warm and comfortable instead. With the energy he had left, he lifted his eyes to look at what saved him.

The first thing that caught his eyes was a dark figure that lay behind him. He blinked a few times and looked again. It was Lucah! But why did he want to kill him. Weren't they friends? Was it his plan all along? No, it couldn't have been, unless… he looked again. A bloody garrote lay in his hand. A cloth was placed on his neck preventing any more blood loss. This brought his attention to his savoir. He turned to them.

Shawn's blue eyes met with her red ones. She smiled and heaved a sigh of relief. She looked glad that she had made it in time. However, Shawn's eyes told a different story. They easily shifted from curious to hatred in seconds. He forced himself to move away from her but his exhausted body did not move. She looked hurt by this but still held him in her arms.

`Yo... `he coughed.

"It's been far too long,"