Chapter Thirteen: Well, What Can You Say?

Israel Elysium

  It is a long time before I can force my body to do anything else. The adrenaline is pulsing through me, and my fingers keep twitching of their own accord, my fingers and toes. I can't seem to get enough oxygen either. I just lay there gasping for breath next to Siegfried.

  I need to get up, to do something about Siegfried's boss. I need to find Raven's phone and call... somebody. I need to find out why these people want to know about Timothy. I need... Too many things to be done. Too many things just make me want to continue laying there and do nothing instead. Oh, but the pain. My left eye is swelling up. I'm pretty sure I can feel the bruises on my face and neck and skull every time my heart beats. I still don't get up, though. I want to  let the world keep ticking while I just try keep myself from falling apart.

  Siegfried's boss moans. He's waking up. Obviously, he can't have the courtesy to remain unconscious long enough for me to take a nap.

  I groan regretfully and get one elbow underneath me, then one knee, and the other, and the palm of my left hand, Siegfried's blood still in the process of caking onto it. On all fours I crawl to the overturned chair, leaving bloody palm prints on the tile of whatever room this is. The chair is support enough to get me to my feet, but once I'm up there, I sway, suddenly horrifically dizzy, my vision going black for a split second. Before I collapse again, I latch onto the nearest wall, having fought too hard to gain my feet to let dizziness beat me, and just stand there, waiting for it to pass, praying Beak Nose won't gain enough consciousness to realize he is far closer to the cattle prod than I.

  When the spinning of my head becomes bearable, I stand before Jean Reno's doppelganger, otherwise known as Beak nose. His eyes are fluttering, not quite awake, but trying to be. Well, obviously, I have to put him out again, and yes, I do experience a moment of satisfaction when I feel his head crack against my boot.

  That is definitely going to leave a mark.

  I crouch, "You didn't see my -painful- but triumphant comeback... coming, did you?" I flick his nose. "Next time, don't bother and take up knitting instead. You'd probably be better at it."

  I search his pockets but don't come up with much. Money. Knife. Phone. Money. "Speaking of phones," I ask his inconscient form, "what did you do with my stuff?" There isn't much in the room, other than another chair and a metal table with- ah. I find Raven's phone amongst my belongings lined up there. I feel my privacy has been invaded, my wallet's contents strewn about, my flask unscrewed. I frown, pick it up, shake it, upend it, and cry in outrage when nothing but a drop of my best whiskey drips onto the table before me. With a backwards animal growl at my captor, I punch in Kal's phone number and wait.

***

Kallista Pendragon

  "Don't worry," I tell Raven. "He's done this before. Hellboy will show up soon."

My phone rings, playing a catchy Medieval Babes song. "See?" I show Raven the caller ID and answer, "Da."

"Kal, he drank my best whiskey," Hellboy's voice comes out the speaker quietly, controlled, absolutely the worst Hellboy mood out there.

"Um, who drank your whiskey?" I ask gently as Jericho smashes his fist into Curtis's face, elicting a loud swear.

"Dude, Jericho," I murmur. "You really shouldn't have done that."

"Thank you!" Curtis shouts. I give him a pointed look and finish what I was going to say,"You're going to ruin your knuckles, and I bet there aren't even any Band Aids in this house." Jericho shrugs.

"Worth it."

"Jericho just punched... le'm'me guess, Curtis." Hellboy more states then questions.

"Mm," I mumble, "where are you by the way? Things are getting interesting here."

"Things are getting interesting there. Visit his neighbor. Also, bring alcohol. Strong. Alcohol."

"I assume you don't mean the rubbing kind?"

"Bring that too. Also, I might faint soon. So if you could hurry-" A painful sound, loud and hard sounds from the phone, and I grimace.

"I think Hellboy's in trouble next door."

Jericho lifts an eyebrow, "Well I'll stay here and keep our friend Curtis and his... butlers company while the two of you go check it out."

"Sounds good," Rae says and flits from the room like the ninja she is.

***

Nights Raven

  After unsuccessfully visiting the wrong neighbor's house and politely asked to leave the property [while the proprietor held a gun to our heads after we barged in on her baby], we stood before the other next door neighbor, hoping this was the one to which Israel had referred.

  "You knock." Kallista murmured.

"I knocked last time. It's your turn."

"... We could just break a window...."

"I don't think that would end well... Especially if there's another angry mother inside. I don't think we would leave with our brains this time."

"True...," She sighs dramatically, falls to her knees, crawls up the steps, and gently raps her head once on the door.

"Um, Kal, I think you might need to knock a little harder... maybe with your hand?" She gives me a look but does so, still on hands and knees. Nobody answers.

"Um..., maybe we should try the one across-" the door swings open revealing a large German man. How I knew he is German, I'm not entirely sure... Something about him just seems evil.

  He looks down at Kallista. She, sounding strangely like Martha May Whovier showing off her Christmas light decorating machine, says "hiiiiiii," while waving one hand at the rather large man. She stands up, thrusting out her hand to shake "I'm Kallista! Goodnight now!" She deftly avoids his outstretched palm and throws a blast of air at him instead, blowing  him off his feet with a cry. He doesn't go far, as heavy as he is, but before he can get up, Kal hops over him and uses the wind to lift his head from the ground before whipping it back down again, twice, three times.

  He's now unconscious, and I give Kal an admiring look.

***

Israel Elysium

  My head comes back to me first, not a smell or sound or sight, but a throbbing, a real throbbing. I don't know if I moan or something, but I hear an alerting sound, like someone shouting to someone else. When I manage to get my eyelids up a little bit, my vision is too foggy to be of any real use. All I can see are vague roundish shapes hovering above me, one dark, one light.

"Hellboy!" I jump, which only worsens the pounding behind my eyes, but the shout did it's job. I'm sitting up, rubbing my poor head. I can't seem to focus on anything though, other than my hands on my knees, a dark burgundy smeared all over them, gritting between my fingers where it isn't completely dry, my fingernails, short, chipped, dirty.

  A cool cloth touches my scalp, and I hear someone talking, "Finally! I've been trying to wake you up for ten minutes, and I couldn't get to this blood on your head unless I rolled you over, which I figured you wouldn't like, so I've been prodding you and I even drizzled water on your face, but nothing would wake you, and Raven was off searching the house, but she had some stuff that is sure to help- can you believe that girl? on vacation and yet always prepare- so I got  this stuff, and I brought some stuff from Curtis's too- well not Curtis's because he seems to have stolen the real Curtis's, but anyway- where Jericho was doing a great job of..." the chattering goes on, but it is too quick for me to understand. I sigh and hear a vague swear in a another language as I fall backward, losing consciousness once more.

***

Nights Raven

  "But they're mortals?" Kallista repeats her question.

"Yeah, I can't find any evidence to the contrary, not there's much here besides newspapers and painful looking weapons, but I think they're part of some gang or something, maybe a cult? I found a few 'documents,' I suppose they would be called, although they kind of poetic... Possibly too outrageous to be real. Maybe someone was an aspiring writer or something." I set them on the table, and we read them together:

Day 82
In the darkness of the deep night with the moon hanging high above me, I followed him. Through the alleys and the pathways and the dripping canals, I found something. Something? Exactly what I have been looking for. He doesn't know yet, doesn't know, even though he has powers. I followed him to his house, tall and white and majestic. I've tried to get in, but there is always a straight-backed butler watching. If I cut his throat, spill his blood, there will be evidence. I need to search his house, but dare I disturb it? He is a god, and I? Nothing but a servant.

Day 97
He has disappeared and someone new has taken his place. I can only wonder why... This new god did something to the butler. I heard his screams, even from out here, but then they stopped, and the butler did as he has always done, except for this new, more interesting master.
  My followers are nothing but detritus in the wind, and yet they are all I have. Will I attack this god?
  No, I shall wait.

Day 103
Someone arrived at his house today. Four people in actuality, two men, two young girls. Why are they here? Why are they disturbing the god? They left before long, but I wonder whether they will come back. If that happens, I must find out why they came, must find out.
Mr. Raines suggested I find him. Find him I have, but what should I do now...? I must ask Mr. Raines. I must know what he suggests. But... first... I will question one of them. I will catch him unawares, easily, and he will fall to my wrath.