Page 49 of The Aftermath

“I like the sound of that.”

“I bet you do,” he laughs a little even while he winces. “You heard I was deaf in one ear now, right?” I nod my head slowly.

“It’s not a big deal. You have another ear,” I remind him. He smiles and nods his head before his eyes slowly slip closed. I watch him sleep while I listen to Tamsyn and Rylan talk next to us. That’s when Hunter walks over, looking serious for a second.

“I know this isn’t the right time for this, but I said I’d tell you all the truth. I wasn’t able to get Levi back,” he says, looking a little lost.

“Why not?” Rylan asks.

“They uh … they burned the car before I could get people over there. I’m sorry.” I hear Rylan curse under his breath and a sob rip from Tamsyn. Tears roll down my cheeks as I rest my head on the pillow. I’ll never forget his face.

It seems like a long time I lay here and cry until Silas wakes up.

“What’s wrong?” he whispers.

“Hunter tried to get Levi. He couldn’t. They burned the car with him in it.”

“Fuck!”

“Silas?”

“Yeah?”

“They took us there first.”

“What do you mean they took you there first?” he asks, sounding concerned now.

“To see the car. Tom asked us if we thought you guys survived it and I saw him. I saw Levi.” Now, another sob rips from my throat. Silas moves carefully, turning toward me and resting his hand on my hip. I know he’s trying to pull me closer but he can’t right now.

“You … you saw him like that?”

“Yeah. He was so peaceful looking even though there was so much blood,” I cry.

“I’m so fucking sorry you had to see that, Angel. So fucking sorry,” he whispers. I continue to cry for a long time just thinking about everything. Silas goes in and out, awake for a while before passing back out. When I finally stop crying, my chest aches.

I close my eyes and try to think of something other than the look on Levi’s face, but it’s hard. When I can’t take anymore, I shove myself up and try to make it to the wheelchair. I didn’t know Hunter was still here until he rushed over to help me.

“Thanks.”

“You want to talk about it?” I nod, and he wheels me away from the beds and across the room so we don’t wake them up.

“I can’t stop seeing his face.”

“That was never something you should have seen, Angel. There are all kinds of people in this world. Good, bad, average. Not everyone can handle things like that. It takes a really bad person to see life slip from someone's eyes. Their heart has to be as dark as night, and they had to have made a pact with the devil at some point in their lives to do those things and see those things. You’re not a bad person. You weren’t supposed to see the ugly side of life.”

“You sound like you speak from experience.”

“I do. What I do to people,” he says, shaking his head. “It’s not for anyone. You have to be able to look them in the eye and smile as their life leaves them.”

“But you do it to people who hurt kids, Hunter. That’s different.”

“Is it? Do you think you could do what I do just because they hurt a child?” I think about that for a long second before shaking my head.

“No.”

“Exactly. I made a deal with the devil when I was only fourteen years old. I gave up my soul to him so I could make things a little better for someone else,” he tells me.

“Who? Who did you save back then?”

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