seymoure | Chapter 50

Chapter 50

“Deeper Into the Dark”

Sebastian’s hand was getting sore, but he feared to let go of the man, lest he get away or attack again.

He then recognized movement in the body, and decided not to let the man slip out of his shirt and get away. With all the speed he could muster he put his hands in a lock grip around the man’s head.

He didn’t know if this was going to work, but he said, slowly and loudly, “Can you hear me?”

There was no response he could detect.

“You’ll have to nod your head, so can you hear me?”

The man was still a limp fish in his hands, but Claus could detect movement in the extremities. This guy was planning an escape.

“If you try to get away I will snap your neck, have no doubt about that.”

The movement ceased.

“You can hear me, can’t you.”

He increased the tightness of his grip.

The face nodded animatedly.

“Do you know me?”

The head bobbed to say “No.”

“Is the fire contained, or should we get out of here?”

He then realized you can’t nod a choice between two questions.

“Are we in danger from the fire?” He asked.

The head shook “No.”

“Were you sent here to attack me?”

Again, “No.”

For the first time Claus smelled the man. He hadn’t washed in a while. A long while in fact.

“Did you just find me here?” Claus asked.

The man nodded, cautiously, “Yes.” Sebastian was intrigued by how much he could "read" the man by the tension in his body. It was like "reading faces," something he prided himself on his ability to do. Now he was doing the same thing, just not with his eyes.

If the guy was being truthful, it would explain something about the situation. He was somewhere homeless people used to get out of the weather, and this guy had just wanted his shoes or something like that.

Or, it could just be a convenient lie. He was still trapped in the unknown country of silent darkness, and he could not allow himself a moment to forget that. It was a life and death circus and he was in the center ring.

He stood up and pulled his hostage up with him.

“I’ve got to find out why I can’t see or hear,” He told the bearded man in his grasp, “And you are going to help me.”

The man offered no resistance.

“I think I need to find a wizard, this is a spell.”

He could feel the panic in the man. For the first time, he thought the man might get away, since he was now struggling with fervor.

He picked the man up off the ground and said, “I do not want to hurt you, but I have no choice. If you will not help me I am in more trouble than I am willing to be in at this point in my life.”

He lowered his voice as he lifted the man in the air, “If you do not help me I will kill you.” He hoped he sounded even remotely tough. He did not ever feel like hurting anyone, and might not be able to hurt a human. He hoped, also, that he would not have find out those limits.

The body went limp. He threw the man over his shoulder and used that position to grab the man’s hand. He let the guy slide down to the ground.

His fingers were interlaced with the man’s and he led him for a few steps.

“If you know of a wizard, you will take me to him,” Sebastian Claus told the scared man, “If you do so no harm will come to you.”

The man began to lead the fat, blind, deaf man out of the place where they had met.

But lead him where?