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1 The grey haze clearing his view, he rolled his head forward, pupils floating into the centre of his eye. He propped his body up on his hands, but feeling slickness on his right hand, he lifted it to his eyes. Filled with horror, he pulled his hand back and stared at it. Red. Blood red. His hand was covered in blood. He was sitting in a pool of blood. His eyes frantically flew around his surroundings, searching for some clue of what had happened. They came to rest upon a body, static, bloodied, face down. He gasped and ran to the corpse, but stopped quickly, as a loud clatter behind him made him turn. Falling from the counter near him, a bloody knife lay on the floor. He stopped and stared at his crimson hands, his eyes bulging out of the sockets. “What have I done…?” he moaned as he fainted. “Wake up. Please wake up! Hey! Yes, that’s right, open your eyes. Yeah, that’s it,” the voice said. He raised himself off the floor and stood for a moment, calling back his current situation. “What is your name?” the voice demanded. “I-, uh, I’m called Abel,” he replied to the voice, “Who are you? Where are you?” “Here, with you,” the voice answered quickly. “They call me Ezekiel. How do you do?” the voice continued. Abel’s face distorted in anger. This was insane. There was a corpse on the floor and this man was asking him how he was? What kind of place is this? He was wracking his brain trying to remember what happened to him before he woke up in this room, but he couldn’t seem to remember anything before the dead body. “What kind of question is that!? What is that! On the floor!” “A body. A man’s body. He didn’t have much of a chance, did he?” “Did I kill him?” Abel whispered. He was terrified, thinking he must of done something and then repressed it. He couldn’t explain the situation any differently. “No, you did not kill him. Your hands are clean of the blood of an innocent,” Ezekiel gently explained. Abel let out a loud sigh of relief. “What was his name? Who killed him? I can’t remember anything,” Abel cried. “His name was Adam, he was your father,” Ezekiel said, as Abel drew in a quick breath, “As for who killed him, I cannot tell you. Not yet. It is too complicated. Do not worry if you cannot remember. Now rest.” Abel woke up, this time without a grey haze greeting him. He stared at the body still present in the room, then suddenly realized he had no idea where he was. “Ezekiel? Ezekiel, are you here?” he cried out. A few moments past then he was greeted with a short yes. “Ezekiel, where am I? Where is this?” “Abel, you are in an apartment. On the thirty-second floor to be exact. I cannot determine the town, but it is far away from where you are supposed to be,” Ezekiel said. Abel stared at his father’s body, and shuddered as his eyes ran over the gaping wound in Adam’s chest. He began to pay little attention to his surroundings, and they became dull. His eyes focused on nothing, as he gently rocked back and forth. A knock came to the door, and he jumped with a start. “Who is it?” he croaked. “Open up, now,” a stern voice ordered. Abel timidly opened the door, and everything went black. Slowly opening his eyes, Abel made sure not to touch himself with his hands. He felt disgustingly large, as if he had just been inflated like a balloon. “Oh dear, another. Quite unfortunate really,” Ezekiel’s voice said. Abel clenched his eyes shut and did not open them. I don’t want to see it, he thought. Not again. I can’t see another one. He opened his eyes, not through his own choice, and searched around the room until he saw it. Abel’s eyes clung to the second carcass in the apartment, as he tried desperately to form words with his mouth. Failing to speak, Abel grabbed his knees and began to slowly rock himself back and forth gently, until he fell asleep again. 2 “So, you show yourself finally,” Ezekiel said. The large man brushed off his clothing, and strode around the room, searching for something. When he couldn’t find it, he contented himself with leaning against a wall. “Well? Do you have a name,” Ezekiel asked. “Cain.” “Interesting. Very interesting. You did this?” “Yeah,” Cain replied remorselessly. Cain stared at the two corpses in his room. The room wasn’t really his, but he occupied it, so it belonged to him. Cain’s word was law in his kingdom. He chuckled softly and searched the rest of the apartment. “How long has he been awake?” Cain demanded when he returned. “Not for long, but long enough to see what has happened. You should be more careful,” Ezekiel replied. Pausing from his pacing, Cain stared at the man named Adam’s body. “Why did you kill your father?” Ezekiel prodded. “He was a useless idiot. He knew nothing, and was of no use to me. So he needed to die.” “Intriguing logic.” Cain continued his pacing and thought deeply. He was worried. Abel was stirring, and he would wake soon. Cain needed to hide from Abel. He couldn’t deal with Abel just yet. “I’ll kill him. He will die,” Cain told Ezekiel. “I know.” 3 Still hugging his knees close to his small chest, Abel woke once again in the room. His eyes snapped shut as he remembered where he was. “Is there more? Ezekiel! Is there any more!?” he fearfully demanded. “No. There is no more.” Abel opened his eyes, and to his great relief Ezekiel was correct. Abel stood and searched for something to cure his dry throat. He returned to the main room with a glass of vodka and sat on the leather couch. Downing the glass in one gulp, he shuddered as it ran through his body like liquid fire. He felt warmer after, and felt no need to do anything about his three guests. Two guests, he thought. Where is Ezekiel? “Ezekiel. Where are you?” Abel asked. “Here. With you. I spoke with the killer of these men. He was here while you were asleep,” Ezekiel casually told Abel. “What!? He was here? What did he do? Why didn’t he hurt me? Why didn’t you stop him?” “Stop him from what? He didn’t do anything, except look at the bodies.” “Do you know who he is then?” Abel questioned. After a long silence, Ezekiel replied, “Yes. He is called Cain. He is the son of Adam.” “My brother?” Ezekiel remained silent. Abel got up and left the room, searching for food. When he returned from the kitchen empty handed, he announced his journey plans, and quickly left the apartment.
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