Surrounded by dead and dying men, dripping blood, on his face a feral grin. He looked nothing like the handsome man she had met on the barstool a few hours ago, he looked like a god of war and death. As she watched him he plunged his sword into one man's belly and left it there, while the man collapsed on the floor, the last remaining man came to his senses. He frantically began trying to fire his gun at Sean Thomas, who just continued to smile his fanatic grin and walked towards the man. The man was fumbling with his pistol and trying to back away, he chambered a round and fired a shot off grazing Sean Thomas in the shoulder. The man continued to back away and fired a few more shots, hitting Sean Thomas in the his stomach with one round. Nina flinched when Sean Thomas was shot, expecting him to go down but he continued to advance on the man. She could see the man was beginning to fall into hysterics and hear him speaking,
"Please man, come on. I didn't want to shoot you man, I just want to go home. Please man."
"SILENCE!" Sean Thomas roared at him, causing the man to flinch and stumble over one of the bodies on the floor. As the man fell to the ground and wallowed in blood and self-pity Nina could see the light in the room getting dimmer by the second. It got so dark that she could barely see the fire anymore, what was once a roaring flame now seemed like only a distant flicker. She blinked several times rubbing her eyes, thinking there was something wrong with her vision but when she opened them again she could only see distant lights. There were two of them and they seemed to get brighter by the second, drawing her gaze like a moth to a flame. Sometimes the lights would shine gray while other times they appeared more red, the colors bled into each other and separated constantly. The sight was terrifying but she couldn't look away, mesmerized by the alien sight she could feel fresh tears running down her cheeks. She could also hear distant screaming but it seemed to be far away, her heart sounded like a drum in her chest. It pounded away to its own beat, making Nina doubt that she was hearing any screaming at all.
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness she first realized that the screaming she heard was coming from her own throat. She quickly clamped her mouth shut but Tiberius had long since noticed her, giving her a quizzical look. She then realized that the two lights were Sean Thomas's gray eyes reflecting the light from the flames dancing around him. She could hear the man at his feet, still begging but most of it had become incoherent. Nina couldn't blame him, until she had left Bob's office she was sure that she had faced the worst that particular bar had to offer. She had completely forgotten about the wolf, she couldn't look away from the spectacle before her.
Sean Thomas let out a gruff laugh,
"Mercy? No son." He sat on the man's chest and took his head between his hands while pushing his thumbs into his eyes. The man fought and bucked, screaming wildly while attempting to force Sean Thomas's hands away from his face. As they struggled Sean Thomas spoke,
"You must atone for your sins." he gravely told the man, his eyes shining in the burning room. He then took complete control of the man's head, slamming it down hard on the floor.
"YOU!"
"MUST!"
"ATONE!"
As he spoke each word he slammed the man's head down harder, forcing his thumbs further into his eyes until he was gouging the man's brain out. He continued slamming his head down repeatedly until his frenzy left him. When Sean Thomas pulled his hands back a liquid squelch could be heard and his thumbs were covered in brain matter up to the second knuckle.
He was breathing heavily as he climbed to his feet and looked around the room, noticing Nina for the first time since he had returned to the bar. She was weary and battered, hair matted and disheveled, the psychological and emotional trauma as evident on her face as the marks on her body. She labored for breathe and her body trembled as she looked up at him while he walked towards her. She tried to crawl away while mumbling, her eyes were plastered to his hands which were still covered in blood.
"Please sir, please don't."
Sean Thomas leaned towards her with his hands outstretched and whispered as softly as he could.
"Hush, child. You're safe now."
"No!"
She attempted to push his hands away while on the ground, slapping at him while hyperventilating she quickly fainted.
As she collapsed on the floor Tiberius nudged her with a questioning whine, looking at Sean Thomas and expecting a response.
"She's alright boy, just in shock. The stress from everything she has experienced and witnessed tonight. It would be enough to make anyone faint."
Tiberius let out a gruff bark like he understood what his companion had said and began to lick Nina's face, cleaning her like a puppy. She stirred slightly while resting and found the beast licking her and began to subconsciously stroke his fur. Tiberius laid down, partially over her body, protecting her as best he could. Sean Thomas stood over them for a moment, watching as Nina's breathing began to return to a normal rate.
There was still audible gunfire coming from downstairs but now he had an innocent woman in the midst of a burning building. He couldn't very well leave her there and continue his fight and he certainly couldn't take her with him.
Sean Thomas could feel his heartbeat in his wounds as his adrenaline subsided, alerting him to how much blood he had lost. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his cell phone and rapidly dialed a number. He waited impatiently as the line trilled over and over.
A groggy voice said, "Hello!?" just as Sean Thomas began to hear movement coming from the stairwell.