death & fate part 3

When Tristan woke the next day, death was still in his arms. Her eyes were cracked red and the mattress was still soaked with her tears. She lay peacefully, but still in tears. A slight rattle from outside his door indicated something. Paranoid, he started to get up, but death was still clinging to his shirt. He thought it best to let her sleep. He looked into her peaceful face, wondering what she was dreaming about, and how she could possibly have so many tears inside. Without warning, the hand of fate had descended onto her head, and began to pet death while she slept, stroking her long and jet back hair.

“ what happened to her” Tristan inquired, though in truth he almost didn’t want to know.

“ you remember everything that you saw yesterday when those shells hit” fate reminded him. The memories nearly made him shiver.

“ yes” he answered.

“ she was there too” fate enlightened “ and everywhere else that it was happening”

“ what do you mean” he pressed, wondering if it was indeed true what he had been noticing, ever since he met her.

“ she’s death Tristan” fate stated “it’s not a nickname, she’s death and I am fate. Yesterday, when war came to town, she brought her life mates with her, you saw them.” Tristan recalled those who had surrounded the red headed woman he assumed she meant was war. “ I’m sure you saw what those basterds did to anyone they got their hands on. She was there too, she was taking them away from war and her cronies. She’s seen everything in this war thus far. All the wars for that matter. She‘s seen it all, she always sees it all, and she’s always taking people away. She cant stand to see anyone suffer for long. She’s been immersed in it since the beginning of life, even while she sleeps. Trust me she’s a lot stronger than she seems”

Tristan couldn’t quite think of words to say after that. The shock of learning he was actually being clung to by death was a bit nerve ticking, but after the things fate had just described, he couldn’t leave her side even if he did drop dead. He could only pity her for what she must have seen. Unlike him, she couldn’t run from it. Those who were dying, clawed by agony as they burned in the napalm, the trampled children caught under the heels of the fleeing crowd. Things he could only imagine in his nightmares. He eyed fate, his eyes asking the question he couldn’t find the words to speak.

“ yes” she said “ fate I am, but you’ll learn those answers later. I don’t feel like giving it away now”

Tristan saved the rest of his questions for later, turning his attention back to death.

“ rest with her” fate instructed “ she needs it”

Death twitched a bit in her sleep, her eyes still streaming with tears. He placed his hand around her head and held her close. He soon found his sleep once again returning to him. The next time he awoke, he was alone. No death or fate in the room. The ruckus outside though had increased. He crawled out of bed and took his chance to slap on new clothes. Outside, in the bar room, he could hear the familiar sizzling sounds of breakfast being cooked. Stepping down the stairs, he saw his father home again. Death was omitting a shy laugh, cooking a set of eggs on the stove. His father was drunk ( brandy from the look of it) as usual and trying to explain the process of witch the eggs were needing be cooked, but had somehow gotten off onto the topic of Sit com oddities and mock comedians. It was actually hard not to be amused by it, fate had a bit of chuckle as she watched from the stairs. Tristan stood beside her, observing the scene unfolding from above.

“ so what’s going to happen next” he asked fate quietly.

Her eyes nearly turned red with the stare, Tristan backed off instantly. Fate was clearly not in the mood. Her moods though did seem to drastically and randomly swing though. A trait Tristan couldn’t help but notice. After a shower and a set of deaths eggs, the mood had lightened tremendously, and fate was finally calmed from her earlier mood. The morning progressed and Tristan’s father briefly passed out on the table to “digest”. It was while death was checking his vitals that fate alerted the group to the sudden clicking of the emergency radio in the house. The radio required by the government to be active always in every home in case of government emergency messages.

“ attention citizens” the radio alerted “ districts 1 2 and 3 have been successfully evacuated and any hostile factions within the city have been terminated, as a safety precaution we ask all citizens to remain in their homes until further notice as we finish with the remaining tasks. We thank you for your cooperation”

Fate grunted at their obvious lies “ Tristan, do you know of any way underground”

“ kindof” Tristan answered “ what exactly do you mean by that”

“ I mean we need a place to stay that’s out of harms way” she specified “ preferably underground”

“ I know just the place” he thought a moment of going there “ and I think I know who can help us there”

The three of them packed a small assortment of their own valuables, whatever they could carry within their pockets. they sent Tristan’s dad to wine cellar below, told him to hide out there for a few weeks, He agreed. Naturally it seemed a good many people were also ignoring the government “advice” and finding shelter elsewhere, or attempting to bribe their way onto a navel vessel bound for a flotilla or safe island. The oceans after all were the only areas undamaged by the war. Because of this they had become heavens for pirate fleets and floating cities. Only the agricultural flotillas were safe from pirates due to the elite garrisons of soldiers on guard due to their value as a food source.

Tristan led them through the crowd of refugees. They were all hauling bags of their belongings and steadily traveling towards areas they thought were safe. Among them Tristan saw a small, hunched man with a sack that looked as big as he was slung over his back. He quivered as he trotted along with the crowd. Spotting death, he nearly stumbled. His eyes grew to be the size of baseballs. He regained his ground and darted off toward the docks, nearly screaming.

“who was that” Tristan commented.

“ just fear” fate replied “ he’s not leaving though, poor fella”

Tristan eyed him, then shrugged it off. His attention caught by the small bookstore that sat at the corner of a dark alley on the street filled with fleeing refugees. He entered the shop, the owner looked up, not shocked to see him.

“ Tristan” the blonde haired girl acknowledged “ I was thinking you might be showing up, let me guess , heading down to the lowers.”

“ Only safe place I can think of these days” he returned “ spooky Marys place would probably still be vacant right”

“ I think so” the blonde returned “ I’d of heard from her otherwise, all three of you then”

“ yea” he answered.

“ almighty” she stepped out from behind the counter and opened up a bookcase, revealing a hidden stairwell “ down you go then”

Tristan tipped her a fee, and the three of them left the vacant bookstore and headed down the old dripping passageway. The staircase was a narrow concrete walled downward spiral that bore flickering neon lights and dripping piped along its sides. The entire chasm echoes with the occasional squeak of rodents. Fate wasn’t shy about her disgust of it. Shortly after they entered, the blonde girl sealed the door behind them, encasing them in the dark cylinder.

“ so where is this place were going Tristan” fate asked, trying not to think of the rusting pipes.

“ It’s and underground village” he replied, “ a suburb of sorts, there’s about a dozen of them in this city, tiny little communities set up in the sewers”

“ and whoever would want to live in the sewers of all god-awful places” she continued.

“ most are unwelcome or wanted, or just people that need to hide” he informed. “mutants, bounty heads, journalists, contraband dealers, mostly hobos though”

“ cant wait” she remarked.

“ don’t worry fate” Tristan assured “ it doesn’t smell as bad down there as it does here”

“ and your certain that war wont find her way down here” fate asked.

“ doubt it” Tristan put a moment of thought into the last thing she said “ this place is pretty out of the way, and resource less. Less than half the city even knows these places exist, so I imagine it’s as safe as it gets”

The three of them suddenly reached the end of the stairway, a large rusted steel door that loomed over them. It looked so age worn that it was hardly imaginable to think it could even move. Tristan scrapped of a coat of copper rust to reveal an age old keypad. With a bit of force, he was able to enter a set password.

“ is this supposed to open” fate was doubtful, but death had a look of confidence.

“ this used to be an old military bunker, they built it to store stockpiles of nukes for millions of years” he entered the last digit and the door clicked, with the whine of a hydraulic the door creaked open. “ so the doors were made to survive longer then we are”

Through the door, lay a hallway, lined on it’s roof and sides in tomato vines and pipes dripping with condensation. The hall beyond almost looked like a completely different world. Even the air felt fresher as it collided with their faces. Tristan led them through the hallways beyond, sealing the door tight behind them. The entire complex was covered in flora of all kinds. Apple trees woven around pipes and seams, grape vines lining the guardrails, all the iron here seemed to have rusted away, leaving a skeleton of non rusting metals that the plants grew around. Their roots seemed to be laid into sewage pipes, that emitted a foul odor. From their branches however, bright red apples hung plump, open to be eaten. Fruit bore from most of the plants in the room, in copious amounts. Around the plants, swarms of insects flurried about. Beehives could be seen hanging from limbs. Moths and butterflies fluttered about, and a thousand or so fireflies lit the area around them. UV lights hung suspended from wires above, shining on the plants with gathered around them. The entire area was steel bathed n lush green. It was as close as one could get to an urban jungle, in every way.

They descended through this forest, along a series of catwalks clearly maintained by someone. The catwalks were all lined in neatly trimmed vines that clung only to the rails. There were many platforms and lifting cranes clearly used to collect fruits. Occasionally an echo of a workers song, or a hovercraft could be heard in the distance. After a good thirty minutes of travel, they found themselves before a copper color door, with a small bolt . A hard twist on the bolt, and the door swung open, revealing a most frighteningly peaceful scene. There was a dome, massive and hollow. The room of the area was at least 300 yards high. The floor was an enormous market square it seemed that was too wide to see the other side. The buildings that lined it were made of cardboard and scrap steel, whatever could be salvaged. Most of the structured looked soldered together to make upper floors. The streets were lined with vendors and small buildings alive with salesmen and exotic scents. People were everywhere, a massive crowd of shuffling folk, dressed in rags and dirty clothes. There wasn’t a single suit in the crowd. Above the lower sprawl, there were wide open platforms hanging by thick cables, connected by simple wooden plank bridges. There was a vast network of them, cluttering the space above. from the edges of the platforms hung thousands of soft fluorescent Chinese style lanterns, each emitting a soft gentle light. The dome above was arrayed with a grid of halogen bulbs lighting. The entire area was well lit, and lively as any metropolis.

“ ladies” Tristan announced “ welcome to green witch slum”

The two of them looked around, death smiled at the people around, pleased to see such a place. Fate’s frown showed only disappointment on a massive scale.

“ so who is spooky Mary” fate inquired “ and where in this god awful place is she”

“ this way” Tristan lead them “ she’s upstairs”

The three of them ventured up the stairs onto the hanging platforms above. They ventured through a rather thick crowd. Beggars and refugees from above spent the last of their money buying rice and dry meals, as well as fruits and fish that could be grown or caught in the areas around the town. In the crowds, Tristan spotted the rag covered girl that was with corruption and ignorance two nights ago. Unlike most of the beggars, she was sitting against the corner railing of one of the platforms. The dirt coated girl was looking around at the faces that passed desperately. Her eyes were wide, and her skin was pale with fear trough it’s thick coat of dirt.

“ what’s she looking for” Tristan pointed her out to fate.

“ hope” fate answered “ or anyone who will help her”

Poverty turned to fate, and gave her a teary eyed stare, pleading for mercy to pay her a visit. Fate’s looked at her with a smidgen of pity, then disappeared into the crowd with Tristan and death. The three headed up a few more sets of boardwalks, then Tristan lead them on a bridge that ended at a narrow hallway cut strait into the roof of the dome. Through the hallway, they continued into a cathedral size subroom. The room was darker than the outside, apparently illuminated by a thin row of blue tinted lights bulbs on the roof. Like the outside, this room was also lined in shanty shacks and cardboard box homes. Along the walls however a series of buildings had apparently been built strait into the side. Tristan proceeded through, glancing about the small room at the few and far between hobos that scavenged through the garbage. The area was unreasonably quiet in contrast to the bustling clamor outside. Here the most of the people slept in whatever they could make into a bed. Many of the bums were sleeping on literally piles of trash. Many of them blended into the garbage so perfectly, it was hard to tell them apart. The only noises in the room were the water running through the pipes, the heavy breathing and occasional snoring of the sleeping homeless, and the low murmurs of conversation slipping out from the tin huts. A storefront seemed built into the back corner Tristan lad them to. It was made from junk and covered in spider webs. A sighn above read MARYS APPARTMENTS in aged red paint.

“oh god” fate protested “ were going to live here”

“ it’s the cheapest place you’ll find down here” Tristan informed her “ and with the refugees outside it’s probably the only place”

“ are you sure” fate whined.

Tristan glanced at the bums sleeping in garbage and looked back at fate.

“ all right” fate complied.

“ so who is Spooky Mary anyway” death inquired.

“ you’ll see” Tristan answered “ oh and just call her Mary while were in there k”

She nodded and they entered. The inside of the building could just as easily be an antique shop than an apartment complex. Trinkets and old books, as well as relics lined the shelves and walls of the interior. A reception desk awaited them at the other end of the room, a faint yellow glow creeping out from the bookshelves behind it. The three of them went to the desk, and Tristan knocked on the wooden surface three times. A loud series of rustling noises emitted from beyond the bookshelves and the shadows from beyond said someone was moving.

“ who is it” came a young, maiden like voice from beyond the yellow door.

“ it’s me” Tristan called.

At last a short thin woman wrapped in bandages appeared in the doorway. She wore a long tattered black skirt and a loose fitting veil over it. Her right sleeve was torn off at the shoulder, and her entire arm below was bare. Her other arm was rapped in a bandage covered in many bloodstains. Her clothes appeared as thought they had once been beautiful parts of dresses, but had all faded and torn with age. Her head was wrapped in a bandanna that covered her entire scalp, no hair poked through. Some of her bandaged were wrapped down across her face and succeeded in covering the right side of it. The left side of her face that was exposed was beautiful. A memorizing brown eye looked at them with a friendly gaze. Her skin was milky white and smoother than well sanded marble. Her smile spread across half her face. The covered side could not be seen, but her expression was still easy to read.

“ ah Tristan” she walked with a tall white cane that bore a skull that sat on top. Her leg was clearly damaged “ Delilah said you were coming, I didn’t think you‘d make it here so soon though, especially with that crowd.”

“ yes” he commented ” quite the bunch I’d say”

“ yes I wish they’d stop in and give me a little more business. Not just crowd about down there bringing all their friends down” she continued, her eye never ceasing it’s wide open gaze “ but I suppose they’ll be good for business eventually. But anyway, I hear you need a room and… oh girl roomies”

“ I hope that wont be a problem” Tristan inquired.

“ oh not at all” she said with a bit of a chuckle “ just never thought of you as the type” Tristan rolled his eyes while she gave him a devious glance “ well we happen to have a room available, only two beds though, so you’ll have to make do, it’ll come down to 200 a month, plus water and electricity. You’ll be welcome to the billiards room, and internet access while you’re here. And, that about covers it, right this way I’ll show you to your room.”

With that Mary hobbled on her cane to a side of the desk, obtaining a set of keys on the way then appearing from behind a small desk door on the side “this way” she called and the trio followed. She led them trough a series of tunnels that were probably once steam vents. Built into their sides were numerous steel doors lined with room numbers. There weren’t but a few dozen rooms per floor, and only three floors connected by a staircase. Their room was at the end of a tunnel on the bottom floor. She opened the door at the end of the tunnel revealing a small room. The room was little more than a continuation of the tunnel, only it was 20 feet across to the other side. There were two beds in the room, one built into each side. The other side had another door on it, built between the two beds. The floor was riveted steel and the walls at the end of the bed sported a countertop with a set of hotplates and a pair of sinks. A desk was at the foot of the other bed.

“ the bathrooms back thought that door” Mary indicated the door between the beds “ we have a billiards room up above if your interested, open all day, only a dollar per game. Other than that, there’s not much else. Anyway, I’d best return to the front desk. With all this chaos, no telling who might show up”

“ all right” Tristan replied “ see you later Mary”

“ later dearie” and with that she hobbled off toward the front. The three of them entered the room, and sat about on the beds.

“ what’s her deal” fate asked as soon as she thought Mary was out of earshot.

“fate” death protested her behavior

“ easy on her” Tristan countered “ she’s had her share of hard times”

“ I can tell” fate glanced off, with a mocking smile.

“fate” he looked her strait in the eye “ let the poor girl be k, she’s nice enough to shack us up”

“ I will” fate returned with a bit of irritation “ just tell me what’s up with her”

“ few years back” Tristan began “ she was a prostitute, I knew her well back then, we had graduated high school together. She was quite beautiful back then. Anyway, one night, she was working the bad side of town. A few thugs snuck up behind her, they tried to rate her. Fortunately for her though, her boyfriend at the time was nearby. He came to help her. They beat him half to death. before he died though, they broke his arms and legs and threw some gasoline on him. Made her watch while they burned him alive. They then raped her nasty a few times, and doused her in the same gasoline, set her on fire. It was at about this time me and few groupies came across the scene. We saw it was Mary, ran in, killed the thugs, and patched her up as best we could. But there wasn’t much we could do. Her skin was too light sensitive to take sunlight anymore so she moved down here, but for a while, she lived in a little cubbyhole deep in the sewers. She didn’t do much while there other than ball up and twitch. What shed seen did a number on her head. She got back out eventually, but she’s never been quite the same sense” he finished his tale. The expression on fate was a bit of pity mixed with regret. Death on the other hand had covered her mouth with her hands, and was starring off through the door toward where Mary had walked off. Her eyes full of shock. “ well now you know” he tried futilely to lighten the mood.

A few moments of silence passed within the group, then Tristan spoke first.

“well one way or the other” he said “ were all going to nee dot find a way to pay rent”

“ don’t worry about us” fate laid back on the bed casually “ we can manage”

“ you never said what you do for a living” Tristan inquired out of sheer curiosity”

“ another time” fate insisted “ listen just head out there and I’ll take care for the rest for ya ok”

“ what do you mean by…” he tried but she cut him off.

“ ahh ahhh” she raised a finger “ trust me”

Hesitantly, Tristan turned around, left the apartment and headed off into the slums. More refugees were turning up than he first thought. It wasn’t long until the entire city was filled with them, crowds of people carrying bags filled with everything they owned sat jobless and lifeless on the streets. Soon the new bums began to construct tiny makeshift homes from scrap, shacks and shantytowns soon appeared in the nooks and crannies of greenwitch slum. Tristan stepped out of the dark side room where spooky Marys was located and walked onto the hanging platforms, witnessing the pandemonium of the refugees.

“wish they would hire a few of these bums at lower station” A voice echoed through the crowd. Tristan looked around to see who said it, but it as impossible to tell amongst the clamor of voices. He took the hint thinking of what fate had said earlier, and headed strait for the lower station. He reached it soon enough. The station was basically a massive underground subway hub. Ever since the beggars of LA were driven underground by the police and poverty above, they had begun to utilize the long forgotten relics that had been abandoned there. The towns were one such, but another was the network of subway lines believed to have been buried during the nuclear war. The hobos had gotten these lines running again and had dug a few of their own to connect the newly made underground cities.

The Greenwitch lower station took up an entire three story level. It was a large circular room networked with railroad tracks and platforms. Above the tracks, a large steel net platform hung from chains. The platform was speckled with staircases leading down to the train platforms, each stairwell had a conductor at the gate at the top of it who collected money and handed out tickets.

“allright fate” Tristan said in a casual voice, as if she were nearby him “I’m here”

“ listen damnit if you don’t have any real experience I don’t need you” came a disgruntled voice “ sorry but this is a sweat job here, not a desk job. You don’t look like you could make it as a dock worker anyway”

At hearing this, Tristan turned directly in the direction of the voice to see a large briskly man standing on a crate, and a thin refugee in what used to be a suit, walking away disappointed. Tristan headed directly for the large man.

“ excuse me” he called “ you say your looking for experienced dockworkers”

“ yea” the large man began to examine Tristan “ and you are”

“ my names Tristan and I happen to have experience as a freight worker at a plant” he introduced “ I just showed up here and I could use a job”

“ a plant you say” the brisk man sat down an the crate and looked Tristan at eye level “ you ever work a travel crate”

“ used to work em every day” he assured.

“ good, that’s all we get around here” the brisk man explained “ I can take you on if your looking for work, every other day, 12 hour shift, ten dollars an hour, no lunch breaks”

“ when can I start” Tristan agreed.

“ tomorrow” the man answered “ noon sharp, meet me right here”

“understood sir” Tristan returned.

“ don’t call me that” the brisk man instructed “ if your going to work here, call me Lewis”

With that the two parted ways and Tristan reminded himself to thank fate for this. He headed back into the above areas, the lights were already starting to dim, and night had clearly set in, the lanterns and trash can fires providing the majority of the illumination. He felt fates triumphantly cocky smirk on him as he passed through the crowd. He wasn’t sure exactly how to react to that, she was beginning to make him feel a little paranoid. He took a walk around the base market, if nothing else to ease his mind. The final refugees had settled in, he could see them building the last of their homes from cardboard and scraps of steel. In the center of a small circle of them that had once been a courtyard, there was a small crowd of children, playing games and running about around a set of flaming trash cans. Amongst them was a bright young girl, dancing with a smile on her face. She had to be around 17, long patsy blonde hair that bounced with her movements. She wore a broad smile and a green dress. She was constantly giggling, dancing around with the children who seemed to love her like a best friend. She basked in their youthful ignorance, smiling with them, and giving them her smile as she showed them the ecstasy of dance and games.

On the hill above them, sat death, gazing off over the children with a seemingly hopeful grin. Tristan walked over beside her and sat down, looking over at the children with her.

“ hello Tristan” she said completely unsurprised “ any luck with your job”

“ got hired in the station” he informed her “ just a bit ago”

“ I see” she said as if she had known the answer all along “ sounds like she was nice to you after all”

“ who” he asked.

She looked over at him, showing a little sign of disappointment. He knew exactly what she meant, his gaze met hers with oh yes… her.

“ anyway” Tristan continued “ who’s she” he indicated the woman with the children “ do you know her”

“ not too well” death clarified “ she’s joy”

“ I see” he looked at her again, noticing she was completely oblivious to anyone outside the crowd of children. “ how long will she be here”

“ not too much longer I hate to say” death said with a depressed sigh. “ the resistance has been double crossed. The mutants warlords from the outside have all rallied together under one leader. Together their wiping out the resistance, and pressing into the upper class districts. It wont be long before the UN forces are called in and drop pods arrive with reinforcements. Both armies will then move underground to weed out the hiding places, And we wont be safe here”

“ how long” Tristan asked, gazing at the children again with death.

“ not long” a few tears began to flow down her pale cheeks. “ it wont be long now”

Tristan put his hand behind her head, and pressed her into his chest as her face exploded into tears. She held him tightly, her hands clinging to the front of his shirt, and her tears quickly soaked through his clothing, chilling his chest. In the shadows behind her he saw another woman. A silent tall woman wearing a light blue dress. She gazed at the sobbing body of death, pity in her eyes, and tears across her cheeks as well. Death quickly sucks up her tears, and gathers herself. The woman in the alleyway fades.

“ I’m sorry” death apologizes “ I must seem like a weakling”

“ not at all” Tristan covered his hand with his sleeve, and wiped the remaining tears from deaths cool cheeks. “ all things considered, you’re the strongest woman I’ve met”

“ really” she looked up into his eyes, savoring his words.

“ really” he answered as looked down into her wondrous smile, the tips of their noses soon nudged each other. The attraction was undeniable, Tristan could feel her body growing closer, like they were magnetized. Before he knew it their lips had collided, and they were holding each other tightly, every curve molding together, her tongue slipped it’s way into his mouth, and his tongue soon met hers. Her kiss was cool like a mouthful of pure rainwater. Their tongues danced in their mouths, twisting and wrapping around each other with a lustful fury. Her hands mangled into his hair, and held him into the kiss, as she grew wild with emotion. Like a string under too much pressure, she snapped to, and opened her eyes. Immediately realizing what she was doing. In an instant she had vanished from his arms. It took him a moment to realize this, as it’s not everyday a woman he’s making out with simply disappears. He glanced around a moment feeling a bit like an idiot. The world seemed no different. Joy was still dancing with her children, ingenuity was still aiding the refugees in building their houses, and desperation was still rampant in the crowds where poverty hopelessly searched for mercy.

Tristan laughed it off, then stood up and headed home. When he reached marys, he wasn’t sure what he would find in the apartment. He half expected that they had both left him for good. When he entered the room, he found to his relief that fate was sleeping soundly, half covered in her thin blanket clutching her book, and wearing only her lime green underwear. Death was soundly curled up in her bed, with a pleasant smile across her face. With nowhere else to sleep, Tristan laid himself down on the floor, and attempted to get comfortable. A rustle came from the bed beside him, and soon death looked down at him.

“ you don’t have to sleep there” she told him “ this beds big enough for two”

“ cant turn that down” he replied and crawled into the bed with her. The thin sheet barely provided any warmth, and death was still cold, especially that she was only clad in bra and panties. The bed was actually smaller than he’d hoped for, but when laid her mostly nude body out over his, snaking her hand up his chest, Tristan found himself undeniably comfortable.

“ I’m sorry about earlier” she confessed, like she suddenly remembered she wasn’t supposed t be liking him “ I don’t know what came over me”

“no need to apologize” he returned “ you didn’t do anything wrong”

Death took a breath a moment, then repositioned herself over him. Her hands cradling the sides of his head, while the black abyss of her eyes gazed strait into his.

“ she told you didn’t she” death indicated fate “ what we really are”

“ yes” her confessed, keeping his eyes locked with hers.

“ your not in any way frightened” she asked, searching his eyes for any sign of dishonesty “ disturbed that death herself is laying over you”

“ of course not” he answered as if there was nothing at all odd about her chilling touch.

She smiled a bit at this, as her lips once more approached his “ you’re an unusual man”

The two of them then melted into one another, their bodies ravaging each other. They kept their activities that night quiet as not to wake fate, but they were no less the passionate. Tristan thrusting himself into death, finding her every sensitive spot and triggering it until she quivered with an orgasm. Death at the same time responded with her own handiwork, caressing him along the spine, coercing him to a harder state with her gentle words, scratching his spine in ecstasy, and ravaging his flesh until he burst himself inside her, filling her to satisfaction. The two of them danced their tango of the night for hours, until at last they both laid with each other, death above Tristan, exhausted. Sleep came easy and dreams were more pleasant than ever.