Aquata Cove Ch. 95

Chapter 95: Fury Of A Triton

-EHH EHH EHH EHH EHH-

Damian groans as his hand slaps down on his alarm clock. "Ffffffuck." He whines lowly as he slowly pulls himself out of bed. He gets up and goes to get dressed and for a short breakfast.

He locks the door as he leaves, has to go to work across town. Ever since those two guys were arrested, Damian didn't feel it was wise to stay close to Kele-Kolika pier now. It's been a few months, but seeing as that lowlife is still alive, he'd probably point him out easily. Hell, he just ran into him the other day. If he's smart, he'll forget all about him.

As Damian walked down the stairs of his apartment, he notes someone in a white jacket, wearing a hood. Eh, just somebody loitering. He needs to get to work. He hops in his car, and adjusts the side-mirror, where he sees the shrouded stranger.

"What??" Damian blinked as he could swear he saw a purple glint. He adjusts the mirror again, still looking at the stranger. Half of his face is covered, only his nose and mouth is visible. "Huh..." After a few seconds, Damian still looks at the mirror as he puts car in gear, and drives it off.

"Not good enough..." The hood mutters. "I need his eyes..."

~~~

Damian writes in the books of the Wal-Mart he works in now. He wonders how the Fish House is faring, after they kicked his ass out for that homo. Honestly, it's a wonder how they even kept in business at all in the first place with that brainless old fucker of a boss they had. If his calculations are correct, that place should be done and over with at least 2 and a half years ago.

Damian glances up at the window of his office, but looks again. He sees the same white hood coat walking along the aisles. Is that the same guy from his apartment?? What are the odds of him showing up here.

The figure stopped walking, and turns his head. The hood glances up, giving a purple spark for a split second as he looks directly at Damian.

"Whoa, what the fuck..." Damian jumps, his insides purging with a sudden wave, as if he was just startled by a practical joke. He blinks, and looks again, the hooded man walking away from him, between the freezer aisles. "Ok... That's just weird."

"Still not enough..." The hood whispers, "I need to face him. I need to look into him..."

~~~

Damian sighs as the time struck 6PM. Time to clock out. That weird person has been patrolling the whole store all day. Damian's called for a Security Check every so often, but no one has found anything or anyone of suspicion.

"Think I better just head home now." Damian says to himself as he closes the books and locks the drawers. He takes his... Coat. And puts it on. He's had to have it cleaned at least 5 times before he wore it regularly.

Soon, Damian walks in the parking structure next to Wal-Mart, over to his car. "... What..." He jogs over, seeing something on the back tire. "What the fuck???"

Footsteps can be heard from inside the structure.

A knife handle is sticking out of tire, with the bottom part of it completely sagged on the pavement, "Are you fuckin serious??" He scowls, trotting around his car. Each tire has been slashed, all of them completely out of air.

The footsteps can be heard a little closer.

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." Damian walks away from his vehicle. Of course, this would be the day he forgot his cellphone in the damn kitchen. He has to go to the nearest callbox to call AAA.

A person in a white coat walks along the rows of cars.

Damian growls as he walks. He looks at the glass around the elevators...

There he is again. That weird stranger from all around. Who the hell is he?? Damian walks a little faster. His eyes see a narrow area, a bit of an alley in the structure. He speed walks down there, and slows down a little. He turns his head to see if he's still being followed.

A few seconds pass by, before the hooded person appears at the entrance. Damian turns right around, and looks at the stranger. This person is holding a long duffle, like he's carrying a long pole-like object with him.

"Why are you following me??" Damian asked him. There comes no answer. "... I asked you a question!"

The stranger brings a hand up, and brings the hood down. Damian widened his eyes as he sees the face of a blonde man. "I saw you before, right?? You bumped into me." As he looks, he notes the man has strange, glimmering purple eyes. He digs in his pocket, and holds up the knife that was in his tires, "You're the one who slashed my tires, aren't you? I could have you arrested."

The blonde man continues to stare at him, without saying a single word as his violet eyes look at him.

"Who the hell are you?" Damian asked again, "Are you gonna answer me, or am I going to have to call the police? Say something, asshole!"

"So..." Merrick mutters, "These are the eyes of a Noita..." He looks into Damian's eyes, and he feels his vision zooms in. Images and people warp and fold all around Merrick's field of vision.

"Show me what he is..." He says, bidding the thoughts and feelings to form around him, "Show me what I want to know..."

///

The distortion pulls out a fleeting image of Adam leaning on the dock post next to a young blonde guy in a fishnet tanktop and blue shorts. They kiss and stand together. Disgusting faggots, they can't be here! Not in THIS cannery!

///

The mind zooms in and around the memory of Damian slamming his hands on a desk, "Captain, we can't have a gay man represent the Fish House!"

///

"Why the fuck not?" Comes an echoing growl, "Last I checked, gays are good at working."

///

The visions are so staticy and vague, they keep skipping second by second. "I can't work in the same place as a homosexual."

///

"Good." The Captain says with disgust. "Now git out." The vision skips again, "Yeah, you're fired. What, you want a pony back ride?"

///

The memories reform in the lockers, those same hands shoving Adam to the floor of the locker room "You don't belong here."

///

The visions skip around again, "Say it!!" Adam yells, "Say it to my face!" The two of them fight, punch for punch, Damian spitting blood on Adam from a rip in his mouth as the other men pull them apart from each other.

///

"STOP IT! EVERYONE!!" Captain roars.

///

'This isn't what I am looking for.' Merrick thinks with anger. 'Tell me what you did to him. Now.' He demanded as he sifts through Damian's soul. The soul shifts around without Damian himself even knowing it, forwarding through half a decade since he was fired from the Fish House.

///

Damian holds a phone to his ear, "Sure. I'm game. Gotta give them some kind of message." He closes the phone.

///

Merrick pushes his will further, skipping in blurs to inside a dark parking lot. Damian walks as he ties a bandana around his face, covering below his nose.

///

"Oh shit. I know him, he used to work under me."

///

'This is it...' Merrick thinks as his insides sink with fear and hurt as he sees Damian punch Adam's back, making him fall to the floor. 'Adam!'

///

Damian holds Adam's left arm as one person paints pink all over him, and the other punching him for several times, as well as pelting him with the metal rod. The memories skip to Damian taking the crowbar, while the other guy takes his place.

///

Merrick's entire being flares with searing outrage as he looks at Adam's state: Huddled forward, blood seeping everywhere, his clothes ruined and stained by the paint, his mouth covered with a slip of duct tape with the word FAGGOT written on it, his chin and neck covered in saliva and pink leaking from under. He can barely stand on his own legs, both eyes already bruised darkly, blood dripping from his nose.

///

Merrick also feels a rush of satisfaction and justice as he looks at Adam. "Heh, that look suits yo-" The bandana slips off, and floats down from his face, "Shit!" He puts it back on real quick, and takes several more swings with the crowbar.

///

"PNNGH! CKKHH! GHHGH!"

///

"Oh shit, he's crying." They taunted at him, "Be a fuckin man for ONCE!"

///

'Enough. That's enough! Please stop, Belinda!'

///

"Fuckin gross, man."

///

"Hey!" Says a distant voice.

///

"Shit, think someone's coming."

///

"One more. I'mma make it clear where you belong you goddamn FAG." Damian grits his teeth as he swings the crowbar as hard as he can, aiming right for his head!

KUNG!

One hard hit, feeling something solid crack at the split-second at the end of the crowbar, and Adam's head goes limb, hanging down, motionless.

///

'Stop this! Cut it now! Don't make me see this!! Please cut it now!' He begged inside himself.

///

Damian hands the crowbar to the other man holding Adam, taking his place to hold Adam's inanimate body "Your turn-"

///

"FUCKING LET HIM GO!!" Echoes a roar from an African America man running to them, just after the other person takes the crowbar from Damian.

///

"SHIT!" Damian drops Adam as the paint can drops, and floods the pavement with the bright color.

///"GET THE FUCK BACK HERE!!" Damian runs as fast as he can, looking over, two of the guys being caught up by some black guy. Damian pants as he sprints, clutching the jacket in his hand as he goes.

///

"I said STOP! Get out of my head! NOW!!" Merrick yelled out as he clutches his head with both hands, his wrath burning away the presence inside him. "Ffffuckiiittt..." He snarled as his fingers dig into his sunshine hair, the gruesome images swirling and pushing in his sights, plunging a poisonous knife into his chest as he doubles over.

"What, you're hearing voices? Are you tweaking out or something?"

"Hghh... Hghh... Hghh..." Merrick pants very harshly as he holds his head, gathering himself as he stabilizes from the very forceful mental rejection. Slowly, Merrick moves himself up, his hands lowering, before swords are stared directly at Damian with his sapphire eyes. "Hghh... Hghh... Hghh..."

"I'm going to fucking kill you...!" Merrick tells him, his voice jagged, almost hushed, with sheer rage.

~~~

"Hhh!!" Belinda jerks back inside her cave, her chest pounding, and her head aching from the sudden cut from her connection to Merrick. Those blue eyes, storming with hatred and insanity, is the last thing she can remember. He FORCED her out of his mind... He shouldn't be able to do that.

"What have I done..." Belinda utters as she covers her mouth, fearing she may have turned Merrick into something akin to a monster, "What have I done..."

--The Previous Day--

"Belinda. I need a favor." Merrick tells her, his blood pulsing as she crawls out and stands up.

"What is it?"

"I'm looking for someone. I need you to seek them out for me."

"Alright. If you can remember what they look like, you and I can-"

"No." He cuts her off, "I want you to tell me where he is. I'm doing this alone, and I don't want anyone else to be there."

"Merrick..." Belinda says as she looks at him, "Merrick what are you saying? I-I am not sure if I want to do this..."

"I'm out for blood, Belinda." He told her, "I would think you, of all people, would understand that."

"Alright, if you're going to mock me, then forget it." Belinda crosses her arms, "I have better things to-"

"I am not ASKING, Belinda." Merrick tells her. She looks at him with estrangement. "You're doing this, and I'm not taking 'no' for an answer."

"Why do you want me to do this so badly?"

"Yesterday, me and Adam were walking in downtown to get some dinner, and then some man bumped into him. In a matter of seconds, Adam couldn't move, see, talk, or breathe. He was literally paralyzed with terror before he started stumbling and falling, like he was trying to run away from a demon. I want to know who this man is, where he is, and what he did."

"What... What will you do if you find him?"

"That entirely depends on when I find him. I will get the truth out of him. I want you to look into my soul, find his image in my memory, and tell me where his aura is. I don't care if you have to rip my mind apart in the process, just do it."

"Merrick." Belinda gives him a shocked look, "I don't need to ravage your mind, but still, why are you so... Angry?"

"Don't waste my time, Latolcus." Merrick narrows his eyes, "He's out there, and I'm not letting him get away."

"Merrick... Look, Merrick... Whatever you are planning, take it from me, I know first hand: This isn't worth it. Whatever is making you feel so much hate, it is not worth taking darker steps. It never was, and it never will be."

"Our circumstances don't even begin to equate. Don't you dare tell me what's right or wrong, or what something might be worth to me." Merrick leers at her. "That man has something to do with Adam, and I will find out."

"Hhh... Fine. I will do this. But if I do not think he will confess easily if he did do something to Adam..."

"I don't care. I'll force it out of him. Now do as I say, and ransack my skull already."

"Listen, Merrick." Belinda looks into his eyes, "I know you want to do this alone... But I know a way for me to go with you, and find him exactly, and allow you to do this on your own all at once."

"Tell me... Now..." Merrick narrows his eyes to her.

"You only have to let me in..."

--Now--

"Did you just threaten me?" Damian says, "Just who the hell do you think you are?"

"... Adam Bryant." Merrick said.

"Ooook? So, what-"

"Adam Bryant. My fiancé. My boyfriend of 10 years. The love of my life." Merrick repeats, his eyes refining his anger, "That is the man you tried to kill."

"Excuse me?"

"Adam Bryant. Don't toy with me." Merrick held his hand up and flat, "Man this tall, brown hair, brown eyes, lightly tanned skin. You took a crowbar to him and beat him senseless."

Damian's eyes widened slightly, but reverted to normal shape again, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"DON'T LIE!" Merrick shouted, his hand gripping the strap of the duffle he is carrying, "You and three other men cornered him. You ambushed him out of nowhere. You beat the life out of him until he was about to die."

"No, I didn't. I didn't beat up a man," Damian tells him, "I put a low-life in his place."

Merrick's soul spikes with an electric spear of shock, "Say that again..." Merrick says as his heart grows numb with an inhuman impulse.

"It's none of your business." Damian told him, "Now fuck off before I call the cops."

Merrick shrugs the strap from his shoulder, and let his parcel drop to the ground. He started to walk towards Damian where he stood.

"And what are you doing?"

"This has everything to do with me..." Merrick's voice is shaky with intense rage, putting his left hand on his right forearm, cranking it as he goes, tensing his muscles, as if they might actually start striking on their own. "You and those men mutilated and tortured him... What did he ever do to you..." Merrick's body shakes with anger as his hands strain horribly, his eyes glaring sharply at the human before him, "What gave you the right to attack him."

"Well, for starters, he got me fired, that's what! I lost my job to a fuckin cocksucker, if you wanna know." Damian tells him. "But I don't really care about that-"

"That was years ago. You filthy coward..." Merrick retorted as he walked to him. "But that's not even all you needed to justify what you did to him... The Captain should have strung you up like a hooked shark on the docks."

"How did - What, look, you don't want to do this." Damian smirked as he shook his head, "You're just going to end up with your ass kicked and limping away like a crippled fairy."

"Oh, I want this." Merrick tells him, "I came here to find out what you did to him. You no longer have the right to walk free."

"Look, are you gonna stop rambling?" Damian says, "I'm not gonna waste my time with some queer."

"That's too bad..." Merrick says, nearing a foot away from him. Their eyes meet, as a single pulse pounded between the two of them.

"Because I'm going to break you."

Merrick drew his arm back, forming a fist, and launched it at Damian! Damian grabs hold of Merrick's fist, but the sheer force of it throws his arm back.

"Wh-" With his hand hurting as if a rock was thrown at it, Merrick hardened his knuckles, and knocked it into Damian's jaw, "Gh-ahwwwll!" Merrick grabs at Damian's wrist, and tightens his fingers around it like a living vice! "AhhhfFFFFF!" Damian hissed as he punched at Merrick's arm in attempts to make him let go.

"Worthless!" Merrick says before raises a leg, and kicks Damian right in the waist.

"Don't fffuckin-" Damian tightens his lips as he fights back, swinging his arm at Merrick. He shoves him back, and throws a punch at Merrick's face. Merrick's eyes turn to look where the fist is coming, before it lands right on his cheek!

"Ullghh!" Merrick staggers as he is knocked from Damian.

"Alright, fag." Damian smirks as he rolls his head, cracking his neck as he come nears Merrick, his face still down-cast, "You want a fight? I'll bring it. Come and get it!" He readies his fists, and punches Merrick on the chest!

"Hgghh!" Merrick grunts as he forced back.

"That feel good?!" Damian says as he aims a strike at Merrick's throat. He moves back to dodge it, "Lets see if ya go something down there." Damian grabs Merrick by the shoulders, and shoots his knee into Merrick's crotch!

"Ennhh!" Merrick winces, the protective cup inside his underpants shoving into his pelvis as it struck by Damian's knee.

"What's the matter??" Damian taunts as he grabs Merrick's arm, punches him in the stomach! "Didn't you want to fight?!" He pulls his arm back, and punches Merrick's left cheek, making him fall to the floor.

"What the fuck, faggot?" Damian smirks as he sees Merrick grunting and panting, still down on the ground, "I told you you didn't want to do this." He picks up his leg, and moves to stomp Merrick down.

-Khhh-

"Huh?" Damian looks at him, with Merrick's hand clutching on the bottom of Damian's shoe, without even looking at where it was coming. Slowly, the blonde's head slowly rises and tilts up, looking up with a disappointed and angry glare.

"Is that really all you have to offer?" Merrick asked, before his hand cranks Damian's foot to the side.

"OWW!" Damian flops onto the ground after having his ankle twisted. He gasps as he's suddenly yanked backward. Once he stopped, he feels a forceful jab on his side! "GAH fuck!!" He sees Merrick has planted a polished wooden rod on his side. Merrick flips it, and aimed to jab it again, before Damian kicks it away and scrambles up. He looks to see Merrick getting up, still holding the 3ft long rod in his hand, also noting that the duffle's zipper was partially opened.

"Is that really all you have to offer me in your defense?" Merrick grits his teeth as he looks at him, "You nearly killed my partner, and THAT'S all you have to show for it?!" Merrick tenses his jaw as he throws hard punches with his left arm, while he knocked and blocked Damian's counters with the wood shaft.

'You have always had my anger, Son...' Kaiken's voice echoes inside Merrick's mind. His subconscious arranges for a more coaxing whisper, 'Now... USE it!'

"Rrraaahh!" Merrick enters a high-speed melee in attempts to cut down Damian. His movements begin to blur as he fights him faster. Damian grunts, barely able to remember to breathe as he does all he can to not get hit.

Merrick charges forward, and swings the wood baton at Damian's head! Damian ducks, and swerves, narrowly missing the rod by inches. He huffs quickly as this guy suddenly becomes a lot faster.

He swings his arm at him before he spun and skimmed a kick at Damian's front. He' can't even try to hit Merrick, every move he makes is on the offensive almost at a constant rate. He can feel the tailwind from the swipes from the rod, a flying fist, a whirled leg-swing.