Silver Signs: Part 4.

A woman lay in the alley. Or, the remains of one did. Her throat was cut deep and I could see bone through the slash. My eyes trailed down to her abdomen, which lay open. That was too much for me, and I clenched my eyes shut, leaned against the alley wall, and wretched. It hurt to do, mentally and physically. My throat and eyes burned, and I let out a sob against my own will. Silas patted my back, coughing, and pressed a mint into my hand. He had thrown his coat over the woman, and it was already soaked through with blood. I looked away, and noticed there was blood on my sleeve.

I looked back at the wall, squinting. It was covered in blood. A slowly drying and browning version of the spiraling blue symbols I had seen this morning. An image of the moon pulsed in my mind and I went lightheaded. I backed away and rubbed my eyes with my hand, coughing again. Stumbling out of the alley, I slumped against a building and pulled out my cell phone, dialing 911. I got a busy signal.
I got a genuine goddamn busy signal, on the only emergency number. Shit. Silas stumbled out after me, cursing at his phone.

“Can’t get it?” I looked up at him. He shook his head. “Hoof it, then,” I murmured and stood, walking towards the police station. Silas wasn’t looking so good, so we had to stop about halfway there for him to vomit into a trashcan. Apparently the drinks weren’t helping him, anymore. Somewhere nearby, glass broke. We both broke into a run, Silas cursing every few steps.