What a disgusting way to die.
Blindfolded, hands tied behind his back, so beaten he was certain his legs wouldn't support him anymore. How many bones broken, how much blood lost? The numbers didn't matter, all that did was the echoing silence in the mansion that had once held a Family. Having his sight still robbed for now, he could focus more on listening, but how much he could trust was another matter, his mind was beyond the limits of the strain it could take and every gust of wind outside sounded like three more men showing up from some room on the other side of the building.
He was going to die. A pitiful, disgusting death. He let his head rest on the slick tile of what he thought must be the main entryway, heedless of his pride at staying upright anymore. Alaude had moved beyond even his own limitations, and he was going to die here, on his side in a pool of blood, the stench of fresh bodies nearby. Blind, tied up, and without a shred of dignity.
For the first time in his life, he wasn't neutral to the idea of death. To die like this... fear wasn't the right word for it. More of a violent rejection of the concept, though he was too old now to be caught up in even the idea of his mortality being any less than the next person's.
He wanted a cigarette. Instead, his 'last meal' had left the taste of skin under his teeth. Disgusting.
