Ater retreated back to his attic. It looked more like the den of a filthy animal, with pieces of clothing scattered all over the floor and a horrible stench emanating from them. Ater lay down on the crusted clothes.
His arm itched. He shoved his fingers under his sleeve and began to scratch absently. He scratched and scratched. When he finally stopped, he pulled his hand out of the sleeve. His nails were bloody. Arbor rolled up the sleeve he had been scratching under. Blood was gushing from a deep wound that went all the way to the flesh. Ater felt no pain.
He took off his hood. The bone of his skull was showing through the thin, torn skin on his head.
"Eldrick magic is the only thing keeping my body functional," Ater thought.
He allowed himself a smile. He had done a good job with Frejo; he was very pleased with the result. The police would be on his tail, but that didn't scare him. There was no amount of policemen that could stop him. Now, no one could stop him.
"Didn't you feel sorry for the children?" Ater asked.
"No, they are his blood. The sins of the father are paid by the children," Ater replied.
"Her wife looked a lot like Theresa," Ater commented.
"She died just like her," Ater said coldly.
"Everyone dies," Ater added.
"Except us," said Ater.
"We lost that privilege," Ater lamented.
"We didn't lose it, it was taken from us," Ater shouted defiantly.
"And that's why we will take everything from them," Ater encouraged Ater.
"No regrets. No retreat. No hesitation."
"No fear. No pain…"
"…no meaning," Ater concluded.
"How dare you speak like that? Traitor!" Ater swung his hand and scratched Ater's face.
Two black hands appeared above Ater and began to massage his shoulders. This calmed him down a bit.
"We're really lucky that almost everyone we're looking for is in Rome," Ater said to the empty attic.
"Yes… But one isn't. We'll have to go get him ourselves."
"He… He will get special treatment…" Ater said.
"Word of our deeds in Rome will reach him sooner or later. He will expect us," Ater said.
"Good. I'd like to see what he'll try to come up with to stop me," Ater said.
"To stop us," Ater hissed a little.
"Excuse me?"
"To stop US."
"Of course," Ater finished, "US."
Ater Arbor put the bandages and the hood on his head and opened the attic door. He stepped into a small, unremarkable house. The floor and furniture were hard to make out. Bodies were everywhere. Human bodies. Body parts of man, children and women covered every inch of the room. Flies were buzzing around. A stray dog had somehow made its way into the house and was now feasting on someone's arm.
Arbor looked at the dog. Two hands appeared above the stray. It only had time to whimper.
Ater stepped onto the twilight Roman streets. He wasn't exactly sure where he was going, but he knew he was moving in the right direction. He felt it in his stomach… Stomach… "When was the last time I ate something?" Ater thought.
Ater continued to wander the street. People passed by him as if he were invisible. No one noticed the black giant with bloody bandages staggering across the street like a drunk. "My head is a mess." It was getting harder and harder to control Eldrick. He wanted to let her out. He really wanted to let her out. He had to let her out. Ater let her ou… "NO!" Ater shouted. One of the passersby stopped. He turned to the source of the sound and looked straight through Ater as if he wasn't there. He shrugged and went on his way.
"NO! YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!" Ater thought.
"It's only a matter of time…" Ater replied calmly.
Ater knew she was right.
The smell of roasting meat entered his nostrils. Ater staggered towards it. He came across a tavern. The old wooden doors opened under his weight. The tavern was packed, except for one spot in the very corner of the establishment. Ater limped towards it, picking up food from other people's plates along the way. No one paid attention to him.
Ater sat at the table in the corner. He removed both bandages. Blood from his eyes started dripping onto the stolen food. Arbor didn't pay any mind. He ate and ate. Another figure entered the tavern. He approached the counter and ordered a meal. When the meal arrived, the figure looked around the crowded tavern. Only one table was free, the one in the corner.
The unknown figure sat across from Ater and began to eat carefreely. He didn't pay attention to Ater. She didn't even see him.
Ater continued to eat. "TASTE! TASTE! WHERE'S THE TASTE?" Ater shouted to himself as he devoured the blood-soaked food.
"Taste is only for the clean," Ater replied.
"We're not clean?" Ater asked.
"No, not yet. But our revenge will purify us just as we will purify this world," Ater said, grinning.
"Cleanliness is important. Hygiene is half of health," Ater remembered his days as a doctor.
"Finish the saying," Ater said murderously.
"W… What?"
"Finish the saying. You only said half of it. Cleanliness is half of health…"
"And filth is the other half…" Ater finished devotedly.
"Good boy," Ater said twistedly.
The man across swallowed a bone and started to choke. He cried out for help. The man at the next table turned towards him. Ater grabbed the choking man's hand.
The man could swear he heard something. But next to him was an empty table. Next to him was always an empty table. The man continued to eat.
The choking man's pupils dilated with horror. Across from him, Ater sat without bandages and smiled at him as he choked. The man turned purple just before collapsing to the floor. No one paid any attention to him.