His Perfect Destruction

Murphy

    I watch her, everyday. She never sees me, it kills me that she doesn't see. Her parents are fighting, so she has stopped talking, again. Her silence is deafening, her heart beats slower, her breathing deepens. As if she is sleeping. I want to be close to her, comfort her...be with her. But it is forbidden, my kind and hers, a death sentence.

    My name is Murphy Riley, and I am the immortal who broke all the rules. Passed through the generations are the laws every super human genetic, like me, must abide by. Unlike the laws of men which are surrounded by miles of red tape and due process, immortal law is not so forgiving. It is black and white, justice means death, I will not get a trial by a jury of my peers. We must stay hidden. 

    Rule number one: never fall in love with a mortal being. Humans are not for loving.

    Rule number two: never intervene.

                    5 Years Ago

    “Did you hear that?”

    “Hear what, Murphy?” Duncan asked, looking up from his map.

    Screams filled the air around us. A girl crying, men laughing. The sickening sound of fists hitting flesh.

    “That!” I said tilting my head and concentrating.

    “That is a human. Two miles east of here. What of it?” Duncan had gone back to staring at the map. He is old, he doesn't look it. We stop aging at 23. You would think by the age of 208 he would know every nook and cranny of this city, but he still needs a map. 

    “Let's go look.” I said giving him a sly smile.

    “Dude, no!” Duncan said standing up.

    “Come on! We can hop from roof to roof. It will be fun.” I said stepping on the ledge. “Two miles east you say? Race ya!” And I jumped to the next roof and started running.

    Duncan was cursing me but I couldn't bring myself to care. He would follow and it had been way too long since I had the chance to run unhindered under the stars. We hide. We blend into society but nobody can know what and who we really are. I hate hiding. Constantly moving, never being able to connect with anyone. 

    “Why do you do this to me?” Duncan asked, falling into step beside me.

    “Cause you need it!” I said with a laugh. If I keep him on his toes he doesn't get too restless. I get restless with the constant disconnect, but I can't let it show. 

    “Stop! We are here.” Duncan said taking my arm. I walked up to the ledge and looked down. My blood ran cold. A girl, no older than fourteen, laid broken and bloody on the pavement. Three men stood over her, laughing, drunk.

    “Please...please stop.” She cried, sobs wracking her body, shaking her. I could hear the broken ribs c***k further. She begged. The tallest of the three men answered her begging by breaking her jaw with a chain wrapped fist. 

    “Murphy, NO!” 

    I snapped the tall man’s neck before he even saw me. The shortest man, dirty and smelling awful, put a knife to the girl's throat, a fistful of her hair in his hand. He wrenched her head back at a sharp angle. She cried out in pain, her eyes finding me, begging me. To save her.

    “You really don't want to do that.” I said.

    “No? I think I do.” He replied with a greasy smile. The third man moved behind me, I spared him a glance and he too held a knife. What was this, the fifties?

    “If you kill her I promise your death will not be as quick as you friend’s. Leave now and I will spare your life.” For a few days anyway. They made it too easy. The big one behind me lunged as I ducked and pivoted to the left. I grabbed the girl's ankle and pulled her too me as the bigger one crashed into the little one. I picked her up and ran while the idiots tried to figure out what had just happened.

     I kept watch. A few years ago it really started getting to me. Her life, so sad, so alone. Heartbreaking.

“Let me guess, Murph, she stopped talking.”

    “Duncan I have to get her out of there. She can't stay where she is. I can't lose her, man.” I said through my hands.

    “Dude, you can't lose what you never had.” Duncan said clapping me on the back. Duncan is Italian, his accent long ago lost to American English. He is a reader, a powerful one, he can sift through every memory and thought you have ever had. Every decision you have ever made. He shook his head at me. 

    “Duncan, we have been through all of this before.” I said standing up and looking at him.

    “Yeah, yeah, I know the legends. Bound by blood, bound by magic. He that gives, keeps what's his. You can't let the tribunal find out about this. They will kill her and make you watch before they finish you. What about Leigha?”

    “Why do you always bring her up? That was over fifty years ago.” I said. Being home isn't helping. I need to get out of here. I need to save her. 

    “You need a plan.” Duncan said.

    s**t.