This time he seemed less interested in eating and more about playing. He spent the next hour or so smacking Hiryu silly and beating him with his talon... retracted and using only the palms of his hands. The blows were intended more to cause pain than actual serious injury. By the end of it, bruises were blooming like reddish flowers all over Hiryu’s face and body, particularly his bare chest, back, and shoulders, and on his legs where Eigis kicked him.After a quick bite, Eigis cranked the chains. There. Satisfied?’ She turned then. Turned and walked away. Got in an elevator and disappeared. You saw a nurse had been listening and that the woman was shaking her head silently, reprovingly. ‘What room is Tom Parker in?’ you asked. ‘I’ll walk you down. I’ve got to adjust his IV.’ When you walked in the door the sight of your friend ripped through your soul like a scythe. In your mind’s eye he was still playing forward, passing the puck to you against Andover, helping you score the winning. Out loud, she said, “Gee, I don’t know if I’m up to it tonight.”“Aww, come on,” Katie urged. “It’ll do you good to get out of that big ol’ creepy house for a night. I’ll buy the first round.”The second urging was all Heather needed. She couldn’t say no to beer more than once. “Oh, all right, that sounds like fun,” Heather agreed, even though she was still unsure if it sounded like fun or not.“Great,” Katie said energetically. “I’ll come by and pick you up in a few minutes.”As Heather hung up. Zeke got them a couple of beers and led Patrick into the living room. Zeke sat in his favorite recliner and Patrick sat on the couch across from him."So, how do you like my place?" Zeke asked."It's really nice." Patrick answered. "But it's kind of secluded." Yeah. I like it like that. I can go for months without ever seein' anyone. Nobody really has any need to come up here. And if I get lonely, I just drive into town." How far is town?" Patrick asked."It's about twenty-five mile." Zeke smiled..