[If anything, the beast does seem to pause. Acknowledgement. Warmth. Kindness, for no real, self-serving purpose that it could determine. It felt pity, and shreds of guilt. This man had never demanded a thing from them. Still, they were compelled to approach.]
[Slowly, gently almost, a clawed hand reached out and settled itself in those frazzled, wavy locks of hair. A heartbeat pulsed once, twice, and then, making up its mind in a split and decisive second, that hand tightened with sudden and violent brutality.]
[No human skull could withstand that sort of pressure. It knew that very well. It was sorry, Gabriel. It needed you to survive.]