Brian had always been a strange kid. He had been deeply marked by his father's death, and was known in school for his antisocial and violent tendencies.
But when the FAYZ walls came up, he hadn't gone power mad like some other unstable kids. He had just adapted, gone with the flow. Unlike the other inhabitants of the FAYZ, he had known what it was like to lose one's parents.
If anything, the FAYZ had helped him recover. Him and Tom had been thrown together by Fate, ending up sharing a house, and becoming somewhat friends. Brian was beginning to make progress, and was becoming more sociable. Up until the day where the HC went ballistic and began setting fire to everything. Brian and Tom were sleeping at the time, and had barely escaped the burning inferno that their previous home had become. And now, Brian couldn't sleep, afraid that the same thing would happen again, but that this time, he wouldn't be able to wake up.
He hadn't slept in weeks. He himself didn't think that was possible. Holding a coherent thought in his brain required a lot of effort, and the only thing he was left with was a strong hatred for the HC. And Astrid.
As he had told Tom, he never liked her to begin with. But these days, his dislike had taken a more extreme turn. He had daydreams about killing her. He himself didn't really know why he held such antipathy towards her. To him, she was simply the cause of everything. From his father's death to the FAYZ, she was involved somehow. At least, that was what the voice in his head kept whispering.
The voice called Darkness.
It urged him to grab his father's old shotgun and end her once and for all.
And to his sleep-deprived brain, the idea was becoming more and more tempting.
Angie had slept at the Council's headquarters, but thanks to Howard's negotiations, she didn't do it behind a locked door protected by two kids with guns. She herself thought it was a little ridiculous, the way they wanted to keep her away from any potential danger. To her, the water problem hadn't been that bad, and she didn't think any of the citizens of Perdido Beach were going on a water-snatching rampage just yet. Just yet.
She was woken up by Howard, who was accompanied by his bulky friend Orc.
Well, she was actually woken up by Howard's voice.
« What. The heeell. Is going on here? »
Angie groggily raised her head from the couch pillows, her hair sticking out in all directions.
« Whaaa- », she began, before her words were replaced with a loud yawn.
« I thought you were going to come over yesterday evening to fill up the water bottles at our place. That was our deal, remember? Where were you? »
« Here. », mumbled Angie, rubbing her eyes.
« You're not supposed to sleep here. Don't you have a home and some roomies? Didn't we negotiate this with the others long enough yesterday? »
« Your negotiating helped. They didn't put guards or anything. »
Howard gave a loud, exaggerated sigh, turning to Orc.
« And what am I supposed to do with that? »
He leaned in closer to Angie, glaring at her as if she was be guilty of some horrible crime.
« They told me to stay, and I... », protested Angie, attempting to defend herself.
« And you listened to them. Whoooa. »
« They're the Council, I can't... »
« Oh, just shut up already. We've been over this! Remember? Them needing water, you squirting water out of your hands, you owning them? »
Angie lowered her eyes, somewhat ashamed. It was too early in the morning to be feeling like a wimp.
« Come on, we're leaving. »
« Maybe we should tell them... »
« We're leaving. C'mon, Orc. »
Angie, a little dazed, was escorted outside, her clothes rumpled, her face still drawn. If they met anyone who looked like he or she was about to object, Orc stared them down and flexed his muscles slightly, and they got through without any problems.
Outside, six children were waiting, sitting on the steps, and they stood as soon as they saw the trio.
« Is she the Water Girl? »
« Hey, can you fill my pool? The Council doesn't want to, they say a pool ain't useful, but I say it's plenty useful, and I'll clean it sometimes, I swear... »
« Can you make beer appear? »
« I'll pay three Bertos if she fills up my bathtub! »
The children gathered closer, forming a noisy, demanding crowd. Angie instinctively inched closer to Orc, looking for protection.
« Howard, let's go, please. », she whispered.
The Council had been right. Children were already clamoring for water. There were only six of them so far, but as water supplies would begin to dwindle, their numbers would increase...
Angie bit her lip and wished she'd never developed such a problematic power.
« Wait, wait. Three Bertos is quite a lot, let's see about that kid. », said Howard.
« You're supposed to be my agent! », argued Angie.
« Exactly, I'm looking out for you. Good deals like that don't come often. You do the job, we split the money. »
« Hey! Why should I give you anything? I already said I was going to give you some water, so... »
Howard raised an eyebrow and gave a meaningful glance towards Orc.
« Do you really want to be playing that game, Angie? C'mon. »
He faced the kid, a ruthless smile on his lips.
« If you throw in some alcohol with your three Bertos, she'll fill your bathtub. »
« I don't have alcohol. My brother drank it all two days ago. I got cigarettes though. »
« Meh. M'kay. But next time you want your bathtub filled, get your hands on some beer. »
« Howard, I don't smoke. », spoke up Angie.
« But I do. », declared Howard, « I think it gives me a distinguished look. And you want your agent to be distinguished, right? »
Angie was starting to feel as if the situation was getting uncontrollable. Clearly, hiring Howard as her agent was a decision she was already growing to regret. What had she been thinking?
The only thing she wanted right now...
« Howard, I want to go home. I have to talk to my roomies. »
« Girly, you can do whatever you feel like doing. You'll just do it after we're done filling this guy's bathtub. », said Howard, directing towards her a mocking sneer.
Shawn, Kate, Tom and Lance were eating in the kitchen, which was already beginning to get dirty again, mournfully chewing on their fish.
« Angie didn't get back last night. », said Kate.
Her comment was met with grunts from the boys. They all felt a storm was coming, and none of them wanted to get involved.
« You know what the gossip was in the mall early this morning? »
« What? », bravely, or foolishly, asked Tom.
« She's hanging out with Howard and Orc now. Too good for us, she is. She's probably not gonna acknowledge us now that she's a mutant. She'd rather spend her time with those two morons. »
« Hey, leave her be, she does what she wants. Maybe the Council doesn't want her back here anyway. We're kinda working on that. », said Shawn, giving a hopeful look to Lance, who only concentrated more intently on his food.
« Maybe she's dating one of them or something. », wondered Kate.
« Eww, Kate! », yelped Tom.
« Stop saying stuff like that. It's only gossip. Even if it's true, like, she's only been with them for what? A day or something. » , said Shawn.
« Maybe she's gonna have lots of little mutant kiddos with that Orc freak? Uh? », said Kate, and this time, her tone was challenging.
« Stop it! That's just gross! », whined Tom.
« Yeah, sorry about your G.F.. Guess she dumped you, in a way. Don't worry about it, you don't have powers, so you didn't stand a chance in the first place. », said Kate.
« Kate! Come on! », complained Shawn.
« Okay, I'll shut up. Whatever. You'll soon seen that's true anyway. », said Kate.
Lance raised his eyes from his fish and flared his nostrils, pausing. They quieted down.
« I've thought about it a lot. There's no use for the HC anymore if the Council has more normies sticking up for our interests. As long as we get a few of our people in the Council house, I'll agree to disband it. It's worthless anyway, and I'm through with violence. Let's have some peace, once and for all.», he announced.
This was so random and unexpected that they all sat still, not daring to say a word, afraid to break the spell.
Kate was the first to speak up.
« Who the fuck are you and what have you done with Lance? »
It was the afternoon, and Astrid was going to see the Council. She had been warned about Angie's departure from the Council building, and she was scandalized. How had they let such a precious asset go? She was crucial to their survival, how could they not understand that? And they had let her leave with, of all people, Howard and Orc.
Sometimes, she really wished she was back in the Council to shake things up a little.
Actually, she was making her way over there, hoping to give those idiots a piece of her mind. She walked in purposeful strides, her blond head blowing behind her, her steps assured and confident.
Before the building was standing a strange kid, holding something long and metallic in his hands. He looked to be very young, not more than ten, and there was something wrong about the way his green eyes pierced her.
« Astrid. », he spoke, with a shaking voice.
She reacted to the mention of her name and stood dumbstruck, realization and panic making her heart skip a beat, freezing her.
Brian lifted the metallic object.
He aimed for Astrid's head.
He pressed the trigger of his shotgun.