DAY 9

Tommy sits in the quaint cottage kitchen, reading his book and listening to the clock tick on the nearby wall. Alone. Listening to the steady rhythm of his breathing as his thoughts being to wander. Even in these close quarters, he had managed to avoid her for the past few days. The sun was beginning to set and he had only seen her exit her room to shower and use the restroom.
She should really eat something… He balls his fist tightly into his red hair and groans. Just why the HELL should I care?

He nearly jumps as her bedroom door creaks open and she emerges. Pretending not to notice, he can't help but feel slightly disappointed at the sight of her wearing her own suit, zipped all the way up. She doesn't make eye contact as she slinks across the kitchen towards the fridge.
Great. Is she a mind reader now?

She stands, staring into the open fridge for a moment before sighing and closing the door.
"What I wouldn't give for caviar. A nice BIG jar of it! And a bottle of wine…" She sighs, speaking to no one in particular. "I have this nice little villa in Bordeaux that I like to go to every now and then when the heat is on. Over looks this gorgeous little vineyard not too far from the Garonne…"

Tommy continues his reading, not looking up or paying any attention to her as she talks to the empty room.
"Are you really going to be that way?" She groans, propping herself up against the counter. "If you won't talk about what happened the other day, then at least talk about something else. ANYTHING. I'm dying of boredom."
"Then just die already. There's nothing to talk about."
"Jesus CHRIST, Tommy. I just don't get you. I thought we were making progress. So you were a little quick on the trigger. SO WHAT! Now we're back to square one?"

Again there's that feeling, like losing control. Days of pent up aggression and emotion boiling to the surface, threatening to break free. How does she do this to me? Why does she make me feel this way?

"Progress? PROGRESS!" Tommy shouts, his booming voice echoes through the tiny cabin. He abruptly gets up from the table and makes his way towards her. His menacing eyes bulge from his skull. His pulse beats out of time. "You enjoy FUCKING with my head, DON'T YOU, Selina! You're like those asinine little shrinks they got working down there in Arkham. Always poking and prodding." He gets right up in her face, poking his finger in her chest as he shouts. "You think you're SO much better than me, don't you? Psychoanalyzing me. DISSECTING me with your eyes. Well, who's the fucking DOCTOR, Selina, huh? Would you like ME to dissect YOU?"

He produces a knife from one of his pockets and her eyes grow wide with fear. Taking a step back, she puts her hands up in defense, but before either of them can make their next move, the lights in the cabin flicker and then go black.

The generator shorted out. Glancing out the kitchen's bay window, Tommy's eyes widen. Nothing out there... That means he's at the front door. He must have disabled the proximity alarm so that I wouldn't know he was coming. Pretty sneaky, Bruce.

Throwing an arm around Selina's waist, Tommy presses the blade to her throat and slowly maneuvers her towards the front door.
Why hasn't he made his move? Kicked down the door… Burst through the window… SOMETHING!
"SHOW YOURSELF!" Tommy shouts as he kicks out the front door. A frigid breeze blasts through the cabin, revealing nothing outside but the cold and lonely night sky.

Tommy continues to scan the horizon as Selina looks down and gasps, pushing her confused captor off her to bend over and scoop up the little bundle of fur huddled at their doorstep. "Poor baby." She cries softly, cradling the shocked creature into her bosom in an attempt to warm its little body back to health.
"God DAMMIT! It's just a FUCKING cat." Tommy shouts into the wind. He grabs the animal from Selina's arms and tosses it out into the snow.

With one swift motion, Selina quickly gets to her feet and smacks Tommy hard across the face. The cold air stings his reddened skin. He quickly presses his hand against his hot cheek and stares wide eyed at her, yet it's not the winter chill that sends shivers down his spine, but the look in her eyes. Despite anything and everything he had ever done to her in the past, he had never seen such hatred plastered upon her face before.

"You're SICK. You know that Elliot? You're a MONSTER. And to think I actually PITIED you. After all you've done. I felt SORRY for you. You know WHY? Because you have NOTHING. No friends… No one to CARE for you… NOTHING. I thought if I was NICE to you… If I showed you just a LITTLE BIT of that love that you've been missing that you would WAKE THE FUCK UP! But NO… The TRUTH is, you have NO HEART. That's why you keep trying to TAKE MINE! You've pushed ANYONE that's ever come close to you away. You're not HUMAN. You're a SHELL. A FUCKING waste of LIFE."

Selina unzips her suit and pulls a small metal object out from in between her cleavage and throws it in his face. Tommy looks down to watch the key to the generator closet fall to the floor below.
"I could have left any FUCKING time I wanted to, you piece of shit." She turns and walks out the door into the snow, leaving him without a word to say. Reaching down into the snow drift, she picks up the small calico cat and places the hurt creature inside her suit. She then wraps her arms around her body and begins her trek barefoot through the storm. "Have a nice life, asshole. I hope you die alone."

Let her go. Just let her go…

His hand still pressed against his cheek, he stares out into the storm, watching as she becomes lost in the depraved dance of snowflakes.
"Selina, I'm sorry. Please come back inside."
"I'd rather DIE!"

She asked for it. Just leave her. It's already too late...

"DAMMIT, Selina!" He shouts out to her, his voice becoming more and more desperate. He pulls his gun from the holster and points it out into the night. "I'll shoot if you don't come back!"
"Then kill me now. You'll never get a better shot."

Is she worth it?

Throwing his gun to the floor, he runs out the door after her. The wind howls in his ears as he trudges through the waist deep snow to retrieve her. He can just barely make out her dark silhouette against the blinding curtain of white. Wrapping his arms around her torso, he nearly tackles her to the icy earth. She reels backwards, clawing at him in an attempt to escape his grasp. Needles of ice sting his face as he desperately tries to pull her back towards the cabin. An elbow to the gut breaks his hold.

"GOD DAMMIT, SELINA!" He shouts over the wind. He reaches out to her once more, this time grabbing her arm as she's about to strike. "You have to get back into the cabin. The device I implanted in your heart is a pacemaker with a timer. As soon as you left the cabin... it... you only have a few minutes left before it... goes off. If we get you back inside... I can reset..."

Breathless, she clutches her heart. Even in this arctic wasteland, her chest burns like a million suns. Her eyes grow wide and legs grow weak as she stumbles forward, falling into Tommy's arms. Frigid tears streak down her cheeks, instantly freezing to her placid skin. Tommy holds her close, shouting her name over and over, but she cannot hear him over the sound of silence. With the remainder of her strength, she struggles to speak. Her voice gets lost in the maelstrom, but he can still make out the words on her lips.
"You win."