Outside
By Be Boring
Chapter 11: Big, Bad Brother
Kay was bored out of her mind. Sketchy had convinced her to go along on one of his deliveries. Kay didn't know why she agreed, but now she regretted it. They had been sitting on the front porch of some old lady's house for at least an hour. When they had arrived, the lady told them that her husband would be there to sign for the package in a couple minutes, she just had to go pick him up. Sketchy and Kay had agreed because they didn't know it would take so long.
"Is this old broad's idea of a couple minutes actually a couple days? I have half a mind to go in and rob her house to find something valuable to pay for my troubles," Sketchy groaned.
"You wouldn't get very far, I can hear a dog in there. From what I can see it's a rotweiler."
"What! Damn, these people should learn that those animals are dangerous. If anyone else goes in there they'll get attacked! That's not very welcoming."
"I think that's what they were going for."
About fifteen minutes later, the old woman finally pulled back in. "I'm afraid I had the dates wrong. My husband's not coming back until tomorrow."
Sketchy looked like he was about to explode. Kay wasn't feeling too happy herself. She grabbed the package from his hands and threw it to the woman.
"Forge the signature, otherwise it gets torn open and searched for valuables."
The woman looked shocked but quickly wrote down her husband's name and handed the signature to them. "I am not giving either one of you a tip!"
"Sketchy, feel free to rob her house. I'll hold the dog."
Back at Jam Pony, everyone seemed to have had a bad day. Someone had nearly run over Original Cindy with a motorcycle and Max had had to deliver a package with meat in it that apparently had been in there a while. The only person who had not had a bad day seemed to be Alec. Of course, he had only done two runs that day, and neither one had been more than a mile away from Jam Pony. He walked up behind Kay.
"You people really have to lighten up, this job's not that hard."
"Yeah, well I don't even work here and I hate it. You only have a good time because you're Normal's golden boy."
"Well, you can hardly blame me if the man chooses to worship me. Not that I'm complaining."
Kay rolled her eyes and walked away from him. She had already decided to head back to Canada today, and now seemed to be as good a time as any. She didn't want to upset Max any more today, so she figured she'd go say goodbye to Logan and tell him to give Max the news later. That would save her the trouble of having to go through Max convincing her to stay. She was also getting worried about Zack. Even though she had asked Wendy over the phone to keep a close eye on him, she would still feel better watching over him herself. He might take advantage of the time she was away to come down and go after Logan. Kay had the feeling that the only reason that he hadn't done it yet was because he had guessed she was here. He proved her wrong though.
When she pulled up next to Foggle Towers, she saw Zack enter the building. She ran in and managed to grab the elevator door before it shut behind him. She grabbed him by the hair and pulled him back out.
"I was going to say goodbye to Logan, but I guess I'll just call from home."
She dragged him into the car and took off. He refused to look at her while she drove. He knew he had broken her trust. They sat in silence all the way back to the farm. After they got out, she turned to him.
"What the hell were you doing! Do you realize that if you had attacked Logan, we might have been forced to kill you! You got lucky once because Max is soft, but she's not that soft. Going after Logan a second time would convince her that you can't be allowed to live anymore. She only let you go last time because she didn't know you would get your memory back. This time we wouldn't have been able to take anymore chances. Keep that in mind the next time you feel murderous."
Zack sighed and walked to his house. Kay only hoped that had gotten through to him. She didn't want to be forced to get rid of him. After calling Logan and letting him know she had come home, she flopped down on her bed to think. She wasn't going to be able to keep Zack's recovery a secret for much longer if he wouldn't listen to her. She didn't have any more time to think about it when Buddy came running in. He had the strangest look on his face.
"We, uh, found Vic in the woods."
"Was he missing?"
"Well, nobody had seen him all morning and Mike said he saw Vic take a horse out on the trails, but that was several hours ago. We went out to look for him and now I wish we hadn't."
"What's wrong? Is he in bad shape?"
"I'm sorry, but he's dead."
Kay was shocked. Vic was the most careful person in the world. She couldn't imagine anything happening to him. He was a sweet old man who was always willing to listen to anything you had to say when you weren't feeling well and he was very religious. He always kept a bible with him and he wore a necklace of the Virgin Mary around his neck. At first that had made her uncomfortable because it made her think of how the other X5s had believed in the Blue Lady and that she was an enemy.
"What happened to him? Did he fall off the horse?"
"No, the horse was tied up. It looked like he had stopped to eat lunch by the creek."
Kay couldn't imagine what could have possibly happened to kill Vic while he was eating, but she got the feeling by Buddy's face that he wasn't telling her everything. After she watched him for a while, he gave in and told her.
"Someone broke his neck. Judging by the way it was broken, it was somebody strong. It looks like they did it with one hand. That's not all either. He was, umm, sort of displayed on a tree nearby. Whoever did this wanted us to see him. I don't know what kind of freak we're dealing with, but Vic's teeth were pulled out."
Kay's eyes widened. Her thoughts moved to the day in Manticore they had killed the man they were only supposed to chase. She closed her eyes and shook her head. As far as she knew, Ben was the only one who did that after the escape, but he was dead. Zack had even made the point that since Ben was crazy, Manticore wouldn't have bothered bringing him back.
"What did you do with the body?"
"It's at the morgue right now, but why do you want to know?"
"I have to see it."
"What? No! Are you crazy?"
"No, I just have to see the body."
Kay was a wreck when she reached to morgue. She didn't want to see Vic, but she'd be able to tell if it was Ben or if they were dealing with some other crazy person who just happened to kill the same way Ben did. Kay knew how low the odds were that that was the case, but she had to make sure. She bit her lip as she pulled back the sheet covering her friend. She felt her stomach lurch when she saw the state he was in, but now there was no doubt. She didn't know how, but somehow Ben was alive and back to killing. There was a barcode on Vic's neck, except instead of being tattooed on, it was cut in with a knife. Apparently Ben didn't have any equipment to put a barcode on somebody.
She hurried back to the farm as quickly as possible. The sun was already down and she knew Zack was asleep. She figured it was best not to wake him. Hopefully she could handle Ben on her own. She went into the woods on foot. She'd be able to move more silently that way. She went to the creek and walked along it, looking for where Vic was killed. It didn't take too long to spot it, Vic's blood was still on the tree. She looked at the ground around it. Ben was good at covering his tracks, she couldn't see any sign that someone else had been there. After several minutes of looking for anything that might indicate what direction he had gone in after killing Vic, Kay had to give up. She wasn't going to find anything here. She tried to think of anyplace he could have possibly gone. These woods were pretty boring, and there were no caves or anything that he could hide in.
"Ben, where are you?" she grumbled out loud. All of a sudden, she thought of the cabin that she and Zack had stayed in. It was a few miles farther back, but if Vic had been singing one of his gospel songs at the top of his lungs like he usually did, Ben would have been able to hear him easily. Being an X5, he would have made it to where Vic was in about ten minutes. She took off for the cabin as quickly as she could. All the way she was trying to think about what she would see when she reached the cabin. What would Ben be like? She knew he looked like Alec, but just because they were twins didn't mean they were alike in personality. Besides, if Ben was anything like Alec he wouldn't have been a crazed killer.
The cabin seemed almost too quiet when she made it there. It didn't look as though anyone was living here, but Kay knew better. Her eyes wandered to the window. She couldn't detect any movement, but he might be sleeping. After all, it was late. She sat there for quite some time, waiting to see if he moved around, but he didn't. Finally, she moved towards the door. She peered into the window next to it, but couldn't see anything of significance. She walked around the cabin, looking in all the windows, but she couldn't see him. She heard a slight rustling in the trees behind her and she went quickly around the corner of the cabin. Ben emerged from the trees carrying an armload of wood. Kay studied him for a moment and couldn't believe what a difference there was between the man she saw now and the religious boy she had known at Manticore. Back then, Ben had almost always had a smile on his face and he loved telling stories. His imagination was incredible. Even though he had been the one to say that she was a friend of the Nomlies, she couldn't hold it against him then simply because it was obvious that he was completely misguided. He had wholeheartedly believed in what he was saying. He really had been a wonderful boy, but now he looked hardened. It was obvious in every move he made that he was a soldier, through and through. She studied his face. While it was identical to Alec's, it didn't have the ready smile on it or the light in its eyes that Alec's had. His mouth was set in a straight line and his eyes were cold and dead. There was no life in those eyes at all. He put the wood on the woodpile and entered the cabin. Kay peered through the window and watched him grab the axe out of the closet.
The entire time he was chopping the wood, Kay was trying to decide what to do. What would he do if she showed herself to him? She wondered if he would even recognize her. Either way, it probably wouldn't be a good thing. If he didn't know who she was, he would immediately attack out of self defense. If he recognized her, he might think of her as the enemy again and attack her anyway. She didn't want to start fighting him, but if she wanted to stop him from killing anyone else then she would have to. She normally wouldn't care so much, but he had killed a good friend of hers. Now that he was killing again, what was to stop him from killing someone else she cared about? She decided she had to let him know she was here. She picked up a shovel that was next to her and loudly dropped it on the ground.
Ben's head snapped up and he was at her side right away. His eyes connected with hers for an instant and she felt a chill run down her spine. His eyes were frightening and it was sad to think that they were probably the last thing Vic saw. She could tell he had no idea who she was. His shock at seeing someone only lasted a moment. His fist connected with her cheek and sent her flying into the wall of the cabin. She stayed against the wall and rubbed her cheek where it stung as he took a good look at her.
"Who are you?"
"It's probably better if you don't know."
"What are you doing here?"
"I came looking for the bastard that killed my friend. It looks like I found him."
Ben finally seemed to understand. He gave her a slight sneer. "Do you believe the same things he does?"
"What do you mean?"
"Do you believe in the lady?"
Kay knew what he was doing. Zack had told her that Ben found people who believed in the Virgin Mary and hunted them to see if she would protect them. She decided to play along.
"Yes."
"Do you think the lady protects you?"
"She's always with her people."
He smiled slightly. "Then she'll protect you."
Kay let him grab her and drag her inside. She even gave a few weak kicks and some screams for effect. He put her in one of the bedrooms. She could easily get out if she wanted to, but she planned to play along for a while. Max said that he branded his victims with his barcode. She'd wait until he went to do that before revealing herself. He'd figure it out anyways when he saw the barcode that was already on her neck.
When he came back later, Kay lay perfectly still. She didn't fight him when he took her out to a chair in the kitchen so he could put his barcode on her. She watched as he pulled a knife out of the drawer and walked towards her with it. She hated that terrible smile that was on his face. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her head forward. She heard him gasp when he saw her barcode. She didn't give him any time to figure out whose barcode it was. She kicked him hard in the leg and jumped out of the chair, moving quickly so he couldn't make a move against her. His eyes now wandered over her, trying to figure out who she was. Considering the fact that he had hated her with a passion, it probably wouldn't take him too long. Still, he couldn't seem to place her.
"Who are you?"
"Wouldn't you love to know?"
"Well, you must be X5. You look normal and you're about my age. Were you in my group?"
"Yeah. I'm hurt you don't remember me, Ben."
She finally turned around and held up her hair again so he could get a good look at her barcode. His eyes widened when he recognized it. When he didn't say anything for a bit, Kay decided to break the silence.
"You went out and killed the wrong old man. Don't you remember Lydecker saying not to mess with anyone with powerful friends unless you're prepared to deal with them? That's a lesson you should have remembered."
She punched him hard in the face. He toppled backwards over the kitchen table. When he pulled himself back up, his eyes were cold again.
"If he was your friend, then I killed the enemy. That's another lesson Lydecker taught us."
"Lydecker was an asshole."
Kay threw the knife he had dropped at him. He just managed to dodge it and came at her quickly. She blocked his hand from hitting her and kicked him in the ribs. She heard a satisfying 'oof' as the wind was knocked out of him. He shoved her towards the wall and came to trap her against it. As her body moved straight at the wall, she steadied herself and ran up it to flip herself back over him. Now she had placed him between herself and the wall. She grabbed his hair and slammed his head into the wall. Unconscious, he slumped to the ground. Kay did a quick search of the cabin and found the gun that Buddy always kept there for emergencies. It was loaded. Looking down at Ben, Kay wondered if she could pull the trigger. Either she would kill him or he would kill her, it was that simple. Her hands shook as she struggled to fire the gun against her will. Part of her wanted to let him live. After all, he was family even if he didn't act like it. Then again, the other part was furious that he had killed Vic in such a vicious manner.
She still hadn't decided when he groaned and woke up. When he saw her holding the gun, he knew he wasn't going to be leaving this place for a while. He sat up but made no other move. Kay decided to get some answers.
"How are you alive?"
"Our bodies can heal under incredible circumstances. Manticore wanted to see how well we heal, so they hooked me up to a machine that kept my heart going. With my blood pumping back through my body, it started to heal me. First they set my neck and leg so that the breaks would heal, then after that was done my blood healed the nerve damage that had happened in my neck. I was awake and living without the machine two weeks after they brought me in. They locked me up right away, but when Manticore was destroyed, my door opened with everyone else's. I have been moving around ever since then."
"Touching story, but I just have to ask. How many people did you kill?"
"Actually, that old guy by the river was the first one since I got out. I've been in hiding so well that I was never near enough to people to find a believer of the Blue Lady. I just happened to hear that guy singing."
"You still believe in all that crap about the Blue Lady?"
Ben's jaw clenched. "I will always believe in her. She's the only one who can protect me."
"You mean from the Nomlies? Give me a break. If you hadn't come up with all that junk about the Blue Lady and the Nomlies, then my childhood wouldn't have been made a living hell. You ruined my life once, and now you've gone and killed a friend of mine. I can't say that I'm too happy with you."
"I don't care how you feel about me. It's none of my concern. You're the enemy."
"I'm not the one killing innocent people. As far as the majority is concerned, you're the enemy. I would be doing the world a favor if I got rid of you now. Hopefully this time you'll stay dead."
"I would just love to see the looks on the others' faces when they find out you killed one of their family. They hate you too."
"Actually, I'm really good friends with Max and your twin, and I'm practically living with Zack, so I'm not too sure they would take your side. After all, Zack left you and Max killed you. Not to mention the torture that your twin had to go through because you went crazy and they were scared he would too. From what Max has told me, Krit and Syl also know about what you've done and they think she did the right thing in killing you. Think about all that and then tell me that they will hate me. They don't even know you're alive, although I'm sure Zack will figure it out when he hears about Vic."
Ben stared at the floor. He refused to look at her. Kay still wasn't sure she could kill him. She couldn't just kill another X5.
Both Kay and Ben snapped their heads up when Zack came through the door. He took in the scene in front of him without showing any emotion. He studied his brother lying on the floor with Kay's gun pointed at him. He just shook his head sadly.
"Why did you have to start again, little brother?"
Ben couldn't answer him. Kay knew a lecture from Zack would make more of difference than anything else. She lowered the gun and stepped back. Zack could take it from here.
She walked around outside while Ben and Zack yelled at each other. Some of it was about Ben killing, but most of it was about her. Ben kept insisting that she was the enemy, while Zack said she was on their side and that now, since he was risking exposure, Ben was the enemy. Kay took her attention off them when her cellphone rang. It was Max. Kay walked a good distance away from the cabin so Max wouldn't hear Ben and Zack.
"Hey, what's up?"
"I think something is upsetting Alec. All I know is it's about one of his missions. Do you remember anything about his missions?"
Kay thought for a moment. She had been on a lot of missions herself, so she had never heard much about the others'. Still, she had heard some rumors about a mission of his where he had completely messed it up by letting the daughter of his target know what was going on. They hadn't been able to determine why he had done it. Some of the other X5s said it was because he had allowed himself to care about the target's daughter. Kay had scoffed at it at the time, since they had been taught that emotions are weakness. She told Max about it.
"So he fell in love with some girl and told her he was going to kill her father?"
"I'm not sure if that's how it went. You'd have to ask him."
Kay heard a loud crash come from the cabin. Oh great, they're fighting.
"Max, I gotta go, but call me back and tell me what happens."
Kay headed back to the cabin. Sure enough, she could see through the window that the men were having a fistfight. They weren't even using any fighting skills, just throwing punches at each other. She walked in and watched the scene for a minute. It was almost funny, seeing the two of them acting like five-year-olds fighting over a toy. They were now rolling around on the ground, still punching each other. Kay knew she'd have to break it up soon, but there was no hurry. She walked to the refrigerator and pulled out a soda. She had gone through about three of them when the two guys finally noticed her presence. Zack stood up and gave her a disapproving look.
"Why are you sitting there drinking pop when we're fighting?"
"Hey, it's your fight and I didn't want to interrupt. Besides, what fun would that be?"
"I thought you were the one who came after him in the first place."
"Yeah, but I said what I needed to say. You two apparently have a lot to work out, and who am I to interfere with that? It's none of my business."
"You actually believe that?"
"Sure. If you two feel like tearing each other to pieces and acting like little kids, then more power to ya."
"You would do nothing to stop us if we were about to kill each other?"
"I can't say I would. Like I said, it's your fight and you can fight it yourself. You were doing a beautiful job of it when I came in, so I saw no need to stop you."
Zack rolled his eyes sarcastically. "Do you always show so much emotion?"
"Usually less," she joked and smiled sweetly up at him. It only seemed to infuriate him more.
"If you're not going to be any help, then why don't you just go back home?"
"There's an idea. I think I'll do that."
With that, she got up with her fourth soda and walked out of the cabin. She turned back and rolled her eyes at the two men standing in the doorway staring after her.
"You two fight nicely, ya hear?"
She nearly burst out laughing as she walked away. Zack could keep Ben under control. Now, other than the fact that he killed Vic, Kay was almost glad that he had showed up. If anyone could get through to Ben, it was Zack, and it would keep Zack busy. Maybe it would also get him thinking straight about Logan.
When she reached her house, Wendy was sitting in the living room crying. Buddy must have told her about Vic. Kay sat down next to her and took her hand. They just sat there for a while, crying for their friend. Finally, Wendy seemed to want to take her mind off it.
"How is Adam? I know you were having some problem between him and one of your other friends. Did you get that sorted out?"
"I think so," Kay replied.