Ch. 4: When You're Evil…

"When the Devil is too busy, And Death's a bit too much, they call on me by name you see,
For my special touch. To the Gentlemen I'm Miss Fortune, To the Ladies I'm Sir Prize, But call me by any name, Any way it's all the same"

"Did you hear something?" Uriko asked inquisitively. It had been six hours since they escaped ZLF headquarters. The full moon hung high in the sky, shining its rays on the pair. They had stopped to rest tucked away in an alley, changing cars from the bulky jeep to a smaller, sleeker car.

"Its your imagination," Kenji replied. "Try to rest, we leave at daybreak." Uriko sighed. She was sure she hear something…    

"I'm the fly in your soup, I'm the pebble in your shoe, I'm the pea beneath your bed, I'm a bump on every head, I'm the peel on which you slip, I'm a pin in every hip, I'm the thorn in your side, Makes you wriggle and writhe, And it's so easy when you're evil, This is the life, you see, The Devil tips his hat to me, I do it all because I'm evil, And I do it all for free, Your tears are all the pay I'll ever need"

Suddenly, Kenji's blood ran cold in his veins. He felt a presence, something he could not explain, but knew all too well. His hand grabbed Uriko's arm and he jerked her to her feet. "We're leaving," he commanded. 

"Why?" she asked in a dreamy haze.

"She's here…"

"While there's children to make sad, While there's candy to be had, while there's pockets left to pick, While there's grannies to trip down the stairs, I'll be there, I'll be waiting round the corner, It's a game. I'm glad I'm in it, 'Cause there's one born every minute"

As if Kenji's words were an introduction, the wall near them crumbled, revealing the black-clad angel of death. She gazed on them with the same stoic stare she always had. Kenji flew into the driver's seat while Uriko took her place on the passenger's side. Kenji threw the car in drive and sped towards Shina. She braced herself, and stopped the car dead in its tracks, lifting it off the ground.

"SHIT!" Kenji yelled. He frantically reached for a gun, and fired a single round into Shina's chest. True to his word, it left a gaping hole one could almost see through. She staggered and dropped the car. Kenji prepared to throw it in reverse, but stopped cold.

Shina's chest wound began to close. Blood clotted and skin reformed, leaving not so much as a scar. Only the hole in her clothes exposing her right breast told the tale of her injury.

"She's not supposed to do that…" Uriko muttered.

Kenji threw the car in reverse, and pressed the gas straight down. Shina crouched, and leapt into the air, landing hard on the roof. Her feet and hands left a dent that Kenji and Uriko could easily see. "Uriko, I don't suppose you can drive?"

"My sister gave me a few lessons," she muttered.

"Good, finally you can be useful. Take the wheel." With not another word, Kenji flipped out the window and onto the roof. His inhuman dexterity allowed him to stay on the roof, despite the car traveling at such high speed.  "Shina!" he yelled.

"Finally," she said in a low, raspy voice that sent chills down his spine. It was as if the Reaper herself had whispered in his ear.

"I pledge my allegiance, to all things dark, And I promise on my damned soul, To do as I am told, Lord Beelxebub, Has never seen a soldier quite like me, Not only does his job, but does it happily."

"You spoke," he said. "You've never talked before.

"What was there to say?" She said in the same low, raspy tone.

"How about, farewell?" Kenji said firing a full clip into Shina. She merely looked down as the bullets forced themselves out of her skin, and the wounds re-closed.  Shina then retaliated by grabbing Kenji by the throat. She stood with him, with no expression on her face. But then, she smiled, a grim, sinister smile not of joy, but of depravity. Kenji tried to kick free, but even the wild swerving of Uriko's terrible driving couldn't shake her grip. He could feel the air being cut off from his throat, and his struggles grew weak.

Before he lost consciousness, however, Uriko lost control. Swerving wildly, she took a hard right ramming the car into a wall. Kenji and Shina were thrown clear, Shina landing hard. Kenji approached the lifeless body. He should have known better, as she sat up and quickly climbed to her feet. 

"I'm the fear that keeps you awake, I'm the shadows on the wall, I'm the monsters they become, I'm the nightmare in your skull, I'm a dagger in your back, An extra turn on the rack, I'm the quivering of your heart, A stabbing pain, a sudden start."

"I have to find a way to lose her, but how?"

Kenji's eyes scanned the scene. He spotted a large oil tanker nearing. He grinned. He pulled his last gun, aiming at Shina. She stood still, not showing any emotion. Kenji swiftly moved the gun, aiming at the tanker. She fired a few shots to startle the driver. He swerved wildly, colliding with Shina and carrying her to a wall. The driver fled in a panic, as Kenji re-aimed his gun. He fired another shot, straight at the tank. It exploded in a cataclysmic fireball, engulfing Shina and the tanker in its horrible beauty.

"And it's so easy when you're evil, This is the life, you see, The Devil tips his hat to me, I do it all because I'm evil, And I do it all for free, Your tears are all the pay I'll ever need, And I do it all for free, Your tears are all the pay I'll ever need, And I do it all for free, Your tears are all the pay I'll ever need"

Kenji turned away, and began to walk away. He stopped. "Uriko…" he said. He ran to the car. Uriko lay limp, bleeding from her temple. Something inside wished him to stay unemotional, to regard her as a liability. But he couldn't. He undid her seatbelt, and cradled her gently in his arms.

"You're lucky I'm doing this," he said, even though she couldn't hear him. "I should just leave you behind. If I were smart I would. I'll have to figure out what emotion is making me do this, and exercise it.

"It gets so lonely being evil, What I'd do to see a smile, Even for a little while, And no one loves you when you're evil…"

The tanker's flames burned high into the sky. The driver looked on and wondered about the woman he had hit. He felt terrible, but that guy with the gun…

Suddenly, the tanker shook. "No way…" he muttered. Slowly at first, the tanker rose into the sky. Then, with a burst of flame, the tanker flew through the air and into an adjacent building.

"Good God Almighty," the driver muttered.

Among the flames, a single naked female stood. Her clothes had been burned off her body, yet she showed no burns, no bruises, scrapes, broken bones nor deep gashing wounds.

She simply smiled, looking in the direction Kenji and gone. "The chase is on," she whispered, walking after him.

 
"I'm lying though my teeth!
Your tears are all the company I need!"