Alright, here you go, a nice long chapter for you. *smiles* Anyway, consider yourself forewarned, there will be much dialogue. Alica helped me with this chapter... well, bascially we did a little RPing and much of the dialogue in this chapter is the result. I'm so happy I get to work with Alica. ^_^ And for all you homophobes out there, don't worry. Fox will not actually be appearing in this chapter, although he is mentioned a few times...
He drove haphazardly around the city, purposely avoiding the main streets in favor of back streets and alleyways. He didn't care where he was going, as long as he was going somewhere, anywhere away from the place he had come form. Afterawhile he realized that what he was doing was ridiculous. Why am I running away from anyway? A building? That's not what I'm really running from. What he was really running from was himself, although he was too proud to admit it. Eventually he became frustrated with driving all over the place and going nowhere, so he parked his car, got out and walked. It didn't solve any of his problems of course, and he still didn't know where he was going. However, the physical excersize did help him calm down a little. If only I had some work, he thought. He desperately needed something, anything to distract his attention. Anything to keep him from thinking about who he was.
It had hurt ever since he could remember. From the first kill over seven years ago to the one he'd made only days ago. Usually he could cloud it out of his mind, keeping himself busy with other thoughts. It was the inactivity that killed him, the lack of something to pre-occupy his mind. He guessed that was what he was searching for something to distract him. He thought that if only he could find something to keep him busy he would be alright. He didn't want to realize it, but what he was really searching for was someone to kill. It was the first thing that came to his mind, and it was his profession afterall. It was what he usually used to make himself forget who he was. He stopped for a moment, trying to figure himself out.
Now let me see... killing people causes me severe emotional pain. I cannot stand that pain, so I ignore it. I ignore it by concentrating on other things, like my work. But isn't that what's causing the whole damn thing in the first place? Am I not right back where I started with this? It was an inescapable circle, one that he knew would either claim his life or his sanity one day, or possibly both. He hated to admit it, but there was nothing he could do to change it. There was no other way to keep himself sane except to keep killing. Continuing the work only dug him deeper into the hole. But he couldn't stop, because if he did then others would die. Damn, I'm permanently f**ked. He kept on telling himself that he just had to wait, and it would all be over soon. But the real question was, would it be over soon enough?
For the first time since he left he stopped and looked at his surrondings. They were familiar to him, but he was not surprised. Then he realized that he had known where he was going all along, but like so many things he had hidden it from himself, afraid that admitting to the truth would cause him too much pain. Now there was nothing left to do but face it. He was standing right next the the house of the man he'd killed two nights ago, looking across the street at the house of the woman who'd seen him. And then he forced himself to admit that he was going to kill her. Not out of some forcefull threat or the responsibility he felt to protect the ones he loved, but because he had a desire to kill, and she was in his way.
After shaking her head in disgust she went after him. She didn't expect to catch up to him at first, since her little stop to think had given him quite a head start. But by the time she was walking down the hallyway towards his dorm she wondered why she hadn't caught up with him yet. She went up to it and knocked, expecting him to answer right away. She let a few minutes pass, knocked again, and then started to wonder what could possibly be keeping him. She supposed he could be in there taking a shower, but she didn't hear the water running. He could be napping, but her knocking would wake him up, it had before. If he was in there, he was simply ignoring her. And he knows better than to go out while the police are looking for him, right? She shrugged and walked back to her dorm, expecting that she'd find him around later.
She went in and sat down on her couch, turning the TV on. Unlike him she was very glad to be rid of her work for a time. She really didn't understand what made him so anxious about not having any work to do. Afterall it was the killing that was the start of both of their problems, right? So it was a good thing to have a break from it, even a short one. She sat back and relaxed for awhile, letting the programs take her mind off things. Before long she got bored and turned it off, not sure what she was going to do with the rest of the day. So she walked back over to Long's dorm and tried again, but he still didn't answer. Either he's gone or he's avoiding me on purpose. He didn't seem like the type to ignore her however, so she decided that he must be gone afterall. But where could he have gone to?
The first thing that came to her mind was the night before, how he'd run around the place drunken and gotten himself into trouble. And he's still go plenty of beer in there to get himself drunk off of too... I'd better check around the building for him. The first place she went was to Fox's dorm, but thankfully he wasn't there. Hope you're not out killing anyone, Long. she thought. She searched around the rest of the building, pausing before the main laboratory. Lab #666, where all of Busuzima's nasty little 'live experiments' were done. She really didn't want to search this place, but she'd already covered most of the building, and it could be very likely that he'd return here again. The door to the lab was locked in Busuzima's absence of course. So Long couldn't be in there. However she was curious about what could be in that lab, and since she had been a delivery worker she had the key.
Van didn't know of this of course, or he certainly would've taken it back once he made her an assassin. However, it did mean that she could sneak around in the lab without being detected. She figured she had nothing better to do, and certainly wouldn't get caught. So why not sneak around the lab and see what her half-borther was really up to? She pushed the key card into it's slot and punched a code on the keypad. The door opened immediately and she walked cautiously inside, checking the room to make sure no one was there. The first thing she came to was a large room with long rectangular table in it's center. It was covered with test tubes and vials full of all kinds of chemicals. A few were familiar, things she had delivered to the room in the past, and some were new. She glanced at it for a minute, and then walked on past.
There were many doors in the back of the room, most leading to 'examination' rooms, otherwise known as the rooms the experiments were done in. She looked through a few of the small glass windows and was appalled at the bloody mess she saw in one of the rooms. I bet he hasn't cleaned that since he got here, she thought. None of these rooms were clean, although most weren't as soaked in gore as the first one she'd seen. She wondered what could have possibly happened in that room, and then decided that she really didn't want to find out. One door in the middle of the wall lead to another hallway, so she opened it and walked in.
The hallway was lined with more doors, she walked over to peek into one of them and saw a dark room, a small tortured figure hiding in one corner. Immediately she worked the locks free, opened the door, and hurried inside. As she got closer she could see that it was a young man. He was thin and straggly looking, and smelled as though he'd been kept in there for weeks with no chance to shower, and he probably had. Immediately she pitied him, and decided that she had to do something to help. She walked right up to him, and he glanced up at her with a look of despair in his eyes, as though wondering what torturous experiment she had come to take him to next.
"Don't worry." she said. "I'm gonna get you out of here." She took his hand and helped him climb shakilly to his feet, already thinking of the best way to get him out of the building without being detected. The only way she knew of was to go around the the building's back exit. It was a risky route, and if they took it they would likely be seen by someone. She didn't want to chance that, but she had to do something. He lead him out of the room and looked at the other doors down the hall, wondering how many of them also contained the tortured souls of Busuzima's experiments. She peeked into the cell across from the one she'd just left and saw someone in it, so she opened the door. She did the same for all the doors down the hall, untill she got to the end of it. The door there had no windows, so she opened it cautiously, and caught the scent of clean air, it was an exit.
Perfect! she thought. This must be the place where they bring all these people in, bet they never thought they'd get out the same way. She looked behind her at the people cautiously creeping out of their cells, looking around warilly. They were all dirty and bedraggled, and many of them had blood smeared over their bodies, and wounds that were left unbandaged. There are animals who get better treatment, she thought. Most of them seemed like ordinary people, but she could definately sense at least a few zoanthropes. One of them even had a furry, clawed hand. She didn't sense that he was a zoanthrope however, the claws were permanent, a side-effect of one of Busuzima's experiments. She held the door wide open, and watched as their faces lit up at the sight of the ouside world. She stood there and looked on as they all ran off into the world, overjoyed to have their freedom.
After she watched them all dissapear into the city she closed up all the doors, making it look as though nothing had happened. She left the lab, and locked the door behind her, snickering a bit a the thought of what would happen when Busuzima came back. They won't know what hit 'em, she thought. She snuck back up to her room, pausing at her door for a moment. Nothing to do in there... she thought. And I won't even try knocking on Stephen's door. I wonder if Long's back yet. She walked over to his door and was surprised to hear a low hissing sound. Maybe he has some water boiling for his tea? She decided that it didn't really matter, as long as he was there. She knocked on the door and waited a bit, but there was no answer, so she knocked again.
"Long? You there?"
"I'm not home right now." his solemn voice replied. "Please go away." He really didn't want any company, not after what he'd just done. He wanted to be left alone, but then again being alone wasn't any better. Still he was afraid of the kind of killer he was becoming, and even more afraid of what other people would think if they knew about it, especially Alica.
"If you're not home then why did you reply to me?"
"I don't know..." he sighed in exaspertation. "I give up."
"What? Do you have some 'company' in there you don't want me to know about?"
"What? What company!?! I have none!"
"Chill, chill! It was a joke!"
"Don't scare me like that!"
"Can we not talk through the door?" she pleaded. "You know, like, face to face?"
"Alright..." he reluctantly agreed, opening the door. "Come in and sit on the couch." She jumped into him and threw her arms around him. "Ai!" he cired, falling to the floor. "Are you lonely or something?"
"Well I have been looking for you all day... where did you run off to anyway?"
"Nowhere important," he replied, eyeing her curiously. "I just needed to get out." She smiled at him as she unwrapped her arms from his body and stood up.
"And I admit I ate a bunch of peeps this morning. Love those things." she smiled and then walked over to the couch and laid down. "But the sugar's starting to get to me."
"No wonder..." he muttered, getting up and walking back over to sit down in his chair. "Would you like some tea? It always calms me down."
"Sure." she replied. He got up and went into the kitchen, taking the whistling kettle off the stove and pouring a few cups. "A lot happened while you were were out last night you know."
"Oh?"
"After I dragged you back to your room Van, Hans, and I had a little chat about all the trouble you caused. Fox told Van about how you beat up Busuzima and I told him about what Hans did to you." She stopped to snicker a bit. "Van didn't know whether to punish you or pity you after that... which is why I think he just let the matter drop earlier today. Most people wouldn't get away without at least a good beating after what you did."
"I guess I should consider myself fortunate." Long replied, steeping the tea in the cups and adding a little sugar.
"After that he said he was thinking about taking a vacation to some island like Tahiti or something... and before I found you Stephen told me he's got some week-long conference to go to." She glanced up at the clock. "They're probably both gone already. If it weren't for you I'd be left here all alone with the freaks."
"What's Van running off for?" he asked, obviously upset. "I thought he was going to give us work tomorrow." He finished making the tea and set one cup down in front of her on the coffe table and took one to his chair.
"I don't think there is any." she replied, absently. "You know all the people we killed a couple days ago? Before you got here it would've taken the four of us weeks to do that work. That's why his scedule is all messed up. Did you notice that Vark wasn't with him this morning? I bet she's sitting around fixing up his schedule, he thinks he's too high and mighty to do it himself. He's been planning this vacation for months... He was actually planning it a little later of course, but since there's nothing better to do... I bet he won't be here come tomorrow morning. Vark will come in and announce that he's gone and then we'll all be dismissed for about three weeks while he takes his vacation."
"Three weeks!?!" Long cried. "Ai ya! What am I going to do with myself without work for three weeks!?!"
"You sound upset, aren't you glad Van's gone? It means he can't keep an eye on us, if you catch my drift."
"True, true..." he replied, nodding. "I hate how he always seems to be looming about when he's here."
"Does my brother creep you out too?"
"Van? Sometimes..."
"Yeah, him and the camera freak." He didn't know what she meant by 'the camera freak' but he decided that since she mentioned it so casually it was something he was supposed to know about already, so he pretended he understood.
"Not to mention Hans."
"There's some pervert who keeps putting a mini-camera in my shower." she volunteered, needing to talk about it with someone.
"Yikes!"
"Yes." she agreed. "And it's been re-installed three times. Everytime I take it out someone puts it back."
"I sure hope no one's doing that to me... next time I'll check my bathroom before I shower."
"It's unlikely. I've asked around a bit, and it seems it's just myself."
"Have you ever thought it might be Stephen?" Long suggested, snickering.
"Maybe..." she mumbled, blinking in surprise. "But it's been going on since before he got here."
"Damn, that rules him out... I could see it being Busuzima, but then it would probably be happening to several people."
"It was actually happening before he got here too..." Alica admitted. "Ever since Van took over actually."
"Really? Hm... very suspicious." He took a sip of his tea, mulling over it for a moment. The very thought of Van doing something like that to her made chills go up his spine. "If that's been happening since he's been in charge... What if Fox is right about him liking you?"
"I'm his damn sister!" she protested. "He wouldn't be attracted to me."
"I hope so..." he agreed. "Anyway, Van scares me."
"Yes... he has his way with people, I'll admit."
"I do hate how he has his way with me... but that is better than facing his wrath."
"Hey man, it could be worse." she offered, trying to cheer him up. "He could have actually wanted to bed you."
"Ugh..." Long groaned, making a face. "You don't think he'd ever want that, do you? The thought of it still scares me."
"Hello no. He has an ex-wife, he's straight."
"Oh really? I didn't know that."
"Yeah, well... funny thing is, she died right after the divorce proceedings. So he got all her money."
"Hm, I bet he had her killed... I didn't do it of course."
"It was a car accident."
"But those can be arranged... Van's just the kind of creep who would arrange one too, don't you think?"
"Maybe..." she replied, thinking about it for a minute. "But he was nice enough to protect me, so I don't know."
"You have a point." he agreed, sipping his tea. The room went silent again, both parties tired of talking and thinking about Van. Alica watched watched him with a somewhat lusty spark in her eyes. He didn't notice it at first, but he got a bit nervous once he did. He tried to ignore her for the most part, by sipping on his tea. Once he finished it he walked into the kitcken and poured himself another cup. He could feel her gaze on him as he crossed the room, and started getting even more uncomfortable. So he back back down in his chair and sipped his tea again. "So... uh..." She picked up her cup and tasted it for the first time.
"What blend it this?"
"It's Chai." he answered, happy to have somethign to talk about. "It's an oriental blend with spices, kind of a cinnamon-like taste, sort of like apple cider if you put a lot of sugar in it. This is my favorite."
"It's good stuff. More flavorful than the coffe I usually drink."
"Unfortunately it's also got quite a bit of caffine in it, since it's a black tea... maybe I should've given you something else."
"Nah, it's okay." She assured him. "I think I'm calming down. I had a lot of nervous energy earlier so I'm tired."
"I see..." he commented, shaking his head at her strange behavior.
"Still have some though." she admitted, rolling over onto her stomach and looking up at him and doing her best to smile seductively. He ignored her by sipping his tea again. "So... Hans hasn't given you any problems since this morning?"
"I've done my best to avoid him. Hopefully one day he'll grow tired of having his life threatened."
"Well that's good... though I cannot blame him for stalking you."
"Oh?" he blinked, a bit surprised. "I really don't understand it myself... I'm trying to repel people from me, and yet they're still attracted. Nothing to be attracted to I think." He closed the statement by taking another comforting sip of his tea. Alica looked as though she would disagree with him, so he interrupted her before she could. "So, how is the tea?"
"It's very good."
"Glad you like it."
"Long, you're hot."
"Uh..." he blushed deeply, very embarassed. He shrunk back in his chair in a vain effort to escape her admiring gaze. And then it struck him that she had just given him a compliment and he really ought to thank her for it. "Thank you." She smirked at the comment, somehow even more attracted to him despite his obvious anxiety. He brushed through his bangs nervously and looked away, hoping she would do the same. She kept looking at him, and her smirk turned into a smile, so he took another sip of tea to calm his nerves. She smiled again.
"Well, I doubt he could have stood your personality for long."
"What makes you think so?" Long wondered out loud. "It could be because I hate him... or maybe I'm just too much for him to handle..." Nasty mental images entered his mind. "Ugh, bad choice of words." He frowned, upset with how his anxiety was making him see the worst in everything he said.
"Just from knowing him." Alica replied. "He wants things easy, you are very frustrating."
"Good."
"He'd probably rip his hair out with you."
"Hehehe... I'd like to see that... not badly enough to be with him though. And what is this obsession he has with making me look feminine? I swear it drives me up the wall. If he ever tries to put makeup on me again I swear I WILL kill him."
"Come, come, let's not dwell on the past." she persuaded, becoming very tired of hearing Long talk about killing Hans, or killing anyone for that matter.
"Alright, best not to think about that psycho bitch anyway." he agreed, taking another sip of his tea. "What would you like to talk about?" She laughed a little.
"I don't know really."
"Well, anything besides Hans or Van I suppose..."
"Hm... listen to any music?"
"Not much, you know how dull I am. Don't do much besides plotting the deaths of my next victims each day..." It was true, which surprised him. Usually he wouldn't admit to something like that, or anything else he considered to be the least bit personal. He realized then that he was getting closer to Alica, and he wanted to share a part of himself with her. But the question was, how much was too much? And how close was too close? He wanted a friend more than anything, but he was still afraid to trust her and open up.
"Well, you have three weeks off now." she reminded him. He sighed, his face lined with worry.
"I think it's going to drive me insane if I don't get back to work soon."
"You could always find... other... activities." she replied slyly, looking up into his eyes.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I dunno." she shrugged. "Maybe find a girlfriend, take up a hobby, etcetra."
"You're the only woman I know..." he mused. "and my only hobby so far is killing..."
"Well thats a tick under one of the clumons then isn't it?"
"What?" he asked. She sighed, a bit annoyed.
"What I mean is, you at least know a girl so thats one tick under the girlfirend category, since you have no hobbies."
"Oh..." he muttered, feeling nervous again. Her implications were obvious to him, but he wasn't ready to face them. So he just ignored it. "Well, I suppose I could find a hobby, athough I really don't have the slightest idea what it might be." He didn't get it. Alica thought, snorting in disgust. Damn. "Alica? You look somewhat peeved."
"It's time to ditch the subtlety." she muttered, getting up from the couch. She walked over to him and punched him lightly in the knee with a smirk, and then changed her mind and pounced on top of him.
"Hey!" he cried, blocking himself as though he was afraid she'd punch him again. "Alica? What are you doing?"
"Haven't you ever flirted with someone?" she demanded.
"Uh...no." he admitted. She groaned in annoyance, and he put his arms down and noticed the look. "I'm sorry... I have no... uh... experience with this kind of social behavior."
"Well, you just need someone to show you then."
"I... uh... suppose... Is flirting supposed to include pouncing on someone?"
"No... I admit I kinda jumped the gun a bit on that."
"So... uh... what is there to know about it then?"
"Well, alot of it is really body language. There's a fine difference between 'I think your cute.' and 'Come near me and die.'"
"Yes, one that Hans doesn't seem to understand..." she looked a bit annoyed. "uh, sorry for mentioning him."
"It's alright."
"I thought it was a good example of what you were talking about."
"No, I understood. Relax." She smiled at him, assuring him that everything was fine.
"Alright." he replied, smiling back at her and trying to relax a bit. "Um... are you going to get off me now, or...?"
"Am I hurting you?"
"No... I am a bit uncomfortable though..."
"Ahh..." she fidgeted around on top of him, making sure her elbows and knees weren't digging into him.
"Thank you... I am unacustomed to being pounced on."
"That's alright." she replied, smiling up at him again. "There's a first time for everything."
"I suppose so... uh... where were we?"
"See, now if your in a situation like this..." She wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing their faces a little closer. "its serious."
"I see..." he mumbled, gulping nervously. "Alica, uh... maybe we shouldn't... um... what if Van were to find out...?"
"He's in Tahiti, remember?"
"I know... I... I guess I'm just scared of him. He did threaten to kill my family you know. Never mind, forget about Van. He's not worth thinking about anyway..."
"Trust me, I've been to the island he goes to."
"Alright. I trust you." They shared a smile.
"So... this is flirting, hm? Strange..."
"Well this is kinda actually the next step beyond flirting."
"Oh... so, flirting is just the talking and the... uh... body language then?" She nodded. "And right now we are... uh...?" She blinked in surprise.
"Well..."
"Never mind..."
"No, this is just relaxing together. I think it's called cuddling or something."
"Oh, alright."
"Yes, from here one could progress to making out..." she stated matter-of-factly, as though she were teaching a student, "and/or eventually to sex."
"Now you're making me nervous..." he mumbled, eyes widened in shock at her words.
"Relax! Thats an option, progression."
"Right... just an option..." he sighed, trying to relax. She snuggled against him and sighed in content.
"You're comfy."
"I... uh... as comfy as I'm going to be I guess..." he muttered. She looked up at him with a confused expression on her face. "Uh... I'm sorry if my nervousness bothers you..."
"It's not a problem." she replied with a smirk. "I can see where it comes form. Just try to relax yourself and think of something positive."
"Alright..." he took several deep breaths, which helped him relax a little. "It's just my inexperience I guess... It feels clumsy trying somthing for the first time."
"I understand." She nodded and rubbed his shoulders a little, trying to massage the tense feelings away.
"Thank you... that helps a bit." She smiled, glad she could help
"This is rather new for me too..." she admitted with a sigh. "Van keeps scaring everyone away."
"Can't say that I blame them. Wouldn't want to have to stand up to Van myself. For some strange reason I get the feeling that I couldn't kill him, isn't that odd? Afterall he's just a scrawny little thing."
"Size isn't everything. He knows exactly how to get what he wants form anyone he wants. He's so damn stiffleing! Though physically, well... I dunno. I really wish he'd just butt out of my life."
"I wish I didn't have to put up with him either..." She nodded and rested her head on his chest. He brought one hand up to hold it there, and ran his fingers through her bangs. "Van is an ass hole."
"Agreed, just wish he would bite it already."
"Me too... maybe we should try and plan a way to kill him hm? Somehow I doubt it would suceed though. We could get into a lot of trouble that way."
"I've honestly tried."
"Really? And no sucess yet? Damn, he's a stubborn little son of bitch isn't he?"
"I like it when you talk like that..." he smiled and shook his head.
"So... you like it when I get homicidal?" the smile turned sad and a melancholy sigh escaped his lips. "Better then being scared of him I guess..."
"It adds a nice spice to things to know that there is some fire underneath your calm exterior." He hugged her close to him, just glad to have someone there. She pulled him in a little closer and smiled to herself. "Perhaps one day he'll bite it."
"That'll be the day."
"Indeed, though I'm sure he could use some help."
"Yeah... there's got to be some way to kill him, ne? Wish I knew what it was."
"I tried poisoning him... Vark ate the food by mistake." Long laughed a little and she continued, "Then I tried to take out the tries off his limo and he used the other one."
"Figures." Long complained. "Well, I'm sure that one day his luck will run out..."
"It's karma. He's building up so much bad it'll have to kick in sooner or later."
"Ah, I see. Well in that case I hope it builds up very quickly for him."
"No kidding." #318 snickered at the thought. "We could always plot new ways, I think we would make a very capable team."
"Very true. We may not be able to kill him, but that's no reason not to try, right?" She nuzzled into his neck, and he cuddled her back, gently stroking her cheek with his hand.
"I agree whole-heartedly."
"The world would be a better place without him in it."
"I know... it was his idea to start thsoe exeriments after all."
"His idea, hm? Somehow that doesn't surprise me in the least."
"What experiments that my father did, he got their consent for."
"I see... he wasn't such a bad man then? Not as bad as Van anyway."
"No. I don't know why Van got so messed up."
"I don't think I'd want to know..."
"Neither would I. He used to be nasty to me too." she frowned at the memory.
"In what way?"
"Kept calling me an undeserving half breed and such."
"Ass hole."
"Then a little before my father died his tune just... changed."
"Strange... maybe he pities you for being framed for your father's murder?"
"I don't know. I never understood him."
"I'm beginning to think that I don't either. Who wants to understand him anyway? Not me." He wrapped his arms around her and cuddled her closer. "He can take a one-way trip to hell for all I care... He belongs there." He hugged him tightly, thankfull that she finally had someone to talk to. Someone who wouldn't be frightened off by Van, at least, not easilly. She looked up inot his eyes for a moment and he looked back and smiled. She reached one hand up to gently stroke his face and he held it there, finding an unusual sense of comfort in her touch. He looked into her eyes and she smiled up at him, then he bent down and kissed her gently on the cheek. Then he realized what he was doing and got nervous again. He pulled away and started blushing fiercely, despite his efforts to control it.
"Sorry... uh... was that too much?"
"No, not at all." Alica replied, offering a reassuring smile. He tried to smile back and ended up with a weak half-smile. Her smile broadened at noticing his efforts, and then finally his did to. She sighed in contentment. "This is nice.. I hope Van gets stuck on f**king Tahiti!"
While the Cat's Away
Singh Long walked past the elevator and straight to the parking lot, ignoring the fact that he shouldn't be out. There were several very good reasons he ought to stay in the building, he knew. He couldn't help but be reminded everytime he blew his nose that he had a cold and was probably still contagious. Not to mention that he was in an irriatable mood and very likely to kill anyone who might bother him, or at least snap at them. As soon as he got out to the parking lot and into the sunlight he was reminded that people were looking for him. But at the moment he didn't care, he needed an escape. He jumped into his car, daring to hope that the police didn't have his license plate number after all.He drove haphazardly around the city, purposely avoiding the main streets in favor of back streets and alleyways. He didn't care where he was going, as long as he was going somewhere, anywhere away from the place he had come form. Afterawhile he realized that what he was doing was ridiculous. Why am I running away from anyway? A building? That's not what I'm really running from. What he was really running from was himself, although he was too proud to admit it. Eventually he became frustrated with driving all over the place and going nowhere, so he parked his car, got out and walked. It didn't solve any of his problems of course, and he still didn't know where he was going. However, the physical excersize did help him calm down a little. If only I had some work, he thought. He desperately needed something, anything to distract his attention. Anything to keep him from thinking about who he was.
It had hurt ever since he could remember. From the first kill over seven years ago to the one he'd made only days ago. Usually he could cloud it out of his mind, keeping himself busy with other thoughts. It was the inactivity that killed him, the lack of something to pre-occupy his mind. He guessed that was what he was searching for something to distract him. He thought that if only he could find something to keep him busy he would be alright. He didn't want to realize it, but what he was really searching for was someone to kill. It was the first thing that came to his mind, and it was his profession afterall. It was what he usually used to make himself forget who he was. He stopped for a moment, trying to figure himself out.
Now let me see... killing people causes me severe emotional pain. I cannot stand that pain, so I ignore it. I ignore it by concentrating on other things, like my work. But isn't that what's causing the whole damn thing in the first place? Am I not right back where I started with this? It was an inescapable circle, one that he knew would either claim his life or his sanity one day, or possibly both. He hated to admit it, but there was nothing he could do to change it. There was no other way to keep himself sane except to keep killing. Continuing the work only dug him deeper into the hole. But he couldn't stop, because if he did then others would die. Damn, I'm permanently f**ked. He kept on telling himself that he just had to wait, and it would all be over soon. But the real question was, would it be over soon enough?
For the first time since he left he stopped and looked at his surrondings. They were familiar to him, but he was not surprised. Then he realized that he had known where he was going all along, but like so many things he had hidden it from himself, afraid that admitting to the truth would cause him too much pain. Now there was nothing left to do but face it. He was standing right next the the house of the man he'd killed two nights ago, looking across the street at the house of the woman who'd seen him. And then he forced himself to admit that he was going to kill her. Not out of some forcefull threat or the responsibility he felt to protect the ones he loved, but because he had a desire to kill, and she was in his way.
After shaking her head in disgust she went after him. She didn't expect to catch up to him at first, since her little stop to think had given him quite a head start. But by the time she was walking down the hallyway towards his dorm she wondered why she hadn't caught up with him yet. She went up to it and knocked, expecting him to answer right away. She let a few minutes pass, knocked again, and then started to wonder what could possibly be keeping him. She supposed he could be in there taking a shower, but she didn't hear the water running. He could be napping, but her knocking would wake him up, it had before. If he was in there, he was simply ignoring her. And he knows better than to go out while the police are looking for him, right? She shrugged and walked back to her dorm, expecting that she'd find him around later.
She went in and sat down on her couch, turning the TV on. Unlike him she was very glad to be rid of her work for a time. She really didn't understand what made him so anxious about not having any work to do. Afterall it was the killing that was the start of both of their problems, right? So it was a good thing to have a break from it, even a short one. She sat back and relaxed for awhile, letting the programs take her mind off things. Before long she got bored and turned it off, not sure what she was going to do with the rest of the day. So she walked back over to Long's dorm and tried again, but he still didn't answer. Either he's gone or he's avoiding me on purpose. He didn't seem like the type to ignore her however, so she decided that he must be gone afterall. But where could he have gone to?
The first thing that came to her mind was the night before, how he'd run around the place drunken and gotten himself into trouble. And he's still go plenty of beer in there to get himself drunk off of too... I'd better check around the building for him. The first place she went was to Fox's dorm, but thankfully he wasn't there. Hope you're not out killing anyone, Long. she thought. She searched around the rest of the building, pausing before the main laboratory. Lab #666, where all of Busuzima's nasty little 'live experiments' were done. She really didn't want to search this place, but she'd already covered most of the building, and it could be very likely that he'd return here again. The door to the lab was locked in Busuzima's absence of course. So Long couldn't be in there. However she was curious about what could be in that lab, and since she had been a delivery worker she had the key.
Van didn't know of this of course, or he certainly would've taken it back once he made her an assassin. However, it did mean that she could sneak around in the lab without being detected. She figured she had nothing better to do, and certainly wouldn't get caught. So why not sneak around the lab and see what her half-borther was really up to? She pushed the key card into it's slot and punched a code on the keypad. The door opened immediately and she walked cautiously inside, checking the room to make sure no one was there. The first thing she came to was a large room with long rectangular table in it's center. It was covered with test tubes and vials full of all kinds of chemicals. A few were familiar, things she had delivered to the room in the past, and some were new. She glanced at it for a minute, and then walked on past.
There were many doors in the back of the room, most leading to 'examination' rooms, otherwise known as the rooms the experiments were done in. She looked through a few of the small glass windows and was appalled at the bloody mess she saw in one of the rooms. I bet he hasn't cleaned that since he got here, she thought. None of these rooms were clean, although most weren't as soaked in gore as the first one she'd seen. She wondered what could have possibly happened in that room, and then decided that she really didn't want to find out. One door in the middle of the wall lead to another hallway, so she opened it and walked in.
The hallway was lined with more doors, she walked over to peek into one of them and saw a dark room, a small tortured figure hiding in one corner. Immediately she worked the locks free, opened the door, and hurried inside. As she got closer she could see that it was a young man. He was thin and straggly looking, and smelled as though he'd been kept in there for weeks with no chance to shower, and he probably had. Immediately she pitied him, and decided that she had to do something to help. She walked right up to him, and he glanced up at her with a look of despair in his eyes, as though wondering what torturous experiment she had come to take him to next.
"Don't worry." she said. "I'm gonna get you out of here." She took his hand and helped him climb shakilly to his feet, already thinking of the best way to get him out of the building without being detected. The only way she knew of was to go around the the building's back exit. It was a risky route, and if they took it they would likely be seen by someone. She didn't want to chance that, but she had to do something. He lead him out of the room and looked at the other doors down the hall, wondering how many of them also contained the tortured souls of Busuzima's experiments. She peeked into the cell across from the one she'd just left and saw someone in it, so she opened the door. She did the same for all the doors down the hall, untill she got to the end of it. The door there had no windows, so she opened it cautiously, and caught the scent of clean air, it was an exit.
Perfect! she thought. This must be the place where they bring all these people in, bet they never thought they'd get out the same way. She looked behind her at the people cautiously creeping out of their cells, looking around warilly. They were all dirty and bedraggled, and many of them had blood smeared over their bodies, and wounds that were left unbandaged. There are animals who get better treatment, she thought. Most of them seemed like ordinary people, but she could definately sense at least a few zoanthropes. One of them even had a furry, clawed hand. She didn't sense that he was a zoanthrope however, the claws were permanent, a side-effect of one of Busuzima's experiments. She held the door wide open, and watched as their faces lit up at the sight of the ouside world. She stood there and looked on as they all ran off into the world, overjoyed to have their freedom.
After she watched them all dissapear into the city she closed up all the doors, making it look as though nothing had happened. She left the lab, and locked the door behind her, snickering a bit a the thought of what would happen when Busuzima came back. They won't know what hit 'em, she thought. She snuck back up to her room, pausing at her door for a moment. Nothing to do in there... she thought. And I won't even try knocking on Stephen's door. I wonder if Long's back yet. She walked over to his door and was surprised to hear a low hissing sound. Maybe he has some water boiling for his tea? She decided that it didn't really matter, as long as he was there. She knocked on the door and waited a bit, but there was no answer, so she knocked again.
"Long? You there?"
"I'm not home right now." his solemn voice replied. "Please go away." He really didn't want any company, not after what he'd just done. He wanted to be left alone, but then again being alone wasn't any better. Still he was afraid of the kind of killer he was becoming, and even more afraid of what other people would think if they knew about it, especially Alica.
"If you're not home then why did you reply to me?"
"I don't know..." he sighed in exaspertation. "I give up."
"What? Do you have some 'company' in there you don't want me to know about?"
"What? What company!?! I have none!"
"Chill, chill! It was a joke!"
"Don't scare me like that!"
"Can we not talk through the door?" she pleaded. "You know, like, face to face?"
"Alright..." he reluctantly agreed, opening the door. "Come in and sit on the couch." She jumped into him and threw her arms around him. "Ai!" he cired, falling to the floor. "Are you lonely or something?"
"Well I have been looking for you all day... where did you run off to anyway?"
"Nowhere important," he replied, eyeing her curiously. "I just needed to get out." She smiled at him as she unwrapped her arms from his body and stood up.
"And I admit I ate a bunch of peeps this morning. Love those things." she smiled and then walked over to the couch and laid down. "But the sugar's starting to get to me."
"No wonder..." he muttered, getting up and walking back over to sit down in his chair. "Would you like some tea? It always calms me down."
"Sure." she replied. He got up and went into the kitchen, taking the whistling kettle off the stove and pouring a few cups. "A lot happened while you were were out last night you know."
"Oh?"
"After I dragged you back to your room Van, Hans, and I had a little chat about all the trouble you caused. Fox told Van about how you beat up Busuzima and I told him about what Hans did to you." She stopped to snicker a bit. "Van didn't know whether to punish you or pity you after that... which is why I think he just let the matter drop earlier today. Most people wouldn't get away without at least a good beating after what you did."
"I guess I should consider myself fortunate." Long replied, steeping the tea in the cups and adding a little sugar.
"After that he said he was thinking about taking a vacation to some island like Tahiti or something... and before I found you Stephen told me he's got some week-long conference to go to." She glanced up at the clock. "They're probably both gone already. If it weren't for you I'd be left here all alone with the freaks."
"What's Van running off for?" he asked, obviously upset. "I thought he was going to give us work tomorrow." He finished making the tea and set one cup down in front of her on the coffe table and took one to his chair.
"I don't think there is any." she replied, absently. "You know all the people we killed a couple days ago? Before you got here it would've taken the four of us weeks to do that work. That's why his scedule is all messed up. Did you notice that Vark wasn't with him this morning? I bet she's sitting around fixing up his schedule, he thinks he's too high and mighty to do it himself. He's been planning this vacation for months... He was actually planning it a little later of course, but since there's nothing better to do... I bet he won't be here come tomorrow morning. Vark will come in and announce that he's gone and then we'll all be dismissed for about three weeks while he takes his vacation."
"Three weeks!?!" Long cried. "Ai ya! What am I going to do with myself without work for three weeks!?!"
"You sound upset, aren't you glad Van's gone? It means he can't keep an eye on us, if you catch my drift."
"True, true..." he replied, nodding. "I hate how he always seems to be looming about when he's here."
"Does my brother creep you out too?"
"Van? Sometimes..."
"Yeah, him and the camera freak." He didn't know what she meant by 'the camera freak' but he decided that since she mentioned it so casually it was something he was supposed to know about already, so he pretended he understood.
"Not to mention Hans."
"There's some pervert who keeps putting a mini-camera in my shower." she volunteered, needing to talk about it with someone.
"Yikes!"
"Yes." she agreed. "And it's been re-installed three times. Everytime I take it out someone puts it back."
"I sure hope no one's doing that to me... next time I'll check my bathroom before I shower."
"It's unlikely. I've asked around a bit, and it seems it's just myself."
"Have you ever thought it might be Stephen?" Long suggested, snickering.
"Maybe..." she mumbled, blinking in surprise. "But it's been going on since before he got here."
"Damn, that rules him out... I could see it being Busuzima, but then it would probably be happening to several people."
"It was actually happening before he got here too..." Alica admitted. "Ever since Van took over actually."
"Really? Hm... very suspicious." He took a sip of his tea, mulling over it for a moment. The very thought of Van doing something like that to her made chills go up his spine. "If that's been happening since he's been in charge... What if Fox is right about him liking you?"
"I'm his damn sister!" she protested. "He wouldn't be attracted to me."
"I hope so..." he agreed. "Anyway, Van scares me."
"Yes... he has his way with people, I'll admit."
"I do hate how he has his way with me... but that is better than facing his wrath."
"Hey man, it could be worse." she offered, trying to cheer him up. "He could have actually wanted to bed you."
"Ugh..." Long groaned, making a face. "You don't think he'd ever want that, do you? The thought of it still scares me."
"Hello no. He has an ex-wife, he's straight."
"Oh really? I didn't know that."
"Yeah, well... funny thing is, she died right after the divorce proceedings. So he got all her money."
"Hm, I bet he had her killed... I didn't do it of course."
"It was a car accident."
"But those can be arranged... Van's just the kind of creep who would arrange one too, don't you think?"
"Maybe..." she replied, thinking about it for a minute. "But he was nice enough to protect me, so I don't know."
"You have a point." he agreed, sipping his tea. The room went silent again, both parties tired of talking and thinking about Van. Alica watched watched him with a somewhat lusty spark in her eyes. He didn't notice it at first, but he got a bit nervous once he did. He tried to ignore her for the most part, by sipping on his tea. Once he finished it he walked into the kitcken and poured himself another cup. He could feel her gaze on him as he crossed the room, and started getting even more uncomfortable. So he back back down in his chair and sipped his tea again. "So... uh..." She picked up her cup and tasted it for the first time.
"What blend it this?"
"It's Chai." he answered, happy to have somethign to talk about. "It's an oriental blend with spices, kind of a cinnamon-like taste, sort of like apple cider if you put a lot of sugar in it. This is my favorite."
"It's good stuff. More flavorful than the coffe I usually drink."
"Unfortunately it's also got quite a bit of caffine in it, since it's a black tea... maybe I should've given you something else."
"Nah, it's okay." She assured him. "I think I'm calming down. I had a lot of nervous energy earlier so I'm tired."
"I see..." he commented, shaking his head at her strange behavior.
"Still have some though." she admitted, rolling over onto her stomach and looking up at him and doing her best to smile seductively. He ignored her by sipping his tea again. "So... Hans hasn't given you any problems since this morning?"
"I've done my best to avoid him. Hopefully one day he'll grow tired of having his life threatened."
"Well that's good... though I cannot blame him for stalking you."
"Oh?" he blinked, a bit surprised. "I really don't understand it myself... I'm trying to repel people from me, and yet they're still attracted. Nothing to be attracted to I think." He closed the statement by taking another comforting sip of his tea. Alica looked as though she would disagree with him, so he interrupted her before she could. "So, how is the tea?"
"It's very good."
"Glad you like it."
"Long, you're hot."
"Uh..." he blushed deeply, very embarassed. He shrunk back in his chair in a vain effort to escape her admiring gaze. And then it struck him that she had just given him a compliment and he really ought to thank her for it. "Thank you." She smirked at the comment, somehow even more attracted to him despite his obvious anxiety. He brushed through his bangs nervously and looked away, hoping she would do the same. She kept looking at him, and her smirk turned into a smile, so he took another sip of tea to calm his nerves. She smiled again.
"Well, I doubt he could have stood your personality for long."
"What makes you think so?" Long wondered out loud. "It could be because I hate him... or maybe I'm just too much for him to handle..." Nasty mental images entered his mind. "Ugh, bad choice of words." He frowned, upset with how his anxiety was making him see the worst in everything he said.
"Just from knowing him." Alica replied. "He wants things easy, you are very frustrating."
"Good."
"He'd probably rip his hair out with you."
"Hehehe... I'd like to see that... not badly enough to be with him though. And what is this obsession he has with making me look feminine? I swear it drives me up the wall. If he ever tries to put makeup on me again I swear I WILL kill him."
"Come, come, let's not dwell on the past." she persuaded, becoming very tired of hearing Long talk about killing Hans, or killing anyone for that matter.
"Alright, best not to think about that psycho bitch anyway." he agreed, taking another sip of his tea. "What would you like to talk about?" She laughed a little.
"I don't know really."
"Well, anything besides Hans or Van I suppose..."
"Hm... listen to any music?"
"Not much, you know how dull I am. Don't do much besides plotting the deaths of my next victims each day..." It was true, which surprised him. Usually he wouldn't admit to something like that, or anything else he considered to be the least bit personal. He realized then that he was getting closer to Alica, and he wanted to share a part of himself with her. But the question was, how much was too much? And how close was too close? He wanted a friend more than anything, but he was still afraid to trust her and open up.
"Well, you have three weeks off now." she reminded him. He sighed, his face lined with worry.
"I think it's going to drive me insane if I don't get back to work soon."
"You could always find... other... activities." she replied slyly, looking up into his eyes.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I dunno." she shrugged. "Maybe find a girlfriend, take up a hobby, etcetra."
"You're the only woman I know..." he mused. "and my only hobby so far is killing..."
"Well thats a tick under one of the clumons then isn't it?"
"What?" he asked. She sighed, a bit annoyed.
"What I mean is, you at least know a girl so thats one tick under the girlfirend category, since you have no hobbies."
"Oh..." he muttered, feeling nervous again. Her implications were obvious to him, but he wasn't ready to face them. So he just ignored it. "Well, I suppose I could find a hobby, athough I really don't have the slightest idea what it might be." He didn't get it. Alica thought, snorting in disgust. Damn. "Alica? You look somewhat peeved."
"It's time to ditch the subtlety." she muttered, getting up from the couch. She walked over to him and punched him lightly in the knee with a smirk, and then changed her mind and pounced on top of him.
"Hey!" he cried, blocking himself as though he was afraid she'd punch him again. "Alica? What are you doing?"
"Haven't you ever flirted with someone?" she demanded.
"Uh...no." he admitted. She groaned in annoyance, and he put his arms down and noticed the look. "I'm sorry... I have no... uh... experience with this kind of social behavior."
"Well, you just need someone to show you then."
"I... uh... suppose... Is flirting supposed to include pouncing on someone?"
"No... I admit I kinda jumped the gun a bit on that."
"So... uh... what is there to know about it then?"
"Well, alot of it is really body language. There's a fine difference between 'I think your cute.' and 'Come near me and die.'"
"Yes, one that Hans doesn't seem to understand..." she looked a bit annoyed. "uh, sorry for mentioning him."
"It's alright."
"I thought it was a good example of what you were talking about."
"No, I understood. Relax." She smiled at him, assuring him that everything was fine.
"Alright." he replied, smiling back at her and trying to relax a bit. "Um... are you going to get off me now, or...?"
"Am I hurting you?"
"No... I am a bit uncomfortable though..."
"Ahh..." she fidgeted around on top of him, making sure her elbows and knees weren't digging into him.
"Thank you... I am unacustomed to being pounced on."
"That's alright." she replied, smiling up at him again. "There's a first time for everything."
"I suppose so... uh... where were we?"
"See, now if your in a situation like this..." She wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing their faces a little closer. "its serious."
"I see..." he mumbled, gulping nervously. "Alica, uh... maybe we shouldn't... um... what if Van were to find out...?"
"He's in Tahiti, remember?"
"I know... I... I guess I'm just scared of him. He did threaten to kill my family you know. Never mind, forget about Van. He's not worth thinking about anyway..."
"Trust me, I've been to the island he goes to."
"Alright. I trust you." They shared a smile.
"So... this is flirting, hm? Strange..."
"Well this is kinda actually the next step beyond flirting."
"Oh... so, flirting is just the talking and the... uh... body language then?" She nodded. "And right now we are... uh...?" She blinked in surprise.
"Well..."
"Never mind..."
"No, this is just relaxing together. I think it's called cuddling or something."
"Oh, alright."
"Yes, from here one could progress to making out..." she stated matter-of-factly, as though she were teaching a student, "and/or eventually to sex."
"Now you're making me nervous..." he mumbled, eyes widened in shock at her words.
"Relax! Thats an option, progression."
"Right... just an option..." he sighed, trying to relax. She snuggled against him and sighed in content.
"You're comfy."
"I... uh... as comfy as I'm going to be I guess..." he muttered. She looked up at him with a confused expression on her face. "Uh... I'm sorry if my nervousness bothers you..."
"It's not a problem." she replied with a smirk. "I can see where it comes form. Just try to relax yourself and think of something positive."
"Alright..." he took several deep breaths, which helped him relax a little. "It's just my inexperience I guess... It feels clumsy trying somthing for the first time."
"I understand." She nodded and rubbed his shoulders a little, trying to massage the tense feelings away.
"Thank you... that helps a bit." She smiled, glad she could help
"This is rather new for me too..." she admitted with a sigh. "Van keeps scaring everyone away."
"Can't say that I blame them. Wouldn't want to have to stand up to Van myself. For some strange reason I get the feeling that I couldn't kill him, isn't that odd? Afterall he's just a scrawny little thing."
"Size isn't everything. He knows exactly how to get what he wants form anyone he wants. He's so damn stiffleing! Though physically, well... I dunno. I really wish he'd just butt out of my life."
"I wish I didn't have to put up with him either..." She nodded and rested her head on his chest. He brought one hand up to hold it there, and ran his fingers through her bangs. "Van is an ass hole."
"Agreed, just wish he would bite it already."
"Me too... maybe we should try and plan a way to kill him hm? Somehow I doubt it would suceed though. We could get into a lot of trouble that way."
"I've honestly tried."
"Really? And no sucess yet? Damn, he's a stubborn little son of bitch isn't he?"
"I like it when you talk like that..." he smiled and shook his head.
"So... you like it when I get homicidal?" the smile turned sad and a melancholy sigh escaped his lips. "Better then being scared of him I guess..."
"It adds a nice spice to things to know that there is some fire underneath your calm exterior." He hugged her close to him, just glad to have someone there. She pulled him in a little closer and smiled to herself. "Perhaps one day he'll bite it."
"That'll be the day."
"Indeed, though I'm sure he could use some help."
"Yeah... there's got to be some way to kill him, ne? Wish I knew what it was."
"I tried poisoning him... Vark ate the food by mistake." Long laughed a little and she continued, "Then I tried to take out the tries off his limo and he used the other one."
"Figures." Long complained. "Well, I'm sure that one day his luck will run out..."
"It's karma. He's building up so much bad it'll have to kick in sooner or later."
"Ah, I see. Well in that case I hope it builds up very quickly for him."
"No kidding." #318 snickered at the thought. "We could always plot new ways, I think we would make a very capable team."
"Very true. We may not be able to kill him, but that's no reason not to try, right?" She nuzzled into his neck, and he cuddled her back, gently stroking her cheek with his hand.
"I agree whole-heartedly."
"The world would be a better place without him in it."
"I know... it was his idea to start thsoe exeriments after all."
"His idea, hm? Somehow that doesn't surprise me in the least."
"What experiments that my father did, he got their consent for."
"I see... he wasn't such a bad man then? Not as bad as Van anyway."
"No. I don't know why Van got so messed up."
"I don't think I'd want to know..."
"Neither would I. He used to be nasty to me too." she frowned at the memory.
"In what way?"
"Kept calling me an undeserving half breed and such."
"Ass hole."
"Then a little before my father died his tune just... changed."
"Strange... maybe he pities you for being framed for your father's murder?"
"I don't know. I never understood him."
"I'm beginning to think that I don't either. Who wants to understand him anyway? Not me." He wrapped his arms around her and cuddled her closer. "He can take a one-way trip to hell for all I care... He belongs there." He hugged him tightly, thankfull that she finally had someone to talk to. Someone who wouldn't be frightened off by Van, at least, not easilly. She looked up inot his eyes for a moment and he looked back and smiled. She reached one hand up to gently stroke his face and he held it there, finding an unusual sense of comfort in her touch. He looked into her eyes and she smiled up at him, then he bent down and kissed her gently on the cheek. Then he realized what he was doing and got nervous again. He pulled away and started blushing fiercely, despite his efforts to control it.
"Sorry... uh... was that too much?"
"No, not at all." Alica replied, offering a reassuring smile. He tried to smile back and ended up with a weak half-smile. Her smile broadened at noticing his efforts, and then finally his did to. She sighed in contentment. "This is nice.. I hope Van gets stuck on f**king Tahiti!"