Almost immediately after getting into Johnny's car, Squee felt like running far, far away. But Johnny got in and started the car, and before Squee could dive out, they were off.
"Where's this skool of yours?" asked Johnny a few minutes later, after running down a random jaywalker.
"Um. It's that way," stammered Squee, pointing backward. "It's by the park."
"Oh, that's where you go to skool?" Johnny abruptly made a U-turn, slamming into a stop sign in the process. "I thought you were out of there by now."
"Nope. One more year." Squee found himself smiling. "And my teacher can't follow me anymore. They won't let her move up another grade cuz she needs to traumatize the first-graders or something like that."
"Sounds just like the education system," sighed Johnny, flooring it.
Many children frolicked in the park near the skool, laughing and playing with each other under the watchful eyes of birds and a lone elder sister. Johnny glanced at Squee as he parked the car nonchalantly on the sidewalk.
Poor Squee. His shuddering was enough to make the car shake. Johnny felt a small pang of pity for the boy, but even that was soon swallowed up in the thrill of the "hunt." He opened the car door and stepped out into the bright sunlight, eyes narrowed against the glare.
"See any of them, Squee?" he murmured, surveying the park.
Squee considered not telling him. But that would only result in more death and destruction. He'd already sealed his classmates' fate, so why not make it as easy on himself as possible?
"Those two boys in the sandbox called me a freak and pushed me in the hall," he muttered, eyes downcast.
"Well. Let's go have a chat with them."
Johnny dragged Squee to the sandbox. His shadow loomed over the two boys, and they glanced up. Hate registered on their faces, barely masking fear.
"Who're you?' one of them snorted, dumping a pail of sand onto an already tall mound. "And why'd you bring the retard with you? You his dad or something?"
Johnny smiled scarily. The boys' smirks fell from their faces.
"No. But I'm a concerned adult, and Squee here told me that you and the other kids haven't been too nice to him. Is this true?"
"Uh." The other boy paused. "Um. We accidentally pushed him in the hall…"
"Good enough," cackled Johnny, pulling out a knife.
Squee looked down, afraid to watch. Screams and thuds pierced the air. A spray of blood hit the ground inches away from his shoe. More screaming, and what looked like a spleen splattered on the sidewalk near Johnny's car.
Squee looked up in time to see Johnny tearing someone's throat out with a plastic shovel. He didn't recognize the person; Johnny had already marred their face too much to tell. Squee cringed, dodging a fleeing child.
"Squee, get in the car!" called Johnny, grinning through the bloodspray. "I hear sirens. We'll have to get out of here fast!"
Squee climbed into the car, trembling. He wiped the blood off of his forehead and hugged his knees to his chest. Happy place, he thought. I'm in my happy place…
"Hey, Squee."
Squee jumped, hitting his head on the window of the car door. He yelped in pain, rubbing at his head. When he finally looked up, a pair of oversized black boots greeted him. He sat up, and the sharp-featured face of a reclusive artist came into view.
"Oh. Hi, Devi," he muttered, face reddening. "What're you doing here?"
"I heard the screaming and figured I'd take a look." She picked at a splotch of dried paint on her shirt. "And then I spotted you. Something wrong? You're a little more jumpy than usual."
"Oh. Um. Nny was 'helping me' take care of my social problems," Squee answered.
"I thought so." Devi smiled and moved to the back seat. "What brings you into his company?"
Devi, after a year or so of being a hermitess, had suddenly undergone a complete change of attitude. She'd started wandering around the city during the day, and ultimately, she'd come across Squee one day when he was walking home from skool. The two struck up a conversation, and by that time, she and Squee were good friends.
"My parents went out for Valentine's Day," mumbled Squee, looking down at his hands. "And I needed a babysitter. You weren't home, so I called Nny."
"I'm sorry, Squee." Devi cringed at a particulary loud scream—Nny had apparently started in on the policemen who arrived at the scene. "I could take you instead, you know."
"No, I'll be fine."
The car door opened, and Johnny dove in. He started the engine and had floored it before he noticed the extra passenger.
"Oh. Shit."
He slammed on the brakes, sending Squee flying forward. If he hadn't grabbed onto the back of the seat, Squee would have hit the windshield.
"Who said you could be here?" snapped Johnny.
"Sorry. I was going to tell you I was here," breezed Devi, "but you floored it before I could say anything."
"Get out. Now."
Devi shrugged. "Fine. Bye, Squee. Have fun."
She'd barely closed the door when Nny floored it again.
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author's note: heh. i failed to finish this fic on valentines day. ah well. enjoy what i have so far, adn i hope i manage to finish this sometime in the next couple days--its gonna get hectic, what with the skoolwork i need to catch up on. >. whatever. au revoir, mes amis, and until next time, carpe noctem!