"Shit. Hey Linc, you staying awake for me? Don't go fucking passing out, okay you fucking dork? We need to get the hell out of here", Taylor said, limping through the forest alongside Lincoln, who was struggling to stay awake. His body was aching to shut down, the exhaustion and pain being too much for the boy. Although Taylor tried to be strong, she wasn't doing much better. Her arm was now soaked in her own blood, and her entire body ached in excruciating pain. But she knew if they stopped to rest, the police would be hot on their trail. They eventually made their way out of the woods after what felt like an hour, emerging from the darkness in front of a gas station near a secluded dirt road on the edge of Sterling Heights near the border of Canada. They saw a lone SUV next to a gas pump, and a tall middle-aged lady standing near the pump filling her car up. She was completely alone, as the actual gas station store was closed. Lincoln and Taylor both looked at each other nodding in understanding at what they had to do. They didn't like it, Lincoln especially, but they knew they couldn't walk back across the city to Misty's house, especially with the police now everywhere. And after killing multiple people and already committing mass arson, they knew they already long crossed the line of legality, so committing grand theft auto wasn't an issue for them right now. They quickly approached the lady, still holding onto each other for support. Once they were standing in front of the vehicle, they both aimed their guns at the lady, causing her to scream and raise her hands in fear.
"PLEASE DON'T HURT ME"! She yelled.
"WE'RE TAKING YOUR FUCKING CAR BITCH, DON'T FUCKING TRY ANYTHING FUNNY", Taylor shouted. She made her way to the front seat, while Lincoln went to the other side to the passenger seat. However, upon opening the door, he was faced with a man sitting on the passenger side seat ducking behind the dashboard, and aiming a gun right at the door, once he saw Lincoln, the man opened fire, hitting Lincoln in the arm. The boy quickly reacted, raising his snub nose revolver and firing two bullets back at him, hitting him straight in his head. Causing his skull to combust, splattering blood and skull fragments all over the dashboard and seats. Some even got on Taylor, who had barely opened the driver-side door. Lincoln too was now covered in the man's blood and brain tissue, as he stared In horror at the man's dead body, which was now sitting lifelessly, two gaping holes revealing his inner brain. The woman standing outside began to scream.
"NO, GERALD, HONEY! OH GOD, HE'S DEAD. YOU MONSTERS KILLED HIM", she screamed. The woman fell onto her knees and began howling in pain, tears streaming down her face. Lincoln began to freak out. He had just killed an innocent person after trying to rob him. The man, who was the woman's husband, was armed and was trying to protect his wife and vehicle from the two kids intending to rob him. And now Lincoln had just killed him. His world began to shatter, as he could feel himself hyperventilating. The pain in his arm now too was growing as if it were on fire. Taylor, who was also in total shock at what just happened, wasted no time. She shoved the man's dead body out of the car, sending it tumbling to the floor next to Lincoln's feet. The woman crawled to the body, holding it tightly as she screamed and begged to the sky.
"HEY. DUDE GET THE FUCK IN THE CAR, WE NEED TO FUCKING GO RIGHT NOW"! Taylor yelled. Lincoln just blindly entered the vehicle, staring in shock at the woman holding the dead body of her husband. Once Lincoln closed the door. Taylor sped off, leaving the now widow all alone in the empty gas station lot. Both of them then noticed a picture on the dashboard. It was a photo of the woman and the man...along with three children. "Aw shit. Fuck..." Taylor began to say, her voice breaking as tears began to roll from her eyes.
"Oh God...what did I do...I'm so sorry..." Lincoln began to say before he erupted in tears. The boy buried his face in his hands, screaming and crying at the realization that he had just killed an innocent father. Lincoln wanted to die right there. The amount of guilt and hatred he had for himself was at a height far beyond anything he had experienced, and he didn't know what to do. It wouldn't go away. He had killed multiple people today, and worst of all, an innocent man. He felt broken as if whatever innocence he had left completely evaporated. He could feel himself starting to throw up, but held it back as he howled in tears. Taylor didn't say anything, as she desperately tried to keep her eyes on the road, the tears in her eyes making that difficult for her, she too felt broken, and she could feel all the pain that Lincoln was in. She wanted to hold him and comfort him, but she knew she had to first get them out of there. In her mind though, she didn't feel they deserved comfort or forgiveness. If the repo job didn't do it, tonight certainly made her realize that they are now the bad guys, who didn't deserve good anymore. She too was struggling with her involvement in the deaths of all the innocent people she caused yesterday with the shootout on the highway, and this didn't help that at all. Both kids could hear their intercoms turning on again, as the voice of Misty echoed through their heads. But they didn't pay attention or listen to what she was saying. The world was now white noise for the two. For now, Taylor was just trying to find her way back to Misty's house.
It was now 6:30 am. The sun was beginning to rise over the horizon, signaling the start of a beautiful Friday. Though, for the two kids, it was a nightmare. They had stopped the car up on a cliff in a secluded area just outside the city where they had an extraordinary view of the horizon. Taylor and Lincoln were sitting outside, staring blankly out at the horizon. Lincoln was curled up into a ball next to Taylor, shaking profusely in Taylor's arm. The girl just sighed, as she held the shivering boy closely, gently running her finger through his hair. They had stopped crying a while, as they were now all out of tears. They just needed to sit down and readjust themselves, now being a good distance away from the public.
"What are we going to do"? Lincoln asked, not raising his head up.
"I don't know dude. But for now, let's just sit here and catch our breaths. It's been a long night", Taylor responded, just staring out at the horizon emotionless.
"No, I mean, what are we going to do with ourselves moving forward? I don't think I can live with this Taylor", the boy said. Taylor looked down at Lincoln, lifting his head up to make eye contact. His eyes were bloodshot red, and dark purple rings now encircled his eyes as a result of the lack of sleep and extensive crying. Taylor didn't look much better herself. They were still covered in blood and dirt. Both their arms were now soaked in dry blood. Thankfully for Lincoln, the bullet had gone right through his arm. Taylor tried to wrap it up tightly to stop the bleeding, but the bandage was now a crimson red.
"Look Linc, we did what we did. There's no turning back now. We know that something like this was eventually going to happen. Trust me, I'm still not over the people I killed either. But all we can do is move forward. Unfortunately for us, this is just how life is going to be until we can find a way out of it. But no matter what, I'm always going to be here with you. We can share this pain together", she responded. Lincoln gave the girl a weak smile, before embracing her in a tight hug. Taylor just held the boy back, unsure of how things were going to go from now on. Although Lincoln knew that after tonight, he was never going to be the same again, he knew she was right. They had to move on, as he knew that things were only going to get much harder from here on out. Though, he knew that one of the harder parts was going to be masking his guilt and sorrow from his friends and family. The two were then interrupted by the voice of Misty coming through their earpieces.
"Holy shit, I'm finally able to reach you guys. Where the fuck are y'all? What the fuck happened? I just lost you guys since the cops arrived back at the apartments", she quickly asked, a bit of worry present in her voice. The two kids let go of each other, as Taylor cleared her throat.
"We managed to escape through the woods. To be honest, we don't really know where we are, but we're not in good shape. We're on some cliffs east of Sterling Heights near the Canadian border, with a pretty full view of the city", she said.
"Alright I know where you guys are at, stay put, I'll come to pick y'all up. It's a real shitstorm we've caused you guys. The police, paramedics, and fire department are everywhere. Those last apartments are now like a demilitarized zone. It's fucking bad. Bodies are all over the place. Jesus christ you guys, that must've been one helluva fight. Anyways stay put, I'll be there in ten minutes", Misty said before hanging up. Lincoln and Taylor both removed their earpieces, feeling a fresh breeze of relief after having them on for the whole night.
After a moment of silence, Lincoln just sighed before speaking up.
"I guess we're not going to school", he said with a weak smile. Taylor just smiled as well, staring off into the distance at the skyline.
"I guess not. We are a good hour away from Royal Woods, and schools going to start pretty soon. But...who cares. After the shit that just happened, fuck school", she responded. Lincoln giggled a bit, before also looking out into the skyline.
"Yea fuck school", he said. "Still, I do miss my friends". He continued. Taylor turned her face towards the boy, a look of confusion plastered on her face.
"It's only been a day, the hell are you talking about man"? She asked.
"Yea, but it feels like months. I always see them. And my sisters. I didn't talk to them yesterday. It's crazy how all it takes is one day and everything about your world changes", Lincoln said.
"Ah well, Pablo and Andreson most likely just expect me to be skipping, and obviously my asshole father doesn't even know I exist, so I guess for me it doesn't feel that long. At least when it comes to interacting with our other reality. But I can't say I disagree with you, a lot of shit has changed the past day...what do you think we're going to do next"? asked Taylor.
"Shit if I know, but if this and the repo job were any indications, it's going to involve death, carnage, and a whole lot of us questioning our morals", Lincoln said with a weak smile. Taylor just snickered, agreeing with everything he said. A few moments later, a black pickup truck emerged from the road behind them, In the driver seat was Misty, blasting out Misfits from the stereo.
"There y'all fucking are. Holy shit, it's a shit storm down there", she said with the window rolled down. She got out of the truck, examining the beat-up and bloodied state the two kids were in. She was wearing a black skirt, fishnet stockings, black goth boots, a white tank top, and a black leather jacket with her hair in a ponytail.
"Jesus fucking christ, y'all look like hammered shit," she said. She turned her attention to the SUV, then back to the kid while pointing at the car. "Where the fuck did y'all get this"?
"We jacked it", Taylor said, staring at the floor.
"No fucking shit? did anyone get hurt"? she asked.
"Yea...I... killed the passenger when he drew a gun on me", Lincoln admitted, he too was also staring at the floor in shame. Misty just smiled, before bursting into laughter, causing the two kids to look up at her in disgust.
"The fuck y'all looking at me like that for"? She said, trying to catch her breath. "If that ain't the funniest shit I've ever heard. Look, who fucking cares, what's one life after y'all just killed like, what? Fucking twenty people"? She said. Lincoln and Taylor returned their gaze to the floor in shame, causing Misty to frown. A brief sense of empathy flashed through her heart. She just sighed, pulling out a pack of cigarettes from her jacket pocket. "Look you two", she began, dishing out a cigarette and popping it in her mouth, before fishing out a golden flip lighter from her other pocket. She lit the end of the cigarette, inhaling as the smoke traveled through the stick. After a second, she released the flame, placing the lighter back into her pocket, and letting a wave of smoke exit her lungs as she exhaled. "I've killed a shit ton of people too, fucking Ronney has killed thousands of people himself, and to be honest, we've stopped counting or keeping track of who was who. Shit gets easier. Anyways turn those frowns upside down, let's blow this fucking car up and get y'all back to my place. We got a doctor waiting there and a fridge full of beer. And don't tell me any shit that you're too young. After the hell y'all went through tonight, y'all look like y'all could use it", she said before walking to the bed of her truck. Lincoln and Taylor just stared at her, taking in every word she said. Lincoln boy couldn't lie, he thought she was kind of cool. So did Taylor. "Come help with this shit", she said, snapping the two kids out of their thoughts. They went to the bed of the truck, taking out two gas canisters from it. Lincoln handed Misty his, while both Taylor and she began drenching the entire car in gasoline. All outside and inside, especially on the seats and steering wheel. Once they were done, Misty took her cigarette out of her mouth, and then flicked it at the car, igniting the gasoline in flames. With that done, all three kids hopped back in the truck, watching the car burn. Misty then reversed back onto the road, and sped off, seeing the car blow up from the rearview mirror.
Although Lincoln had never had a beer, he knew he could use one.
