Curious Thoughts (final)

Zack stood very still, trying not to make any noise. There was a person, a man, a very mysterious guy roaming about, talking about a signal or some shit. He didn't know what the hell he was on about, but he figured that maybe it had something to do with that device Rachel pulled out of him.

'No way in hell am I getting caught again...' he groaned inwardly, cracking his knuckles to prepare for the worst. Scythe be damned, he was darn well able to protect himself.

The odd man walked around while holding something that looked like a phone, trying to catch another signal. Zack leaned further down to cover himself, slightly worrying about Rachel; if she was already on her way back.

The guy noticed their cabin and decided to enter; not knowing that a serial killer was just inside, waiting for him.

The fact that Zack was an impatient guy didn't help his case either.

As soon as the man entered the cabin did the serial killer throw one, merciless punch at his jaw; making a loud, wet CRACK! Echo in the empty room.

The victim yelled and fell on the floor while touching his wounded face, tasting his blood in the process. He spat out a broken tooth that threatened to choke him, both amazed and confused at what just happened. As he tried to stand up, a bloody foot stomped hard on his chest, breaking a few of his ribs.

"Agh!"

"Now what do we have here?" Zack said with a grin, feeling like his sadistic side was slowly coming back. Oh joy, it had been so long since he had killed! "Ya lost, buddy?"

The man opened his mouth to speak, but Zack had been fast enough to stomp him harder, making his victim spit some more blood. The serial killer's strength was more than frightening, it was borderline insane. No one this evil should posess this much power, and yet..!

"Y-you... Isaac-"

Zack grabbed him by the collar, "what about me, hm?"

"The... The project, th-they won't let you get away..."

"What the fuck are you on about?!" Zack tsked and started punching him again, left and right. "What is this fucking 'signal' and 'subject no 2' deal huh?!"

"Why the fuck are you following me?!"

"What did you put inside of me!?"

"What. Is. Your. Fucking. DEAL?!"

He continued on, not caring that his fists had gotten dirty with chunks of his flesh and blood. He had a lot of questions, but the man had no time to answer. At some point; Zack felt his victim go limp on the floor, making him halt immediately. Had he killed him? Was his thirst for blood that strong?

Briefly annoyed, Zack muttered a few curses under his breath and lowered down to check his heartbeat. He was alive, but unconscious, good. He could get his answers then.

Had it not been for the mysterious device Rachel had found behind his neck, he would have killed him without a second thought.

"Gotta check if the bastard is armed though." Zack thought as he began inspecting the body. True, he had a few questionnable devices on him, but Zack wasn't exactly sure if they could cause any harm.

He looked through the man's pockets and found a small, circular little item with a red dot in the middle. It was so tiny, he wondered how he even found it. The shape was like a coin's, he figured that whoever made it probably intended to make it seem that way.

Curiously, Zack pressed on the small red dot to see what it does... and right a second after, sharp, pointy wire-looking... things, emerged from the small object, at a speed that had Zack shocked and startled. They could have easily pierced right into someone's body, considering how sharp those 'wires' were.

"Damn..." he looked at it, realizing it was the same object Ray had found. There was no mistaking it.

Zack looked down at his victim; face swollen and completely disfigured. That man was the key to getting his answers, his memory, and more than anything: an explanation.

His train of thoughts were interrupted at the sound of nearby footsteps. He hid himself, alarmed and ready to get the other stranger and hurt him- until he suddenly noticed the very familiar hoodie on that small frame.

"Rachel!" Zack called as he jumped out of the window, startling the petite blonde. "You okay?!"

She blinked numerous times before nodding, "of course I'm okay. Why do you ask?"

"Some asshole tried to catch me!" He said, very seriously.

"I... what?"

He didn't like wasting time talking, so he simply took her by the arm to show her the 'body'. And sure enough, Rachel was both shocked and surprised to find the disfigured man on the cabin floor... but also mindly intrigued by his appearance.

"He also had the same freaky-ass thing that you took outta' me." Zack explained and gave her the item, long and void of any blood like the previous. Momentarily, Ray put her groceries and first aid kit to inspect Zack's brand new discovery.

"I think that this is some kind of tracking device... and something else at the same time." She explained with a whisper.

"No shit." Zack snorted, "it gave me that nightmare of a headache, it must be evil."

"We shouldn't be here for long, I'm sure there are a lot more people looking for you."

"They don't scare me! I can take em' on!" The serial killer stood while ignoring his bleeding leg. Rachel pursed her lips and motionned for him to sit down as she grabbed the fitst aid kit. Zack stared for a moment, then muttered something angry before lowering down and putting his injured leg on her thighs.

She began talking as she carefully started treating his wound, "I know you're strong, I've never doubted you. But with your fists alone, can you take on a group of armed men?"

"I sure as hell can." He said immediately.

"Well I doubt it."

"..."

"I don't like seeing you hurt." She suddenly muttered while concentrating on his wound. The blonde wasn't usually talkative, hearing this much from her was more than a little surprising for Zack.

"This is nothing, don't worry yourself over it."

"We're on the run, of course I'll worry. You're special, you're important to me."

His eyebrows raised at that.

"You're the one that will kill me."

And then his shoulders fell, 'of course, this is what she meant.'

"I haven't forgotten the promise." He managed to say, "I did swear it, after all."

"I have no doubts, Zack. I just wish that the day will come sooner."

She quickly finished bandaging him and it was over. Zack looked down at his clean leg and muttered a forced 'thanks'. The day was far from over and they had much to do, but for some reason, the serial killer couldn't shake off the feeling that something wasn't quite right.

Ray opened her bag of groceries and took out some canned meals, "are you hungry?" She asked.

Zack hadn't noticed until she brought it up, but yes, he was starving. After puking so much he could only guess that his belly was completely empty.

He scooted closer like a curious puppy to peek at the contents of her bag. "Did you get me some Doctor Potato Crisps?" He asked while looking hopeful.

"No, there weren't any at the store." She lied. He seriously had to lay low on junk food, even if his body was indistructable; one day it will take a negative impact on his health.

Her answer had successfully gotten him even grumpier than before. "Tsk, well did you get anything else?"

"Not chips anyway, I got you some soda, water, canned beef, corn, beans; lots of them, pre-prepared salads, tuna, bread in case you'd rather eat them as a sandwich, and of course..." she pulled out finally a bottle of bright, yellow pills; "vitamin C pills, to stay healthy and awake, for the both of us."

"Holy crap, Ray... where did you get so much money?" Zack thought, a bit amazed that she bought this much stuff. Then again, he wasn't one to buy things so he never knew the exact prices.

She shrugged, "I just saved the money you give me, eventually I managed to get a decent amount. I think... I sort of knew that we would be on the run again."

Zack nodded and their conversation ended just like that. They began eating in comfortable silence, albeit in a hurry in case someone was tailing them. Rachel often turned around to check if the unconscious man... well... stayed unconscious, she did not like the feeling of eating in the presence of a stranger. Zack didn't seem to care though, as he radiated confidence.

Once they were done, Ray packed the rest of the food in her grocery bag and gave Zack painkillers, whom he insisted that he didn't need-

But she won anyway and he swallowed them along with his pride.

The duo turned to finally focus their attention on the man.

"What should we do with him, Zack?" Ray asked curiously. She was a smart girl, but when it came to torture and whatnot; she wasn't exactly sure of what went right or bad.

He shrugged and threw him on his shoulder, "for now we'll take him, when he wakes up, I'll make him speak."

"I'm afraid that you'll really kill him, Zack..."

"Eh, with his face deformed like that there's no way I'll see his expression. I don't think I'd want to kill an ugly shit anyway."

"Okay then, let's go... ah wait!"

Zack halted on his tracks and turned around, "what?"

Rachel unzipped the hoodie, looking sheepish for having forgotten to do so. She had gotten used to the smell, and for some reason, it was very comfortable and soft.

"Your hoodie, thanks for giving it to me." She said as she neatly folded it and handed it over, in a polite gesture.

Zack sighed and looked up, "Damn it Ray, I told you to keep it."

"... I don't think you-"

"Until we get you something warmer, keep wearing it. I'm not sensitive to the cold, in fact, I can't feel cold." He explained and gestured at his body covered with bandages, "got new layers of skin, see? So don't worry."

Ray looked down at her meek undershirt, realizing that he was right "Okay, sorry and thank you."

His lips curved into a half-smile, "good girl, now let's go."

And so they walked ahead, completely unaware of their situation, of their bloody future. Both of them had been curious about the other, more often than they could admit, even to themselves. Their bond, though very unusual, still tied them strongly together, and they both suspected that it could last for a lot longer.

They still were unaware that their caught victim was in fact, fully conscious.

And that his hand was dangerously close to his tracking device.

To Be Continued...