ANOTHER SIDE, ANOTHER STORY
Chapter Nineteen
Katlynn
"So what now?" Zando asked.
Steven paced his bedroom. The glorious feeling that he'd defeated Andrew in his gut was currently making a swarm to clog his brain but he had other things to think about. This wasn't over. Yes, Zito was dead and that was sad and yes he'd won against his primary enemy but there were still other things to prepare before he could celebrate.
"Can I start coming with you to school again?" Zando asked. "I haven't been outside in two weeks."
Steven looked at him, thinking about his question for a moment. "I'm sorry, but no."
"What!?" Zando looked outraged.
"You can stay inside the house but you don't have to go down in the hatch anymore." Steven told him. "Ryoku is still out there, so is Katlynn and they would both be together right about now, unaware of Andrew's death."
"Then just kill Katlynn." Zando said desperately.
"What's the point?" Steven frowned. "She doesn't know where I live, neither does Ryoku."
Zando blinked. "Yeah, but…"
"And she doesn't have a Death Note." Steven said, holding up the second Death Note he'd received from Zito. "I have Andrew's now."
"That's true…" Zando muttered, scratching his chin.
"This Death Note is technically Ryoku's. And a Shinigami is only allowed one Death Note, right?" Steven asked, making sure.
"Yeah, and Ryoku is a Death God who follows by the rules so he wouldn't try and steal one just to give to Katlynn…" Zando said. "Why can't I come with you to school, though?"
"Because Katlynn might still be having Ryoku following her around." Steven said. "If I see anything suspicious out of her, I'll kill her right away so we don't risk anything. But right now she's virtually harmless."
"What happens if Ryoku decides to follow you home?" Zando asked.
"That won't work." Steven grinned. "I have his Death Note, which means I can see him from now on."
"Oh yeah!" Zando said and his grin seemed to grow. "You really did it."
"Yup." Steven sighed and lied down on his bed. "If Ryoku is stupid enough to think that following me home would work without me noticing, then I'll go to Luke's house. Don't try and come looking for me and don't leave the house unless I specifically tell you to. And if, by some off chance that Ryoku or anybody else does break in here, you hide down in that hatch. I don't care if they're human or not. I don't want anyone to risk seeing you."
"Alright." Zando said, not looking to happy about the chances of having to hide down in the ground again. "Are you sure Katlynn doesn't know where you live?"
"She's never been over here." Steven said. "We've been friends for only a year but we're not that good of friends. I'm surprised Andrew never tried to convince Katlynn to become better friends with me so she would come over here for him…"
Somehow, talking about the things Andrew could've done to try and foil his plans made him smirk. Then a grin. And soon, Zando was watching Steven laugh.
"I told you, Zando." Steven sighed after a minute or two. "Nobody can beat me."
"Still Arrogant, are you?" Zando grinned.
"Better than ignorant."
"There's a difference?"
Steven smirked at him. "You're funny."
"I try." Zando shrugged.
One Hour, and Fifty minutes ago…
Katlynn got into Andrew's car where she sat in the backseat and watched as Andrew and Zito talked more about Halo on their drive home. She knew what Andrew was really thinking. She knew him long enough to know what kind of thoughts went through his mind. He was distracting Zito, making him feel comfortable.
But Steven was supposed to be there too. And now he wasn't. Had Andrew killed him? No, he wouldn't do that without telling her. He was bringing Zito over, though. Was he planning to reveal everything they were planning to him?
Ryoku was flying over the hood of the car as they drove for about twenty minutes down into Andrew's neighborhood. His house was only a few houses down from Katlynn's. She could still remember meeting him at the bus stop at the beginning of last year.
"Alright, you're coming with us too." Andrew said to her abruptly, driving past her house.
"What?" Katlynn blinked. "I don't want to play Halo."
"We're not going to be playing Halo…" Andrew muttered.
It was Zito's turn to look surprised. "What?"
Andrew pulled into his driveway and got out. Zito and Katlynn followed and she saw Ryoku land like a bird on top of Andrew's roof.
"What are we going to do?" Zito asked.
"I told you I'd show you something when we got to my house." Andrew said. "Explaining why Steven couldn't be with us here today."
"Do you really need my help for that?" Katlynn groaned.
"Yes, I do." Andrew said.
"Wait, Katlynn, you know about this too?" Zito asked, shocked.
Katlynn nodded feebly, looking at her boyfriend and wondering what he was thinking. Was telling Zito everything really such a smart idea? And why did he need her here? Wouldn't having Ryoku around as proof be enough?
"When is Zito going to die, Katlynn?" Andrew demanded suddenly.
"What?" they both said. Zito looked dumbfounded.
"Tell me the number above his head." Andrew said.
"Number?" Zito asked and literally felt around with his hands in the air above his head. "What are you guys talking about?"
Katlynn frowned and cast a glance at Zito. "It says it's 9776903" She didn't know how long in years that would be exactly but the number was large which showed he'd live a long time.
"Calculate that." Andrew said to Ryoku.
Zito blinked. "Is someone going to tell me what's going on?"
"It's 47 years." Ryoku said.
"You have 47 more years left to live, Zito." Andrew said. "This means when you're 65 years old you're going to die."
Zito grinned a little. "Yeah right."
"It's true." Katlynn said.
"Just tell me what's going on." Zito demanded, getting furious about being left in the dark.
Andrew stood there for a moment before looking at the clock. 2:40 PM. He left the room without a word leaving Zito standing alone with Katlynn, who took a seat on the sofa, wondering if what Andrew was doing was really a good idea or not.
"Is he going crazy?" Zito asked in a hushed whisper.
"No." Katlynn shook her head. "Everything will make sense in a little bit."
Andrew returned holding a little, black notebook in his hands. Zito looked at it for a second and read the words on the cover.
"Death Note?" He repeated, raising an eyebrow.
"The person's whose name is written in this notebook will die." Andrew stated, opening the notebook and looking at the list of rules on the inside-front cover. "You can make them die in whichever way you want them to but if you simply write their name in they'll die 40 seconds later from a Heart attack."
Zito stared at him with his mouth open for a second before letting lose a laugh. "This is a joke, right? Let me see that thing."
Andrew glared at him. "Do you need proof?"
Zito nodded.
Andrew smirked and handed him the Death Note. Zito only had it for one second before throwing it in the air, falling on his ass, yelling in horror and pointing a shaky finger at Ryoku.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING!?" He roared.
"Idiot." Ryoku muttered.
"That is the Death God." Andrew said calmly. "He's been here this whole time. You just couldn't see him because you have to actually touch the Death Note that belongs to him."
"Holy shit. Holy shit…" Zito muttered over and over, standing up slowly and clutching his chest. "There's…That can't be real…!"
"Need proof?" Ryoku asked, tilting his head.
"It talks!!" Zito yelled, nearly falling over again.
Andrew and Katlynn looked at each other with smirks.
"He can't hurt us. Don't worry." Katlynn reassured him.
"It's true." Ryoku stated. "These blades can only kill other Shinigami."
"A Shinigami. What is that?" Zito asked.
"A Death God." Andrew said, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. "It's about time I told you about everything that's going on."
"Yeah." Zito muttered. "So wait, that thing has been following you around every day?"
"His name is Ryoku." Andrew said. "And yes, for the past month or so."
"Wow…" Zito muttered, unable to believe his eyes as he stared the Death God before him. "Why are you wearing that mask?"
"Mask?" Ryoku blinked. "This is my face."
"Did you hear what I said about the Death Note?" Andrew interrupted impatiently.
"Huh? What?" Zito looked away from Ryoku and down at the Death Note on the floor. Andrew bent over and picked it up.
"This is the reason why all of this is happening." Andrew said. "You can kill anyone you want with this."
"No way." Zito said, snatching it and flipping through the pages. "Holy crap, you already filled it up half-way. This…can't be real."
"What do you think I am, then?" Ryoku asked. "Andrew, I'm getting impatient with this guy. Can you hurry up?"
Andrew nodded as Zito closed the Death Note.
"There are a lot of guidelines you have to follow when using that." Andrew said. "You need to know their name and face—"
"Why are you showing me all this?" Zito interrupted.
Andrew stared at him. He could save the rules of the Death Note for later.
"I'm not the only one who has a Death Note and a Shinigami following them around." Andrew said.
Zito stared at him for a second before slowly turning to Katlynn. "You do too?"
"No!" Katlynn said.
"Steven." Andrew said. "He's the other user."
Zito's face fell. "Steve?"
"Yes."
Zito stood rooted to the spot in silence, registering all of this information so quickly was hurting his head. "That explains his attitude, lately…" He muttered. "And why you guys have been hanging out every day."
Andrew nodded. "Was that the reason you came here?"
"I was suspicious…I wanted to find out what was going on but I had no idea…" Zito muttered, staring at the Death Note incredulously. "But, why does it matter if he has a Death Note? It doesn't explain why you're telling me this."
"Because, Zito…" Andrew said, approaching him. "I need your help killing him."
Zito stared up at Andrew and backed away. "No. Fuck that. Are you crazy? I'm not going to kill him. And you shouldn't either! Why do you want to kill him?"
"Because he wants to kill me just as badly." Andrew said. "And because he's in the way of my plans and because…" He paused and looked at Katlynn and then back at Zito, tears coming to his eyes. "…Because he's a threat to my friends."
Zito stared at him, his back against the front door. Was Andrew serious? He couldn't imagine Steven plotting to kill him and his friends. None of this made any sense and yet a little voice in his head said that it made perfect sense.
"I need your help, Zito." Andrew said. "Please…"
"Why do you need my help?" Zito asked. "You can kill him with this, right?"
"No." Andrew shook his head. "He also has a Death God with him. If I write Steven's name in this, then his Shinigami will take the Death Note and leave. Then he will just find someone else and I'll have to go through all of this again, only it'll be much harder. The same will happen if he tries to kill me."
Zito frowned. He understood it all but he still didn't want to believe it. That this secret battle between his friends had been happening this entire time without him even realizing it.
"How the hell would I be able to help you?" Zito asked suspiciously.
"You can spy on him for me." Andrew said. "Go to his house, talk to him, find out more from him. He himself might decide to tell you all of this and will try to convince you to take me out. You'll have to act like all of this was just a surprise to you if he does. But no matter what he says to you, don't believe him."
"I know his lying face." Zito said, almost a little proudly. "I can tell if he's lying to me or not."
"Another reason why I chose you to help me." Andrew said but Katlynn got the feeling that he was only trying to flatter Zito. Andrew was a liar too, after-all.
"He will try to manipulate you into thinking that I'm doing the wrong thing. That I'm the bad guy." Andrew said. "I've talked with Catheryne and apparently he thinks I'm some sort of evil person bent on manipulating girls."
Zito ignored the fact that Baker would betray Steven to Andrew, but Katlynn didn't.
"You still talk to her?" She asked, looking like she'd just been smacked across the face.
"I need her as a spy. That's all." Andrew told Katlynn reassuringly. "But Zito, you're much more to me than a spy… If Steven decided to kill you to get to me… I don't know what I'd do if I knew I was the reason you died…"
Zito looked at him sadly. It was true. He knew Andrew had a horrible life. His friends were the only thing keeping him going. And Zito was his friend and if he could be there for him, he would. But Steven was his friend too. He couldn't just decide to kill him. He couldn't take sides for either of them.
"What if I just…stay out of this?" Zito asked. "You guys battle and do your thing but I want nothing to do with it."
"Steven won't CARE!" Andrew cried out angrily. "If he wants me dead, he'll do anything he can! Even use you, his supposedly "best friend" to kill me! I'm your real friend, Josh! I would never kill you! The fact that I'm showing you all of this proves that!"
Zito gulped and felt a sick feeling enter his gut and he regretted ever wanting to know about what was going on. He wanted out of this. He didn't want to kill anyone. This Death Note was a cool idea and all but it wasn't something that was meant for him.
"I…I can't." He muttered.
Andrew placed a hand on his shoulder. "Please. If you don't help me…then you've already helped him kill me."
This was it. By saying that, Zito knew that he had to make a choice. "Just…just let me think, alright?" He said, walking over and sitting on the couch next to Katlynn. He ran his hands through his hair and groaned.
"I have to talk to Steve about all of this." He said.
"If you do that then he'll know that I told you." Andrew said.
"Not if I say I found your Death Note."
"He won't believe that." Andrew said. "He's paranoid of me now. If you talk to him, he'll just kill you."
"I don't believe that Steven would kill me!" Zito shouted, throwing the Death Note at Andrew's feet. "He's my best friend and I don't think he could just kill me, or Luke, or anyone. I don't think he could really kill you either!"
Katlynn glared at the ground. She used to think the same way as Zito. In a way she still did. This was Steven they were talking about. Would he really kill all of them? She just couldn't see that happening. Was Andrew really the paranoid one?
Andrew and Zito glared at each other for a few minutes in silence. Andrew didn't seem to be able to come up with anything else to say and Zito looked like he was close to breaking down.
He looked at the clock. It was 3:14.
"Zito, this is about choosing between saving your life and the lives of your friends." Andrew said. "You need to do this. Steven has lied to you. You've seen for yourself how much of a liar he is. I've never lied to you. And I need your help."
Zito looked over at him and Andrew could see that his words were beginning to take a toll on Zito's mind.
"Alright." Zito sighed. "I'll see what I can do but I'm not killing him. I'll just…If he does anything that I think is suspicious I'll believe you but I just can't be—"
He froze in mid-sentence. Katlynn looked up and saw Zito stand up. Andrew also seemed to be frozen in place.
"Guys?" Katlynn asked.
Andrew picked up the Death Note and walked over to Zito, handing it to him. Katlynn stood up and looked between them in confusion. "Andrew, what are you doing?"
But Andrew said nothing. Both of them had a glazed over look in their eyes. Katlynn started to worry. This wasn't normal. "Andrew! Snap out of it!" She slapped him across the face but this seemed to have no affect on them."
Ryoku stared at the scene with wide eyes. "Looks like he did it…" he muttered.
Katlynn glared at him. "What are you talking about!?"
"They're both under the control of Steven's Death Note." Ryoku said. "I can recognize the symptoms."
"What are you talking about!?" Katlynn screamed, tugging at Andrew's sleeve but he wouldn't budge.
Andrew and Zito both turned and walked toward the front door, Zito holding the Death Note like it was a fragile piece of glass in his hands. Katlynn and the Hunter followed them out the door.
"Andrew!! STOP!!" Katlynn screamed.
"It's no use." Ryoku said. "They're both already dead."
Katlynn ignored him. This couldn't be true. The three of them got in the car while Ryoku stood in the doorway watching them go with a blank expression on his face. He seemed to be shock from what he'd seen. It was so unexpected. So Steven had used Zito after-all. After Zito had just gotten done standing up for his friend and saying that Steven would never kill him…
Katlynn got into the car with them and sat in the back seat. "Where are you going!" She demanded, hitting Andrew repeatedly on the back of his shoulder but nothing she was doing was having any sort of affect.
Andrew started up the car as Zito got into the passenger seat and they drove off down the road.
"Andrew!!!" Katlynn cried, tears falling down her cheeks. Andrew wasn't even driving right. He wasn't slowing down and was zooming through stop lights and cars as if they weren't there. He really wasn't himself.
Neither of them said a word as Katlynn continued to kick and scream in the back seat. When they drove past Hazen, Katlynn gave up and bent over crying into Andrew's shoulder.
"Please!" She begged. "If you love me you'll stop! Please! You don't have to do this!!"
How could this be happening? She didn't understand. What had Steven written to make them do this? How come she wasn't under control like them?
"Please, I'm begging you. Stop." Katlynn sobbed.
Andrew said nothing and swerved down the road with his foot flooring the gas pedal. Katlynn sniffed and looked around. She'd never been in this area before except for when they went to visit Zito from last year. They passed by an elementary school and a Dairy Queen until finally Andrew seemed to slow down and take a right.
Katlynn cried quietly as they drove down a gravel path by a construction yard and stopped in front of a small house with a massive forest in the back yard. This wasn't Zito's house. But then…
"No…" Katlynn muttered. "No! No!!!"
Zito opened the door and began to get out. She saw the front door of the house open and standing in the doorway was Steven. She could recognize him even from a distance. This was his house. Did he know she was there? Zito walked across the driveway toward him and placed the Death Note at his feet. It was true. This was all real. Steven had won.
"No! No! No!" She cried as Andrew drove off. She gave one last look at Zito walking down the road before he was out of sight and Andrew was driving at top speed back toward his house again.
"Andrew!! Do you know what you've just done!!!" She cried. "You have to know!! This isn't you! Steven has you in his control!! You can break free of this!!! GOD DAMN IT!!!"
She was beginning to regret not bringing Ryoku with her. If the Hunter had followed, then he would've been able to kill Steven's Death God right then and there…but what would be the point? Steven had both Death Notes now. It didn't matter what the Shinigami did. All that mattered was that Andrew was going to die if she didn't somehow bring him out of his trance.
"Andrew!! Wake up!!" Katlynn screamed as loud as she could.
When they got back to the house, it was 3:42. Andrew sat in the car, staring out the window without a trace of emotion on his face. Katlynn sat on his lap and sobbed into his shirt. He was still alive but he felt like a statue. Ryoku was nowhere to be seen.
"Please wake up!" She mumbled weakly into his shirt. "We can still stop this! You can live if you just wake up. Please…"
Andrew remained motionless as the clock ticked to 3:45.
He lurched forward, gasping for life and for a brief few seconds, Katlynn thought her begging had finally worked and that he would be alive. But there was foam escaping between his lips and his eyes were rolling into the back of his head.
"NO!!!! NO! NO! NO!!!" Katlynn cried out, holding onto him as he twitched repeatedly until he gave one last shuddering gasp and his body went rigid. That was when she knew. It was over. Andrew was dead.
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