Immediately after her revelation, Annie knew that she had to leave. She left the stall and went out a side door, avoiding everyone she could. She wanted nothing to do with them, and she knew they wanted nothing to do with her.
She went straight into her room and sat on the edge of the bed, deep in thought. Her mind raced. Suddenly, all the past conflicts in her life, no matter how minuscule they really were, seemed the same size. She resisted breaking down, and instead knew that it was time to prepare. If she was going to do what she had planned to do, she needed to get ready now.
In the kitchen, she pulled open the silverware drawer and looked at various knives. Steak knives, tomato knives, paring knives, bread knives, there were too many to choose from. She wanted one that would make Chang pay. She didn't want him to die quickly, though. The more he suffered, she thought, the more he'll learn. Finally, she settled on a simple Chef's knife.
It felt good in her hands. She felt powerful when she held it. She liked knowing that at any time, she could completely take someone off the face of this earth. She washed the blade, dried it, and put it on the table. She went over to her backpack and emptied it. Tonight, she had something else to do with this bag. She opened the cabinet above her and took a roll of duct tape and a length of heavy twine. She put them in her bag along with her knife, and went back to her room.
She had to find where Chang lived. It was late enough that he'd be home, wherever that might be. She couldn't call an info service, it'd look suspicious if someone had called and asked where he lived, only to have him turn up... well, you know, the next day. That amazed her. Even though she knew what she was doing, she couldn't say to word to herself. The "D word" that referred to a state of, or lack of, life.
Then, she knew what she could do. She went to the directory, flipped through to Benjamin Chang, and wrote down his home phone number. She hurried back to her room and Googled the number. It was a wonder how well modern technology could be used at points. She now had his address. She smiled, knowing that she was going to have some fun tonight.
"No! Wait, what am I doing?"
"Hush, honey. I'm in control now."
"Why can't I control myself?"
"Because when you did, you let people step all over you."
"Yeah, but I got used to it! I never wanted to kill anyone!"
"You know what a psychologist would tell you? That you've got learned helplessness. You've gone through so much, repressed so many things, that you feel you'll never get away from conflict. Because of that, you just lie down and take it."
"We-"
"Not anymore. Welcome to a new world, a better world."
"I d-"
"Shh... just let me take care of everything."
Sorry this took so long, you guys! But, it's not without good reason. Family problems have prevented me from writing much, and I've been outlining the next chapter, along with the other two stories in the series. Wink wink, nudge nudge. There's a planned trilogy, and I can warn you now... nobody lives forever.
With that, I leave you with this chapter, and the next one will be up in the next 4 days!