Chapter 14:

Psychopaths are very charming. One of the most disarming aspects of interacting with psychopaths is their ability to conceal their true selves in order to appear as likeable as possible. They easily pick out topics that are important to us and reflect sympathetic points of view, sometimes complete with enthusiasm or emotion to reinforce the spoken words. It doesn't manifest in just individuals, but also manifest in groups. They use their story telling abilities to lure people in.

Psychopaths can switch their empathy on and off. They are not concerned with their impact on others, whether that be financial, social or person.

Psychopaths are sexually promiscuous. With their ability to charm unsuspecting victim's, psychopaths can lure unsuspecting people into bed, but aren't interested in commitment or anything beyond the immediate thrill. Sex for the psychopath is less about the other person and more about the power play or stroking their own ego.

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Maria's small brunch with Sota ended just as quickly as it began. Sota said goodbye, claiming to have business that he needed to attend to. Maria scoffed as she watched him leave.

With Sota gone, Maria stayed seated and continued staring at the tables around her. The tables were more empty than before, leaving Maria to believe that those who were there had gone off to party or sit by the pool to enjoy the sun.

She tried hard not to go back into her memories and thoughts. They were becoming harder to suppress as the days flew by, even more so since she was left alone a lot. It was more irksome and tiring to have to keep those thoughts at bay, and even more tiresome trying to keep the intrusive thoughts from winning.

The tanned girl rubbed the crevice of her nose, trying to relieve the bit of tension and stress that was building up. It seemed to not be working as it only grew more painful. It caused her left eye to start twitching.

Maria heard footsteps coming into the dining hall and looked over to notice her "favorite" militant accompanied by the man with tattoos covering their face. She had never fully met the man with the long blade, but it never really mattered to her.

She watched as they made their way towards the rest of the food. Maria could hear Niragi complaining to the man next to him, stating that even though there was electricity and running water the food shouldn't have been that bad.

Maria scoffed in her little corner.

Fucking dumb ass... she thought.

The other man hadn't said a word since arriving, only staring menacingly at the assortment of food that was laid out before them.

The brown female decided that she was done watching the two buffoons and got up from her seat. She left the trash there, deciding that it was best to not make herself too noticeable and leave.

But, as she stepped foot out of the room, she felt the familiar burning of eyes at the back of her head.

She shook off the chills that dared to graze her arms as she continued walking away.

Maria felt the need to hide again, to make herself feel better and to make herself feel less like an animal left in the plains for slaughter. It wasn't the people at the beach that made her feel that way, and it wasn't the few that actually had the will to kill her, but there was a strange feeling that she couldn't shake off even when she left the dining hall. The day had started off alright, but now the atmosphere was beginning to feel different.

Maria headed towards the top of the building. Her head was swirling with many thoughts; what would she do if she saw Chishiya there again? Will he expect an answer? What if Niragi decided to show up? What if both of them were on the roof?

Maria knew that at that point, her mind only played tricks on her the more she thought about it. So the best thing she could do, was to not think about it until it happened.

She opened the door to the roof and was greeted with the fresh air that she could only find so high up. The warm air greeted her nostrils willingly and her lungs inhaled as much as she could for she knew that there would be a time where she wouldn't be able to enjoy this simple pleasure again.

Maria walked over to the edge and placed her legs under her in a cross position while she sat and stared at the people below. There was only a handful more people than last she saw, but it still only meant that most were inside sleeping or doing whatever she could imagine they would do.

She looked around the pool and noticed her two acquaintances. Nariko was poking Sota's chest in anger, causing Maria to chuckle at the sight.

Her eyes migrated towards another part of the hotel complex and noticed something that she wasn't expecting in the least.

The white hoodie that she became familiar with, stood next to a tall beauty facing the male newcomer. Their faces weren't very visible from her point of view, but she couldn't help but notice the predatorial stance that Chishiya took when speaking to the poor boy. It was similar to when he stood with her on the roof.

She watched as Kuina stood on the side of what looked to be a two sided conversation between Chishiya and the newcomer. Chishiya got closer to him, as if he was ready to eat him alive and Maria couldn't help but worry for the kid. She knew that if Chishiya was involved, the conversation wasn't anything pleasant.

Maria's ears perked as she heard the creak of the door to the roof open. She quickly stood with her bat in both of her hands at the ready, only to realize it was the female newcomer that stood behind her. Her demeaner didn't relax, and neither did the girl's in front of her.

Maria turned away from the female and eyed the area where her friend was. Chishiya was leaving the boy, his hands in his pockets. She could only see the back of his head, but knew that he must've been smirking.

"What do you think of the Borderlands?"

The girl spoke behind her. Maria turned back towards her, an eyebrow raised.

"I take it you're the new people that everyone has been talking about?"

The girl pursed her lips and her fists tightened. She became even more tense standing in front of Maria. She sighed.

"Heard you both had a run in with Niragi..." she stated. She continued after a small pause. "If you guys are looking around for answers... it won't matter."

"Why?" The girl questioned.

"Because everyone here is either brainwashed or too self enveloped to care. You're only going to waste your time."

She glanced back to the rooftop where the girl's friend was and noticed that he wasn't there any longer. She turned back to the girl in front of her.

"What's your name?"

Maria was only met with silence. "Fine. But a word of advice for you and your friend, don't trust anyone here, especially the guy in the white sweater. I saw your friend alone with him earlier, on the rooftop over there with the dead bodies... didn't look too promising..."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Mmmm..." Maria paused. "Just 'cause. Honestly, your friend pissing off Niragi really made my day, so I felt I should return the favor."

The girls eyebrows scrunch ever so slightly but pulled back as she tried to maintain her composure.

But, with a small clench of her fists, the girl walked away without another word, leaving Maria alone.

"I still don't know her name..." she mumbled to herself while staring back at the scenery in front of her.

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It wasn't long until the night had fallen and the games were to begin again. Maria was growing bored waiting for her wounds to heal, and the longer she stayed here the longer she was going to go insane.

The night was dark as she heard the sound of the game sirens going off in the air. She sat at the pool for a change of scenery, but was soon growing more irritated by the people that surrounded it. The daily gathering ended and people began filling up the empty spaces around the pool once again.

Her leg was so close to being healed, or at least healed enough to get moving again. But as she stared at her leg, she couldn't help but replay how she ended up with the wound in the first place.

"Maria." She heard a voice call her. It was one of the militants that she didn't know the name of.

Maria turned her head to face the man that called her.

"Aren't you supposed to be going with Niragi tonight?"

Maria looked at him confused. "No? Who said that?"

"Niragi said that you were gonna be playing with him for all games going forward... Something about watching you but he didn't say anything else but that."

"No. He can kiss my ass for all I care. And you can tell him I said exactly that."

Maria watched as the militant scurried along. She was hoping that he tripped from all the water that was around the pool, but was slightly discouraged when he safely made it passed.

She didn't want to be told what to do. Not even by that god-forsaken maniac that the worse power trip that she'd ever seen.

But, there was something in her that was telling her to go to where Niragi was.

Maria looked around her and got up, looking for an easy way to get to the cars before they left for their games. She made her way, albeit aggressively, and found her way to the garages where the cars were kept, only to see that there was no one there.

"Damn it..." she cursed. They had already left. Almost all the cars looked the same so she wouldn't be able to follow them even if she tried.

She reluctantly went back inside the hotel. She really had a bad feeling about tonight. The bitter taste on her tongue was coming in tides as she made her way to the top of the hotel. She felt better up there, but it didn't stop the feeling of impending doom that shook her core. So she waited. She waited until those who went to their games came back.

Ann's group was the first to come back. Ann walked with her head held high while the others around her cheered, complimenting her on how smart she was and how she was the smartest amongst everyone there. She noticed the unkept hair of the newcomer and watched him move to the side of the crowd awkwardly.

Another person, whose name she didn't know, walked over to Ann. It looked as if he had ran over to her, seeing as how he leaned over his knees once he made his way in front of Ann. With the crowd too loud, and them leaning close over to each other, she couldn't make out what they were saying. But she noticed a concerned look that immediately went neutral cross Ann's face.

Ann moved to walk away only to stop in her tracks once again. But this time, she followed the man that had got her attention. Maria tried to quickly make it down to the main floor to try and keep up with the two she was spying.

The elevator came into her view and the doors opened. She stepped inside, pressed the button for the bottom floor and waited for the death trap to descend. Even the damned elevator was faster than walking down every flight of stairs, she couldn't help but stare at the numbers indicating which floor she was on, and hoping that it would go faster.

But, she wondered, why was she in such a rush to see what happened? Did she want to satiate her thirst for the mystery? Was she finding herself worried for someone else? Realistically, that wasn't even remotely true. But it was a feeling that overwhelmed her strongly and it made her want to do something about it.

With her mind being set on seeing what the problem was, Maria bolted out of the elevator as soon as the doors peeled open. But, as her luck would have it, her body plowed into someone she did not want to see.

The familiar black silk shirt and the familiar thin frame that wore that shirt blocked her exit. Maria cursed inwardly.

"Hi there, sweety."

Chills. They protruded from her arm unwillingly.

"Get outta the way you bean pole."

"Now that's not nice~."

"I'm not trying to be nice, now move."

Maria tried shoving him away. His left hand grabbed her right arm, jolting her face towards his while he leaned down closer towards her.

"You're making it really hard to be nice..." Niragi said through gritted teeth.

"Maybe if you weren't such an ass I would be... Get your fucking hand off of me before I break it."

Niragi chuckled before he smashed his mouth onto hers. He pushed his weight onto her, causing her back to crash into the closed elevator doors. A small chill ran up her spine and into her belly before an image of the man from her childhood sped across her mind, ceasing any form of euphoria that she felt.

Maria bit Niragi's lip and slammed her knee into his groin. The groans from the man in front of her were mingling with her heavy breaths.

"Take that as a warning."

"You bitch."

Everything felt slowed. Everything felt like it wasn't real in that moment. Maria felt as if she was having an out of body experience because of how light she felt. She couldn't think properly and she was wondering if she was thinking at all. She couldn't tell what the feeling was, but she felt as if she could walk through fire and not get burnt. She felt as if a bullet would go straight through her. She felt exhilarated.

What was wrong with her? The face of the man before was long gone as she stared at the pierced face in front of her.

She grabbed his face with her right hand, her bat hanging limp by her side. Her fingers dug into his face, causing it to pucker like a fish.

"Niragi!" They both turned to the voice that had called. One of the unnamed militants stopped in his tracks once he noticed the compromising position of one of the most feared men on the beach. "I- um... the executive, um, are holding a-a meeting."

She looked back down at Niragi and noticed that even through his leather pants she could see that disgusting bulge.

"Get yourself together, old man."

"Wait! Maria, the executives want you too."

"Why?"

"I-I don't know. They just really want you there..."

With trampling steps, the unnamed militant scrambled to get to his feet. Maria pushed the button for the elevator, waiting for the chime to sound.

Maria and the militant stepped in and was soon followed by Niragi.

It wasn't a surprise to her to feel the familiar strength of a hand around her throat, but she was surprised by how quickly it had happened. Maria dropped her bat on the floor, the metal causing a small ringing to ricochet in her head. Her back hit the cold metal and her hands gripped his, trying to stop him from completely strangling her.

"Grab the bat."

"Don't. You. Dare."

"Grab. It."

The militant grabbed the bat and stood directly behind Niragi. He mouthed "sorry" to Maria, but she only scoffed as her eyes moved back to Niragi.

"Do it. Kill me."

He groaned and moved his body closer to hers.

"Damn it... I could fuck you right here and no one will come to save you."

The unwanted chill hit her and vanished.

"Try it and see what happens. It won't be just your dick that gets cutoff."

Someone cleared their throat. Both moved their heads to notice that the elevator door was finally open, and that it was being held by the militant that went with them. White hair accompanied the noise.

"Can you both keep it in your pants? We have a meeting to go to."

"Fucking bastard..." Niragi muttered.

He unclenched his hands from around her throat and fixed the position of his rifle properly on his shoulder. With one hand in his pocket he walked out and didn't acknowledge the other two that he had left behind. Maria didn't care.

She turned towards the man who had cowered into the corner and held out her hand. She felt the smooth metal of her bat in her grasp and motioned for the white haired man forward. With a shit-eating grin he held his head high and walked right after Niragi.

With a heavy sigh, Maria followed suit into the executives meeting room, only to find Hatter's lifeless body on top of the table.