The loud blaring of the alarm clock jolted her out of her peaceful trance while she was performing ballet. She closes her eyes and takes deep breaths to calm her racing heart as the alarm continued to sound. Once she felt her pulse return to normal, she opens her eyes to look at the ringing clock that's on the kitchen counter. The empty dining room was dimly lit, with only a single pendant light illuminating the space. She must have forgotten to turn on the other lights, too preoccupied with her activity. She walked over to the counter to turn off the alarm and looked out the window, only to be greeted by the dark night sky.
Making her way to the toilet, she rubs her chest when she feels the void gradually coming back. She washes the sweat that had built up over the hours of dancing away from her face. Looking at the mirror, a reflection of a flushed face with small dark bags under her eyes. It's only been a month since she woke up from that nightmare only to find out the amazing gift the asshat had given to her, and she hardly sleeps now unless Sam is there with her. Shaking her head, she tries to focus on her self-imposed task.
Untying her ponytail, she starts combing her long hair, trying to ignore the emptiness in her chest. She then ties her hair into a tight bun. Changing her sweat covered shirt into a long dark grey sleeve shirt and sweatpants into black jeans. Walking back into the dining room, she checks the clock. It's 8:35pm, just the perfect time. She grabs the dark grey fleeced hoodie jacket that's on the coat rack and wears it. Looking down at the table by the exit door, she sees the items she placed earlier in the day; keys, a grey beanie, a pair of fake glasses, a pair of gloves, a back holster, a modified Ruger Standard Mark II 22/45, some extra magazines, and a suppressor.
She picks up the Ruger to give it an examination. Ever since acquiring of the clubhouse, she started purchasing guns using a gun trust that's owned by a shell company that's domiciled in the States. She used intermediaries to smooth the purchases and got mules to pick up the guns and deposit them in dead drops. Her current arsenal of weapons is small, ranging from pistols to bolt rifles that is slowly building, but the Ruger Mark II is more than suited for her current task.
She purchased a small lathe for the sole purpose of modifying guns. It quite annoyed Sam when they had to move the heavy lathe from the trap house to their clubhouse. Since gaining the ability to modify the pistol, she has been tinkering with it. First, she removed the front sights, then she cut the barrel down in half and added threads. Second modification is the trigger pull. She had to adjust the hammer spring, sear engagement and the overtravel to make it a lighter pull. Third modification was a vanity, she changed the rubber grip to a laminate wood grip. Lastly, welding back the front sight to the top of the receiver.
She pinches the bolt ears and pulls back the bolt to chamber a round. Picking up the steel .22lr suppressor, she finds the weight disappointing, but she did not see any titanium suppressors in the catalogues she browsed. It's a recent addition to her arsenal. She threads the suppressor onto the pistol, and she finds herself disliking the balance. If no one starts making a suppressor from titanium, she needs to make one herself. She equips the back holster onto her jeans and holster the pistol, making sure to adjust her hoodie to hide it.
Wearing the beanie, gloves, and glasses, then grabbing the keys and her backpack on the floor. Grabbing the door handle, she continues to feel slowly overbearing feeling of the void, hopefully with time or completing this task, she might diminish this feeling. Upon exiting the Kingsville clubhouse, she felt the cool January air on her face. The street in front of the house is dark, only the lights from the surrounding houses illuminate the area. She got on her bike by the garage and start cycling. Her destination is northwest towards the university district of the town.
The journey to her objective is surprisingly soothing. She spent the entire week gathering information on her target and planning her task. Sam was getting suspicious and worried about her, but never tried to intrude. Sam is such a good friend that knew she needed space to find a solution to her problem. For weeks she's been struggling to understand what the does the void means or what it does, other than this cold feeling. In all of her previous lives, that she can still remember. She has not encountered such a thing. The nightmare she experienced could be a riddle to what it would do, however she couldn't figure out what it symbolizes. But she won't just stand still and find out what will happen.
Perhaps the asshat wanted sacrifices, hence she has to experiment by killing more than one human. So, she came up with a brilliant plan completely full proof. She might not even need to use her pistol. Just have to buy some cocaine from the local gang that usually sells drugs to dumb university students, then mix it with digoxin and give it away to the number of homeless in town, because no one cares when a homeless person overdoses.
It took her 14 minutes to pedal through the dark residential streets of Kingsville and finally arrive at her destination. The scent of marijuana reached her nostrils even before she could see the source. She parked her bike near an abandoned house near the train tracks and approached the alley where she knows from previous scouting the vermin are selling their products. Just before she turns the corner, she stops to pull out the surgical mask that's in her hoodie pocket and wears it. She can't have people knowing her face.
Turning the corner, she sees and hears the usual three vermin she has seen before. Making her way towards the men, she felt nothing but calm if she ignores the elephant in the room and the reassuring weight of her pistol on her pants. It has been so long since she's been involved in such a petty street level crime; it brings back such nostalgic fading memories of the bad apple. This is going to be so much fun.
They must have spotted her despite the lowlight since they stopped talking. She's now close enough to see them properly, two men on the left leaning by the wood fence and the third is lounging on a tattered sofa by some trashcans across from the other two. If there's one thing she knows from multiple dimensions is that the person in charge of holding the drugs is always the lounging one. They seemed bewildered by her presence. She wonders what kind of mask she should put on for these insects, maybe an innocent girl or perhaps the jaded child.
"What the fuck are you doing here, kid? Shouldn't you be asleep or something?" Said the white male with tattoos. Seriously? Swearing the first opportunity you get is such a low-class thing to do. Hanna guess she knows what mask to wear now. That would certainly screw with these ants. "Good evening, gentlemen. I desire to buy some of your wares." Hanna said with a haughty tone, which had the desired effect if their confounded faces were to indicate anything.
"You hear this, Juan?" Tattoos said as he taps the darker skin, bald man that's beside him. "Little miss manners here want to buy 'wares.'" Tattoos ended talking by laughing. She isn't sure what the joke was. "Stop playing around with the kid, John, and chase her away." Said the bald man chuckling as if finding this situation amusing. "And the fuck is that mask for?" the bald man said as he points at her face.
Such bad decorum for a willing customer truly shows how bad their customer service is with this gang. She's getting annoyed by their stonewalling. "The mask is to block the wretched smell of marijuana the permeates from this location and my mother has tasked me with the duty of buying two ounces of cocaine from you fine gentlemen. Would 500 dollars be sufficient?" Said Hanna, continuing with her charade as she pulls out a wad of 500 dollars denominated in 20 dollars from her hoodie pocket. That seem to have done the trick as they stopped chuckling and laughing.
"What are you playing at, kid?" the bald man said in a sober tone. It's good to be taken seriously. "I am a willing customer. I may not know the current price of cocaine, so let's make it 1000 dollar." Hanna said cheerily, hoping that this deal would close soon, and took out another wad of 500 dollars. She really dislikes having to do this in person. Why couldn't the infrastructure for these kinds of deals be done on the computer already? Would make things less tedious. "Holy shit." Said the lounging man. "Where the fuck did you even get that kind of money? Did Alexander send you or something to test us?" Said Tattoos skeptically. Oh, come on already. She knows he's tempted by this money. She can see it in his eyes.
"Get the fuck out of here kid." Said the bald man scowling at Hanna. Well, that's rude. It seems as Tattoos doesn't agree as well with Baldie's decision by the way he's looking back. Maybe she could do something with that. "Dude, why not just take the money? The kid's like 10 or something." Said Tattoos. Is this dude seriously saying he's going to steal from her in front of her? Honestly, criminals these days have no etiquette. "No, we ain't stealing from a girl John." Said Baldie glaring back at Tattoos. For real? These pests names are Juan and John? The parents must have not been imaginative with names. Baldie turns back towards her and said. "Scram kid. I don't want to see you here again."
This is certainly not fun and is just irritating. Hanna turns towards Tattoos and said. "Are you sure you don't want to sell me cocaine? Just name the price. I really need this." The man was about the reply before Baldie interrupts. "Are thick in the head or something, kid? Get the fuck out of here. We don't sell to kids." This really stumped Hanna. He does not sell to children. What kind of criminal is he?
Letting out a sigh of frustration, she put back the money into her hoodie pocket. Why does this man disrupt such an amazing plan? Like the transaction would satisfy every party involved. She really wasn't planning to do this, but these pests really gave her no choice.
With her left hand, she raised the back part of her hoodie and the right hand quickly unholster her pistol. Time seems to slow down as she brought her gun with one hand to aim at Tattoo's eye, who wasn't even looking at her, pulling the trigger once. The suppressed sound of the gun did not even register in her ears, but she saw the results. One bullet entered the insect's right eye and went into the brain.
She then brings her aim towards Baldie while bringing her left hand to support her right. The man's eyes were wide, and mouth opened as if he wanted to say something. Why was he shocked? Such an idiotic thing to refuse to deal with her. She pulled the trigger three times and again she did not register the sound of the gun. It must be the adrenaline. One bullet hit between the eyes, which was poor placement. The second entered the eye and the last bullet entered the mouth for being such a nuisance insect. The two bodies seemed to fall at the same time.
Time seems to go back to normal as she brought her gun towards the lounging man who is still sitting on the sofa but his hand is up, which was such a considerate thing to do. "Jesus Christ! Oh fuck! Oh, God!" The lounging man said slowly getting louder. Ah, how she missed this feeling when she holds one person's life in the balance. Something caught her eye. Is he soiling himself? The man is in a gang selling drugs but wet himself when he sees people dying. How pathetic.
"Hello there, could you please lower your volume? What's your name?" Said Hanna as she put on a cute, friendly voice. The man looks like he's hyperventilating and is shaking. Has he never seen a shootout before? "C-c-carl. P-Please don't shoot me. I have a little sister that I need to take care." Said the stuttering man. She's not sure how does this man's sister has anything to do with what Hanna will do. "Hi Carl, would you kindly tell me where the drugs are?" Hanna said sweetly, trying to reassure the man.
"I-I-I d-don't know. I'm new here. Shit. Oh god." the man continues to stutter and begins to cry. The man is clearly lying through his teeth. Does he not know the stereotype? Why are people not cooperating with her today? "Please don't take the lord's name in vain and don't swear." She has shot 3 times, meaning she has 6 more in her magazine and chamber. The distance between her and the man is far enough that he won't reach her in time. "For your sake, please tell me where the drugs are at. If not, I will have to shoot you until you answer truthfully." Hanna said in a reassuring tone.
"I swear to god I don't k-." Hanna shots him in the shoulder resulting in him screaming and grasping the wound. What a wuss, screaming in such pain from a .22LR. "Wrong answer. The next round will go to your stomach and please keep it down." Hanna continued with the sweet act, hoping he would cooperate. "O-oh Jesus. J-Juan said it's kept in the trash, but I never seen it. P-Please." The man said with tears pouring out of his eyes and whimpering. "You know, we could have prevented all of this if that halfwit had just sold me the drugs." Hanna said, shaking her head, and the man could only nod along.
Hanna let out a sigh, knowing she will not be getting more out of him. He must be a loyal soldier, a terrible gangbanger, but loyal. "Okay, I believe you. You can go back to your sister." Hanna said comfortingly as she drops her aim. He let out a breath, seemingly relieved by that action, which only made her excited. Good grief, what a sucker. She then aims her pistol at his head and shoots twice in quick succession. Hitting him in the eye twice, causing the man to slump on the sofa. The shock in his eyes when he saw the gun being raised was something to relish. Did he really think she would let a witness go?
Everything is silent again, blood pouring out from the bodies, cartridge cases on the ground. My gosh, what a mess. She shots at Tattoo's head again just to be sure and holster her gun. Really should have brought a plastic bag. She then collects the cartridge cases on the ground and putting it in her pocket. Looking at the wounds on the corpse, it's a pity that she did not think of bringing and knife and pliers. Hanna heaves a sigh, knowing she has to buy an electric induction furnace to get rid of her pistol barrel now. At least she knows the asshat doesn't want sacrifices if the continued presence of the void gives any clue.
Less than a minute of rummaging in the trash cans like a raccoon, she found a duffle bag. Opening it, she sees several small plastic bags with white powder, white small rocks, some pills, and marijuana. Hanna doesn't know what to do with this bag since the hobo plan went up in smokes. Then an entertaining idea pop in her, causing her to smile for the first time this night. Picking up the duffle bag, she then went back towards her bike to go to her next location a few blocks east.
It only took a few minutes of cycling to reach the abandoned houses. She then deposits the bag and cycle away. Where to next? She should go back to the Bishop Clubhouse, at least there she would not need to wake up extra early to meet up with Sam before school tomorrow.
The night wasn't entirely a failure. Liquidating those three men was at least amusing, and a shootout is always delightful. As she continues to cycle, she couldn't help but think if she had involved Sam things might have turned out differently. But doing so, she needs to tell Sam about the void, and she just doesn't know how to explain it. Maybe she could tell her next week? Yeah, that sounds good.
SAMANTHA GROVES POV
The sun reached its highest point in the sky, bringing with it the scorching heat of a Texas summer into the clubhouse. Sam was in the living room by herself with her personal computer working away on her software to exploit the race condition vulnerability of the i386 CPU that she and Han had discovered not too long ago. However, right now she just could not focus on programming, because of an issue she's been too apprehensive to confront, which was Han.
Not long after Christmas, Sam began to notice that something was different or off with Han. She couldn't quite put her finger on what was different. She sensed that something had changed. Then she starts seeing dark bags under Han's eyes. It wasn't an unusual sight. They both would get it when they spend long nights working on a program, but it normally doesn't last that long. This has lasted for months. She tried asking Han early in the year what's going on but every time she got a variation of the same chuckling dismissive response which was 'Don't worry Sam, it's just puberty problems. You probably will get it too.'. She doesn't want to believe it, but each time she receives the same answer, the more she is starting to believe she's being lied to, which Han never did before.
For all the years she's been sharing the same bed with Han, she never experienced or seen her have a nightmare or toss and turn while sleeping. Sure, Han moves around in her sleep, which eventually resulting with her being on the floor unless there's interventions. But now she's practically restless and mumbling in her sleep, but never shouted. After one unpleasant episode, Sam woke Han up from what she could only call a nightmare who roused up like it's all normal and had the gall to ask if there's something wrong with Sam. She told Han that she was having an awful nightmare, and yet Han keeps denying such things, stating that she never had dreams. The only time Sam knows Han is sleeping peacefully is when Han squeezes the life out of Sam while sleeping, nonetheless she endures it if it brings a small measure of tranquility for her friend.
Since February, Han's demeanor began to shift slightly. First was that she became more aggressive towards others. Sam knew from the beginning of their friendship that Han detests other people, but she never outwardly shows such things because it would go against her facade. Now she would be outright hostile in some interaction. She saw Han make a woman cry, that action did not bother Sam, but it's not something she had seen Han did before. Second thing is she's more violent now. Sam for years now she knows that Han has homicidal ideations but never really acted on it or Sam managed to dissuade her. But now… She is certain that Han was involved in the 'accident' that resulted in one of Han's classmates named Sara to lose an eye. When she subtly asked about her changed of mood, Han gave a flippant response saying it's just hormonal changes.
More and more, it seems like Han has her head in the clouds. Sam has observed Han gazing off into the distance or pausing in her activities and appearing to be lost in thought on multiple occasions, as if something is occupying her mind. The two of them have been practicing ballet more frequently, but Han has been taking it to another level by continuing to dance for hours, saying that it brings her a sense of peace.
The most distressing behavior recently is her decreased appetite. Not that Han eats a lot ordinarily, but now she has been forgetting to eat so often that Sam has had to intervene to make sure she doesn't starve. Sam was left aghast when Han suddenly stopped eating chocolate or any other sweet food in a matter of fact and when Sam offers Han some sweets, she would reply that she doesn't feel like eating it. Which was total bullshit, since when did Han ever refuse candy?
Now she suspects that Han has been going out by herself without telling Sam about it. In the five years since they've been friend, never had Han did something without Sam with her or telling Sam about it. She never voiced out this concern with Han, but she was sure Han knows she knew.
All of this just left Sam with an uneasy knot in her stomach. She has been giving Han room for her to sort out whatever is bothering her or give her time to tell Sam what the problem is. She hates this feeling of helplessness when her friend is clearly in anguish, no matter how many times Han denies it.
Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she clears her mind. Worrying about something she does not know will help no one, and it seems like waiting for Han to approach her is meaningless. She lets out the breath and opens her eyes with resolved burning in her. If her friend doesn't want help. Well, tough luck because Sam is going to drag her screaming and crying if she needs to.
Standing up from her seat discarding her work on the computer. She went towards the bedroom where she knows Han is in working on k-nearest neighbors algorithm to predict the next words. She barges open the half-closed door only to see Han laying on the bed with her eyes close with her notebook on her chest slowly going up and down. The sight of the brunette in her pink sundress taking a nap took the wind out of her sails. Feeling guilty for causing a loud noise from opening the door, she slowly made her way to the bed to sit on it.
She doesn't know how long she has been sitting and staring at Han sleeping peacefully before the twitches came. It started with her face, then her fingers, slowly her head starts shaking as if she's saying no and her breathing slowly becoming rapid. Not wanting to see her friend in such torment, Sam grabs Han's hand to calm her down and starts shaking her shoulder while softly calling her out to wake up. Han's eyes burst open with alertness and bolted up, almost hitting Sam's head in the process.
It took Han a moment to be aware of her surrounding and she let out a yawn as she looked at Sam oddly. "Is something wrong?" Said Han drowsily. Letting go of Han's shoulder and hands in disbelief. Is she serious? More deflections, that's it, no more of this rigamarole. "No more deflection or lying, Han. Tell me what is going on with you." Said Sam as she gives Han an intense stare who seems to be shocked by this. Han frowns and looks out the window as if she's unable to handle the gaze.
"I've never lied to you Sam." Said Han adamantly still not looking at her. "Oh, please. Don't tell me that you've never lied to me once in the past 6 months." Said Sam sternly still couldn't believe Han won't admit anything. Han, to her credit, looked sheepish. "Can't be lies if it could be true… I am going through puberty and hormones are weird." Said Han, as if it's the answer to everything. Sam let out a sigh of frustration, okay she might not be lying, but she's definitely deflecting again. "Please Han. Please tell me because I can see you struggling every day and I can't do anything to help. What happened to doing things together?" Said Sam as she pours her heart out, trying to convince Han to answer her.
That seems to elicit a response. Han is grinding her teeth, and a rare conflicted look on her as if she is having an internal struggle with herself. "You might not be able to help." Han said softly as she turns her head back towards Sam. She was taken aback by the look Han was giving her. Never have she seen such emotions expressed by the brunette before. Is it desperation? Fear? Anxiety? Despair? Insecurity? Maybe it is all of the above? The knot in her felt tighter just by looking at Han in such a state.
"I had planned to tell you about what's going on earlier in the year but…" Said Han meekly, but she did not continue right away, probably thinking how to tell Sam. So, she waited patiently for her friend. "But I don't know how to explain it without it being all awkward." Han finished after a while with a small smile. Something short wired in Sam's brain by that reason. It took her a moment to register what she said. What a fucking shit reason to not tell her and leaving her to agonize for months. Taking a deep breath to calm down. She shouldn't swear in front of Han. It might derail this conversation.
"Well, congratulations. This is already awkward. So, tell me." Sam said calmly. Han looked away again and started picking on the threads of her sundress. "You know how some programs we encounter have codes there are good, then some program's code there are bad and some with codes that's just broken." Said Han in muted tones. Sam felt dread building up in her, understanding what Han is going with this metaphor. "I am a broken code, Sam, and I don't know what will fix it." Han said, looking back at Sam with a sorrowful look in her eyes.
Her throat felt constricted at the thought. No, she's wrong. Maybe there's a book or something that can help her. "You're not broken, Han. I'm sure there's a medicine or remedy that can help you." Said Sam, trying to not sound frantic. Han let out a chuckle at Sam's expense. At least some things don't change. "There's no pill or treatment that will help me, Sam." Han said jadedly.
"There's a void in me, Sam. A cold emptiness that will swallow things I love." Han said, sounding hollow. What does that even mean? Sam's heart constricts. Wait… "You stopped being a sweet tooth. Did the void take that?" Said Sam, trying to not sound forlorn. "Yeah, sweets taste like ashes now. Try not to fall face first into a pile of ashes. The taste sucks, 2/10." Said Han, trying to bring a bit of levity to the conversation before continuing. "I don't know what it will take next. Maybe it's programming or hacking or shooting or you." Said Han with genuine fear in her voice, it sounds so foreign hearing such emotion coming from the brunette.
'Wait, did she just say she loves me?' Sam thought dumbly. Han must have seen the look on Sam's face, if Han's eyes like saucers were to tell anything. "Ew, no, no, no!" Said Han as she shook her flushed face and making a cross mark with her arms. Well, that's rude, is she not loveable? "I didn't mean in the way I think you might be thinking!" Said Han in a tizzy, losing all traces of sorrow in her and is replaced with hysteria. The tension in Sam loosens by the display and the only thing she could do was laugh. Han seemed to be defused by that act but still blushing and said. "I have no romantic interest in you, Sam. You're basically my sister and I love you for it."
That makes more sense. Sam felt something warm in her by those words, an affirmation of something unspoken. No one has ever told Sam that they love her before. Even her own mother never said it out loud. Despite the dour mood from such a serious topic earlier, Sam couldn't help but give a loving smile at Han. "We are already joined by the hip. Now, if my hair were brown, then everyone will think we're sisters." Said Sam, knowing she doesn't need to say the words to Han, who let out a snort. "Don't say that. I enjoy braiding your blonde hair and it is a delightful contrast between us." Said Han smiling cheekily.
"Is that why you have been going out on your own?" Said Sam. Steering back to the original conversation, still trying to understand. Han gives a shrug and said. "I knew you would notice. I've been trying to find ways to plug this void." What like plugging a leak? "You're implying there's a way we can do to help you?" Said Sam as her heart flutters with hope. Han gave a skeptical frown and said. "Maybe? I have no clue on what I need to do or what I need to find. It might take years."
That is better than nothing, so she grabs both of Han's hand and clutching it dearly. "Then there is hope, Han. You're not a broken code, merely buggy code that needs an update." Said Sam earnestly. Han looked offended by that. Maybe calling her buggy isn't the best thing she came up with, but she's sticking with it. "Well, you sure are optimistic. It might take decades." Said Han cynically, apparently still not convinced. So, Sam gives the brunette an ardent stare. "I promise you that I will do everything in my power to fix you, no matter how long it will take or die trying." Sam said with so much vigor that she herself does not know she's capable of. "Okay, but if you die, I'm going to destroy the world." Said Han in a way that Sam doesn't know if she's joking or not.
Feeling satisfied with the talk, all that's left to do is cheer Han up. An idea formed in her head that would certainly perk Han up. The only problem is that they might get caught by the police. Ever since the end of January, there's been an increase in crime and police activity in Kingsville, apparently a small gang war erupted.
Oh, fuck it. She can't help Han if she doesn't take risks and, with a devious smile forming, she said. "Lets' go steal a motorbike." Han, for her part instantly brightens up with a huge grin. "I know of a bar that has our name on it." Said Han. Sam quickly gets off the bed, dragging Han along with her and says. "Looks like we got a date with some meathead bikers."