world was pressing down on
it. This wasn't like in video games or the handful of times I could
afford the ammo for the shooting range. It felt like the world was
shaking. Everything in my sight wavered like flags in the wind. I
wondered if I was standing on a tightrope to make things sway so
violently.
“ Best not waste a bullet.”
The world snapped back into clarity as I heard his voice. My finger
left the trigger, knuckles white from my grip on the gun. “This
is your first time, isn't it. I'll help you.”
Was it the first time? I
couldn't remember. Had I killed in the time before I reached Haven?
The hot tears on my cheek were no use to anyone in the wild parts of
the world, and neither were prayers. Only killing. If I hadn't
killed, I would have been killed myself. If I didn't kill now, she
would eventually free herself from the ice and attack the living.
Jake's hand enfolded mine, wrapping around it like a warm, rough
glove. One quick thrust of the knife later the deed was done.
My
hands were clean. Her blood was thick and near-black, stuck firmly
to the blade but on my hand – nothing. Besides, it was Jake's
hand that moved the knife, wasn't it? But I hadn't fought him, had
I. ' She was dead anyways.' I
cleaned off my knife upstream, trying to blot out the memory of the
feeling of each groove of the knife slipping through flesh and bone.
It had felt like an extension of my body, a piece of my hand slipping
through her skull. 'It's skull. It's not a person, just a
thing.” My knife had been
like a teddy bear to me for too long to hold any bad memories against
it.
“ Julie, you alright?”
“ I'm fine.” Jake
looked confused as he tried to peer beneath my hollow smile. We
didn't speak again.
As we exited the woods I heard a
number of car doors closing as various officers left the scene.
“Fisher,” called the captain, a brief burst of
frustration tugging at the creases lining his face before fading
away. I swiftly came to his side as he walked to his vehicle. “Take
the afternoon off. You can come by after five at the station to fill
out your paperwork.”
He shut the police van's door
before I could respond and drove off. 'Well he's grumpy.' With
the crime scene suddenly abandoned it appeared my chance of catching
a ride was gone. I decided to take a leisurely pace on my way back to
my apartment. There was just enough time to catch a nap and it would
be counterproductive to get my blood pumping if I wanted to get to
sleep at all quickly.
Succumbing to the allure of a
non pasta-based meal I shelled out five credits for a turkey sandwich
on the way home and quickly gobbled it down. I did feel slightly
guilty considering how much foreign cuisine there was available in
this area. All the world to choose from and I chose a turkey sandwich
in springtime. That said, it was the perfect thing to send me
straight to sleep moments after I undressed and set my alarm clock.
My eyes slowly drifted shut.
They flashed open a moment later
as the zombie's face painted the backs of my lids. ' I'm nothing
like her.' I hoped it was just
my exhaustion that made my mind's voice sound so hollow.
----
Awakening was unpleasant. Oddly
enough, my dreams were happy for once. And now, now I was back in
the real world. For the first time since this mess began I was alone
and had nothing else to distract me. I had thought I'd come to terms
with the fact I was adopted a number of years ago, but now things
weren't so clear cut. My adoptive parents were my parents,
even if we didn't always click, but now I had to wonder if my
biological parents weren't transforming into bats and haunting the
night somewhere. And why had my fangs only come out around Alex?
Well, it happened around Bruce a bit, but that might have been just
leftover from drinking Alex's blood. 'Isn't this the part where
some smelly old guy tells you important truths in riddles?' I
would have asked for a sign but for some reason the image of a bumper
sticker saying
it. This wasn't like in video games or the handful of times I could
afford the ammo for the shooting range. It felt like the world was
shaking. Everything in my sight wavered like flags in the wind. I
wondered if I was standing on a tightrope to make things sway so
violently.
“ Best not waste a bullet.”
The world snapped back into clarity as I heard his voice. My finger
left the trigger, knuckles white from my grip on the gun. “This
is your first time, isn't it. I'll help you.”
Was it the first time? I
couldn't remember. Had I killed in the time before I reached Haven?
The hot tears on my cheek were no use to anyone in the wild parts of
the world, and neither were prayers. Only killing. If I hadn't
killed, I would have been killed myself. If I didn't kill now, she
would eventually free herself from the ice and attack the living.
Jake's hand enfolded mine, wrapping around it like a warm, rough
glove. One quick thrust of the knife later the deed was done.
My
hands were clean. Her blood was thick and near-black, stuck firmly
to the blade but on my hand – nothing. Besides, it was Jake's
hand that moved the knife, wasn't it? But I hadn't fought him, had
I. ' She was dead anyways.' I
cleaned off my knife upstream, trying to blot out the memory of the
feeling of each groove of the knife slipping through flesh and bone.
It had felt like an extension of my body, a piece of my hand slipping
through her skull. 'It's skull. It's not a person, just a
thing.” My knife had been
like a teddy bear to me for too long to hold any bad memories against
it.
“ Julie, you alright?”
“ I'm fine.” Jake
looked confused as he tried to peer beneath my hollow smile. We
didn't speak again.
As we exited the woods I heard a
number of car doors closing as various officers left the scene.
“Fisher,” called the captain, a brief burst of
frustration tugging at the creases lining his face before fading
away. I swiftly came to his side as he walked to his vehicle. “Take
the afternoon off. You can come by after five at the station to fill
out your paperwork.”
He shut the police van's door
before I could respond and drove off. 'Well he's grumpy.' With
the crime scene suddenly abandoned it appeared my chance of catching
a ride was gone. I decided to take a leisurely pace on my way back to
my apartment. There was just enough time to catch a nap and it would
be counterproductive to get my blood pumping if I wanted to get to
sleep at all quickly.
Succumbing to the allure of a
non pasta-based meal I shelled out five credits for a turkey sandwich
on the way home and quickly gobbled it down. I did feel slightly
guilty considering how much foreign cuisine there was available in
this area. All the world to choose from and I chose a turkey sandwich
in springtime. That said, it was the perfect thing to send me
straight to sleep moments after I undressed and set my alarm clock.
My eyes slowly drifted shut.
They flashed open a moment later
as the zombie's face painted the backs of my lids. ' I'm nothing
like her.' I hoped it was just
my exhaustion that made my mind's voice sound so hollow.
----
Awakening was unpleasant. Oddly
enough, my dreams were happy for once. And now, now I was back in
the real world. For the first time since this mess began I was alone
and had nothing else to distract me. I had thought I'd come to terms
with the fact I was adopted a number of years ago, but now things
weren't so clear cut. My adoptive parents were my parents,
even if we didn't always click, but now I had to wonder if my
biological parents weren't transforming into bats and haunting the
night somewhere. And why had my fangs only come out around Alex?
Well, it happened around Bruce a bit, but that might have been just
leftover from drinking Alex's blood. 'Isn't this the part where
some smelly old guy tells you important truths in riddles?' I
would have asked for a sign but for some reason the image of a bumper
sticker saying
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