Zugzwang [COMPLETED]

Part I, chapter 11

- XI -

It was almost 10:30, and I was dozing off, Logan's wound taken care of nice and proper three times now, when my phone rang. I reached for it without opening my eyes and flipped it open.

"Hello," I muttered sleepily.

"Gwen..."

"Who is it?" I opened my eyes. The whisper on the other end of the line was beyond creepy. At first, I thought it was some stupid Halloween joke.

"Gwen..."

I sat up and frowned. What the hell? Logan looked at me with a question in his eyes.

"Who is this?" I repeated.

"Gwen... I know it's late... I..."

"Dante?" I asked incredulously.

"I think I..."

The phone clicked dead and I stared at it. What the hell?! I jumped out of bed and started to get dressed, my hands shaking. Logan was ready before me as usual, and he ran downstairs without waiting for me. I jumped on one foot, cursing my stupid pants, and finally, I was able to put them on. I couldn't care less right now what I was wearing, and I pulled on one of my old T-shirts and ran out of the house. Logan was waiting for me in his truck, engine running. I climbed in and he took off almost as fast as the Jock did earlier today.

He drove like he was escaping from hell, and tonight I was actually grateful for that. The Misfit sounded like he was dying on the phone. Goddammit! I knew I shouldn't have left him there with that bastard! We got to his house in record time of seven minutes. Usually it took fifteen or so even with no traffic. I jumped out of the truck and almost fell down when I saw the Misfit sitting in the middle of his driveway, phone in his left hand, a black gun in his right.

"Dante!" I said louder than I intended, and he looked at me.

I winced when I saw a lost look in his eyes. I walked closer and sat next to him, ignoring the wind that finallydecided to take its revenge.

"What do you have the gun for?" I asked indifferently, and the Misfit looked at the gun in his hand, as if he was seeing it for the first time in his life.

"Oh, that," he said. "Well, I was thinking of shooting myself, but then I realized that I called you, and you were probably on your way, so..." he shrugged. "I figured it would be impolite, you know... You coming all the way here and I blew my brains out..."

"Impolite," I repeated. "Right. That would be the first thought in my head too. Give it to me, will you? Before it goes off in my face."

He blinked and raised the gun.

"Dante..." I muttered, and Logan stood very close to him, ready to grab his hand any second.

"I am putting the safety on, hold on," the Misfit muttered and clicked the safety on. "Here."

He handed me the gun, and I carefully took it and gave it to Logan. He shoved it under his belt and sat next to us.

"What happened?" I asked calmly, and the Misfit shrugged.

"I killed him," he said simply, and I couldn't even blink.

"Where?" Logan asked quietly.

"In my bedroom," Dante answered indifferently, and Logan got up and went inside the house. Suddenly, the Misfit laughed, and I closed my eyes. Great, now he is hysterical. I looked at him and he stopped laughing.