To Be A Killer

Chapter 71: Reunion Tour

"Nothing like a mad house in the moonlight for romance, is there, Five?" Simon asks as we walk around the mental hospital. We've gotten out of one of the side buildings, but this place is huge, and trying to get to the opposite side is taking longer than I thought.

"Yes, the broken widows and crumbling chimneys really sweep me off my feet."

He chuckles. "Still sarcastic as ever, I see. Too bad the ivy's all dead on the walls. You can cover a lot of sin with ivy."

I shrug, staring down at my hands-the hands that nearly strangled the man I love to death. "If you say so."

"Do you see them? Where are they?" A voice yells from the distance.

The tall man clenches his jaw. "Oh, buggar. I thought we'd shaken them. Moonchild must have every mind controlled person in this part of the country on the lookout for you. Doesn't like to let go, does she?"

"I see them! Over by that statue!"

"Quickly, Five! This way! Watch out for those paving stones. Half of them are loose, and the rest are slippery as hell." He grabs my wrist with his left hand and pulls me along, and I try not to shudder at the feeling of his scales against my skin. "I'm amazed you didn't do yourself a mischief when you ran out here, not that you were paying much attention when you did. Impressive little suite of hallucinations you had going on there."

"Are you enjoying this?" I sneer, and he simply shrugs, continuing to pull me away from the mind controlled soldiers coming after us.

"Well, I just always thought you were always so much more sorted than me. You always seemed to have your head screwed on right, but I suppose after the things Moonchild made you do..."

I flinch.

She made me kill thousands of people. I killed so many innocent people... and I felt amazing doing it.

I'm a monster.

"I'd say you mustn't blame yourself, but really, what's the point? I know you do, and you will for a long time. Take it from an expert. But you can brood about it when you're safe and sound back at Abel. Amelia brought the van here once we figured out where you were headed. Wouldn't chase after you herself, obviously. Too much hard work."

I stare at him with slight wide eyes. "I'm surprised she agreed to come at all. I'm surprised she allowed you to waste that serum on-on me."

"It took a lot of convincing, believe you me, but I wasn't just gonna leave you like that."

"Why?"

He hesitates in answering, and he pulls me around the building, out of sight from Moonchild's soldiers. He looks strained, as if he's forcing himself to tell me the truth. "Because even though you'll never admit it, we have a lot of things in common. One of them being that we have very idiotic soft spots for each other."

I nod slowly. He's not wrong.

"Runner Five? Runner Five, is that you?" One of them calls, and my shoulders tense, while Simon narrows his eyes in determination.

"Let's get inside before those buggars go and get help, or Moonchild. Don't fancy being back in her power, do you?" He huffs when I frantically shake my head. "Thought not. Let's head for the main building's entrance. Come on."

He drags me along, and with the pale light of the moon shining down on us, I can assume it's well past midnight. I'm sweaty and cold, but I make sure to clench my teeth so they won't chatter. I can't have that giving away where I am.

But I still smile at the fact that Simon came back for me, for Abel. It means he still cares, even though he's prideful and doesn't want to admit it.