The Bond We Share

Chapter 2

Dead of night, with no soul wandering the streets and alleys, aside from the usual strays and vermin. That changed when a man was frantically running through the alley, he was breathing heavily, while his legs tried to pick up the pace as fast he he could go. He was obviously ridden with fear, and what he was afraid of, only trailed behind him.

"Hyahahaha!"

Isaac locked onto the frantic man, he had given him his usual count to three to have that thrill of the chase before the slaughter. The man tried everything to lose Zack, or even gain more distance from the serial killer. He knocked over trash, took detours, and even jumped fences. At every turn, Zack knew exactly where the man would be. It was an exciting chase to Isaac, what he really planned on doing, was shepherd him. He wasn't going to kill him just yet, until the moment was right. The man continued to run, his breaths became wheezes, while saliva trailed down his chin. He doesn't know how much longer he would be able to run. He glanced back and noticed that he did gain a large distance from the killer. He was hopeful of possibly escaping this wanted man, but that was all shattered - starting with the kneecaps.

The man collapsed to the ground, and writhed in pain. It was an unbearable sensation at his knees, and just trying to bend it only made the pain worse - his kneecaps really were shattered. A pipe set itself right beside the man's face, along with a pair of boots. The man slowly trailed his eyes up to see a teenaged girl, showing an emotionless expression, while she gripped the end of the pipe she just swung.

"...W-What the fuck?"

The footsteps of Zack was catching up to his prey, as the girl set a foot down to prevent him from trying to crawl away. She was keeping him in place until Isaac caught up.

"Haha! Atta girl, Ray!" Zack laughed. He was clearly pleased with the girl's cooperation in his hunt, then he knelt down to the man on the ground, "Fuckin' thought you had a chance to escape? Hell naw, I guided your dumb ass here."

The man's heart was racing hard, the chase for his life was all planned out, and how Zack knew exactly where he was going to run off. This whole time, he was herded right into this ambush.

"Was a fun chase, but I'm fiending to kill."

Zack stood back up, his grin growing wider as the man's face contorted into a fearful despair, that exact expression that got his blood pumping. Zack gripped his scythe, and raised his arm up for the kill. Ray stepped back, knowing that this was going to be a complete mess. Within seconds, the man became headless.

"Damn, girl...ya' make one hell of an accomplice," Zack said with a playful chuckle, "shit, that was fun; chasin' him down like that and watchin' him topple like a sack of bricks. Ya' really didn't hold back on thwackin' the guy's legs."

"I'm surprised you didn't kill him on the dot."

"Hmm, I was tempted...but seeing the look on that guy's face was fuckin' worth it," Zack replied with a sly shrug. "Alright, search him."

Rachel set the pipe down, and walked over to the corpse. She sifted through every pocket on the man's body, she pulled out his wallet, and pulled out every bit of cash he had. She placed the paper bills into her makeshift bag, and tossed the wallet into a nearby dumpster to dispose of evidence.

"Alright, let's go."

"Yeah, I'm fuckin' beat," Zack mumbled, resting the hilt of his scythe upon his shoulders.

The two had taken shelter in an abandoned hotel, they had cleared the old, tattered mattress, and but kept the bed frame to support their own bedding, as to make sleeping feel less stiff on the firm platform. They had separate sleeping bags, but Rachel kept them in a close vicinity. Sleeping together seemed to have become the norm, it was a sense of comfort and security that there was someone around to be vigilant when they're most vulnerable. Isaac didn't want to admit it, but he kind of liked having her nearby, it made him feel at ease as they slept - though, it still was a bit awkward that this became a thing between themselves. They settled in their area of rest, knowing that nobody would think twice to explore this dilapidated building. Tomorrow, they needed to travel again, possibly to another state, anywhere that they needed to cover their tracks. Rachel often slept beside Zack, as his back faced her. It did feel like a wall in some way, but she felt comfort by resting her herself snugly against it. Zack would occasionally flinch or mumble, but he never retaliated. He chose to let her hold him close, perhaps thinking that Rachel may have another panic attack or even a nightmare of their separation. Her body warmth pressed against him though, he will admit, was pretty comfortable - he'll definitely call her a personal bed warmer if he got the chance.