Murder Yours Truly

Rag

It was awkward enough to make Zack squirm in his seat. Noticeably so, too. He threw himself up, out of the desk chair, and puffed up with fake happiness, "I'll be back in a sec'." He hopped out of the room in a hurry. Now it's awkward and I'm alone with it. I breathed normally again, not too afraid of the noises I made. My body hurts a lot.. I was curious why it hurt in some places more than others. I plucked at the bottom of Alex's hoodie, now riddled with holes. I could see through it; white wrappings shined through the tattered material. Jeez... I winced as I pulled the fabric up and above my stomach. There were bandages and gauze wrapped around my broken skin. I touched a bit of red rapping and flinched. That's why it hurt so much to talk. There were sewn parts where Leon thought necessary; May's cuts varied in deepness. Those parts were so delicate that me sitting up nearly tore it back open. No wonder he kept pleading me to stay still. Sorry, Leon.

Zack opened the door with a mug in his hand and a tired yawn on his face, "I'm back," he breathed out with a haw. Then, his tired eyes looked at me in fear. My attention was held on the cuts instead of him so, the danger in his eyes was ignored. "Katie," he talked slowly, "stop looking at it." I put the sticky, broken shirt down and looked at Zack casually, "Why?" He shook his head and covered his ashamed-for-me eyes: "Don't tell me they don't make you scared," he sounded sad. I shook my head quietly. Seeing the cuts before scared me a bit but, now they're all patched up and it looks painful more than scary. Zack chuckled, "You're tougher than you let on to be."

There was a knock at the door, followed by three more, followed by two. I guess that was their password? Zack typed into the computer and changed the cameras to the one Leon and Alex were standing in. They were waiting patiently in in front of a door, identical to all the others. He walked over to the entrance behind me and creaked it open. Three sets of footsteps clacked through the room, Zack following behind. The door shut with a loud thump while the three settled into the room with me. I didn't bother turning around. I knew what it looked like; Leon leading the way professionally, Alex following him with the blankest of expressions, and Zack trying his hardest to stay still. He didn't know what to do in awkward situations. I think he hated awkwardness to the point of running away the first chance he had. That's just what he did, too. "I'm going to make Katie a drink. She's been raspy since she got here," and away he went, leaving the room for Leon, Alex, and I to sit in.

"Here," Leon lead Alex along the room and popped open a box, "Next time you get angry, don't make my job harder because of it," he joked. Leon jokes? I let out a pity laugh for the kid; he's shy enough already, he deserves a little acceptance. "Kate-" Alex called out with sadness. Wordless otherwise, he waited and watched as Leon took his hand and matted it with gauze. I didn't raise my head from his hoodie, tattered fabric as it was. "Are you alright?" I pulled the question before he could ask me. He was quiet for a moment, thinking of his response, then he whispered, "Yeah." Zack made his way back into the room at this point. He held a new mug of steaming coffee in his hand and, with the other, was gulping down the rest of his strong-smelling beans. Leon watched as he leisurely walked to me. Zack whistled and smiled at me. "Here ya go," he said as he handed me the yellow-green mug.

"Thanks? " I said it as a question because I didn't know what he gave me. It could be poison. Alex already assured me that he wouldn't have a good reason to poison me but I still don't know if I should trust Zack. He hasn't even tried yet. "Jeez, you're looking at it like it's gonna kill you..." Zack sounded hurt. It could've been an act and I wasn't about to take any chances. He folded his arms, put his own cup down on the desk, and swiped mine from my hands. Before I could react, Zack was already taking a big swig of it. "Good?" he asked me with a grin on his face, handing the, now lighter, half-drained drink back to me and picking his own back up. "Zack what'd you give her?" Leon was concerned enough for the both of us. Zack simply shrugged, lifting his own drink and dropping it back down as if toasting Leon. "The same thing?" Leon asked, sounding more frustrated this time. Zack nodded and sipped pleasingly. Leon nearly stomped on the ground, "She needs to rest; that'll make her want to stay up for weeks!" That offended the sleepy red-haired man: "It doesn't even wake me up, Lee. She'll be fine!" He truly believed that; good enough for him, good enough for me. He calls Leon 'Lee'? How cute..

I felt bad. Leon took my drink before I could even try it and argued the whole time with Zack. "She wouldn't be just fine. You have a whole immunity system built up to caffeine. Whatever you gave her would probably be enough to overdose on," he hollered. "You can't overdose on caffeine, dumb-o," Zack smiled wide. Leon could only sigh, very loudly, back at him. Zack knew that Leon was right and was proud of his immunity, I guess. Maybe it's because he's used to the yelling Leon did or maybe he was too tired to take it personally. Halfway through the shouting, Zack giggled and leaned against the door: "You're so cute when you're angry," he smiled tiredly. Leon was dumb-founded and embarrassed. He pushed Zack away and went through the door, to which, Zack followed like a sleepy puppy. I could hear a faint yell sometimes from that side of the door. Always Leon's voice, though. Zack never raised his-- unless it was a booming laugh.

A light press on the couch near my head made me remember who else was left in this room with me.