Eyes of Ice

Perplexed

"What are you doing?"

Ronnie started, nearly dropping his rifle. "Jesus Christ."

"No, it's just me," Patty replied, pulling up a chair at the table and fiddling with the shotgun Ronnie had just cleaned.

Ronnie took it away from him, setting it down against the wall. "What are you doing? Don't you have murders to commit?"

Ronnie's stomach twisted with regret at how hurt Patty looked.

"I don't like that I kill people."

Ronnie went back to cleaning the rifle, pushing aside the sympathy. "Then stop."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

Patty looked at his hands. "I have to do it. I don't know if it's a ghost thing, but every year I start feeling like I'm losing myself. Like I'm forgetting who I am. I start needing to kill and it gets worse until I do. It's terrifying."

"You can't horribly mutilate animals instead?"

"I already told you I hate needless killing. If I killed squirrels they would be wasted. I can't even eat them."

"But people aren't a waste?"

"Not if they're hurting us."

Ronnie started reassembling the rifle. "I heard about the guy you just killed on the news. They found another body near his remains."

Patty nodded. "He killed his niece a few months ago. He kept visiting the place he left her, so I waited for him nearby. Her parents thought she ran away. They should know what happened."

Ronnie heard a truck pull up in the driveway and put the rifle down. "That's Ben. You should leave if you don't want him to see you."

He went out, greeting Ben with a hug and helping him get the beers out of his truck. "How've you been?"

"Busy with the recent attack," he replied, making for the cabin, "I'm having to tell people we have it under control, but we have all the same dead ends as every other attack. Police are very interested in the other body, though. They're saying it's his niece and they think he killed her."

"No shit."

"Yeah. And if the animal hadn't killed him in that spot they would never have found the body. Pretty weird, right?"

Ronnie opened the door, his reply dying in his throat when he saw Patty still seated at the table.

"Woah, hi," Ben said, "Didn't know you were seeing anyone, Ronnie."

"I'm...not..."

Ben put his case of beers on the table and shook Patty's hand politely. "I'm Ben."

"Patty," Patty said, smiling.

"Don't...don't talk to him," Ronnie said to Patty.

Ben looked surprised. "Hey, it's okay mate. I won't tell anyone if you're keeping it low key at the moment."

"He's dead, Ben."

"Excuse me?"

"Dead as a rock," Patty confirmed with a shrug.

"Stop talking." Ronnie turned to Ben. "Do you remember when we were talking about weird dreams we've had?"

Ben frowned. "Um, vaguely?"

"This is the guy I met. It wasn't a dream."

Ben still didn't seem convinced. "You aren't having me on, are you?"

Patty blew a few snowflakes into the air, watching them float down to the table and melt. "Pretty good prank, if he is. You should fall for it just so he can feel proud of himself."

"Shut up, Patty," Ronnie warned.

Patty ignored him. "If I'm still alive, how can I do this?" With a loud scrape, he pulled his leg out from under the table, revealing the bear trap clamped around his bloody leg.

"Jesus."

Ronnie agreed. It was hard to get used to a sight like that.

The trap and blood turned into snow and Patty shook it off.

"Hey, I have to clean that up, asshole."

"Sorry."

"You better not have scratched my floorboards."

Ben looked a bit sick. "I need to sit down."