Death and Destruction (Jeff the Killer Fanfic)

31. Fair trade

Jeff

I moved to stand in front of the four of them, Nina leaping to my aid without hesitation as she brandished her own knife. Everything about her made my entire being hurt, from the matching smile to the skin and hair. She could've been my little sister, looking like this. The confident shine in her eyes shook me from my gutted haze though and I nodded, my head squeezing when I saw the Operator for the first time.

He was tall, just like Snow had said, with a suit and a blank face. The first thing he did was remove the body and the monster before he returned, shadowy tentacles leeching from his back and whipping wildly while everyone but myself recoiled in fear. I stood my ground, holding my knife in a painfully tight grip, stinging wounds running up and down my arms keeping me focused ahead. My own blood stained my hoodie and I felt violated, angered, and downright fucking demented as I stared this son of a bitch down. I was ready to play, mother fucker, and I came to win.

"You dare to strike down my property?"

"You're damn right!" I snarled, "and if you think I'm going to let you take anyone else from me you're fucking mistaken!"

"Tom!"

I whipped around to find the source of the scream, my blood running cold as I witnessed Thomas begin to convulse, foaming at the mouth with a messy, black bile. No, not this again! I was torn between rushing to help him and holding off this aberration but I knew I couldn't budge, I was the only thing standing between it and my friends. My family.

"Normally I would punish all of you for acting against me like this," his voice played in my head like my own personal Jiminy Cricket and the wild movements slowly began to settle, "but it does not have to be this way."

"I told you—!"

"Jeffrey," he seemed to speak to me directly, "you do not have to lose anyone."

I just wish maybe I could've showed up a day later, missed my shot; I'd still have my little psychopath and you'd still have...

I grimaced, his gaze burning into me and making me squirm; I'd been thinking this whole bounty thing over pretty hard these last few days. My grip knife loosened just the smallest sliver while my chest heaved, fighting back everything I'd been trying to convince myself was wrong, but I...I couldn't. Not anymore. He was amplifying all the thoughts and making them scream at me while I bit back my own.

"Get the fuck out of my head!"

They were perfectly destructive for each other in the best kind of way, if that makes sense.

"Chelsea, can you do anything?!"

"I don't know! Tom hang on, please!"

The longer he was here the worse Thomas was going to get. My throat tightened as I thought about how much I used to despise him versus now, considering him as someone I'd gladly trust with my life. He was practically my brother. I'd trust any of them with my back, and yet at the same time I knew my chaos was what brought this to their doorstep in the first place. My friends, my found family, my girlfriend, I'd been putting them all through hell and back from the moment I stepped foot in Silver Cove.

I'm not sure sorry would cut it for someone I killed without a second thought.

I knew how to fix this, finally. How to right all the wrongs I'd made and finally have some way to actually protect the people I cared about. I took a deep breath before I put my knife away, Snow's hand wrapping around my arm while she tried to pull me back. They'd began to retreat but instead I turned, pulling her to my face so I could kiss her. The taste of salt invaded my tongue and as she pulled away I could see the confusion in her eyes, the fear. Her grip on me tightened while I fought back my grimace.