Three days later..

I laid down on my bed, the soft mattress a welcome contrast to the hard few days I've had, watching YouTube videos to distract myself. My laptop sat open beside me, papers scattered around as evidence of my preparation for the next semester. I’d caught up on all my college work and made sure everything was in order for the coming months. It felt good to be ahead, but the satisfaction was overshadowed by a gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach.

My phone buzzed beside me, and I glanced at the screen, half-hoping to see a message from my parents. They had barely texted me lately, and it stung. I wished for a good relationship with them, but there were so many things they had messed up. Some wounds ran too deep to forgive. The worst was when they didn’t even attend her damned funeral. At least they paid for it, I thought bitterly, but that was little consolation. Pushing those thoughts aside, I reminded myself of the progress I had made. I had fully recovered from the fight with Jordan, a memory that still sent shivers down my spine. The argument had escalated so quickly, and in a moment of blind rage, I had ended up stabbing myself. Now, a permanent scar ran down my forearm, a constant reminder of that night. Strangely, I found it almost cool in a morbid way. I reached over and grabbed my phone, scrolling through my contacts aimlessly. I paused when I saw Oren’s name. We hadn’t talked since the incident.

I clicked the phone and decided to call him. It rang for a few short moments before it stopped. It sounded like Oren was in a busy area, the hum of chatter and background noise filling the brief silence. "Yeah, Damon, what's up?" Oren’s voice came through, casual as always. "How's it going?" I asked, trying to match his tone. "Fine, other than Aroha going crazy. Why are you calling?" he replied, a hint of curiosity in his voice. "Other than wanting to make sure nothing else happened, how did you hide the bodies?" I asked, my voice lowering instinctively. Oren paused, and for a moment, all I could hear was the distant noise from his end. "I know some people. Those people got burials and whatever. I set up cameras near that area, but no one has been there since." I let out a sigh of relief. "Alright, glad to hear you're okay an—" Oren cut me off, his tone suddenly sharp. "Those murders on TV recently, or whatever you like to call them... you did it, didn't you?" I paused, my mind racing. Was it truly murder? Or was it justice? Maybe an oxymoron like immoral justice?

I ranted, "Yes, I did. I will kill at least three more people in my revenge. The rest I will be fine with mere arrests." Oren responded, "I used to be very... steadfast. Maybe exactly like you. What do you think matters more? Human law, or God's law?" Without hesitation, I answered with a strong voice, "God's law." There was a moment of silence before Oren hung up abruptly. I knew he wouldn't tell the police, at least not until it was all over. I would be fine as long as I achieved my goal. I moved on to one of my other few contacts, Miyako. We had texted back and forth, catching up over the past few weeks, but now it was time to get serious. If Allison didn't text me today, I would pursue her more aggressively. I texted Miyako, "Hey, let me inform you about my plan for Allison." The FBI doesn't monitor texts without reasonable cause, and since I wasn't under investigation yet, I felt safe sharing some details. A few seconds later, Miyako replied, "Call me instead." Eh, okay? I was slightly puzzled. I rolled down the HUD and called her. It picked up immediately without a single ring. "Damon?" Miyako's voice was clear and urgent. "Yeah, it's me," I replied. "What's this plan you're talking about?" she asked. I took a deep breath, preparing to dive into the details.

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I answered, "I'm gonna talk for a long minute. You listening?" "Yeah, just at my house right now. Shoot." she replied. I launched into my plan, my words tumbling out in a rushed stream. "So, I'm going on a date with Allison soon. I plan to hire someone special to let me beat them up, making me look good in front of her. I plan to repeat a few dates until we get close enough for her to invite me to her house. I will then burn her and the house alive." Miyako took in all of that information, then brought up some concerns. "Aren't there tons of CCTV cameras planted everywhere now? It's not like where you killed Jordan. Wouldn't they know you and her entered that house?" I held a fake corpse on the end of my bed, admiring the realism. "I bought an anatomical body off the black market that looks like me. Cost a fortune. I know a route that dodges all CCTV when I escape. Should be good enough." Miyako considered this for a moment. "I'm not really thinking of anything else that could mess it up, but just be careful. If you do, you're in prison for life." I tightened my face muscles, grimacing. "Won't happen." Miyako sighed, "I'll cover for you when ECLIPSE finds out. Goodbye for now." "Have a good rest of your day, Miyako." I said, and hung up.

I called Allison immediately after to schedule the date. It rang for a few seconds, and she picked up. Nobody is busy today! "Oh, hello, Jake," she greeted. "Hey, sorry for not calling sooner. I wanted to schedule the date. Is there any place you'd like to go and when?" I asked, trying to keep my tone light and casual.I could hear something swishing in the background on her end. "Hm. How about Red Lobster?" she suggested. "Okay, sure. I like seafood. Sounds great! What time?" I responded. She thought for a moment. "I'm busy on the first, how about June second at five o'clock?" I tabbed out and checked Red Lobster's hours on Safari. Good, it was open. "Alright. I should be free then too, and Red Lobster's open. I'll call ahead to make sure we get a good table." "Sounds great. You really... do like me, don't you?" she asked, a hint of shyness in her voice. Hahahah.. Hahahah! I responded with a deadpan voice, "Yes, I do." She chuckled shyly. I added, "Send me your address so I can pick you up. Gonna give you the treatment a queen deserves." There was a moment of silence, and then she hung up. Was she that embarrassed? I wondered. Regardless, everything was falling into place. The date was set, and I had the next step in my plan ready to go.

I stood up and walked over to my closet. I took out some good clothes I had recently bought, a business casual outfit that would be perfect for the date. I couldn't afford to mess this up. I decided to make one last call to someone I knew well, the guy who would take the fall so Allison would fall deeper for me. I clicked on his icon and called. He picked up. "Hey, Tony, what's up?"