Chapter 58
Cleanup
“I'm afraid not, Leo. There are no disposal of body quests,” Imp answered.
Just as well. Leo had no idea how to dispose of the bodies in a way that wouldn't get him into even more trouble.
The fact that there was no pounding on the front door suggested, either the neighbors hadn't heard anything, or they had and were used to strange noises coming from this house.
He pulled a Demon Tear from his substantial supply and focused it on healing his aching head.
The real question was, how long would it be before people noticed the creature was missing and came to look? He used his implant to contact Mr. Osmond.
Future Man 10/16: Teach I have a problem
Leo explained to Mr. Osmond what had just happened.
Teach: Shit. I distinctly remember telling you to avoid drawing the attention of the police. When they discover your victim's partially changed body trapped in the freezer with some half-eaten kids, they will cover it up, but they'll still come after you, since thanks to the drone footage, you are the obvious suspect. Clean up any sign you were there. Wash with vinegar, alcohol, or gasoline to get rid of your fingerprints. Dispose of your shoes and clothes when you get home. Do you have an incinerator? Better yet, when you get home, stick your shoes and clothes in a garbage bag, stuff them into your pack, and bring them all to my place as soon as you can.
Future Man 10/16: Will do.
Teach: And get me the name of the person you killed and her address, so I can figure out how deep the shit is that you've gotten yourself, and probably us, into.
Future Man 10/16: Yes sir.
Leo cleaned the mess he'd made in the old lady's house, starting with the butcher knife and blood stains around the freezer. Then he went back to the kitchen, throwing away the broken chair, turning off the stove, and moving everything more or less back to where it should be. Fortunately, he'd been wearing gloves, so fingerprints wouldn't be a problem. Also fortunate he was wearing his old shoes so he wouldn't have to get rid of his nice new shoes. He went through her purse, disturbing the contents as little as possible. Her name had been April Mary Duggan. She'd had a son and three grandkids and she'd recently turned 73.
He grabbed the purse along with her cellphone and stuck them in the freezer with her and the bodies. If someone searched the house and found her purse and cellphone, they'd know something had happened to her. If they didn't find them, they'd hopefully assume she was on a trip or something.
There was a plaintive meow. Sparkles peeked at him through the doorway. The orange tabby cat was skin and bones. When Leo tried to approach, it backed away quickly.
He checked the refrigerator and pantry for milk or cat food, but found none, or anything else he would willingly feed a cat. “I wish I had food for you. Sorry.”
After carefully looking over the place for signs of his presence, he left, letting the cat out as he did so. At least poor Sparkles would have some chance of surviving now. Sparkles didn't have a collar, so anyone finding it would be unlikely to try to return it to its former owner.
He walked home slowly, using more Demon Tears to accelerate his healing. He was careful not to look at the drone following him. By the time he made it home, his head only hurt a bit, and he'd stopped getting dizzy spells. He noticed Sparkles tailing him, but figured the cat, being a cat, would do what it wanted.
It was only 6:30 in the evening. With everything that happened, it felt like it should be much later.
Both parents were working tonight because it was Thursday and they were planning to eat out on Friday. Friday was also the day the public would learn the Bio-Blessed imitator Body Booster's stock was completely worthless.
The only one to notice Leo enter the house was Lydia. She looked up from her cellphone. “What happened to you?”
“Fell down some stairs,” he responded, too physically and mentally exhausted to do anything more than collapse on the couch.
Lydia looked at his bruised face. “No, you didn't. What happened, really?”
“Got into this fight with a child-eating monster. The monster was pretty tough,” Leo responded.
Lydia snorted. “Whatever.”
Leo dragged himself to his feet and looked out the window. Sparkles was hanging around his yard.
He went to the fridge and found a nearly empty carton of milk that had gone bad. Cats didn't mind sour milk. He poured it into a bowl and set it on the front porch. “Here kitty.”
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“What are you doing now?” Lydia asked from the doorway, watching him. “You can't feed stray cats. Cats are like poor people. You feed them and they never go away.”
Sparkles didn't move, watching him beside their locust tree.
“Since when are you an expert on poor people?” Leo backed away from the bowl and went inside to collapse on the couch again. “I fed you last night. Is that why you're still around?”
“I'm your sister, stupid. I have no choice, and I'm not poor.”
“Well, the cat's name is Sparkles, and it may have saved my life. It's obviously starving and it followed me home. So I'm feeding it.”
“Whatever.”
“Oh yeah. Your friend with the brother who took the demon jelly and couldn't fly? Your friend wouldn't have any demon jelly? or be able to obtain some?”
“No,” Lydia said too quickly. “My friend told me her brother now believes he's a dictator of some African country and threatened to kill her. You're crazy enough as it is.”
“It's not for me. I know a guy who knows a guy with money, who wants some for research purposes. If you were able to obtain some, no questions asked, the guy with money would make it worth your while.”
“Worth my while as in how much?”
“Say a hundred dollars on top of whatever your friend is asking for.”
“I'll look into it.” She looked over at him. “Are you sure you don't want it for yourself? You're already taking those strange red pills.”
“Dammit, Lydia! Those are muscle enhancers to make me stronger. And stay out of my stuff.”
Lydia looked dubious. “What muscle enhancer? The only decent muscle enhancer is Bio-Blessed.”
Leo took a deep breath. Then another. His first inclination was to smack his sister, hard, and shout about how bad that stuff was and how he'd just killed an old lady because she'd used the stuff and turned into a monster and ate some kids. But he knew that wouldn't accomplish anything.
So he shrugged and reached for his cellphone. “I didn't know you were taking that stuff. That's fine. You'll look cool with a giant nose wart.”
“What?”
“You didn't know? Kids who take Bio-Blessed tend to get giant warts, giant zits, or other facial growths, which is fine by me. I'll just take pictures of you and post them everywhere.”
“That is not true. My friend takes plenty, and she looks great.”
“There was this girl in my class who took that stuff and got a giant wart, inches long, growing out her nose. We laughed at her so hard.”
“No, you didn't. You made that up.” She used her phone to text someone.
“It's true. Media covers it up. Also, most people who take the stuff are rich, so they take a few weeks off, get plastic surgery, and that's it.”
Lydia stared at her cellphone for a minute.
“Dusty says that kind of thing hardly ever happens and that nose wart was only half an inch long and you're a jerkbag.”
“Half an inch isn't too bad.” Leo pointed the camera at Lydia's face. “I think I see one beginning to form. And I don't think your friend really called me a jerkbag.”
“I hate you!” Lydia got up and kicked Leo in the leg, the one previously hurt by the monster hours before, and stormed off.
Ow.
Curious, Leo limped to the window to check on the cat. The bowl of milk had been licked clean and Sparkles was resting in a nearby tree.
Teach: Fortunately for you, the woman you killed is known to be reclusive. With luck, we'll have at least a week before anyone notices she's missing. And longer before anyone thinks to check the basement freezer. In the meantime, please don't kill anyone else without consulting me.
Future Man 10/16: I'll do that. Thanks.
Lydia came storming back and kicked him again in the same place as before. “I do not have the beginnings of a nose wart!”
“Ow.” Leo smiled, holding up his cellphone. “If you say so. Give it time. Have some more Bio-Blessed. I'll show you how to steal Mom and Dad's supply. There's a brand of aspirin that looks a lot like a Bio-Blessed pill.”
“So you have taken it,” she said.
“Hell no. I wouldn't touch that stuff for anything. But I know how to steal some for you. I think you'd look good with a nose wart.”
She kicked him again. “Creep.”
“Oh yeah. Stay away from Dad tomorrow. I have a feeling he's going to lose a lot of money in the stock market. You do not want to be near him when this happens.”
“Is that part of...?” she asked.
“Yeah. It's part of you know what.” He dragged himself to his feet. “I'm going to go study. Remember to ask your friend about the other.”
“Creep.”
Leo limped to his bedroom and collapsed, not wanting to do anything but lie there, feel hopeless, and cry. He remembered what Mr. Osmond said. If this is all a game, there has to be a way to win. But how? High-Level Bosses were so overpowered. Curious, he checked his stats. Swordsman Rare and Assassin Uncommon had been added to his short list of character choices. Combined with his rarity bonus, this gave him Assassin Rare, or if he wanted, Swordsman Epic.
Swordsman Epic would be like his old Swordsman Common, but infinitely better. He suspected in a few weeks post-change, he'd be stronger than he'd been after fifty years of training in his previous future.
Assassin Rare would come with far more stealth capabilities. He wouldn't have the offensive capability of the Swordsman Epic, but he'd be able to choose when to fight, and get close enough to the monsters to attack with pinpoint precision.
Either choice would be great. For anyone normal.
But neither character was for him. He needed a character class that would let him change the future. Unfortunately, the only thing all the different character classes had in common was they all get their asses kicked. The “Beware the Guardian” comment was interesting, considering the Guardian character class was no exception to this rule. Were the aliens worried that a certain Guardian might actually pose a threat? If so, how? Or was it some kind of ruse?
These thoughts kept going through his head until he passed out from mental and physical exhaustion.