It was all too much.
I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t even breathe properly. The pain in my leg was intensifying even more, leaving me in even more agony that made me want to scream. I couldn’t keep kneeling anymore, and slumped onto the ground, unable to think clearly from the pain. All around me, voices were taunting me.
“Michael!” Isla screamed, as the men began to drag her away. She flailed wildly, trying to break free from their grip.
“I t’ s y o u r f a u l t,” they hissed. “A l l o f i t i s y o u r f a u l t.”
The syringe was so close. Time seemed to slow down as I reached out towards it, my fingertips just barely grasping it- and then a foot slammed down on my arm.
I barely managed to lift my head up to look at a familiar face. My eyes widened.
“...You?” I gasped.
----------------------------------------
“Commissioner, Commissioner!”
From where she’d fallen asleep in her chair, the Commissioner jolted awake. She rubbed her eyes to see a young officer standing in front of her desk with two pieces of paper stapled together, which he laid down in front of her.
“This was intercepted from a dark web site,” the officer told her. “It’s a job offer talking about Isla that’s open to anyone in the city. We tried to trace it, but we could only narrow it down so much.”
The Commissioner groggily grabbed the papers and began to read it. As she did, she slowly became more and more awake, her eyes widening. When she was finished, she shut her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.
“...Commissioner?”
She pointed to her mug. “Get me another fucking cup of coffee.”
“Y-yes, ma’am.”
The Commissioner intentionally raised her voice, yelling out in the station. “And the second anyone tells my daughter about this, disciplinary action will be the least of your worries!” She looked back at the paper as the officer left, awkwardly closing the door behind them.
One hundred thousand dollars… The amount of money itself wasn’t a surprise to her. It was more so the lengths that Isla’s father was willing to go even though it’d just been a day. There had to be some sort of pressure on him. Maybe Isla knew something important, something so big that it needed to be headlines everywhere, which was why she’d been meeting with Ruth. But that would mean that her previous guess was wrong.
“Deliver to ‘Mad Dog’…” She gritted her teeth. The nickname was well known, especially amongst the city’s police. But that wouldn’t matter in a court of law. It was all about what you could prove, and they had jack shit. Even if there was evidence suggesting that Jin Ikari was the Demon’s smuggler, his lawyers would likely be able to sweep it under the rug somehow.
The Commissioner flipped over the first page and began to read the second. The message didn’t originate from anywhere on the Northeast side of the city; the message had come from a small industrial district in the Southwest, filled with factories and warehouses. Likely a dead end, but just in case, she began to compile a list of the most suspicious buildings for future reference.
Too many to justify a warrant, she thought. A judge wouldn’t approve it.
A knock on the door. Lieutenant Singh’s turban peeked in from outside the office.
“You look like hell,” he commented, concern in his voice.
“Did they find out anything?” she asked desperately.
The lieutenant sighed and approached her desk, closing the door behind him. He plopped down into the chair across from her. “Not a goddamn thing. Rachel, we need to pull all of them out. Their cover is blown.”
“We don’t know that for sure,” she reasoned. “It’s only been a few weeks-”
“Yes, we do! Look, I know you want to find Isla, but you’re risking the lives of our men here. The Demons just toying with us at this point.” Singh gave a heavy sigh and cupped his face in his hands. “Sorry, I’m just… frustrated. Nothing has been going right ever since these assholes came to the city. At this point, I’m wondering if I should just go back to India.”
Nothing has been going right.
She had no way of knowing for sure… but she could start narrowing things down.
“I might have an idea of where Isla might be,” the Commissioner began cautiously.
Lieutenant Singh straightened in his chair. “What?”
“We need to keep this off the record. I don’t want any risks.” She grabbed a notepad and began writing down directions. “It’s a remote location and it would be fairly safe, so it makes sense that she’d go there.”
“Why didn’t you mention this before?” Singh questioned.
The Commissioner sighed. “It’s… an old friend’s spot. I haven’t thought about it in years, honestly. But Isla should know it. Go at night, alright? And not in uniform. We can’t raise any sort of suspicion. If she’s there, call me immediately. Don’t tell anyone else. Do you understand?”
He examined the piece of paper closely and nodded, standing up to leave. “...I understand. I’ll be careful.” He headed for the door, and just as he was able to disappear from the Commissioner’s line of sight, he spoke. “Thank you.”
“For?”
“For trusting me with this.”
“...Of course.”
The lieutenant nodded, then left. The Commissioner waited a few seconds, then pulled out her phone and began to compose a text to her husband.
Sorry. Not going to be home tonight.
----------------------------------------
An hour before everything had gone wrong, Isla had been in a foul mood.
The conversation with Mrs. Forth had clearly taken its toll. She was curled up on the couch, staring at the TV, her eyes glassy as they watched the movie that was playing. Mom and I looked at her in concern from where we stood in the kitchen, making lunch.
“Aren’t you going to say anything to her?” I whispered to Mom.
“Me? You two seemed like you were getting along great last night,” she whispered back. “You should go. I’m sure you know to say.”
“Says the licensed, practicing psychiatrist.”
“Neither of you are quiet, you know,” Isla said plainly.
We both jumped. I lowered the knife I was using to cut vegetables, trying to come up with what to say in reply, but I was blanking out. It was impossible to know what to say to her after the talk we’d just had. Anything comforting that I said would just seem disingenuous, and that wasn’t really my style, anyway. And while I didn’t really care if Isla was depressed, I had a feeling that a certain someone would, which would be a pain in the ass when she got here after school.
Go outside, get her some air. We were supposed to do the groceries today anyways, right?
Right, I’m sure that’s a wonderful idea.
Just disguise her a bit, make her wear a mask. Most of her father’s men are probably centered around the red light district.
…
It was strange. Even though I normally would have just shut down the suggestion and let things figure themselves out naturally, I anxiously felt like I had to do something. I decided that maybe it’d be best to go along with the suggestion.
“Hey, Isla,” I began.
“...What?”
“Need your help with something.”
After a few minutes of discussion between Isla, myself, and my mom, I stood outside my room, waiting for her to get dressed. I felt my phone begin to vibrate in my pocket, and took it out to glance at the caller ID.
An unknown number. I made a face and declined the call. When my phone started vibrating again, I opted to block the number.
I heard a doorknob turning and glanced up. Isla stepped out of my room in an old pair of jeans and one of my hoodies from the back of my closet.
“This smells musty,” she complained.
“You’re more than free to go in your clothes from yesterday,” I offered, knowing full well how messed up they were. She glared at me in answer.
I walked past her into my room- and suddenly felt incredibly dizzy. Stumbling briefly, I grabbed the corner of my desk to keep me from falling to my knees.
Concerned, Isla quickly positioned herself close to me, her arms outstretched in case I fell. “Are you alright? Is it because of your leg?””
“No, I just…” I shook myself awake. While my leg wasn’t in the greatest condition, I’d mentally numbed down the pain as much as I could, so it felt more like a bruise. This wave of dizziness had seemingly come out of it nowhere, and it couldn’t be because of the meds considering I wasn’t taking them.
I decided to forget about it for now and think about it later.
“Don’t worry about it, I’m alright,” I reassured her. “You’ll probably need this if we’re going outside.” I grabbed a disposable black face mask from a box my desk and handed it to her.
“Uh… what is this for?” she asked, frowning.
“I’m sure you can figure that out yourself,” I told her. “Let’s go.”
The store wasn’t far, but it wasn’t close, either- about a fifteen minute walk in total. I’d asked Mom to drive us, but she’d told me that walking would do some good for both of us. Which was completely untrue considering the hole in my leg, but I decided not to bring that up. I’d barely gotten away with explaining it as a light slash wound I’d stitched up.
Isla opted to walk ahead of me, her hand linked behind her back, staring down at the sidewalk. Her hood covered her hair and the mask covered her face, but pedestrians still opted to walk past us quickly.
“Nice weather for a walk, huh?” I began.
“...Sure.”
Good start. You’re so very charismatic!
I took a deep breath. “Look, if you really don’t want to talk about it-”
“I don’t,” she confirmed.
“Okay, fine,” I said. “What if I wanted to talk about it?”
“Then I’ll tell you to fuck off.” I opened my mouth to respond, but Isla continued, cutting me short. “Just don’t, Michael. There’s nothing to talk about, and nothing we can do besides get these fucking groceries and go back.”
“Of all the ways I expected you to act, this wasn’t one of them.”
“Sorry for not meeting your expectations,” Isla muttered darkly.
I hobbled forwards a little faster, placing myself in front of her to block her path. “You’re acting like you’re the one who shot up the place.”
“You don’t get it.”
“I’m the only one who could get it, remember?”
Isla grabbed my collar and raised her fist, ready to clobber me, but there was no fire in her eyes. After a few seconds, she dropped her fist and released me, looking away.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
“At this point, I’m just… tired.” She sighed. “No matter what I do, no matter what I try, it ends up being pointless. Whenever I try to do the peaceful thing, the morally correct thing, everything goes to shit anyways, and it’s my fault. But when I get angry or upset, or when I have to fight, I’m also a part of the problem, so I have to keep quiet.” She laughed bitterly.
“It’s so easy for all these people to judge me, lecture me, tell me to calm down, or that I could have done things a different way. But they don’t have a single clue of what it’s like to live my life,” Isla continued. The flames in her eyes roared back to life at full power. “God, sometimes… I just wanna say fuck it, and burn everything and everyone to the ground.”
“Hm.” I paused briefly. “You know what your problem is?”
Isla crossed her arms. “What’s that?”
“You care too much,” I pointed out. “About what other people say, what they think. You’re stressing yourself out over what these people think for no reason.”
“I can’t just-”
“Can’t just what?” I raised my hand, showing her four fingers. “The way I see it, high school is four years of your life, and we’re two years in, so… two years left. That’s a tiny ass fraction of your what, eighty years or so you’re alive maybe? You’re probably never to going to talk to a majority of these people again after these two years are done.”
“So what, I should be a social reject like you?” Isla jabbed.
I snorted. “You were a ‘social reject’ the moment you were born to an abusive, piece of shit father. You’re always going to be different than them, see things differently than them. So what’s the point of twisting and contorting yourself to try to please people? You can’t change who you are at the snap of your fingers.”
She gripped her arm, the fire in her eyes replaced by worry. “I just… I don’t want to be abandoned. Not by the people closest to me.”
“You won’t,” I promised. “Anybody in your life who actually gives a damn about you isn’t going anywhere unless you make them. Sophia probably ranks at the top of that list, so you definitely don’t have to worry about her.”
Isla released her arm, the tension in her muscles visibly relaxing as she shook her head in disbelief, looking up at me. “Have you always been so…” She trailed off.
“Been so what?”
“Whatever.” She spun around on one foot to manuever around me, and began to walk at a much calmer, relaxed pace than before, her hands in her pockets. “Let’s just hurry up and get this done.”
The corners of my lips perked up a bit. “Sounds good.”
Getting the groceries went by a lot easier than I thought it would. I totally thought Isla and I would be bickering the whole time, but she was honestly pretty helpful, picking out quality produce, using an app to find us discounts, and swapping out the cleaning products I was going to get for better ones.
“It’s because I usually do everything around the house,” she explained to me. “I basically live alone, and on a way tighter budget than this.”
“You’d be a perfect… maid,” I commented hesitantly.
Isla frowned. “Uh, what? You mean a perfect wife?”
I shrugged. “I would have said that, but that would have been kinda weird.”
She scoffed as she placed a jar of tomato sauce in our cart. “I wouldn’t have made any assumptions, and neither should you. Like your sister said, I’m way, way out of your league.”
“That’s fine by me. I wouldn’t wanna be your victim anyway,” I deadpanned.
She lunged to smack me, but I dodged and headed off down towards the end of the aisle. I reached out to grab a packet of penne, and then… it happened.
That same nauseating feeling rippling throughout my body, except it was now ten times worse. My legs became wobbly, and I could feel a rapid thump-thump sound coming from within me. Dizzy, a chill running up my spine, I slowly turned my head and came face to face with a standing corpse- a man with blood streaming out from a bullet hole in his forehead. His features contorted into a twisted grin- features I immediately recognized despite only having seen them a single time.
“E n j o y i n g y o u r s e l f?” he asked me.
I stumbled away from him, shivering, and slammed into a woman behind me. I turned to apologize, but realized I had walked into a lady with a broken neck, her head bent awkwardly to the side as she stared straight at me. Her eyes were like that of a dead fish.
“Y o u s h o u l d b e s o r r y.” She didn’t move her mouth to speak, but I could still hear her voice. “Y o u d i d t h i s t o u s.”
More and more walking corpses began to appear around me, greviously wounded, pointing at me, blaming me. Hyperventilating, I dropped to my knees, trying to focus on the floor as their accusations flooded my mind. The dizzy, nauseating feeling was ten times worse than it had been in my room earlier.
I was vaguely aware of Isla rushing over, kneeling down besides me, trying to figure out what was wrong.
“O-outside,” I stammered, my teeth chattering. “Take m-me outside.”
Instead of taking me through the entrance, Isla burst into the grocery’s storage area, littered with pallets of goods. The employees yelling at us sounded as if they were shouting from the end of a long hallway. All the while, the voices felt like they were whispering into my ear.
“M u r d e r e r.”
“K i l l e r.”
“B u t c h e r.”
“M o n s t e r.”
“Y o u d o n ’ t d e s e r v e t h i s l i f e.”
“W e s h o u l d t a k e i t f r o m y o u.”
The pain in my leg that’d I’d been suppressing began to magnify. I gasped in pain as we burst out the back door, and collapsed forwards onto the pavement of the grocery store’s deserted loading zone, clutching my leg. It was unbearable, like something was slowly pushing nails into the wound.
“What do I do?!” Isla’s voice was higher pitched than usual.
I looked up at her, and was surprised I could fully see the panicked expression on her face. “...Where’s your mask?”
“Mask?” Isla’s eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”
What?
“My… bag,” I gasped, sweat dripping down my face as I slipped it off my back. “Very front pocket. There’s… an injector.”
She fumbled through the pocket. “What is it?”
“A-antipsychotic,” I gasped. “And a l-light anesthetic.”
“The hell is that?”
“Take your t-time,” I stuttered. “Not like I’m having any trouble here.” My consciousness felt like a movie I was watching instead of being present in the moment, as if I was glued to my theater seat and couldn’t move my gaze away.
“Got it.” Isla pulled out a gray syringe with a red cap. As she went to remove the cap, the double doors we’d came through burst open, revealing a man a grocery store uniform and ripped black jeans, wearing a concerned expression. If I hadn’t been in such a rough shape, I would have realized what was wrong right away.
“What’s going on?” he questioned. “Do I need to call an ambulance?”
“It’s fine.” Isla flashed a quick smile, then turned back to taking off the cap. “Just forgot to take his meds today, you know?”
My brain finally caught up, but I still struggled to speak. “De…” I reconsidered my words and whispered. “Pants. N-no pants.”
Isla reddened, flustered. “I’m not taking off your pants,” she stated loudly. Then, her face went pale as she realized what I’d been trying to hint at.
Click. The barrel of a pistol pressed up against the back of Isla’s skull as the safety was switched off. Isla froze.
“He means my pants,” the fake employee informed her. “After all, woulda been kinda weird if I’d forced that guy to take off his, too.”
“Dumbass,” I muttered.
“Okay. I’m going to kill both of you,” Isla promised, her eyes blazing.
The man cocked his pistol. “I’d love to see you try, but…” He took a step back, now leveling the barrel at me lying on the floor. “The contract was for alive, not dead.”
Isla rose, turning around to face the man. I couldn’t see the expression on her face. “A contract?”
“Mhm. Contract for a hundred thousand dollars, alive.” The criminal shrugged as he slowly undid the metal buttons of the employee uniform with one hand. “God, this thing smells. Anyways, not sure what a kid like you did to get such a large bounty on her head, but 100k is 100k, so…” He gestured with his gun. “Drop the needle and let’s go.”
Isla clenched her fists, her nails digging so hard into her palms that when she released them, blood dripped off her nails. She tossed the syringe behind her, and it landed a few meters away from me. I tried to focus, to clear out the pain and the voices so I could speak.
“Isla,” I gasped. “Don’t-”
“It’s okay,” Isla reassured me, but her voice was shaking.
From down by the corner of the building, a white van appeared, heading towards us- his accomplices. They’d be here in seconds.
“Good choice,” the gunman commended Isla, proceeding to take off the uniform further. As he went to remove the uniform dangling from his shooting arm, he began to switch over the pistol to his other hand without thinking- and that’s when Isla struck, lunging forwards with a yell and slamming into the gunman.
I immediately began to take action, but that didn’t mean much when it felt like I couldn’t fully control myself. It took all of my willpower to get onto my knees and crawl towards the syringe as I heard the van screech to a halt, the side door slamming open.
“Y o u c a n ‘ t s a v e h e r,” the voices said. “Y o u ‘ r e n o h e r o.”
As I heard the sounds of heavy footsteps and Isla cry out in pain behind me, I knew I was almost out of time. I tried even harder to force myself forwards, but it was like moving through cement. The syringe couldn’t be more than half a meter away, but…
It was all too much.
I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t even breathe properly. The pain in my leg was intensifying even more, leaving me in even more agony that made me want to scream. I couldn’t keep kneeling anymore, and slumped onto the ground, unable to think clearly from the pain. All around me, voices were taunting me.
“Michael!” Isla screamed, as the men began to drag her away. She flailed wildly, trying to break free from their grip.
“I t’ s y o u r f a u l t,” they hissed. “A l l o f i t i s y o u r f a u l t.”
The syringe was so close. Time seemed to slow down as I reached out towards it, my fingertips just barely grasping it- and then a foot slammed down on my arm.
I barely managed to lift my head up to look at a familiar face. My eyes widened.
“...You?” I gasped.
I was looking at… me. An exact, perfect replica of me, down to the last, minute detail, even wearing the clothes that I was currently wearing. The only key difference was in his eyes- blood red pupils with a vertical slit, twinkling with amusement.
I instantly, instinctively, knew who it was. There wasn’t anyone else it could be.
“Hey, ‘boss’.” Unlike the usual voice in my head, I could physically hear him now. “Sorry, but I’ll be taking over from here.”
You planned this. All of this.
"Well, I’m offended.” He put on a fake expression of shock. “What could I possibly have done? You’re acting like I called these guys over here.”
The mask. You made me hallucinate giving one to Isla. Then you triggered this whole panic attack somehow so you could take control over me.
“Hm…” His face contorted into a maniacal grin, his eyes opening so wide I thought they’d pop out of their sockets. “What a shame. I was hoping I could get away with that part, but… oh well.” He knelt down on one knee in front of me. “Don’t worry about all that, Michael. Get some rest.”
My vision was darkening. I struggled to keep my eyes awake, trying to reach out with my fingers just a bit further towards the syringe, but it was impossible.
“Sweet dreams,” he whispered.
Isla was done for.
She was too weak to break free of the grasp of the three men who’d jump out of the van. They’d immediately restrained her, tying up her wrists and covering her mouth with duct tape. Just as they were getting ready to secure her ankles, she saw Michael stand up out of the corner of her eye, renewing her vigor. She slammed the back of her head into a man’s jaw, and he cursed, wrapping his beefy arm around her neck to choke her out. Spots began to cloud her vision as her consciousness faded.
“Excuse me.”
Everyone turned to look at Michael, and despite the fact that she was desperately trying to stay conscious, Isla felt a shiver run up her spine. It was the same feeling she’d gotten in the alleyway… the feeling that it wasn’t quite Michael standing before her.
Not-Michael flashed a pleasant, friendly smile, almost like one you’d get from a salesman. Isla felt the arm around her neck slightly loosen its grip, letting blood flow back to her brain.
“I need to talk to her.” He pointed towards Isla. “I’ll make it quick, and then you guys can take her and be on your way. I won’t even say a word to the police. How’s that?”
The original gunman took a step forwards and pistol-whipped Michael in the jaw. While it wasn’t full force, the sound of metal on bone still made Isla flinch, her heart pounding in fear. But the blow had only managed to slightly turn Michael’s head, his hair obscuring his face.
“Normally, I’d shoot any witnesses on a job this big.” The gunman leveled the gun at Michael’s head. “But see, I’m being nice today. I don’t want to kill a kid over this. So get lost.”
Slowly, Michael’s smile returned, but it was much, much more sinister than before.
“What a coincidence.” The words were spoken in a friendly manner, but Isla could sense a darker undertone to them. “I’m also trying to be nice, since I need you all alive.”
The gunman moved his finger towards the trigger. “I don’t give a-”
Michael moved faster than lightning, ducking under the barrel of the gun and wrapping his arm around the man’s.
Snap.
“AHHHH!” The man screamed in pain as he released the pistol and collapsed to the floor. Michael caught it out of midair and whipped it towards Isla’s other captors, who had also all reached for their weapons.
“Weapons in the van, please,” Michael ordered, going back to that unnervingly pleasant smile. When they didn’t comply, he stomped on the fallen gunman’s arm, causing him to shriek loudly. “I did say please.”
“Do as he says!” the wounded gunman gasped.
Reluctantly, the men all threw their weapons into the van- an assortment of knives, brass knuckles, and pistols. In the blink of an eye, he’d taken control of the situation.
“Hm. I think I’m doing a good job so far of being nice to them. What do you think?” Michael asked almost innocently. He began applying more pressure with his foot, and shrieks of pain came from underneath it.
It took a moment for Isla to realize he had been talking to her.
“What are you?” she asked.
He frowned. “Now that isn’t very nice. I’m a human being, same as you.” Lowering the pistol down to hold the wounded gunman hostage, Michael then gestured with his free hand to the men. “Bring her here, but don’t let her go.”
Hesitantly, the men restraining her brought Isla closer until they were almost face to face.
“My name is Levi. You could say I’m the better version of Michael.” Levi put his fingers to her chin, and Isla yanked her head away, struggling to break free, but the men held her fast. Her only option was to glare at Michael- no, Levi. This definitely wasn't Michael before her.
“Do me a favour and tell me why I should give a shit,” Isla growled.
“You interest me.” Levi sighed in exasperation. “I’ve been so… bored, you know? The only thing I get to do nowadays is making fun of the stupid shit Michael gets himself into while I watch in the background. But you…” He pointed at Isla. “You’re the most interesting thing to happen in fucking forever. You’ve got a certain… potential, that I want to see through. That’s why I set up this whole meeting between you and I to begin with.”
Isla tensed up, shaking her head. “What the hell are you talking about-”
At once, Levi flung the gun away and lunged forwards. Isla tried to bring up her arms to block, but she was still held fast by the men as Levi clasped her head with both of his hands, holding her head in place as he pressed his forehead into hers. The two of them stared into each other’s eyes as if this moment was frozen in time. Even the men didn’t move a muscle despite the fact that Levi was now unarmed.
“I can see it in your eyes.” Levi’s eyes were wide open, filled with a maniacal madness, a madness fixated on her. “You can’t hide it from us. There’s a fire in you like no other, a fire that’s only just begun to grow. Don’t listen to him.” Levi tapped the side of his head with his index finger. “Why go out of your way to appease them, to satisfy their bullshit? Why not just burn it all to the ground, until there’s nothing left?
“...You’re crazy,” Isla gasped, remembering how to breathe. “I can’t… I won’t-”
“What’s the use in restraining yourself every time?” Levi pressed further. “You said it yourself. Nothing else will change, and everything will stay the same. Unless the one that changes is you. You can’t keep denying who you truly are anymore.”
“...”
“That’s all I had to say.” Levi went back to his pleasant, smiling expression as he pulled away. “Oh, and just so we’re clear, Michael didn’t have anything to do with this. Even though I think it’d be funny if you blamed him, I don’t want him to be even more of a pain in the ass after this.” Levi nodded towards the men. “You can do whatever the fuck you’re gonna do now.”
One of the men lifted the fallen gunman from the pavement, helping him into the van. The others dragged Isla away, but she didn’t resist. She just stared at the pavement as they bound her hands, tied up her feet, and covered her mouth with duct tape. Then, they placed a bag over head, and darkness swallowed her whole.
Her time on the run was over.