Nick whipped away the belt that hung from his waist and tossed it onto the desk. He drew the pistol from his waistband and aimed it in the direction Kate was fixed on. Stepping carefully, he approached the door and pulled it open. Nickrounded the corner behind the barrel of his handgun to find a person with their hands over their face backed against the wall.
“Woah, hey big guy! It’s me! Phoenix!” the man shouted. Nick released some of the pressure he had on the trigger, maintaining a cautious stance.
“Phoenix? What the hell are you doing here?” Nick asked.
Kate crept up behind Nick and peeked out from behind his arm.
“I wasn’t spying! I swear! I wasn’t tryna creep on you guys,” Phoenix declared, his voice cracking. Nick glared at him, one eyebrow raised.
“What are you doing here?” Nick repeated, his tone darkening.
“That night when everything went down, I know I sound like a pussy but I just took off. I ran. Decided I’d take my chances with the nearest big city. It took a while to get here. You’d think the Laughers would be dying off, but lately, they seem to be everywhere. Anyway, a few days ago, I seen you two traveling, looting, so I followed. I meant to catch up with you right away. But I chickened out. So, I just kept following, watching. My point is, I got no one. I didn’t exactly fit in with those lunatics at the junkyard, but they kept me fed, looked out for me. So, I was hoping I could stick with you guys.” Phoenix eyed Nick with the saddest puppy dog eyes he could manage. Moments passed while Nick scrutinized Phoenix’s words, mulling them over to weed out any untruths.
“It’s not a good idea. I didn’t know you then, I still don’t know you. I won’t risk Kate—”
“I swear to God, bro. I will not touch your girl!” Phoenix threw his hands in the air in surrender. “Please. I’m out here on my own. I’ll go looting with you. We can hunt for food. I’m pretty good at fishing. I know my way around locks. I know how to hot-wire a car! I will protect Kate with my fucking life!”
“Nick,” Kate said, touching his arm.
Nick’s gaze remained on Phoenix for a moment longer, then turned to her. The usual dark, divine storm in her eyes had softened. She was buying Phoenix’s pleas. Nick sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.
The kid could be dangerous.
The thought of being responsible for another person did not bode well with Nick. But mostly, Nick’s alone time with Kate would take a hit.
Shame washed over Nick for letting his base desires dictate his decision-making. Truthfully, Nick could not come up with a sound reason for sending Phoenix away. If Kate wanted to give him a chance, that is what they would do.
“Fine,” Nick sighed.
“Hell yeah!” Phoenix shouted and drew his arms back as though he were going to grab Nick in a hug. Before Phoenix could move in, Nick recoiled with a harsh glare. “Sorry, bro. I appreciate this more than you know.”
Kate smiled at him, and he returned it, knowing she was the only reason he was not sent packing.
“You know, I don’t hold nothin’ against you guys about what happened at the camp. David and Julia, they were bad news. In fact, you guys wanna know about the kind of person David was before he came to the junkyard? I mean, I can’t say for certain, but I’m pretty sure he was a serial killer.”
“A serial killer?” Nick asked in disbelief.
Phoenix nodded, his eyes widening. “Yeah, right before I joined the group, I remember seeing all this stuff on the news about these murders. The police had a suspect, but I moved onto the property before hearing the outcome. Then one day, David shows up all sweaty and covered in blood. I don’t think he meant to find us, but when he did, he realized he found a place he could hide out. So, the next day, I went into town, found a newsstand, and the front page had this article about a police chase. Theywere chasing down the guy who they suspected killed all them people, but he got away. There was a police sketch and the dude looked exactly like David. They linked nine bodies to the murderer.” Phoenix’s tone was solemn and coated in ice.
“Nine kills?” Kate gasped. Nick narrowed his eyes at Phoenix, unsure if he believed his words. Phoenix shrunk back when he noticed Nick’s disbelieving stare.
“Bro, I don’t know for sure it was him, but you saw for yourself. Dude was fucked in the head.”
Nick nodded, able to agree with him on at least that point.
That dark night, a chaotic medley of screams and violence, replayed in their minds. The revolver shoved against David’s stomach made Kate’s palms twitch as if she were still against that vehicle, watching her attacker fall lifeless to the ground. Those memories traced a perfect line to Julia’s death. A shudder ran up Kate’s spine as she recalled bits of teeth flying through the air after the bullet shredded Julia’s mouth.
Noticing Kate’s eyes glazed over in memory, Nick pulled her into him, cupping her head against his chest.
“So, you went back after the attack?” Nick asked as Kate wrapped her arms around his middle. Phoenix’s eyes dropped to the floor, and his lips twisted into a wistful expression.
“Yeah, I went to grab my stuff. Jeff and Layla were gone but I saw the bodies. David. Julia. Emily. Sam. A shit ton of Laughers,” Phoenix said.
“Hmm,” Nick replied. Though he was curious about Jeff and Layla’s absence, he knew Phoenix did not have the answers.
Emily’s name cultivated sorrow within Kate as she thought back to their time together. Braiding hair, expeditions through the woods for valuable plant life, and Emily’s caring nature. They had started to form a friendship, and Kate’s outburst had shattered it. Another thing torn to pieces by the past.
Each day, Kate chewed on rotten bits of her past, only to regurgitate them as dreadful thoughts or paranoid reflexes, just to swallow them once more.
