“Julia. Don’t forget—where there’s a Will, there’s a way.” He smiles and my skin crawls.
“Why go through all this? Why not just kill me somewhere else?” I ask.
“Don’t make me spell it out. Here, it’s an accident. Some rocks fall on you. You come up here all the time. I was never even here.”
I close my eyes and breathe as quietly as possible. But I don’t stay still too long; I keep moving. Despite my broken heart, my survival instinct keeps me from giving up.
I try to dodge but he seems to follow me no matter where I go. My pounding heart must be giving me away.
“Plus, I just want to see you die,” he adds.
A shudder racks my body. What a sick monster.
“I don’t understand,” I say and my voice bounces around the room. That seems to throw him off more than my silence. I move quickly. “What did I ever do to you?”
The gun flies left and right, trying to track me. “It’s simple. You disgust me. You’re a freak. If it was any era other than this PC fucking snowflake time you would have been put down a long time ago.”
It’s the most vehemence I’ve heard from him yet. His psychopathic aloofness melts away to reveal the demon under the skin.
“You can’t be allowed to hurt people. If you were an unregistered weapon, I would be within my rights. People like you aren’t humans. You are the freaks. The dregs of society. And you need to be put down before you can take what we have worked for.”
“You have no right to decide who lives and who dies.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. I have the most right. I contribute the most to society. I make the most money and put it back into the economy. I make choices every day that impact thousands of people. If not for men like me, you wouldn’t even have anything.
“You, on the other hand, serve no purpose. If anything, you are a ticking time bomb. You will hurt more people in your life than I ever will. You probably already have.”
Despite the fact that I know he’s delusional and power hungry and has lost all track of reality, his words hit their mark. Everything he says is right. I do hurt people. I got Lincoln killed. I have ruined Nathaniel’s life. I will hurt others.
Not for the first time, I think about how much easier it would be if the candle of my life was blown out of existence. What purpose do I serve?
I stop moving. I can hardly see now. The light has gone out inside of me. I find it difficult to find any energy to pull from. I want to give up. I’m so tired of fighting every day just to be normal.
“There’s no place for freaks like you. You’re a scourge on society. Just like his mother. I’ll take care of you too.”
“No,” I whisper.
The earth shuffles as he steps closer to me. Nathaniel’s mother. I suddenly feel rage on her behalf. On behalf of a child that lost his mother. I gather my rage like a blanket around me, warming the numbness. But it’s not enough; I can’t seem to find the light in me. I feel only cold darkness. Maybe it’s the room. Maybe he’s right.
“Not a car crash? How could you? You made a child with her.”
“Don’t remind me. Flesh is weak.” He sighs. “Unfortunately, I can’t take credit for her death. That was one of my associates. He made it look like an accident, just like I will do to you. It’s what we do. A side hobby for some friends and me.”
“Having power and millions of dollars isn’t enough?” I ask.
“You know, it’s not.” He laughs good-naturedly, almost self-depreciatingly. But it’s like seeing a monster slide into human skin. “It’s important to have hobbies. One by one, we are picking you freaks off. Marty was close to one, but he got greedy. And was stupid enough to get caught. Always close those loops.”
I want to keep him talking. If I can just get to the door that’s still stuck open, maybe I can rush through. But that’s near the light, and if he shoots … well, at least I’ll have tried.
“You know I watched the tapes of you and Nathaniel in the labs. You two. So sloppy. Did you really think there wouldn’t be cameras in a high-tech, multi-million-dollar facility? I heard you talk about wanting a normal life. It was so damn sweet. Really tugged at the old heart strings. You had him fooled, but not me. I know women like you. You reel in innocent men and then take everything from them. It’s important to keep you in place. You made it too easy. You and your bleeding heart. You really had him going. I knew that was how I could get you to come here. So easy.”
I’m getting closer to the door. Moving so silently. If he can just keep waxing poetic. He isn’t so powerful, is he? Just another man that loves to hear himself speak.
“You’re wrong,” I say, unable to help myself. The gun swings back to me. “Love is not weakness. Love is strength.”
“You aren’t normal. You will never belong.” He must have the last word. His eyes are wide, greedy for the end. He cannot wait to see me lying in a pool of my own blood.
I’m almost to the door. If I sprint, I might make it past him. I have a small chance.
