The day after Marissa’s unwelcome appearance at the Callaghan home—Vance and Lumis sat across from one another at their regular booth in Shamrock once again.
Lumis’s back was facing the front window of the pub, where Vance was able to see various protesters out on the main road, a few of them occasionally shouting their messages at the cars passing by. He spent nearly a whole minute staring over the detective’s shoulder, gazing outside, his eyes fixating on the coffee shop across the street and his head beginning to pound.
“So… tell me, now,” Lumis sighed, closing one of his folders. “What makes you so certain that Charlie Hammer isn’t our guy?”
Vance didn’t seem to hear him, his brow hardening as he glared intently at the coffee shop outside. Lumis reached over the table and snapped his fingers, instantly gathering his attention.
“Sorry… what?” Vance muttered.
“Charlie Hammer,” Lumis repeated. “Why are you so sure he’s not the Cutthroat Killer?”
“Oh… a long list of idealogical contradictions,” Vance explained. “Cutthroat seems to hate people who have any kind of checkered history or hypocritical belief system, and Charlie Hammer was a drug addict, a thief, armed robber, woman-beater… you name it. Charlie fits the MO of a Cutthroat victim more than he does the killer. Not to mention, his substance abuse problems—combined with the fact that he got caught numerous times while committing crimes in Gates Mill—both suggest that he wouldn’t be capable of covering his tracks this efficiently. The odds of a screw-up like him doing this are slim to none.”
Lumis stared at him. “You know that means we’ve basically run out of suspects, right?”
“Not necessarily,” Vance replied. “The Hunter couple are still on the table.”
“The Hunter couple have also been missing for eighteen years without a trace. That’s a long call, Vance. I’m not sure even you could follow that scent.”
“Well… I don’t have much of a choice now, do I?”
“No… I guess not,” Lumis conceded, giving him an intrigued look. “How much do you remember from eighteen years ago? Anything?”
Vance leaned back, pausing for a moment to think. “That was… that was about a year or two before I met you, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Lumis nodded. “Roughly.”
Vance swallowed, inhaling deeply and glancing at the window again, his eyes flickering over to the coffee shop. He pondered, trying to reach far back, and the longer he did, the more his head began to pulsate.
“All right… give it up,” Lumis advised, spotting the look on Vance’s face. “Don’t rip your brain in half.”
“It wouldn’t matter,” Vance uttered. “I was overseas. Even if I could remember, it wouldn’t…”
“I know,” Lumis said. “Well… the only thing I can think of is the Hunters’ old house. It’s an ancient old house on the edges of a hunting ground.”
“Hunting ground?”
“Yeah… people used to go up there to hunt. I think it was a little business the Hunter family ran, renting out their cabins to people whenever a particular hunting season came around. Ironic, given their family name. There might still be a couple of hunting cabins up there. I can’t find the guy who owns the property. It’s all still there, it’s just… all empty now.”
“All right. You want me to go up there, or…?”
“We can both go there when we find the time. I can’t imagine there’d be any evidence left after all these years, but we can go give it a look.”
“Okay. I’m gonna go to the bathroom real quick—you want another coffee?”
“No, I’m good.”
Vance nodded and slid out of the booth, marching across the pub and heading toward the bathrooms. As he did, Lumis’s phone began to ring from his pocket. He pulled it out, surveyed it, and released a groaning sigh, reluctantly answering the call.
“What?” Lumis grumbled.
“Billy,” Marissa’s voice came from the phone. “Listen to me.”
“I can guarantee you… whatever it is, I don’t wanna hear it right now,” Lumis griped.
“Just listen to me,” Marissa insisted, her words giving a slight quiver, as her mouth was still presumably wounded. “I never wanted to tell you this, but it’s important.”
Lumis leaned back, resting his head on the booth and disdainfully waiting for her to continue.
“You know my friend from the daycare place? Garcie?” Marissa asked.
“Yes,” Lumis replied tonelessly.
“Her husband was a Navy SEAL,” Marissa informed. “And he was deployed in Iraq the exact same time Vance was.”
Lumis blinked, slowly sitting upright and feeling a peculiar churning in his gut.
“There’s a reason I don’t want you and Max near him,” Marissa told him sincerely. “Do you know why he was discharged? Do you know what he did?”
Lumis gulped, his eyes fixing pensively on the bathroom door across the pub.
“He killed an entire family of Iraqis in their own home ,” Marissa stated. “For no reason!”
Lumis let out a scoffing laugh. “Okay. Sure. And he was honorably discharged for that?”
Marissa fell silent for a moment.
“He has documented proof that he was honorably discharged , Marissa,” Lumis said, his voice rising. “He wouldn’t have been honorably discharged if he did what you’re accusing him of.”
“I don’t know the whole story,” Marissa admitted. “All I know is that he shot a whole family of civilians right before a big explosion ended up—”
“Okay—Marissa—you know what? Thank you,” Lumis said angrily. “If I had any doubts before, I certainly don’t now. I cannot believe you’d make up something that damn disturbing just to get your way.”
“I’m not making anything up—!”
“Goodbye.”
Lumis hung up just when Vance returned to the booth, giving him a questioning once-over.
“What was that?” Vance asked. “Anything important?”
Lumis stared down at his phone, grimacing deeply. He stood, shook his head, and slid his phone into his pocket.
“Nope… not anymore,” Lumis said definitively. “Let’s go. We’ve got work to do.”
During the time Vance and Lumis spent driving around and double-checking all the known suspects’ addresses in Gates Mill—Ariella and her friends spent their afternoon free time at Julian’s church once again.
Lately, they’d been visiting the church far more frequently, even on days when no services were held. They would play in the gym, eat snacks in the dining area, visit the game room, and keep Julian company while he worked, cleaned, and decorated the youth wing in preparation for the lock-in. Julian didn’t like being alone in the church anymore—and beyond that, Ariella and her friends knew he’d readjust to his routine much more easily with companionship.
Arkus and Jaxson were sure to include Julian in all their jokes and conversations, and Tammy and Lucy kindly joined Ariella’s efforts whenever she decided to help with cleaning or decorating. Zane seemed to be the only person showing little to no interest in the pastor’s wellbeing, but Julian didn’t seem to mind. In fact—if Ariella wasn’t imagining it—the youth pastor never even seemed to look Zane in the eyes. It did make sense; Zane’s personality was fairly different from Julian’s, and he was the type of person Jaxson surmised as ‘just another Hot-Topic-shopping edgelord,’ someone who didn’t outright express compassion, someone who tried to be edgy for no real reason, and who often made off-color remarks simply for the shock value. Ariella didn’t imagine that a person like Zane would be friends with someone like Julian under any other circumstances, aside from the ones they were in now.
When it came time to leave the church, Julian pulled Ariella aside, thanking her graciously for all the support she’d shown him since the grisly incident transpired. Ariella spent a lot of time texting him and helping him with the church, and he was incredibly grateful for it.
Around the time Ariella and her friends were preparing to leave the church—Rodney was doing the same at Gates Mill University.
Today was a relatively quiet day for him, as he only had a morning class to teach. His afternoon classes wouldn’t pick up until tomorrow, and his day to oversee the recording of the podcast was the day after. So, he stood quietly behind his desk in his huge, empty classroom, yawning and grabbing his bag before marching out of the room and locking the door, sliding his keys into a brown leather vest he wore over a sleek white button-up, his sleeves rolled up to the elbows, revealing a thin layer of arm hairs.
He stifled another yawn, running fingers through his hair as he strolled across the parking lot, sinking into the driver seat of his old brown four-door and preparing for his drive home.
Rodney pulled out of the parking lot, driving off to the west—the opposite direction of the heart of town. His route home was the same as always, a narrow, winding road with trees on either side, branches covered with autumn leaves forming a tunnel-like canopy over the street.
After driving for about five minutes and listening to the radio, he glimpsed to the side, seeing that an old black car was parked on the side of the road—a strange sight, as this road was rarely used, and breakdowns on this street were virtually unheard of.
Rodney eased his foot off the gas pedal as he drove by, narrowing his eyes at the car in passing and seeing that it was empty.
He stared at it as it coasted further from his view in his side mirror, then he returned his attention to the road.
For a little longer, he merely enjoyed the beauty of the autumn afternoon, nodding along with the music and quietly planning his evening routine, what he would eat for dinner, then when he’d do his dishes…
Rodney glanced up at the rearview mirror—and his heart skipped.
He hit the brakes instantly.
A dark, shadowy figure slid behind a tree on the right side of the road, far behind him.
He’d only seen it for a split second—but he was certain it was there.
His car came to a halt in the middle of the road, his eyes locked onto the rearview, his heart throbbing as he searched every inch of the reflection for any sign of movement, waiting for the dark figure to emerge from the trees again. He gnawed his bottom lip, his hands curling into fists atop the steering wheel as his adrenaline hit a sudden spike.
Rodney’s expression hardened, and he forced the anxiety away, frowning and popping his driver door open.
He stepped onto the street, marching toward the back of his car and scanning over the entire area behind it—every tree, every hanging branch, every falling leaf, and every gentle gust of wind.
He had no clue how long he stood rooted to the spot, hands clenched into fists, visage etched with perturbation as he surveyed every visible spec of the environment around him. Not once did he hear a sound, nor catch a glimpse of movement, no mysterious figures in sight.
Rodney’s jaw twitched.
He slowly stepped away, not turning his back to the trees for even a second, rubbing his collar and climbing into his car again, quickly closing and locking the door. He gripped the steering wheel with one hand, glaring into the rearview and pulling out his phone to make a call.
And miles away—in the parking lot of Gates Mill Church of God, Ariella’s phone began to ring.
She and her friends were grouped up around Arkus’s pickup, preparing to leave—but Ariella held up her finger, motioning for her friends to wait as she answered the phone call.
“Hello?”
“Ariella,” Rodney said, his voice grave and his eyes glued to the rearview. “I forgot something when I was out today… you mind grabbing something from the store for me?”
“Sure,” Ariella agreed. “Whatcha need?”
“Ehm…” Rodney paused to think, clearing his throat and stroking along his collar. “Cough… syrup. I need some cough syrup. I’m getting a cold.”
“Okay. You need anything else?”
“No, no… just… cough syrup.”
“I’ll grab you some cough drops, too. Are you still at the school?”
“No, I… I’m home,” Rodney said, swallowing and resisting the urge to look away from the mirror. “I’ll text you the address. I’m in the airstream, not the house. You can reach it from a back road. I’ll message you the details.”
“You live in an airstream…?”
“Yeah. Saves money. Oh, and listen—there’s a car broken down on the back road,” Rodney explained, tapping the steering wheel anxiously. “That car belongs to a friend of mine. I just gave him a ride home, so if you see the broken down car, don’t bother pulling over. Nobody’s stranded there. Just drive straight here. All right?”
Ariella hesitated. “Are you okay…?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. Why do you ask?”
“I don’t know, you… you sound kinda jumpy.”
Rodney forced out a breathless laugh. “Yeah. Sometimes, my doctor puts me on new medications, and that happens…”
“O… kay,” Ariella mumbled. “Well… do you care if I bring the guys? I’m kinda hanging out with everyone right now.”
“No, no—the more the merrier,” Rodney assured. “Bring a party, I don’t care.”
Ariella chuckled. “I don’t know what you’re taking, but you are seriously tweaked right now.”
“I’ll share my supply if you get here in a hurry,” Rodney laughed. “Heh… not really. You know better’n that. Seeya soon, kiddo.”
“Okay. Seeya soon.”
They both hung up, Rodney glaring out the windshield and clutching the phone to his chest. He shifted gears and sped down the road with haste, repeatedly checking his rearview the entire way, and he texted Ariella the address and directions to his home as he did.
Eventually, the narrow road reached the end of his dirt driveway; the road continued on toward the southwest, and Rodney drove off the road and onto a hidden dirth path, coasting up the hill that led to his home. His rounded, silvery airstream sat on the very top of the hill, surrounded by acres of open fields and trees surrounding the area from all directions, a lawn chair and a small foldable table in his front yard, as well as a small garden and a few decorations.
Rodney parked in his usual spot at the side of the airstream, stepping out of his car, his eyes darting around as he headed for his trailer’s entrance. Far down the hill toward the north, a huge brick house was just barely in eyeshot—the house that belonged to the Patterson family, the kind folks who agreed to rent him this spot many years ago. It was the only other home in the area.
Rodney stopped at his door and unlocked four separate locks, pulling the ovular door open and climbing the three narrow stairs inside. The interior was cozy, quite comfortable for a single person to live in; to the right was a tiny desk in the nook of the camper’s rear end, and beside it was a flattened sort of couch that doubled as a bed. Beside the couch bed was a fridge, a microwave, and a plug-in grill on the counter beside the sink. Between the desk and the couch-bed was a tall, elegant gun case, and to his left was the small hallway that led to the closet-like bathroom, the shower stall, and the master bed in the far end. The built-in nightstand beside his bed was complete with a lamp, an ashtray, and a 357 sitting cozily in its holster. A small deer head was mounted over the bed, but the walls left little room for much else. His bed was covered with a thick blue blanket, which was decorated with a large image of a white wolf with blue eyes. The sights were as familiar as ever to him, the safest place he’d ever lived—but now, as he strode inside with a pep in his step, he felt—as he feared—as if his feeling of security here had run out.
Rodney paced back and forth inside for a few minutes, his radio still playing faintly from the desk, as it always was. He ran his hands through his hair, taking several deep breaths and trying to force himself calm.
When it became clear that peace wouldn’t come on its own, he sighed, turning to his kitchen counter and opening the corner drawer. He pulled out his wrapping papers and collected a small plastic bag from his cookie jar, opening it and sprinkling a decent line of marijuana along his paper before rolling it into a joint.
Once he did, he turned up his radio, unlocked his gun case, and pulled an AR-15 out of it, checking the magazine and seeing that it was full.
Rodney then lit his joint, strolling out of the airstream and approaching his lawn chair, his gun strapped onto him, music echoing from inside, marijuana smoke filling his lungs and lulling his mind with a smooth, gentle serenity.
The sun began to set on the Texas horizon as Rodney sank into his lawn chair, flicking the ashes of his joint into the ashtray on the table beside him. He held the rifle in his lap, glaring down the hill and watching for any hint of movement amidst the trees, his eyes focusing intently at the end of his narrow dirt driveway. He took in another deep, calming drag, the stink of pot as heavenly as it was familiar as his mind began to float away from fear.
The music played from the open doorway behind him as he waited patiently, watching the edge of the property with rapt, focused vigilance.
“ Mmm, mmm, mhmmm… the devil’s gonna come when the sun goes down …”
After stopping off at the drug store, Ariella and her friends strolled out of the building and approached the pickup truck again. She tossed her grocery bag of cough syrup and cough drops into the back of the truck, turning to Arkus and showing him her phone.
“This is the address Rodney sent me,” Ariella said. “But he says we should take this back road called Harland Drive instead of taking the road that leads out toward the interstate.”
“Aye,” Arkus nodded, squinting strangely at the information in her text message. “And we’re looking for a dirt path…?”
“Yeah,” Ariella affirmed. “Apparently, he lives in an airstream in the middle of nowhere.”
Arkus gave her an odd look.
Ariella shrugged. “I don’t know…”
“Hey,” Zane said, approaching and giving them each a nod. “Me and Lucy are gonna take off. We got somewhere to be.”
“Where?” Ariella asked.
“Xi Phi Beta,” Zane informed. “My initiation is tonight.”
Ariella, Arkus, Tammy, and Jaxson all traded bizarre glances.
“What?” Zane laughed. “I can’t be a frat boy?”
“I love that place,” Lucy grinned, hugging Zane’s arm. “They said I could be their mascot!”
“ What? ” Tammy breathed. “Since when do they let girls into fraternities?”
“Well… Texas has a law about gender discrimination in fraternities and sororities,” Lucy replied with a smile. “Girls can join if they want to. They just usually don’t want to.”
“Maybe because the last girl who signed on as their mascot ended up in a loony bin,” Jaxson remarked. “I don’t know why they use the word ‘mascot’ for their occasional female members—but I bet it’s not for any good reason.”
Lucy’s smile faded. “Shut up. I’m super excited. Don’t ruin it.”
“Yeah, um—didn’t our branch of Xi Phi Beta end up facing a lawsuit a few years ago?” Tammy asked, looking to Lucy. “They brutally assaulted someone.”
“I bet it was that girl, I’m telling you,” Jaxson figured. “And, of course, Richard is part of it…”
“Lucy,” Tammy said somberly, ignoring Jaxson’s comment. “I really don’t think you should join that fraternity by yourself.”
“It’m not,” Lucy giggled, resting her head on Zane’s shoulder. “Zane’s gonna be there with me. Nothing’s gonna happen.”
Tammy glanced over at Zane, looking unconvinced.
“Xi Phi Beta is the most well-established fraternity in the country,” Zane stated. “They’re fucking awesome. No reason to worry.”
“I’m not talking about the entire fraternity,” Tammy grumbled. “I’m talking about this one particular branch, which—apparently—is full of abusive assholes.”
“Yeah… honestly, I agree with Tammy,” Ariella spoke up. “You should think about it first, Lucy. Look up the lawsuit and figure out what happened to that girl. You don’t wanna walk into that place if they’re gonna treat you like crap.”
“Aye… fraternities can be pretty rough,” Arkus nodded in agreement. “It’s rough on guys. I can’t imagine how they’d treat a girl.”
“You guys… it’s fine ,” Lucy insisted. “If it looks bad, I’ll just leave.”
Tammy scoffed and gave her a caustic look. “No you won’t. Not if he stays.”
She nodded at Zane, who was now giving her an icy stare.
Everyone paused for a few seconds.
“Okay.” Zane cocked his brow at Tammy. “What’s that supposed to mean…?”
“You know what it means,” Tammy snarked, quickly losing her temper. “Lucy follows you around everywhere, and she’d follow you right into that cesspool of abusive freaks, too. She’d do that in a freaking heartbeat, just for you—but you wouldn’t think twice about her safety in there, would you?”
Ariella, Arkus, and Jaxson all began to shrink behind Tammy, the three of them feeling suddenly uncomfortable. Lucy frowned, and Tammy maintained a heated glare with Zane, all of them standing in a tense silence at the edge of the drug store’s parking lot.
“I’m sorry,” Zane uttered, scratching his forehead and shooting Tammy a challenging look. “But I could’ve sworn Lucy was a grown-ass woman, not a fucking five-year-old who needs her hand held all the goddamn time. She wants to go in there—she goes in there. Period. End of story.”
“So the answer is no ,” Tammy surmised. “You don’t give a shit what happens to her in there.”
“No—my answer is mind your own fucking business ,” Zane hissed through gritted teeth, quickly rounding on her. “Shut the fuck up and let her do whatever she wants. Quit being a whiny fucking bitch .”
“What? What? ” Tammy bucked up to him, her nose nearly brushing his. “ What the fuck did you say to me —?!”
She balled up a fist. Zane barely began to reach out—and Jaxson found himself standing between the two of them in an instant, peeling them apart and practically throwing Zane backward. Ariella and Arkus seized Tammy by the arms, locking her in place as she heaved several incensed breaths, giving Zane a wild glare from over Jaxson’s shoulder.
Jaxson’s hand was planted on Zane’s chest—which Zane quickly smacked away, his blond bangs now wild as he shot Tammy a scowling look.
“Easy, now,” Arkus uttered, his eyes shifting warily between the two of them.
Tammy jerked away from Ariella and Arkus, spitting on the ground at Zane’s feet.
“You’re fucking sick ,” she growled, thrusting an accusing finger at him. “You are a narcissistic—motherfucking—cocksucking—goddamn—selfish—ass— sociopath .”
“And you’re a little trailer-park princess ,” Zane snarled in response. “I can tell by your fantastic vocabulary, you little white-trash queen. Go get fucked by your cousin, you little dyke .”
“ Hey ,” Jaxson roared with a suddenly powerful voice, his brows perched and his eyes locking onto Zane’s. “That’s not cool. That’s not fucking cool.”
“Jax, seriously, man— what is your damage? ” Zane scoffed at him, snickering breathlessly and shaking his head. “She’s not gonna fuck you. She’s never gonna fuck you. You don’t have to do the fucking white knight shit for her. Let it go. Fuck—I don’t think she even plays for the guys’ team anymore.”
“Oy!” Arkus called out, giving him a bizarre look. “Would you just calm the hell down? What’s wrong with you?”
“Oh… man… I dunno, Scotty ,” Zane smirked coldly, reaching into his pocket. “Maybe I’m just sick of hearing all your fucking voices .”
Then—he whipped out his switchblade and held it to Jaxson’s throat.
Lucy gasped and covered her mouth, Jaxson freezing on the spot and giving Zane a hateful glare. Tammy’s mouth fell agape in disgusted astonishment.
Ariella’s heart skipped; she felt her body tensing, preparing for an altercation, but before she managed to move—Arkus stepped past her and thundered toward Zane with a powerful stride.
“You really think I’d do it? Huh?” Zane said playfully, tapping the edge of the knife lightly against Jaxson’s neck. “You really think I’d do it?”
Suddenly, the fun and carefree expression Arkus often wore was gone without a trace, his visage heavy with severity and his large brown eyes homing in on Zane intensely.
“You really wanna play that game?” Arkus glowered. “Put the goddamn blade down and fight like a man, ya’ fuckin’ coward .”
“ Ya’ fookin’ coward ,” Zane laughed in his face, mocking his accent. “What’s that? Huh? I don’t speak Glasgow-inese, faggot. Speak English.”
“Oh, Glasgow?” Arkus cocked his head. “Aye, funny you should mention Glasgow— y’know what we’d do in Glasgow? ”
Then—Arkus grabbed the blade with a wicked agility—yanking it away and launching his head forward with all his might. His skull smashed into Zane’s nose—making a muffled snap and forcing Zane to stumble backward to the ground.
Lucy screamed and Ariella gasped, Tammy and Jaxson watching in awe as Zane sat on the pavement, clasping his face as blood trickled between his fingers.
Arkus straightened out, his hairs screwed up and head throbbing, his vision having exploded into stars, his hand pulsating as blood rand down his palm, but it didn’t matter. He shot Zane a prideful smirk, tossing the knife far into the trees and spreading his arms open.
“And there ya’ go!” Arkus bellowed furiously, hovering over Zane and motioning dramatically for him to stand. “Get up! C’mon! C’mon, big man—where’s that attitude now? Hah? Where’s all that cocky shit? Where’d all your fight go? Get up! ”
Arkus reached down to grab him—but Ariella snapped her arms around him and dragged him back with all her strength, Arkus huffing out an irritated breath and staring down at Zane as if he was the worst scum alive.
Zane held his bleeding nose, leering up at Arkus with the deadliest glare anyone had ever seen on him.
Lucy sheepishly moved to Zane’s side, pulling him to his feet as the two of them slowly separated from the others.
After a final glare, Zane turned on his heel and marched away, Lucy trailing loyally along behind him.
“Lucy,” Tammy called out. “Stay with us …!”
Lucy stopped and turned to face Tammy, wearing a saddened and conflicted visage.
Zane continued walking, raising his hand and snapping his fingers, not bothering to stop and wait for her. He motioned for her to rejoin him, and Lucy turned away from her friends, obeying Zane’s orders and following him around the corner of the drug store, both of them vanishing from everyone else’s sight.
Tammy’s concerned expression quickly warped into one of anger. “YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU KNOW WHAT, ZANE?! YOU’RE JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER PANSY-ASS MOMMA’S BOY IN THE FUCKING WORLD! YOU’RE JUST ANOTHER SHITTY LITTLE SOCIOPATH WHO THINKS HE’S SPECIAL—YOU THINK YOU’RE ABOVE IT ALL, AND YOU’RE JUST A MISUNDERSTOOD LITTLE GEM, AND YOU’RE DESTINED FOR BIGGER AND BETTER SHIT THAN US—WELL, I GOT NEWS FOR YOU! YOU’RE JUST A LITTLE EMO BITCH WITH AN EGO PROBLEM! YOU’RE FUCKING NOBODY! ”
Another grim silence fell after Tammy’s explosive rant, everyone staring at the corner of the drug store and waiting for Zane to reappear, but he never did.
So, Tammy let out a furious, shaking breath, turning to the others and trying to calm herself. She moved over to Jaxson, gently running her fingers along his neck and checking to make sure he hadn’t been cut. Ariella then turned to Arkus, who was only just surveying his hand, opening and closing it, blood splotched along his palm and trickling down his wrist. He winced, examining the deep cut on his hand and sighing heavily.
Ariella nearly spoke—but Tammy blurted it out before she could.
“What the hell did you grab the blade for? !” she griped at Arkus. “You probably need stitches in your damn hand now!”
Arkus withdrew, scrunching up his face at her. “What… it worked, dinnit?”
“He wasn’t gonna do anything,” Tammy stated. “He was just trying to scare everybody. You didn’t have to slice your fucking hand open.”
“Bullshit,” Ariella murmured grimly.
Everyone’s eyes shifted over to Ariella, Tammy giving her a peculiar squint.
“Sorry,” Ariella added. “But… he would cut somebody if he could.”
“How do you know?” Tammy asked.
Ariella took in a deep breath, giving Tammy a serious stare and thinking of everything Rodney said the day she met him.
“Because Zane just… he acts like that way too often. That’s his way of testing the waters and seeing how much he can get away with. He passes it off as a joke and pretends it wasn’t serious. But now… I guess he’s tired of playing, and he wants to let it out for real,” she explained.
“Aye.” Arkus stood beside Ariella, holding his bloody hand and nodding in agreement. “People like him treat the whole world like a playground, no consequences and no care. He thinks fights are funny, and he thinks fear is fuckin’ hilarious. And y’know what? I’m really tired of giving him the benefit of the doubt and sticking up for his crazy ass all the damn time.”
“Jesus fuck,” Jaxson grumbled, leaning on the side of the truck and pocketing his hands. “I swear to God, it feels like the world’s going crazy. People all over town are losing their shit… and now it’s happening to us, too.”
“Doesn’t matter. It’s over now,” Arkus concluded, opening the driver door. “We need to find Rodney’s place before it gets dark. C’mon.”
“I can drive,” Tammy offered, but Arkus shook his head and sank into the driver seat, apparently not caring that his hand was injured.
Ariella sighed and climbed into the passenger seat, Tammy and Jaxson lumbering into the bed of the truck.
Arkus started the engine and drove out of the parking lot with haste—and for a while, the drive was silent.
In the bed of the truck, Jaxson and Tammy were both lying on their backs, gazing up at the sky as the whipping winds soared over the moving vehicle. Jaxson wore a troubled face, occasionally glimpsing over at Tammy and repeatedly sighing.
“I wasn’t just…” he stammered.
Tammy rolled her head to the side, giving him a thoughtful look.
“I wasn’t just trying to defend you so I could win you over , or whatever,” Jaxson said with some difficulty, turning his head and meeting her gaze.
“No… I know,” Tammy nodded. “Zane’s full of shit. Fuck him.”
Jaxson returned the nod and stared glumly into the sky again.
Tammy observed him, then scooted closer and rolled over, draping an arm around him and giving him a crooked one-armed hug.
Jaxson gulped, slowly grasping her arm and glimpsing down at her strangely.
“M’kay,” he mumbled. “Yeah, that’s… that’s not a mixed signal at all…”
“I love you, Jax,” Tammy smirked, pinching his side.
Jaxson winced and laughed, adjusting his grasp on her. “Yeah, okay… not the way I love you.”
Tammy was silent for a few minutes, her smile fading away.
“I don’t know anything about love,” she conceded. “I love all my friends a lot, including you… but I fucking suck at figuring out what kind of love it is. Just give me some time to figure that out, okay…?”
Jaxson turned his head, narrowing his eyes down at her. “That’s not… what you said last year.”
“Well… last year, I didn’t wanna date anybody ,” Tammy told him. “Or… at least… I didn’t wanna get serious with anybody yet. But now… I don’t know… I feel different. I feel like I might wanna get… serious sometime soon.”
Jaxson’s brows raised, his heart palpitating. “Really? What changed…?”
“Honestly,” Tammy sighed peacefully, nuzzling closer to him and resting her head on his collar. “Cutthroat changed everything.”
Jaxson shot a bizarre stare down at her. “You had a romantic revelation because of a serial killer? You know that’s weird as shit, right?”
Tammy laughed and smacked his stomach. “Shut up. Ever since Julian found those bodies on his church… and the Cutthroat Killer was really, really close to us… it made me realize… we’re not… gonna be around forever. We could die tomorrow, for all we know. So… we might as well do what we want while we can. We don’t have forever to waste our time not doing what we wanna do… y’know…?”
Jaxson slowly nodded at the sky, absorbing her words and understanding her sentiment in full.
The two of them were quiet for the rest of the ride, and meanwhile—in the two front seats—Ariella was watching Arkus closely, biting her lip and wincing each time he moved his hand. His palm was staining the steering wheel in blotchy crimson stains, his expression stoic, utterly severe in a way it rarely ever was.
“Ari,” Arkus eventually spoke, the truck now coasting down Harland Drive, beneath the canopy of autumn leaves where Rodney drove earlier.
“Hm?” Ariella mumbled.
Arkus gulped painfully, glaring dead ahead and inhaling a stressed breath.
“I didn’t tell you everything,” he admitted, his tone darker than ever. “When me and Zane had that little heart-to-heart at the party last year, when he told me he was after you… I didn’t give him much of a reaction. So… he started saying crazier shit… just to get a rise outta me.”
Ariella felt a tinge of anxiety at hearing this. “Like…?”
“Like… he asked what I would do if he came after you with a gun,” Arkus told her gravely. “If he tried to kidnap you, if he tried to…”
He paused, clearing his throat and feeling nauseous.
“Well… granted, he was wasted outta his mind,” Arkus said. “And he did the same thing between Tammy and Jax, too. I figured it was just the booze talking, and he was just fucking with us. He never said anything psychotic like that again… until today.”
“If he ever tries to pull any crazy bullshit, we got my dad’s gun right here,” Ariella reminded him, patting on the glove box. “But I think he’s more bark than he is bite. To hell with him.”
Arkus spared her an interested glance. “You think he’s all bark? Then why’d you tell Tammy the exact opposite?”
“I don’t think he’s all bark,” Ariella clarified. “I think he’s mostly bark. And if I’m wrong, like I said, we got a gun right here.”
“Aye… fair point,” Arkus muttered, wincing and repeatedly readjusting his hand on the steering wheel. “Ughk…”
“You should let me wrap that up,” Ariella mumbled.
“Nah… I’ll fix it when we get to Rodney’s,” Arkus replied. “I reckon we’re gonna have to tell him that the podcast crew just lost two people.”
Ariella pondered on this for a moment. “You think… that’s it?”
“Think what’s it?”
“I mean… you think we’re just done being friends with them? For good?”
“Aye… I do,” Arkus grumbled at the windshield. “I’m not gonna be able to be around him anymore… not if he’s gonna treat my friends like that. Plus, everything you said makes sense. The more you said, the more… the more I started to realize… I do a lot of babysitting and damage control for that fuckin’ loony. I always have to step into conversations and lighten the mood after he says something crazy, or does something crazy… and I’m just… I’m tired of it. He’s outta his mind. He’s fuckin’ mad. Let him be mad by himself.”
“Fuck… and he knows where I live, too,” Ariella uttered.
“Well… I don’t think you gotta worry about him comin’ back to your house,” Arkus remarked, glimpsing at her and finally flashing a smirk. “You’ve got me, Vance, and a shit-ton of guns in that house. You’re all set.”
Ariella chuckled. “Well, yeah, good point…”
Arkus drove as the sunset dwindled into an early twilight, and, contrary to Rodney’s earlier statements, Ariella saw no broken down cars on the side of the road.
Eventually, the truck rolled toward the end of the leafy tunnel, the narrow road stretching off to the left into parts unknown, but the opening in the tunnel led to a thin dirt path, which seemed to stretch uphill beyond the trees.
Ariella leaned forward, glancing between the dirt path and the street leading elsewhere. Farther down the curve in the street, she was just able to see the back of an old dark car with peeling paint, but not much else. So, she pointed up the dirt driveway, and Arkus drove out of the leafy tunnel at last.
The truck was brought to a sharp, steady incline as Arkus carefully drove up the bumpy dirt hill. Jaxson and Tammy slid downward, quickly sitting upright and scrambling to grab onto the sides of the truck bed, as the vehicle was now cruising at a sharp angle. Thankfully, the truck leveled back to a mostly-straightened state when Arkus reached the top of the hill, parking beside Rodney’s car and powering off the engine.
When the four of them climbed out of the truck, they grouped up and took a moment to observe the fantastic scenery, the open fields and the thick wooded areas beyond them, the shiny silver airstream at the top of the hill only feet away from where they stood, the sky perfectly visible in a way it never was from the heart of town, darkening slowly into a midnight blue as the sun set and the sky’s orange and red glows slowly began to dim from sight.
Ariella grabbed the grocery bag of cough syrup and cough drops from the back of the truck. She, Arkus, Tammy, and Jaxson all exchanged faces, the four of them thinking along fairly similar lines; the nature and the view were both fantastic, but it was strange that Rodney lived so far out from town, and in a lonesome little airstream, no less.
“Man… I always imagined Rodney living in like… a perfect suburban house,” Jaxson commented, smirking at the airstream. “Preparing for his retirement years in a big-ass house he worked all his life for, or something…”
“Aye… I figured he was probably the weird old man of his neighborhood,” Arkus laughed. “But, apparently, he has no neighborhood…”
“No… no, he has one neighbor,” Tammy determined, pointing at the large brick house in the far distance. “But… it looks like that’s it.”
“Okay… if I’m being honest, I would love to retire here,” Ariella grinned. “It’s gorgeous, and isolated, and quiet… God, it’s perfect .”
“ What the fuck …!” Jaxson exclaimed.
Everyone spun around, realizing that Jaxson had strolled halfway down the dirt trail leading to the airstream’s entrance. He had ventured off the path, standing in the grass and gaping at the lawn chair in astonishment.
Ariella narrowed her eyes at the chair, seeing that someone was sitting in it, eerily still. She gulped nervously, but then, the look on Jaxson’s face told her there was no cause for concern.
Jaxson revealed a beaming smile, looking to his friends and frantically waving for them to approach. Ariella, Arkus, and Tammy all marched toward him, stopping in front of the lawn chair and staring down at their psychology professor in astonishment.
“What in the actual fuck? ” Tammy gasped and laughed.
Rodney sat slumped on his chair, his eyes closed, sound asleep, an AR-15 strapped onto him, the gun sitting in his lap, his hands slowly losing their grip on the firearm, his mouth slightly agape. His marijuana joint had fizzled out in his ashtray, though the smell of it still lingered noticeably, and the door to his airstream was still standing open, the inside illuminated and the radio playing ambient music from within the professor’s home.
“Oh my God… oh my God, I can’t ,” Tammy snickered, her voice hitting a high note as she shook her head and giggled madly. “I can’t even… what the fuck … what the fuck is he doing out here…? H’oh my God… he did not just fall asleep with a rifle and a blunt sitting here… what the fuck … I’m dead …”
Jaxson beamed away, holding up his phone and taking a picture, a brief flash illuminating the sleeping Rodney.
“Oh my God… Jax… do not send that picture to anyone but us,” Tammy sniggered. “That could seriously get him fired.”
“Ay, I can’t… I can’t wake him up,” Arkus sputtered, his voice cracking on a laugh. “He’s so goddamn peaceful… I can’t …”
“Well… you’re his favorite,” Jaxson stated, nodding at Ariella. “Go for it.”
Ariella stepped forward, leaning over Rodney and chuckling quietly.
“Hey, Rodney,” she said, snapping her fingers in front of his face. “Rodneeey… wake up. We got your cough medicine.”
Rodney continued to snooze lightly, making no response.
Ariella gently grabbed his shoulder and gave him a shake. “ Rodney! ”
Rodney’s eyes tore open suddenly; he jumped and made a choking noise, inhaling sharply and grasping his rifle viselike.
“Hey— hey! ” Ariella said quickly, raising a hand. “Chill!”
Rodney stared up at her in startled confusion for a split second, then let out a massively relieved breath. “Oh, Jesus Christ…”
“Yeah— Jesus Christ is right,” Ariella remarked with a laugh. “Why the hell are you sitting out here with a rifle? Who’d you expect to show up?”
“Yeah, Rambo—is that gun freaking loaded? ” Jaxson asked incredibly, he and the others still chortling in amusement. “Is the government coming to take your devil’s lettuce away?”
Tammy snickered beyond her control, eyes watering as she jabbed her finger at the ashtray.
“And this is what the doomsday prepper does in his natural habitat,” Arkus announced, holding out his uninjured hand and waving in a circular motion around Rodney. “We could have a whole National Geographic special just based on this scene, right here.”
As the others continued to laugh insanely, Ariella’s smile weakened, spotting the troublesome expression strewn across Rodney’s face. He glared down at his rifle, sighing heavily and remaining silent for a moment.
“What’s wrong?” Ariella asked, hushing her voice.
Rodney met her eyes briefly, then shook his head. “Nothing. Just tired. I was cleaning my gun… and… apparently lost track of time…”
Ariella nodded, glimpsing over at the foldable table, where an empty cup, a lighter, and an ashtray resided, though she saw no gun cleaning supplies.
“Okay… okay,” Arkus nodded and straightened up, his laughs finally beginning to diminish. “In all seriousness… mate… y’okay? We heard you was sick or something.”
“Well, I…” Rodney began, trailing off and narrowing his eyes at Arkus’s crimson-stained hand.
Arkus glanced down at his bloody fist. “Oh, long story. But that reminds me—you got a first-aid kit I could use?”
“Yeah… it’s inside,” Rodney replied. “What happened?”
“Zane happened,” Ariella reported grimly, holding up her plastic grocery bag. “I got your cough syrup, by the way.”
“My what? Oh,” Rodney quickly nodded, taking the bag and reaching into his pocket for his wallet. “Thank you, dear. I appreciate it. Hold on…”
When Rodney pulled a few bills out of his wallet, Jaxson smirked and plucked the marijuana joint from his ashtray, swiping his lighter as well and preparing to light the joint for himself.
“Um—can I help you?” Rodney snarked at Jaxson. “That’s my anxiety medication you’re screwing with.”
“Is that what you call it?” Jaxson said coyly, inhaling a deep puff from the joint. “Mmm… this is my price for keeping your little green secret, my friend.”
Rodney shot him a snarky look, handing the money off to Ariella.
Ariella took it, then handed one of the bills back to him.
Rodney gave her a questioning squint. “What’s that for?”
“For this,” Ariella smirked, standing fully and taking the joint from Jaxson, inhaling a small drag for herself.
“Oh… oh, I see,” Rodney nodded and smiled caustically. “You’re all gonna gang up on me now. See, this is why I don’t tell people things. Now I have to share everything…”
“Nah… I just wanted one little puff,” Ariella assured. “I barely even hit it.”
Tammy, unlike Ariella, took the joint and inhaled the biggest puff she possibly could. Jaxson laughed when she began to cough, hurriedly handing the joint back to him and sputtering out clouds of smoke.
“Oy,” Arkus said, waving at Rodney. “Could I go inside and use your first-aid kit?”
“Yeah… yeah, it’s in the medicine cabinet in the hallway,” Rodney replied. “But don’t touch my perscriptions, Scotty.”
Arkus made a face at him before approaching the airstream. Ariella decided to follow him inside, and once the two of them wandered off, Rodney swallowed, glancing past Jaxson and Tammy and surveying the darkened woods in the distance.
After a moment of worrisome surveillance, Rodney broke his gaze from the distant trees, turning his focus onto Jaxson and Tammy.
“What happened with Zane?” he asked.
Jaxson and Tammy took turns explaining the entire story to Rodney. Meanwhile—Ariella and Arkus climbed into the airstream, examining the interior as Ariella pulled the first-aid kit from the medicine cabinet.
“Blimey,” Arkus breathed, staring at the end of the room.
Ariella approached him with the first-aid kit at hand, following his trail of vision to the large gun case that sat between the desk and the couch. The gun cabinet contained several rifles and shotguns, straps, magazines, and boxes of ammunition collected at the bottom.
“Somebody’s paranoid,” Arkus observed.
“He’s probably a hunter,” Ariella figured, motioning to the back room. “There’s a deer head over his bed.”
“Yeah, but…” Arkus turned to her, squinting at her curiously. “He’s got an AR-15 on him right now. I don’t think those are for hunting. Not hunting animals , anyway…”
Ariella shrugged and headed for the couch, turning down the radio’s volume and gesturing for him to join her. The two of them sat partly facing each other, Ariella opening the first-aid kit and preparing to mend Arkus’s hand, her mind wandering as she did.
Quite honestly, ever since the odd phone call she’d gotten from Rodney and the unpleasant encounter with Zane, she was trying to ignore all the peculiar details she’d noticed about Rodney’s behavior today. But now, as she sat in silence inside his home, she finally had the time to pause and think, and it was difficult to turn a blind eye to.
When Rodney had called her, he sounded far more concerned than usual—and now, he was sitting outside with an assault rifle, facing the only entrance to his yard and his home, as if he expected trouble to arrive. Not only that, but his home was filled with guns, and when he awoke to Ariella, he looked positively mortified, almost as if he expected to die right then and there.
She frowned, gently wiping the blood from Arkus’s palm before applying a thick smear of antibacterial cream to the deep, crimson cut. She swallowed, paused, and glanced up, meeting Arkus’s eyes.
“Do you think…” Ariella mumbled hesitantly. “Do you think Cutthroat’s after him?”
Arkus raised his brows, pausing for a moment to think. “Fuck, I dunno. I didn’t think of that…”
“Well… he might be,” Ariella suggested. “We know he was following us around at some point. He might be following him around, too.”
“And Rodney’s the only one out of all of us who lives alone,” Arkus murmured gravely. “He’s got the biggest reason to worry.”
“Yeah… and even if Cutthroat’s not after him, maybe Rodney’s just extra jumpy about that becoming a possibility,” Ariella figured. “That’s what he’s acting like.”
“Y’know what? That makes a lot of sense,” Arkus realized. “That would explain why he invited us to his home for the first time today.”
“He doesn’t wanna be alone,” Ariella sighed.
There was a pause.
Ariella held Arkus’s hand, staring down at the fleshy slice in his skin, absentmindedly stroking his knuckles with a soft, tender touch.
Arkus swallowed, glaring down at his hand as well.
Ariella shook her thoughts away for a moment, unraveling the gauze and beginning to coil it tightly around Arkus’s hand before taping it in place. She didn’t release his hand even after she had finished.
“Hey, do you think…” she started. “Do you think it’d be weird if I stayed here tonight?”
Arkus stared at her, a slow smile beginning to emerge.
“Shut up,” Ariella quickly added, smirking and slapping his arm. “I just don’t wanna leave him alone if he’s worried.”
“Aye… I getcha,” Arkus nodded. “I don’t like the idea of leaving him here alone, either. Not if he’s all jumpy. We can both stay, if ya’ want.”
“Yeah… honestly, I’d rather you stay, too,” Ariella told him truthfully. “But there’s only one extra place to sleep in here.”
“Eh. I’ll sleep in my truck,” Arkus said. “Done it a million times before.”
Ariella made a sideways nod, turning and examining the long, flattened cushion upon which they sat. “Yeah. Or… we could both just sleep here.”
Arkus stared blankly at her for a moment. “I… yeah, but it’s kinda small, innit?”
“Looks like it folds out into a bed,” Ariella shrugged. “So… I think we’re good, unless you’re scared of girl cooties…”
“ Oy ,” Arkus griped, laughing and snatching his hand away. “I love girl cooties. Don’t you ever think I don’t.”
They both snickered and reached their feet. Ariella took a moment, grasping Arkus’s gauze-wrapped hand again and scanning over it.
“Does this feel right?” she asked. “Too tight? Or loose?”
“No, no… it’s fine,” Arkus replied, withdrawing his hand and repeatedly enclosing his fist. “S’good. Feels fine.”
They stared at one another for a few seconds.
Then, Arkus breathed out a laugh, shaking his head and giving her a thoughtful stare.
“What?” Ariella asked. “What’s funny?”
“No… nothing,” Arkus said, his voice softening. “You’re just weird.”
“Oh.” Ariella chuckled and gave him a sarcastic look. “Cool. Thanks.”
“No, I mean… I mean it in a good way,” Arkus clarified. “Seriously, you… you bend over backwards for me, and Julian, and your father, and Rodney… you’re like… you’re severely fuckin’ compassionate. And that’s just kinda weird… because… you never usually see that in people. Y’know what I mean?”
Ariella inhaled, Arkus looming unsettlingly close, about half a head taller than her, and gazing into her profoundly.
Then, someone knocked on the open door, making both of them whirl around.
Rodney leaned inside, perking his brow at them. “Find it?”
“Aye, we found it,” Arkus confirmed, holding up his gauze-wrapped hand. “Thank ya’ mate.”
“No problem. Step out here for a minute,” Rodney requested. “I need to get past you.”
Arkus nodded and walked off, marching out of the airstream.
Ariella almost followed him, then remembered that the first-aid kit was still sitting open on the couch. So, she spun around and grabbed it, closing it and preparing to head down the hall in order to return it to the medicine cabinet.
When she turned back, Rodney was inside, holding his rifle and giving her an intense stare.
Ariella gave him an odd look. “Uh… what’s up?”
“Nothing, I just… need to get past you,” Rodney replied.
“Oh, yeah, sorry…”
Ariella moved to the side, allowing him to march past her and approach his gun case. He unlocked it, pulled the rifle off of himself, and placed it inside the case with the others, popping out the magazine and setting it beside the butt of the gun.
Ariella peeked over his shoulder, spotting something that set her even more on edge. The magazine he’d taken out of the gun was loaded, a single bullet visible at the top.
Rodney faced her again, and Ariella met his eyes, unable to hide her expression of perturbation.
After a moment of thought, she decided to voice her concerns, glancing over her shoulder and making sure that nobody was eavesdropping by the doorway. She was able to hear the ambient voices of Arkus, Jaxson, and Tammy joking around in the front yard, none of them paying the airstream any mind.
“Why’re you so paranoid?” Ariella said in a hushed tone. “What’s going on?”
Rodney’s visage flattened into a fairly unreadable one. He hesitated, glimpsing at the doorway and sighing before slowly sinking into the couch.
“You saw him before,” he uttered, raising his head and meeting her gaze again. “When you saw him, what did he look like? You remember?”
Ariella took back, sitting in the rolling chair across from the couch and setting the first-aid kit down on the nearby table. “He had a wide-brimmed hat, and long dark hair… and… he had an old overcoat on. Why?”
Rodney nodded grimly at his lap. “Yeah. That sounds about right…”
Ariella’s eyes narrowed intently at him. “Did you see him?”
Rodney gulped deeply, stroking his collar and glimpsing off to the side a few times.
“ Did you?” Ariella pestered, growing worried. “Rodney, if he’s coming after you, I swear to God—my dad—”
“No—your father doesn’t need to be involved,” Rodney stated, shaking his head. “God knows he’s got enough on his plate already.”
“Me and my friends are here, too,” Ariella proposed. “And you could also just call the cops. You probably should call the cops.”
“No… I can’t do that,” Rodney sighed. “I thought I saw him earlier today, in the woods… but… I’m not even sure. I can’t call the cops on a shadow of a person that I may or may not have even seen… and that was a while ago, anyway…”
Ariella squinted at him, another thought occurring to her. “Do you even have a cold…?”
Rodney’s brows arched, his expression deflating.
“Jesus Christ—you don’t have to make shit up just to get us out here,” Ariella told him flatly. “If you need us here, tell us. Period .”
Rodney stared at her, flashing a tired half-smile. “You really take on too much.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Ariella insisted. “Me and my friends all live in town, and we all have families, or roommates, or whatever—but you’re out in the middle of nowhere by yourself. We don’t have anything to worry about. But you —”
“Ariella, listen,” Rodney said, giving her a firm look. “I don’t think the school—or your parents, for that matter—would want me calling up my students and inviting them here for a sleepover.”
Ariella shot him a baffled stare. “They wouldn’t want you toting assault rifles and smoking pot, either! But that doesn’t stop you!”
Rodney let out a chuckle. “Okay, fair point… but if anyone found out I was calling you up and asking you to—”
“I, don’t, care ,” Ariella said in a slow, clear voice. “ Nobody is gonna find out. None of us would freaking tell anyone.”
The two of them shared an intense stare.
Rodney released a cloud of breath, leaning back and stroking his throat again. Ariella’s eyes fixated on the edge of the crooked scar creeping up from the collar of his white button-up.
“Honestly,” she said. “I know you can take care of yourself… but… you also fell asleep outside with a loaded rifle in your hands, so…”
Rodney choked out a laugh, hanging his head and planting his face in his palm.
Ariella smirked at him. “Just let us come here whenever you need us to. Okay? We need a new place to hang out, anyway. Some place Zane doesn’t know about.”
Rodney slowly raised his head again, his smile vanishing, and he gave Ariella a severe look.
“Don’t get me started on that little bastard,” he hissed.
“Jax and Tammy told you,” Ariella determined.
“Son of a bitch… I knew it,” Rodney grumbled, fidgeting and running a hand down his face. “I knew that little freak was tweaked in the head…”
“Yeah… well… you called it,” Ariella nodded. “You knew the moment you met him.”
“Yeah, well… it’s pretty easy to spot if it’s not someone you’re close to,” Rodney mumbled.
They both fell quiet for a few seconds.
“Hey… me and Arkus wanna spend the night, if that’s okay,” Ariella told him.
Rodney responded with a questioning sort of look.
Ariella let out a laugh. “We’ll protect you from Cutthroat if you protect us from Zane.”
“Pfft. Done.” Rodney extended his hand, Ariella chuckling and shaking it.
Then, she stood and prepared to venture outside to her friends. When she reached the doorway, another thought came to her, and she slowed to a stop, turning and eyeing Rodney.
“I have a question,” Ariella said, feeling a bit hesitant. “And it’s… it’s a weird and gross kind of question. Fair warning.”
“O… kay,” Rodney uttered strangely.
“Please don’t think I’m being weird. I just really have to ask before I actually spend the night here,” Ariella told him. “But, um… Arkus… Arkus noticed that you kinda… you kinda give me a lot of attention sometimes. I just have to ask… you’re not, like…?”
“What. A pervert? ” Rodney scoffed with a laugh.
Ariella fell silent, her cheeks burning pink.
Rodney reached his feet, marched toward her, and gave her a warm, paternal sort of smile.
“You want the truth?” he said softly.
Ariella’s heart began to pound. “Fuck. I don’t know…”
Rodney sighed, maintaining his friendly smile and resting his hand on her shoulder.
“Truth is,” he said gingerly. “I really, truly care about you… far more than any other student I’ve ever had. But … it is definitely, certainly, most assuredly not a romantic kind love. Do you know what I actually see in you?”
Ariella swallowed anxiously, managing a shrug.
Rodney took a deep breath, his eyes shining with a sense of sincerity Ariella had never really noticed before, his laugh lines crinkled around his slightly crooked smile in the way only a wise man’s could.
“I see the granddaughter I lost,” he told her genuinely.
Instantly, Ariella’s heart began to ache.
Rodney released her shoulder, pocketing his hands and still brandishing that charming smile of his, one that was almost reminiscent of a proud parent, certainly not of a lecherous old man. Truthfully, Ariella trusted him; she knew firsthand how hard it was to live without a family, as she herself had endured that long ago. He was a great person, a decent man, and genuine in a way few folks were anymore. And—just as she’d hoped and suspected—it seemed Rodney truly did see her as family.
“Now—that is something you definitely can’t tell anyone,” Rodney said, thrusting his finger at her. “Because I imagine the school would think differently of me saying what I just said.”
Ariella laughed and nodded. “Okay, Grandpa.”
Rodney took back. “Oh, come on now. I feel old enough as it is…”
The two of them rejoined the others in the front yard, Rodney reclaiming his lawn chair as everyone else sat in a crooked circle around it. For the rest of the night, they all laughed and traded stories, passing the small remainder of the joint around before everyone grew tired. Jaxson and Tammy decided to spend the night as well, both of them spreading Arkus’s blankets across the bed of the truck and camping out under the stars. Ariella and Arkus slept on either side of the foldable couch-bed, and for the first time in a while, Rodney’s sleep was a long, deep, and undisturbed slumber.
On the evening when the Gate Keepers family spent the night at Rodney’s airstream—Zane and Lucy were awake late.
The frat house of Xi Phi Beta was positively explosive with sights and sounds; neon lights coasted over the rounded main hall as the party raged on, various frat boys gathering to siphon beer from funnels, play beer pong, dance wildly to the raging music, and roughhouse with one another mindlessly. Richard Hurts and his partner—David Jones—both stood by in dark hooded robes, staring up at the stage across the room and awaiting the moment everyone anticipated.
Lucy was nearby the two hooded leaders, wearing a sparkly gothic dress and smiling pleasantly as she awaited the very same thing.
Numerous frat boys shoved through the room, carrying a long table that contained numerous foods and drinks—but the strangest thing on this table was the pig in the center, a pig that was still very much alive, its legs bound tightly by ropes, its snout duct-taped shut as it wiggled and snorted helplessly on its stomach.
Lucy stared at the squirming pig, feeling a tinge of empathy for the creature. But then, she returned her attention to the stage, maintaining her smile and waiting for her hero to make himself known to his new brotherhood. Frat boys danced madly on either end of the stage, and the lights swept across the scene in rhythm with the deafening lyrics of the music.
“ To the top, to the top—ain’t never gonna stop! Never gonna keep me down! Still the one who’s standing now! Destiny is calling me, go down in history—every day, I fight to be—legendary !”
Suddenly, the massive red curtains on the stage rolled open on both sides, and dancers began to leap off the stage one by one. The lights began to change, sweeping more rapidly and fixating on the stage’s center, where a new hooded figure emerged from the darkness. The figure wore a long dark robe, a sleek black suit beneath it, pinstriped and gothic in its design.
When the figure raised his head, a narrow, skull-like mask was revealed beneath the hood.
Skull-Face sauntered toward the edge of the stage, holding a huge butcher’s knife and twirling it around his fingers in a smooth, stylish manner.
Lucy grinned and clapped ravenously, the crowd shrieking and applauding for him.
Richard and David smirked, nodding in approval. The frat boys lifted the table again, moving it closer to the stage as the crowd cleared them a path, Skull-Face dancing swiftly up and down the edge of the stage.
“ To the top, to the top—ain’t never gonna stop! Never gonna keep me down! Still the one who’s standing now! Destiny is calling me, go down in history—every day, I fight to be—legendary !”
Skull-Face threw the knife high in the air, making several people gasp and holler in shock. Then, he spun a 180 on his heel, leaping upward and catching the blade by the handle, making the crowd explode into a bombastic eruption of cheers and applause.
And just as the song passed its main chorus, Skull-Face took a few steps back, bracing himself and breaking into a run. He soared off the stage and raised his knife high—flying downward and plunging the blade into the squirming pig with all his might.
Lucy gasped and covered her mouth.
Richard, David, and everyone else in the crowd exploded with approval, the pig squealing and twitching madly as Skull-Face ripped the blade out of its pudgy body, blood spurting from its now wounded stomach. Then, he slashed at the pig, slicing its back open and making it yowl in agony—and just when the song ended, Skull-Face lifted the pig by the ropes, held it up for everyone to see, and thrust the blade directly into its throat.
“DESTINY IS CALLING ME!” Skull-Face bellowed, tossing the convulsing swine aside and tearing off his mask. “AND EVERY DAY—I FIGHT TO BE— LEGENDARY! ”
Zane held the bloody blade high and whirled around to face his brotherhood, his front spotted with crimson and his smile as wicked as it was wide.
Everyone was grinning broadly, applauding and showering him with praise. Lucy managed to smile again, clapping for Zane despite the poor dead creature lying at his feet.
Richard and David approached Zane, each of them giving him a slight bow.
Zane smirked proudly at them, feeling rushed and thinking it nice to be bowed to. It felt right, more so than anything else ever had.
He glanced between Richard and David—Richard being some kind of co-leader, and David being the person in charge of the fraternity, both of whom with ranks Zane never bothered to memorize.
“Welcome to the family, brother,” David said.
Zane nodded and stabbed the blade into the table, his bruised and slightly crooked nose hardly visible in the lighting. He blew his blond bangs aside, gave both leaders a snide smile, and did something he’d never been able to do with any of his previous friends.
He told them exactly what was on his mind.
“I hope you know… there’s gonna be some changes around here now.”