We Dream About Surviving

Chapter 6 - Electrocution

July, 2343

It’s closing in on midnight, and Shadow’s at my place. He’s opened up his Sense, and we’re watching some horrible horror flick on it, his head resting against my shoulder, as he clings to my arm. Every now and then he’ll make small noises of discomfort, breathing in quickly, making wide eyes at the screen. He’s easily scared, and the amount of gore in the movie seems to freak him out.

Me on the other hand, I just chuckle at the whole ting. It’s ridiculous how stupid people in horror movies always seem to be, not just the minor characters, the protagonist is just as dumb, and the antagonist isn’t much better off either. I always tend to side with the murderer/monster/whatever evil they may have decided to cram into these movies. If nothing else, then because they kill off people, and I can relate to that. Sometimes the antagonist will seem just as fed up with people as I am on a good day, and that I get. Unfortunately, the bad guy hardly ever makes it through the movie, they always find some dumb ass way to get rid of him. It needs to have a fulfilling ending, something that will make the watcher feel good again, even if they were scared for a little bit. So annoying, I’d much rather watch a movie where the guy ends up killing off every last piece of shit person around, then walks away without a scratch.

This particular movie is a typical high school horror flick, a murderer out to kill off teenagers, for no apparent reason what so ever. That part suits me fine, you don’t need some grand reason for killing people, sometimes the fact that they breathe is reason enough. I have a feeling there’s going to be some shitty explanation at some point though, probably near the ending when this mass murderer is finally unveiled as someone you never would have believed it to be. The whole setting is ridiculous, the murderer might as well be going door to door, killing people off when they answer.

When it finally ends, Shadow heaves a deep sigh of relief. Just as I anticipated, the murderer was revealed, they did indeed give the shitty explanation as to why he was such a bad guy, and then he got killed. For a second I wonder how much money I could make if I sold my story to someone, just took it murder by murder and made it into some horror flick.

“Michael...” Shadow says tentatively, glancing around the room as if he’s expecting the murderer to jump out from behind the curtain. For a second I can’t think of anything else, than the fact that there’s a murderer sitting right next to him. “Can I stay over?”

“You can always stay over,” I say with a small chuckle, “But I don’t get why you insist on seeing these movies, when they freak you out so much you don’t dare to go outside.”

“Who says that’s why I wanna stay over?” he huffs at me.

“Well isn’t it?”

He glares at me for a second, before conceding. “Yes, yes it is.”

“You know if you really want to go home, I can walk you.”

“But then you might get killed on the way back here!”

“I sincerely doubt that.”

He scowls at me, which only makes me laugh. I ruffle his hair, grab onto his mussed up ponytail and drag him in for a kiss. He leans into it, shuffling a little closer, when his Sense makes one of those annoying little sounds it always seems to make. I’ve learned to ignore them, but Shadow always wants to see what’s going on, the second it does. He turns towards it, and when I glance across his shoulder, there’s firework bursting out of it.

He smiles brightly, “That’s it! It’s officially my birthday!”

“Why do you even have that coded into it? It’s not like you’re gonna forget your own birthday anyway.”

“It does that when you register it, it’s not me, as much as the Sense itself, that wants to remember.”

I roll my eyes at him, I’m pretty sure you can disable shit like that. Never the less I untangle myself from Shadow and get off the couch.

“I’m betting you won’t mind getting your gift now then?” I tease him, and his smile broadens.

Shadow loves these kind of things, his birthday is – to him at least – probably the most important day of the year. It’s grown pretty important to me too, mainly because I love seeing how happy it makes him.

Disappearing into the bedroom, I rummage around underneath the bed to find what I got him. One of the upsides of being a hired murderer is the vast amount of money I make doing what I truly love. I would most likely have killed just as many people if I wasn’t getting paid, the money’s just a nice bonus, and it ensures me that I live a pretty comfortable life. It also ensures than I can get my boyfriend something way over the top for his birthday, even if he is going to complain about it being too much. It probably is, but as I know he’ll love it, I really don’t give a fuck.

I stumble a little getting the large package out, but I manage and bring it with me into the living room, where he’s sitting all excited on the couch. Shaking my head a little, smiling while I do so, I hand over a flat package, the size of a A1 sheet of paper. He looks it over curiously, before ripping off the paper, and his eyes grow impossibly big when he sees what’s inside. It’s an original drawing by one of his all time favorite architects, one of the first buildings the guy ever made.

“This… It looks so much like the original, it’s amazing!”

“Well it had better look like the original, it is.”

He stares at me, back at the picture, then back at me again. “No way.”

I shrug, to me it’s not that big of deal, I just knew he’d love it.

“Pretty sure it won’t fit in your room though, but you can keep it here until you figure something out.”

“I’ll clean out everything else in my room if it means I can fit this in there,” he says, still staring at the drawing. Carefully he runs his fingers across the surface of the glass, barely grazing it, letting them find rest on the small signature at the bottom. “I can’t believe you did this...” I smile, I did well on this one. “How did you even get your hands on it?”

“I have my ways,” I wink at him. It’s not like I can tell him I murdered 20+ people to get the money for it, nor does it matter the least bit. The look on his face is all worth it.

“Thank you Michael, thank you so much!” he puts the picture down on the coffee table, and wraps his arms around me.

I kiss him at the top of his head, and whisper, “You’re welcome.”

***

Neither of us catch all that much sleep, as Shadow finds many a creative way to thank me for the gift, all night long. When the alarm on his Sense rings, I feel like throwing the damned thing out the window, but in the end I just groan and get out of bed. Coffee is a deadly necessity right now, and halfway stumbling into the kitchen, I succeed in making some. We’re going to Shadow’s place, celebrating his birthday with his mom, and for some horrible reason this has to take place at midday. When he comes bouncing into the kitchen and wraps his arms around me from behind, it seems worth it though. A small smile grace my lips as I lean into his embrace, I’ll never get sick of his affectionate nature. When his hands snake underneath my T-shirt I have to stop him though, even if I don’t particularly want to.

“We have to go soon,” I mumble, trying to focus on my coffee rather than the small electric sensations running through my body. “If anything we should get dressed, rather than start ripping each others clothes off again.”

He makes a small disagreeing sound, but still releases me from his grip. “I don’t get birthday morning sex?”

“I think the sex we had at four thirty counts.”

“Oh alright,” he huffs, and moves himself towards the bedroom to get dressed. He’s gotten his own drawer in my closet, he sleeps over enough for it to make sense. When he returns he’s dressed, gray jeans and a bright turquoise T-shirt, his hair tied back up in its regular ponytail. It doesn’t really matter what he’s wearing, he always looks so damned good.

Managing to get dressed myself, we inhale our coffee, and leave to go see his mom. We walk there, the sun shining brightly down from a clear blue sky. If it wasn’t for all the tall buildings of Destiny City and all the annoying people inhabiting it, it would be downright beautiful.

His mom buzzes up, sounding as cheerful as ever. She’s got cake and hot buns prepared for us, and it tastes good in spite of being capsule food. Why anyone would choose to eat something coming inside a small pill where you just add water, is beyond me, but then again, not everybody is like me. I’m sure it seems very convenient to people, that their food comes in these small containers, but it just isn’t the same as fresh vegetables. There is a regular food market hidden in Destiny City though, and that’s where I go for food. I wouldn’t do it any other way, even though it’s at least five times as expensive. Never the less she’s got everything prepared when we arrive, and we feast on the massive amounts of food.

The living room chairs aren’t a problem, but as soon as I flop down on the couch, it suggests that I sit up straight. Scowling at it I position myself even worse, leaning forward and resting my arms on my knees. At least it doesn’t continue telling me off, just quietly accepts that I’m not going to comply to its annoying advice on posture. Shadow unwraps his present and finds it to be a lot of clothes, something that he appreciates a lot.

“A little extra for you to keep at Michael’s,” his mother smiles. She has accepted that Shadow spends at least half of his time at my place, and since his grades has gone up remarkably, she’s actually okay with it.

“Not to worry mom, now that I am officially 18, I will be moving out!” he says happily, grinning at her.

“Settle down boy. As much as I want to get rid of you, you need to have a place to actually move to, for that to happen.” She’s smiling though, shaking her head at her overly excited son.

“Why don’t you just move in with me?” I ask casually, not giving it much thought.

Shadow blinks and turns his head towards me. “Are you… Are you serious?”

“Why not? You’re there half the time anyway, you might as well live there. Would give you some space to hang your gift too.” Shadow has already told his mom about the drawing I gave him, and she seemed just as impressed as he did.

Still looking me over curiously, he nods slowly. “I guess… If you really want me to, yeah, I’ll totally do it!”

I’m caught somewhere between smile and laugh, his enthusiasm is rubbing off on me, and when he wraps his arms around me he’s positively giggling.

“I’ll get an extra key made for you then,” I say, drawing him in a little closer. Alice just shakes her head at the two of us, even if there is a little wistfulness in her smile, she’s happy for us. We’ve been together for a pretty long time now, it seems like a natural step forward.

My cellphone beeps, and letting go of Shadow I check it, careful to hold the screen away from his line of sight. When he’s present there’s really only one person it can be texting me, and it is indeed Harvey offering up a job. “MM, 4pm, HB” is all it says, and I groan a little. This day is supposed to be about Shadow, but I can’t exactly ignore a job either. Considering I’ve just spend half a fortune on his gift, I should go do it, get a little extra cash in case of emergencies.

“Would it be okay if I took an extra shift at the bar tonight? Someone called in sick.”

“Of course,” he says, all chipper, “I guess now I can even stop by, watch you work and everything. I can drink my first legal glass of wine there.”

This I hadn’t thought about. Fuck. “Actually I’ll be in the back all day, doing some inventory crap. Plus I look like shit when I’m there, I’d rather you didn’t. I can text you when I’m done though, we’ll have a celebratory drink then?” Really trying to dodge a bullet here, and luckily I do.

“Oh, okay. Sure, we can do that,” he smiles, nuzzling up a little closer.

“Great, I’ll text you when I get off.” A sentence that can be translated into, ‘when I’m done murdering people’. Fuck. “I need to be there pretty soon though, is it okay if I ditch you now, so I can go home and change?” Translated to ‘I need to change into something that isn’t a white T-shirt and light jeans, in case it’s something bloody’. Double fuck.

“Of course,” he is as always understanding of my shifting work schedule. Probably wouldn’t be if he knew what I was actually off doing though.

I give him a small kiss, and get up off the couch. “I’ll see you sometime tonight then.”

“Don’t forget getting my key made!” he chirps, as I move into the hallway. Only now I realize just what I’ve gotten myself into. If he moves in, he’ll be there all the time, including the days where I come home with bloody smudges all over my face and hands. Fuck fuck fuck.

“Right, I’ll do that on my way there,” I respond, making a face of pure despair and fear that he luckily can’t see.

***

It’s a woman I’m meeting with, one who is known as the Queen of Death. So far I have killed 15 people for her, and just like every other client I have, I don’t give a fuck as to why. She’s sitting in the corner, smoking a menthol cigarette, the smoke hanging heavily in the air surrounding her, blurring out her face. I nod at Harvey before sitting down on the chair opposite of her, and she gives me this deadly, yet delicate, smile. I’ve always wondered if she’s trying to intimidate me, or if it’s just the way she looks, but either way, it doesn’t work. The only thing that scares me right around now, is the thought of my boyfriend moving into my apartment, making it all that much easier for him to discover what I actually do for a living.

“I need you to get rid of six people for me,” she says coolly, handing me a folder, larger than usual. “I’ve put in a little extra for you.”

By ‘extra’ she means money. “No need, I usually give discounts when it’s more than five.”

“Yes, but still. Your services are much appreciated.”

I shrug, I’m just doing my job, the rest I feel indifferent about.

We say our goodbyes, in the sense that she gets up and leaves, while I move myself to the bar, no further words exchanged between us. Opening up the folder there’s a bunch of pictures, some of them being of different apartment buildings. Good, all six of them are at different addresses, which works to my advantage. If I should grab them all within the same building, it would be pretty easy for them to overpower me, but getting a hold of them one by one is definitely doable. I’ll need a bigger car though, I can’t exactly stuff all six of them into mine.

I wave Harvey over, putting the pictures back in the envelope. “I need your car.”

“Flying or regular?” he asks, even though he knows the answer.

“The van, obviously, you know I don’t drive those damned flying ones.”

He shrugs, pulls the keys from his pocket and hands them over. “I want it back in one piece.”

“When have I ever crashed your car?”

“Well there’s a first time for everything, Mayhem, and I just got a dent fixed, so be careful.”

I roll my eyes as I grab the keys. This is going to take a while, but hopefully I can be done before midnight, early enough to get that birthday drink with Shadow on his actual birthday.

Right before leaving the establishment, I remember about the key I need for Shadow. I turn back towards Harvey, it’s annoying, but I need his help. “Do me favor?” I ask, and he looks surprised. I don’t think I’ve asked Harvey for a favor, ever.

“Depends on what it is.”

“Get this key copied for me,” I untangle the key from its chain, and hand it over to him.

“This for your apartment?” he asks curiously.

“Yes.”

“So… Your boyfriend is moving in with you?” he gives me this annoying knowing smile, that makes me roll my eyes.

“None of your fucking business, just copy it for me and I’ll slip you a hundred.”

He shrugs. “Alright, I’ll see if I can make it happen.”

I leave the bar without any further words, Harvey still grinning widely behind me.

***

The first two grabs goes as smoothly as I hoped for, their schedule matches perfectly up with the time I’ve got, and giving them some good old-fashioned pepper-spray disarms them enough for me to get their wrists wrapped in gaffer tape and thrown inside the back of the car. In spite of how many people are littering the streets at this time of day, no one seems to notice the guy half-dragging another guy down a set of stairs, just to throw him inside a van. Sometimes doing things in broad daylight and with what might function as witnesses around, is the easiest way of getting away with something. If you look like you’re doing exactly what you’re supposed to do, people won’t notice nor care. Of course I still took a few precautions, grabbing them in alleys and other such secluded places, stuffed a small cotton ball in their mouth to muffle out the screaming, followed by dragging a black cotton bag over their heads. I probably could have killed each of them right where I grabbed them, but I’ve got something else planned.

The third and forth causes a little trouble though; there’s two of them at the same place, just hanging out at a bar, drinking a couple of beers. It’s not their usual schedule, but it’s Friday, and it makes sense that they’ll take a beer after work.

I walk in there carelessly, sitting myself down close enough that I can keep an eye on them, far enough away that they won’t notice me. I blend in with the rest of the people there, while I try to construct a layout of the bar in my mind. There isn’t much to work with though, and I move myself to the bathroom, hoping to find something there. Otherwise I’ll have to wait for them to leave, which is really just very annoying.

Luckily there’s a window out in the men’s room, not a big one and it’s located near the ceiling, but I should be able to get them through, one by one. Neither of them are all that big, not like that giant motherfucker I had over a year go, a mess I still haven’t quite gotten over yet. Exiting the men’s room again, I sit by and wait. I can’t drink anything, I need to be capable of driving the van, last thing I want is to be pulled over for drunk driving with bodies in the back.

When one of them finally gets up to use the restroom, I take another sip of my coffee, before going in after him. I look casual, and they haven’t given me the slightest hint of attention yet. The other guy stays put, which suits me just fine. Easier to take them down one of the time, especially considering I need to get them out through the damned window.

Getting out there I don’t bother with any kind of stealth moves, as there’s no one else in there, I don’t need to. Instead I just pull out a long syringe, and grabbing him from behind, putting my hand across his mouth to stop him from screaming, I inject the liquid straight into his neck. It’s a type of sedation, it works quickly, and soon enough he’s gone limp up against me. Usually you use this to tranquilize animals, but it works just fine on people as well, albeit a little stronger.

Quickly I drag him to the window, and with a little labor I get him out through it. I can hear him hitting the ground hard, but I don’t care. Should he die prematurely, I’ll just have to live with it. Instead I go back to the bar, and walk straight up to his buddy.

“Hey man, I think your friends sick in there, sounds like he’s vomiting his guts out,” I tell the guy, and he raises an eyebrow at me.

“Really? Doesn’t sound like him.”

“Well there was nobody else in there, so yeah, pretty sure.”

“Hmm. Better go check on him then.”

Hum halle-fucking-lujah, he gets up off the bar stool, and walks towards the bathroom. From this point on it’s just a repetition of the process, he walks out there, me right behind him, pretending to give a damn about his ‘sick’ friend. The second he’s got his back turned towards me, I grab onto him the same way as I did his buddy, and use the last fluid in the syringe. He goes out like a light, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. Thank fuck, four down, two more to go.

It’s a bit of a hassle to get them from the alley they landed in, into the van, but with a little effort I succeed. Nobody takes notice, no one ever does in this hellhole of a city, everybody only cares about themselves. Sliding back into the driver’s seat, I check my watch. It’s only seven, still enough time to get the last two, kill them all off, and be done before midnight. I work quickly, at least when I have to, and I don’t want to blow off Shadow on his birthday.

The next two goes over just as easily; one of them I catch right outside his apartment building; the other I grab in an alley. Now that I’ve got all six of them rounded up, all there’s left to do is actually kill them off, and I’ve been pondering how to do so ever since I took the job in the first place. I’ve decided to go to my happy place, it’s not that long of a drive, it’s nice and secluded, and there’s never anyone around this late in the evening.

When I get there, it’s like walking into pure bliss. Not a sound to be heard but my own footsteps moving across concrete, and the scratchy sound of me dragging one body after the other inside. It’s a tall building, just like everything else in Destiny City, but I decide to work my magic on the ground floor. Being down here gives me just the tool I need, and also saves me a lot of time, not to mention the strain of pulling them up stairs. The two tranquilized ones are beginning to wake up, while the other four are twisting and turning, trying to cry out for help, but kept safe in place with tape.

I turn the motor off while I get the jumper cables out the back, Harvey’s always been a well-prepared man, so obviously he has a couple of those lying around. Returning to the front of the car, I open up the hood and clip them into place. I always have this tingling sensation running through my body when I’m about to kill someone, and today it’s more protruding than usual. Maybe it’s because I’m in a hurry, I would rather be drinking beer with my boyfriend, but there’s something else to it as well. I’m nervous. Not about the killing, obviously not, but because I asked Shadow to move in with me today. Considering what I’m doing right this very instance, it was a bad idea. How am I supposed to get away with this, when he’s around all the time? The fact that he can now legally drink at the bar where I ‘work’ doesn’t make things any easier, if anything it just complicates my life even more.

Sighing I leave the jumper cables on the ground to go and turn the car back on. There’s an immediate spark at the end of them, and I watch with a little smile as they crackle. This is going to be good, a little dangerous for me maybe, but it’ll be satisfying enough that I’ll take my chances. Besides, the six of them are so neatly tied up, they won’t get anywhere near touching me when I’m electrocuting them.

I pull the first of the six men a little closer to the cables, look him over curiously. Then I decide I might as well get something out of this, even if it is somewhat useless knowledge. I bend down, settling myself on the front part of my feet, knees bend and arms resting on them. I turn his head towards mine, squinting slightly in the dim light, as I lean a little closer.

“So,” I start, heaving a deep breath, “I’ve got a question for you. Would you want to live with someone who murders people for a living?” He tries to get out some words, impossible due to the tape I’ve put across his mouth. “You can just nod or shake your head.”

He shakes his head vigorously, his eyes wide and terrified. I nod silently, sigh, and get up off the ground. He continues to shake his head as I pick up the cables, twisting and turning in a feeble attempt to get away from me. I am very careful as I – with as much distance as I can get – place the cables on his body. Not a sound escapes him, as he jumps and vibrates on the ground, and I keep the cables there far longer than what is probably needed. It’s a nice little show actually, the pulsating light, the sputtering of the cables, the way his body twitches before I finally pull away from him.

I move to the next one in line; I’ve placed them all within reach of the cables, spread out in a nice semi-circle around me. Bending down, I repeat myself, “Same question, would you live with a guy like me?”

This time my victim nods, most likely hoping I’ll let him live if he answers differently than his friend. I make a thoughtful sound, looking him over again. “I think you’re lying, but either way it’s not going to define your fate you know.”

I electrocute him same as the first one, and move to the next. Each of them I give the same question, some of them nod, others – probably more truthfully – shake their head. In the end it doesn’t much matter, I’ve already asked him to live with me, the key should be ready by now, I can’t go back on it. I don’t want to either, I want him close, I just didn’t think it through entirely. Maybe if I just let go of the more messy types of murders, I can get away with doing what I do best.

In the end I’m left with six dead bodies that I need to get rid of, and it’s a quarter past nine. I’ll just have to throw them in a dumpster or something, I don’t have time for any more of this. Turning off the car I put the jumper cables back where I found them, and drag the bodies into the back as well. Harvey will probably be annoyed with me that I used his car like this, but he’ll just have to get over it.

***

When I pull back up in front of the bar, I’m tired and worn out from all the hassle of dragging people around. I can’t quite figure out my own mood, on one hand the thought of Shadow moving in makes me happy, on the other it makes me equally terrified. I push open the door, only to find my mind’s concern, sitting right there on a bar stool, talking cheerfully with Harvey. Fuck, he’s not supposed to be here yet, and I’m not supposed to come in like this. I’m supposed to be in the back doing inventory, this is a fucking mess.

“Here,” I walk straight up to Harvey and hand him his keys back. “The beers are in the back of the car, you can just get them whenever.”

He raises a questioning eyebrow at me, but I’ve already turned my attention towards Shadow, pulling him in for a close kiss. Hopefully I get away with another lie, but as Shadow’s already tipsy, it seems like I will. Thank fuck he doesn’t question anything, instead he just nuzzles in close, resting his head on my shoulder.

“I got here early,” he says, “I figured you’d get done sooner or later.”

“Mm, and so I did.”

I wave Harvey over, telling him to get me a beer. I’m old enough to be using my own ID by now, but I still hand him a fake one, to not make it look like I’m drinking one the job. When he slips me back the ID, he puts the key in my hand as well. I don’t thank him, just nod as I hand it over to Shadow.

“So you’re really serious about this?” he smiles, a bright smile that feels somewhat reassuring. I do want him to live with me, that much I know, the rest I’ll just have to find a way around.

“Of course I am,” I whisper, pulling him in for another kiss. I barely notice the way Harvey’s shaking his head, all that exists right now is Shadow, and the way he’s curling his fingers around the back of my neck. It’ll be fine, I’ve been murdering people behind his back for a long time now, it’ll be fine.