Chapter #38Vee for Vendetta by: Masktrix   The motel room is cheaper than any place you’ve ever stayed in, and almost certainly cheaper than any place Gail Lattimore has stayed in. “You know I could just run, right?” you say. “I could just phone me – or rather, Abi-as-me – and get her to come pick me up. Or the Shelly golem.”
Vee looks almost disappointed in you, shaking her black hair dismissively. “Oh, Will, don’t make me disappointed in you. I already messaged them,” Vee says with a shrug, tapping her head again. “Your brain, remember? Last night Kristen almost called ‘em up trying to play at being Abi, but I told her to take her fun elsewhere. They won’t look for you unless you tell them to – and you’re not going to do that. Because, if you do, I’m going to fuck up your world.” She smiles. “Think about it. I’ve got the book and I know everything you do. Mom, Dad, little Robert. I could ruin any of their lives. Or maybe I’ll make things hard for Caleb or Keith. Really, Will, you’d be surprised how…” her voice trails off. “Fuck,” she hisses.
“What?”
Vee chews her a lip a moment, sucking those narrow lips even narrower as she mulls over the idea that’s just flashed through her mind. “Never mind,” she snaps. “Just because I’m helping you doesn’t make us confidantes.” She stands up, straightening her posture, that raven-black hair and sharp, vicious nose casting a strange silhouette in the early morning light. “For now, sleep tight. I’ve got classes until lunchtime, and you’ve had a traumatic experience.” She pats the side of your head, poking Gail’s thick locks against your cheeks. “I’ll be back later with some clothes, a little money, and a cell for you to use.” She fishes out a twenty. “That should cover ordering a pizza for lunch.” She walks to the door and pauses once more. “And don’t try to contact anyone. I’ll know. I’ve been very good to you. I didn’t need to be. And if you keep behaving, we’re both going to get everything we want.” Without another world, Vee heads out – leaving you to wonder what the hell she’s planning.
You scratch Gail’s chin, wondering what plan hatched in Vee’s mind while you were watching. You wonder what you’re going to do. Right now, the best option seems to be to play along with Vee. Shelly’s death seems to have scared her, and the fact that you’re alive and not under her control suggests you might be able to make it out of this situation. She’s not the study partner you want but, perhaps, in a twisted way, Davina Macklin is the study partner you need. She’s clearly whip-smart, and if she can help you unravel how to rescue and restore Shelly, you don’t really care if she takes the book and transplants herself into another life. She’s made it clear you’re just a stepping stone for her – and that suits you just fine.
You walk over to the bathroom, and stare into the mirror. Gail Lattimore isn’t a looker. Her eyes are too large for her head, and her nose is like a stub in the center of pasty face with wild, thick hair on either side. You think about grabbing a shower, but you’ve barely walked a step before the wave of mental fatigue hits you. The storm drain, the fever, the delirium… it’s all too much. Instead, you slump on top of the motel room mattress, the springs giving way under your slight body, and close your eyes.
***
“Wakey, wakey, Gail.” You stir, rolling off your back, a tiny trace of drool hanging out of the corner of your mouth. Gail, it seems, is a dribbler. You blink yourself awake, and see the unexpected form of Abigail Steiner standing over you. The brunette smiles, hands threaded behind her back innocently as she looks down at you.
“Vee?” you ask. Abi rolls her eyes, but the smile remains there.
“Who else?” she coos. “I want to keep Kristen thinking we’re going to share Abi, so I decided to take a turn. Funny, her memories don’t seem to have come through for me, either. What’s the trick?”
“No trick,” you say. “I don’t know why I get the memories faster than everyone else. For me, stepping into Abi’s life was like… I dunno. Slipping on a pair of shoes. It just kind of happened.”
“Hmm.” Abi narrows her eyes a moment, then shrugs. “I believe you. Chris and Todd'll have to pick carefully, then. They're currently scoping out possible mask candidates to play around with. It’ll keep ‘em busy for a few days. Long enough to enact my plan.”
You fold your arms. “This where you’re going to monologue like some supervillain?”
“Ha!” Abi hops onto the bed next to you. For a split second you consider ripping the mask off her and laying Vee out cold, but it’s too risky. “Why can’t I? You’re practically the only person I can share things with.” She grins like a vulture appraising its next carcass. “It came to me while I was thinking about reprisals if you crossed me. I realized that, if I could screw up yours I could screw up someone else’s? And that’s when the identity I want hit me, like a million-watt bulb burning straight into my brain. An identity that solves two problems at once.”
You tilt Gail’s head to one side, wondering if Vee is going to get to her point. There’s an ugliness to how she thinks in Abi’s skin.
“This book is going to take me all the way to the top, and that means ditching Todd, Chris and Kristen. But I can’t abandon them at Xavier’s without raising suspicions. Even if I became little Sherri, heiress to a fortune, it’s not like I could leave the school unnoticed until Christmas at the earliest. But! I know a girl with all the money in the world who could run off to LA or New York and nobody would think it unusual for a second. Better yet, before I steal her face, we can make sure she gets what’s coming to her.”
“Who’s that?” you ask, Gail’s eyes blinking a little.
She practically chews out the name. “Alex. Day.”
“Uh, who?” If that was supposed to be a dramatic reveal, it’s fallen decidedly flat.
“Alex Day?” She asks, Abi’s eyebrows knitting in uncertainty. “You gotta know her. She lives in Saratoga Falls. Has to go to your school. Our age, short, rebellious? Got some weird graffiti artist kick?”
You shake your head. “No clue,” you say. “Doesn’t sound like anyone who goes to Westside. Maybe she’s at Eastman.”
“Holy shit,” Abi laughs, “Saratoga Falls is big enough for two high schools? Westside and Eastman? What would the third be? Northgate? Southrise?”
You give her a hard stare, then, instinctively flinching away from Abi’s hazel eyes, just look down and shrug.
“Well, no matter. I guess your first job is to get into Eastman, then. Gail’s face will help you there.” She gestures over to the bag. “I’ve bought you some clothes, a cell, a little money. Should be enough until you can replace your first target. I’ve bought you two masks, too. One is all ready to go. The other’s got Kristen’s fat face and mind in it – plus a strand of my hair, naturally.” Vee flicks at Abi’s fingernails, her fingers twitching a little. You watch and wonder if the body she’s borrowed is starting to suffer withdrawals.
“So you want me to slap the mask on this Alex girl, turn her into Kristen, then call you?”
Abi groans, sighing a little. “No, Gail. A few years ago, Alex fucking Day went against me. I managed to get her thrown out of St. X, but that little whore didn’t even seem phased by it. So you are not going to replace her right away. Instead, you’re going to burn down her fucking life. I want you to use your Gail face to get close to someone Alex trusts and swap into them – and don’t even think about using the mask to hide from me, I want a selfie as soon as you’re in your new identity or all bets are off. Whoever the fuck you end up as can be our new Kristen, which should keep Todd and Chris nice and calm. Everything’ll be copacetic and we can move on to stage two.”
“Stage two?” you ask, perhaps the tiredness creeping into your mind. “What exactly do you want me to do once I’m Alex’s bff?” Once again, Abi’s look is one of disappointment.
“Gaslight the bitch. Take your time. Find her weaknesses. Exploit them. Together, we’ll turn her world upside down. Once she’s broken, once all her friends are stripped away and her reign of bullshit is over, I’m going to stand there and laugh when we take away the last thing she has: her very identity.”
You have no idea if the plan is from Vee’s own mind, Abi’s influence, or a twisted combination of both of them. But something about it makes you feel very cold inside. “And what do I get in return?” you ask.
Turning on a dime, Abi’s seriousness twists to a warm friendliness. “While you’re tormenting Day, I’ll see if I can figure out how to fix Shelly. Then, once I’m ready to step into my gateway to the stars, you can pick any life you want as a thank you. Hell, Will. You do a good job with this, I’ll even let you be the new Vee Macklin…”   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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