You're Cute When You Scream

There were two things that I was currently keeping in a close grip: my jacket and my gun. The hospital was close enough to the prison that I wouldn’t really need to go through the trouble of hijacking a car…then again, it’s not like there were many to choose from at 3 AM two days after Christmas.

Besides, I’m too enraged right now to even worry about doing something like that. And I can tell you one thing, having all of this cold air and snow blown into my face was not making me any happier. It was only fueling the urge to make Katie suffer just as much, if not more, than what those other two bitches back home had gone through.

I’m tired of saving her from the inevitable. I was wrong about her, and about myself. Love doesn’t exist anymore…and to think, she almost convinced me otherwise. I sent a quick text to Matt as I neared the hospital. I grinned as I entered the deserted, snow-covered parking lot of the hospital. Only a few lights were still on in the windows, and I’m willing to bet that one of those is her room. Time for some vengeance.

*Katie’s POV*

For the past two hours or so since Zacky had been taken away, so many varying thoughts filled my mind, which made it really hard to try and focus on what the doctor was saying.

“Katie, now’s our chance to do something about this. We’ve already got three of them locked up, so what – that leaves like three more left, correct?” the doctor said.

I shrugged, “Even if their numbers decrease, it doesn’t make them all that vulnerable. Syn, one of the worst ones, is still there. That’s all that matters.”

“What if we call the cops and have you lead the way?” he suggested.

“It’s hopeless, doctor, I just don’t know what to do. I really wish you wouldn’t have taken Zacky away. Him and Johnny seem to be different from all the others…kind of like they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Maybe so, Katie, but do you really think the courts would grant them any justice? They weren’t being forced to do this…”

I sighed, “If you want to go after them that bad then here’s the address. I’m pretty sure it’s accurate…I’ve only seen it once.”

I wrote the address down on the piece of paper. Truth be told, I wasn’t sure if the numbers were right, but one thing was for sure – I couldn’t ever forget the street name: Hope Drive. How ironic.

The doctor eagerly took the piece of paper out of my hand and had the nurse dial up 911 in the room adjacent to mine. It honestly almost made me question if he had alternative motives here…I mean, he sure is excited to find those guys.

I turned over on my least burnt side to get into a more comfortable position, now that I finally had some privacy. Almost instantly, my thoughts went to Zacky. Was I really falling in love with him…or did I just prefer him over the others because he stood up and looked out for me? I mean, I hardly knew the guy so it couldn’t be considered love…right?

I exhaled deeply, wishing that all this confusing thoughts and possibilities could just disappear with that breath.

“You know, I think rest is the last thing you need.”

Wondering why a doctor would say something like that, I perched up on my elbow and glanced over my shoulder, about to ask him, when my jaw dropped. Drenched in snow and skin paled by cold, Zacky stood in the doorway, with a look of murderous intent.

I immediately sat upright in my bed, ready to make a run for the window. The room was only on the second floor, so it wouldn’t be too terrible of a fall. “Z-Zacky what are you doing here?” I asked dumbly, probably out of fear.

“Did you really think that a lame holding cell could keep me in one place, Katie? More importantly, how dare you turn your back on me after all I’ve done for you!” he said in a very dark tone, slowly closing and locking the door behind him, presumably so no one would interrupt him.

“It wasn’t my fault,” I pleaded, “the doctor, he…he figured out who you were all on his own. I told him that you were different from the others but he said that was irrelevant. That you were still a threat.”

“I hate to break it to you, but that bastard was right. I am a threat,” he grinned as he pulled a gun out of one of the pockets in his jacket.

I leaped out of bed, “Zacky, no don’t! I’m sorry…I should’ve tried harder to stop him.”

Slowly, I continued to walk backwards until I was getting closer and closer to the window. He smirked as he maintained his smoldering stare into my eyes. “Trying to get away from me? Guess I’ll have to stop you,” he shrugged, cocking the gun in place and wasting no time in pulling the trigger.

I screamed as the bullet zoomed past my shoulder, burning across the surface on my skin with a sickeningly hot speed. Blood gurgled to the surface almost instantaneously, seeping through the torn bandages.

“Please,” I cried, gripping my arm, “don’t do this, Zacky. I don’t care what that doctor or anyone else says…I know there’s still some good in you!”

He paused, and for the briefest moment, I could’ve sworn that he was about to agree with me. “Are you sure you don’t want to change your answer?” he taunted as he aimed the gun downward, nicking my leg.

That was his second miss – was he doing that on purpose? Although even though the bullet did miss, I still felt the pain…and the blood.

Even still, I wasn’t ready to give up on him. The only way he could change my mind was, well…to kill me. And I really didn’t think he’d go that far…or at least that’s what I was hoping for.

“No, I’m not changing my answer, Za–,” I stopped midsentence, my speaking being cut off by the contact of a bullet.

Slowly, my head nodded downward as I stared at the foreign sight of blood gushing from the circular wound just above my bellybutton. I felt some liquid crawl up my throat…oh no, what if the bullet pierced an organ, like my stomach? I choked on the fluid and clutched the wound tightly, trying to cover it with some loose bandages.

Never…never did I think that Zacky would be capable of doing this to me. I really believe that I had hope in him, and I feel like my tear-stained widened eyes must have conveyed that message to him. His face was near expressionless, but seemed to have the slightest hint of remorse hidden behind everything. He may have just made the biggest mistake he’d ever make in his life.

The doctor, finally realizing what was taking place, began banging on the door, trying aimlessly to break through. I was so close to the window now – I could feel a small breeze blowing up and down my spine.

Maybe I was wrong…but that doesn’t mean I’m going to just die because of it. I’m still free right now, so all I need to do is get back to that house and somehow get Myra and Randi out of there. I bit my lip hard as I forced my spine to straighten up while I used the window edge for support.

Even without looking at him, I could feel his eyes watching me. He didn’t protest what I was doing…he hadn’t spoken since he shot me. But then suddenly, there was urgency in his voice. “Katie, don’t open that window!”

I hadn’t looked out the window because I was too focused on trying to undo the latch. I ignored his warning, obviously, because I thought that it was just his way of even trying to have some sort of authority over me. But I was wrong.

A looming shadow stood outside the windowsill. The man had a hat slanted down over his face, but I already knew who it was. It was Shadows wearing a window cleaner’s uniform. The Rev was also with him on the suspended cleaning cart.

“Going somewhere?” Shadows grinned as he reached forward and dragged me out of the window by my bandages.

In the light of the parking lot’s lamp posts, I saw that his ear had been heavily bandaged. He must’ve caught me staring at because he felt the need to explain. “Your bitch friend was a great fighter. She managed to do some damage for one last time,” he smiled.

“W-what do you mean, ‘one last time?’” I asked, suddenly getting a very unfortunate, death like vibe.

“I killed her, finally,” he laughed.

I swear in that moment my heart stopped beating. Then I thought about Myra – if I’m feeling this sad after only knowing Randi for a couple of months, then I can’t imagine how she must be right now. “You’re gonna pay for that,” I growled, feeling so much anger, sorrow, and frustration.

“You know, you girls all try and say that, but you haven’t made us pay yet,” the Rev snickered.

“But now that I think about it, I’m still kind of in the mood to see another death,” Shadows said, narrowing his eyes in my direction.

His fingers wrapped quickly around my throat and he extended his arm along with my body over the edge of the cart. “Not feeling so tough now, are you?” he challenged, occasionally squeezing tightly every now and then. My blood-stained fingers flew up and met his, clawing away at his flesh as my eyes shot invisible knives in his direction.

“Just do it, man. The fall won’t kill her, but at least she won’t be able to walk!” the Rev cheered him on. My eyes widened in fear at that possibility.

One by one I could feel his sweaty fingers letting go of my neck. Just before it was entirely too late, Zacky spoke up. “Put her down, Shadows, she’s been through enough already. I shot her and then you show up and tell her that her friend is dead,” he sighed, staring out the window looking like a lost puppy.

Apparently Shadows didn’t notice the gapping wound coming from my stomach because he seemed thrilled when he heard about that. He pulled me back over and tossed me into the room through the window. “Nice work, Vengenace.”

Zacky ran over to where I landed and, much to my surprise, helped me back onto the hospital bed. Shadows and the Rev were about ready to crawl through the window themselves. But before they could, Zacky leaned forward and whispered, “You were right…I’m sorry for not believing you.”

My eyes stared into his, trying to determine if this was the real truth or not. It didn’t take long for me to trust him. Also, I’ve come to realize that it was love, not gratitude that I was feeling for him. He just saved my life…and that shows that love is so much more than what meets the eye.

I nodded, letting him know that it was ok. “Took you long enough. But now we’ve got more important things to deal with…”