Les Oiseaux de Mauvaise Augure

Step creak step creak groan

These stairs aren't as sturdy as they look.

"Nothing is ever as it seems, you know."

Oh, I know. Believe me, I know. Do you think I'll go to Heaven?

"No one goes to Heaven."

No one?

"It doesn't exist. Silly question, Bumblebee."

I suppose.

At the top of the steps now. Zacky is so cold I can feel it from here. Should I let him lead me, or should I look somewhere else?

"He knows what he's doing."

Did you hear the door open?

"I didn't hear anything."

Hm, I must be hearing things now. I'm quite tired. I can hear my heart beating in my ears.

"I know, I can hear it, too. I'm sure even Zacky can hear it."

Look at him twitch. I wonder why he does it.

"I'm sure he doesn't choose to twitch."

Well, yeah, but I wonder why he does it.

"Does it really matter?"

No, I suppose not. Where is he taking me?

"To Brian, I'd imagine."

There was a loud crash down the hall. Zacky started to rush towards it. I frowned and followed close behind. He led me to a door at the very end of the hall, and he started to twist the knob. It didn't budge and he started to bang on the door. There were more crashes and grunts from inside. There was definitely more than one person inside.

"Open the goddamn door, Synyster!" I heard a scream, followed quickly by a gun shot and another scream. I joined the man in screaming. I jumped backwards, putting a hand to my mouth in surprise. It went quiet inside. Zacky moved back a little and kicked at the door. It took two heavy kicks to get the door open. We both walked inside cautiously. On the floor lay Brian and Johnny. They were both barely alive, breathing heavily, and gurgling on blood. I gulped, and backed away, leaning against the frame of the door.

So much blood. So much death in one night.

-*-

Johnny opened Brian's door slowly and peered in. Brian looked up as Johnny walked in. He was sitting in a chair by the window, his elbows on his knees, and his head on his hands. He looked tired, his eyes sunken-in and his skin pale. His face remained blank as Johnny closed the door behind him and locked it.

"Are you a ghost?" Johnny was surprised by his question, until he looked at the desk beside Brian and noticed all the empty bottles of beer and Jack Daniels. Johnny looked back at him.

"You're more of a ghost than I am, Brian. You are a shell of a man." Brian suddenly started laughing.

"Christ is risen," he laughed drunkenly. "Back from the dead. Well, if you want something done, you gotta do it yourself." He stood up, and almost fell over, holding onto the chair to support himself. He laughed again, and reached behind him, lifting up his shirt to retrieve his gun.

Johnny ran at him, hitting him hard before he had the chance to use it. Brian fell to the floor and Johnny threw himself at him, grabbing his wrist and ramming it into the floor. The gun flew from his hand as his grip loosened. Johnny patted Brian down, finding his butterfly knife. Brian just lay there, groaning and trying to keep his eyes open.

"I've been waiting for this for so long." Johnny opened the knife as he spoke. The metal shone in the light. The door knob suddenly started to move, and Johnny looked back at the door in surprise and worry. Someone was trying to get in. A man yelled something, but he couldn't make it out.

While he was distracted, Brian punched Johnny in the face and kicked him off. Johnny fell back and Brian scrambled towards the gun. His hand barely touched the black metal when Johnny pounced onto him and stabbed him in the back. Brian screamed loud, but managed to curl his tired fingers around the gun and point it towards Johnny. He pulled the trigger, and Johnny was hit just below his heart. He screamed as well, falling backwards.

The door was busted down, and Zacky and Charity both walked in slowly. But, almost as soon as her eyes came upon Brian and Johnny's bodies, she backed back out, pale and sick. Zacky walked over to Johnny, face blank and void of emotion. Johnny hadn't seen him since that day in the hospital before they took him to jail, and they took Zacky to the asylum.

"Vengeance," Brian gasped out, coughing and spluttering on blood. There was already a large pool forming around him, soaking into his clothes. "Christ has risen for vengeance," Brian's eyes were fluttering as he started to fade. But, Zacky didn't pay any attention to him. He kneeled down next to Johnny, who was breathing fast. Each breath was shallow though, and Johnny was obviously in incredible pain. "And Vengeance has risen for forgiveness." Brian's eyes stayed closed as he talked. His breathing hitched. "But forgiveness is not for us, Zacky." His breathing hitched one last time, and his body relaxed. Johnny stared at his dead body, feeling tears come to his eyes.

He had finally done it.

Zacky watched Johnny as the blood spread across his shirt, falling down onto the floor in a stream. The puddle was even larger than the one around Brian. Johnny couldn't keep his eyes open any longer, and had to close them. He could feel that familiar feeling of death lingering around him, seeping into his eyes and his open mouth. His body became numb. All he could feel was Zacky's freezing hand on his forearm as he drifted off. Zacky saw a small smile start to form on Johnny's face.

"Lacey," he whispered. And he let out his last breath.

Zacky stood up and stormed out of the room, not bothering to acknowledge Charity, standing right outside. He walked quickly down the long hall and down the stairs, hearing Charity start to follow. He could barely hear her tired voice calling after him as he walked away. He almost made it out the door.

"You," he heard a voice behind him snarl. Zacky whipped around just in time to see the boy that he thought had died. The brother of the girl he had killed the other week. The boy plunged a large kitchen knife deep into his chest. He still could barely hear Charity's high-pitched scream. Zacky didn't let any sound leave his throat except a gargle as blood invaded his windpipe and lungs. Zacky sank to the ground with the knife still in him. Joey let the knife remain as he stood tall over him. "You killed my sister. You sick bastard. You killed my sister." Zacky stared up at him, feeling his body start to shut down. He might have gotten his heart.

"I'm... sorry," he choked out. He let out another gasping breath and let his eyes close.

Joey turned around to look at Charity.

"Anna..." his eyes rolled back into his head, and his legs started to give out. Charity rushed to him and caught him as he almost hit the ground. He was sweating and breathing heavily.

And then she heard the sirens.