Fallocaust (The Fallocaust Series) (67 page)

I took  a long drink and told him the story (on the record, apparently) from the beginning. From when we left, all the way to me being kidnapped. Greyson peppered me with questions as I explained everything, in as much detail as I could. I left out any personal things that went on between myself, Killian and Perish. Like I had said it was none of their business.

“And you left Killian with Perish?” Greyson asked.

I nodded, by this time my beer bottle had been long empty and we were both surrounded by cigarette butts. The overcast sky had started to darken and the mosquitoes were coming out.

“He mouthed to me to bring the quad around, or in my head he did. I was seeing a lot of things at that point.”

“And he killed him while you were out?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I was gone for awhile though I think. I wasn’t really aware of much.”

I glanced at the voice recorder, we had been out here for over an hour now.

“Now… at what point during all of this did you put your hands on Killian?”

Click
went the stop button on the recorder.

“I’m not discussing the personal matters between the three of us.” My tone changed just as quickly as my hands had shut off the recorder.

Greyson crossed his arms, I got a bit bristled as  I realized he was in my path to the door inside. He was blocking my way, I was trapped.

“His arm lacerations…. the hand shaped bruises and the finger nail marks I can look past, but you sprained his wrist, didn’t you?” Greyson said, his voice was low.

“We’re done here…” I went to take a step towards the door but he stopped me.

“He didn’t fall on it, there were no scratches on his palms. He would have told me if Perish had done it.” I stepped past him again but he grabbed my shoulder. I whirled around and stared him down. I didn’t appreciate him stopping me from leaving.

“Reaver, settle down and shut up. I don’t bullshit you like Leo does, do I?” Greyson said.

“You don’t know what it was like down there,” I said, glancing behind Greyson to plan out my escape over the barriers. “So don’t give me shit for hurting him.”

“Reaver,” Greyson said. “Do you feel bad about it?”

“Of course I fucking feel bad!” I snapped.

I turned to walk away but stopped as I hear Greyson give out a sigh of relief.

Now that pissed me off. “What? What?” I turned around raising my arms. “Reaver feels badly for hurting his boyfriend? That’s what you’re worried about? I almost got him raped and murdered, I got him imprisoned, I let him get molested, but no it’s all okay because Reaver can feel empathy?”
“Well it’s a lot better than you laughing like you did when you murdered Bridley,” Greyson snapped. “Killian’s the only fucking person you’ve ever shown empathy over. So yes it is great you feel bad because the fact that you physically abused him was making me doubt you were human at all!”

“You know what, Greyson?” I said loudly, making my way towards the sliding glass door. “Watch the feed, watch the videos watch every single one with the sound up. You know what will happen once you do? You’ll give me a well thought out, heart felt apology.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so.” Greyson was walking behind me.

I opened the sliding glass door and walked into the living room. Killian’s eyes were red from crying, and Leo was sitting beside him the recorder on the coffee table.

“We’re going,” I said to Killian.

“I need more time with him,” Leo said looking behind him and watching me head to the door.

“I’m leaving then,” I said. “Walk him home.”
“But… Reaver, wait,” Killian called, I heard Leo say something to him but I was already out the door. I shut it and started down the now dark empty road ahead of me. I stalked towards the empty side of town.

I disappeared into one of the abandoned houses up the street and quickly pattered up the stairs, I climbed out a second story window and pulled myself onto the roof. I perched on top of the chimney and watched the shrouded moon come up from the rocky hillsides. I had never seen the moon without its cloak of ashes, only in books or in movies. I wondered if it still looked the same.

I surveyed my town, and watched the shrouded figures on the wall walk back and forth. From the way they walked I could see it was Owen and Jess. Jess on the north wall and Owen was at the gate. I envied them in a way, but I wasn’t eager to return to work. Not unless I could drag Killian along. I wasn’t to keen on leaving him alone. He could become a great scientist on his own time.

I dug into my pocket and took out a quil, I lit it with my Zippo. I inhaled the sweet smoke and kept it in as long as I could.

In a way, I did want Greyson to see the feeds of myself, Killian and Perish, you know, to shut him up, but those two goons were too nosey for their own goods. They had been nosing into my business all my life. No doubt if he watches the feed of Killian cutting the scientists throat, Killian making out with him and all the other bullshit that went on Greyson would have something to say to that. I don’t know who he was trying to fool, he was my mayor, and my boss. He didn’t get to decide when he wanted to step into his daddy shoes.

If he was going to accuse me of domestic violence the least he could see what drove me to it. Yeah, I did hurt Killian. I felt badly about it, but he understood why and so did I. So what did it matter? It wouldn’t happen again, I wasn’t planning on going without sleep for over a week. He should stop concerning himself with how much of a cruel heartless bastard I was and focus his energies on his own life.

Anyways I know he’s smacked Leo around at one point, their relationship wasn’t perfect, and he sure had a great time whooping my ass when I was a kid. Hell once I was grown enough to hit back we got into some violent brawls. I broke his jaw once. This was the fucking greywastes, not a Disney movie, people got raped, people got hit and people got eaten. Deal with it.

I smoked the quil and then another one, watching my territory. The moon moved a good inch in the sky before I heard the murmuring of voices.

I looked down to see Killian and Leo walking down the street. I clenched the quil through my teeth and jumped down onto the pavement in front of them.

Killian and Leo both gave a surprised yell. I landed on my feet, my legs barely bending. I took an inhale as they both called me very inappropriate names.

“When he was little we put bands of reflective tape on all his clothes,” Leo said to Killian,  he was holding his chest from fright. “We also put a bell on him during the day.”

I walked over and handed Killian the quil.

“On his wrist?” Killian asked taking an inhale.

“No, he could take it off. We found a dog collar for him and a small padlock.”

Killian looked at Leo in shock then at me. “He’s not a puppy!”

“I have Killian now, you can go home,” I said giving him an unimpressed look.

“Do you have any pictures of him when he was little?” Killian asked.

Leo nodded. “A few,  packed away in a closet. Though I couldn’t tell you where.”

Killian’s face brightened. He seemed to have it in his head I might let him see them.

“Reaver was a handful. He was always running around, taking off on his own or beating up the other kids. He would wedge himself in the stupidest places and get stuck. He would have died of heat stroke if it wasn’t for his bell.” I heard Leo chuckle, then him beside me. “No one could keep up with him, so we had to use other methods.”

“They used to tether me in the backyard too,” I remarked. I remembered it very well. “I even had a plastic bucket of water.”
“We left you toys.” Leo sounded uncomfortable. I knew I was a hellion as a child, but I also knew Killian was a sensitive little nurturer and would find it horrifying. I had deserved every tie down and beating I got, I was surprised the town didn’t exile me for some of the things I had done. Or made the other kids do for me.
“That’s horrible!” Killian gasped.

Yep, see?

“We eventually gave up and just left him to run around free, it made him happier and Greyson and I fought less,” Leo shrugged. “You think Reaver is bad now. Imagine him as a three year old with the vocabulary of a fifteen year old; who could turn anything sharp into a shank.”

Killian was quiet for a moment. “I could see how that might be a bit... hard to deal with.” He shuddered. “We shouldn’t have kids.”
I snorted. Kids. Never.

Leo must have also found this prospect amusing because he started chuckling pretty hard.

“No matter how much you two have sex, Killian you wont bare his children.”

“I know that, I’m not retarded,” Killian said defensively. “I mean we could surrogate... like turkey baster.”
I started laughing too, turkey baster. I’d have to remember that one. I’d never let my kid live that one down if that’s how he came into the world.

“Or adopt, you and Greyson adopted kind of.”

I rolled my eyes. “If you want to mother something, adopt a puppy. That’s pretty much what they did.”

I heard Leo’s heart give a jolt, he was hurt by that remark. Whatever, he brought those things up not me.

“We’re taking off now,” I said starting to walk towards my basement. Leo stopped me though.

“Before I bugger off, Reaver you need to mark off where the security cams are.”
I took the paper from him and the red marker. I walked over to a car and laid the paper on it, I started marking off the places where I had seen or heard the cameras. As I quickly did it, I heard Leo and Killian continue to converse. Thankfully not about anything at my expense.

Though my ears did perk up when I heard what Killian was talking about.

“Do you think I... I could have his body? I don’t want... him to be eaten.”

Oh great, from my childhood as the neighbourhood stray to Perish’s corpse. I didn’t turn around, I kept making small x marks where the cameras were. Killian had made a pretty accurate map of what floors of the lab we had seen.

“I... no Killian, we’re going to process him once we’re done examining-”

“I’ll buy him,” Killian said, his voice started to have a tone to it that made me a bit miffed. “I’ll buy what his meat is worth... please, Leo.”
“No... I’m sorry Killian. Meats short he’s worth more...”
Killian cut him off again. Surprisingly he had a bit of force behind his tone. “He’s not yours to make those decisions for. He wasn’t from Aras, he was mine more than anyone’s.”
“Killian you know that doesn’t matter. Free meat is free meat.”
“It doesn’t matter obviously, since you already butchered and ate his parents,” I said loudly. “Give him Perish’s body, or at least give him his head. He gave it to me, not you.”

I didn’t even turn around,  but I could feel Leo’s eyes burrow into me. The tension could be cut with a knife.

“Why do you want him, Killian?” Leo asked his voice barely audible.

In the smallest mousiest voice I heard his answer. “I want to bury him beside my mom and dad.”

But we ate them... I wonder if he had gotten their heads back. We never ate the heads or spine because of kuru. The parts we removed for eating were the cheeks, tongue and eyes. Maybe ears if you wanted to make a stew out of it.

I wonder if I could take some slices of his cheeks without Killian knowing... hmm.

I heard Leo’s heart speed up, which was interesting. He must feel bad for how the Masseys died, it was rather traumatic for the poor kid. I wonder if he regrets letting me kill them. I enjoyed being the towns executioner. It was a job well suited for me.

Though now that Killian was my boyfriend I did look at the whole situation differently. That kid had been a hysterical mess. Begging and crying. It took three of them to pull him away from his mom. She and Jeff Massey had been quarantined for a few days previous in one of the shacks. He had never wandered more than six feet from the shack from what I had heard.

Leo took him for a walk. I remember when the noise faded from the last gun shot I could hear him wailing half a block up. Though at the time I didn’t care, or I didn’t feel like I had cared, but I had started following him soon after. So perhaps I had felt something that night.

Before Killian had been another blond head in the sea of Aras’s residents. I had noticed him several times, mostly because he was always happy and smiling. His blond mother, sharp faced, blue eyed and stern always beside him. Watching to make sure her son didn’t wonder far. Making sure he minded his manners and called everyone sir or ma’am. I think she had been a good mother. I wasn’t sure, I didn’t have one, but I think that’s what made a mom. Why else would they call it mothering, right?

I finished marking the pages. I immediately went to Killian and stood beside him as he tried to beg Leo for the body. He didn’t need too, he was getting it whether the bosses wanted to give him up or not.

Leo was sucking down the quil, his heart was still a rapid drum beating. “We’ll... drop it off before we leave in couple days.”
“I thought you were leaving tomorrow?” I asked handing him the map.

“We need to wait for more gas to be refined.” Leo looked over the map and nodded to himself. “We’ll... we’ve been keeping it on ice.”
Perish popsicle.

“Promise you wont let them eat him?” Killian said, he was looking at Leo but I knew he was talking to me.

“Yeah...” Leo said, he folded up the piece of paper and took the last inhale of the quil. “You two have a good night, don’t wake the neighbours.” And with that he turned around and headed back to their home.

We started walking back to my basement, when we made our way past his cul-de-sac I looked around his yard. “Did you bury them in the backyard?” I asked.

Killian refused to look, he shook his head. “I did... but then the nightmares started. I moved them to a special area, I thought it would help... it didn’t.”

“Well... maybe your mom can... you know, she can slobber all over Perish and be all mommy like. That would make him happy right?” Hah, I was proud of myself for that one. Now that comment was just reeking of understanding.

“Mom would have hated him.”

Your fucking mom hated everyone, she was a stuck up bitch who looked down her nose at everyone but her precious little son and drug addict father. She spent all her time putting on a show that she was this strutting hen from Skyfall when really she was a bigger head case then her sheltered, naive dummy of a child.