The World is Ugly (Frerard)

49: Like Ghosts in the Snow

Stop your crying, helpless feeling
Dry your eyes and start believing

Time passed and people changed, yet paradoxically, the same mistakes kept repeating themselves over and over again. People got hurt all the time, and people hurt others all the time. It was an endless cycle, one so easy, yet so difficult to escape.

And perhaps, if anyone involved in said mistakes realized this, things could've been a little better. Perhaps, if these thoughts had crossed the young man's mind as he sneaked behind the now-red-haired's back, he would've known better. Perhaps then, he wouldn't have raised the frying pan with both hands again as he prepared to knock him out of consciousness.

But these were only possibilities, relying solely on vague 'if's' and trusting that maybe, inside, the man didn't really want to do this. But he did, or so he thought, and it was only seconds before Gerard had fallen down as well, just as planned.

Vic took a moment to appreciate what he had done, not knowing whether it made him feel empty or accomplished. He liked to think it was the latter. He also liked to tell himself that this was all justified; that it was for his brother; for his friends, he liked to tell himself that this was, somehow, still all for the right reasons, when really, he just did it because he already felt like he had nothing to lose. Nothing to gain, as well, but that was not what he wanted to hear, let alone be aware of.

He paced around the house, which he now thought of as empty of consciousness, other than his own, and took another moment to try and figure out what he wanted to do next.

He honestly never thought he'd make it this far. He always relied on someone else to make the plans, and someone else to clean up the mess they left after themselves, but now, that was something he couldn't afford. He'd had to relearn how to do everything, but now without his brother, someone he'd always taken for granted. But now he was gone, and all Vic had left to do was moving forward, and in a way he had. In a sick, twisted way that made knocking three people out on his own one of the greatest feats he could pride himself with having accomplished.

But for the first time ever, Mike wasn't there with him to celebrate, and, having grown so used to his presence, the lack of those sarcastic comments that used to annoy him just made it all seem pointless, even surreal. Almost as if he had done nothing at all.

So, with this bittersweet taste on his lips, Vic dragged an unconscious Frank into the living room, next to the other two. His hands felt clumsier than ever, shaky and weak, threatening to give up, much alike the man's determination. But he had to do this, or at least, once again, so he thought.

He reviewed his plan in his mind. He'd come all this way with the intention of ringing the bell, and possibly slicing the throat of whoever opened it, so they had no chance of screaming. Then he would've silently wandered around the house, getting to know his surroundings before he prepared for the next phase. Once he found a clue of where he'd find the other two, he would've hidden behind a door and waited for one of them to walk past him, knocking him out with his own elbow. From then on, he had no plan, he just knew he wanted, no, he needed to see the life drain out of Frank's eyes, this time for real.

He was glad it did not have to go like that, though. He was glad he'd coincidentally happened to see Simone walking down the street on the other side of the sidewalk just when he did, holding a pizza box. He was glad the pizza man was still there when he crossed the street, with his helmet all-too-conveniently in his hands as he smoothed out his hair.

It was almost too easy, but Vic was glad the man didn't see him coming when he hit his head with his elbow, as he had practiced, and knocked him out. He had then taken the helmet out of the man's hands and placed it on his own head, tucking his locks out of sight, not even bothering to hide the body before putting his hand in the air, taking a few steps towards Simone and yelling "wait, you forgot your change!"