Mika

Seventy-Nine Mika

His nose wrinkles with cringe. "Mika, he's just a stupid boy. The world isn't ending. You don't need a man to conquer the world."

I fling an elbow pasta at Diablo's head. "I don't want to conquer the world."

Diablo laughs, flashing his pearly-white smile. "Maybe this outing will change your mind. Change. We're leaving in twenty."

With no vigor in my movements, I freshen up in the bathroom and change into Asiel's hoodie and a pair of jeans. I drag the sleeve all the way out, covering my hands and making them like bear paws. I inhale his familiar cologne, and the waterworks are seconds away from spilling. It smells exactly like him.

After throwing my hair into a ponytail, I wander to the kitchen, catching Diablo packing up a backpack. It's knives, daggers, guns, scissors, bear traps, plastic bags, and more. What kind of outing is this?

"Where are we going?"

His tongue glides over his white, straight teeth. "You'll see."

Diablo tosses a water bottle at me and leads the way to his Ferrari. It's bright red with the blinding lights blinking at me. He puts the top down and turns the music on to full blast. Pop music blares out the speakers. I recline the chair until I'm all the way down and stare up at the stars.

I wonder if Asiel is looking at the stars tonight.

They look enchanting, as if I was in a dream. It's easy to get lost in the navy blue sky with the twinkling lights popping here and there. What happens if a shooting star passes by-- would my wish come true? The sky stops moving, and the car doors slam against me, dragging me back to reality.

"Let's go," Diablo says.

With wrinkled eyebrows, I hop out of the car and follow Diablo five blocks before entering a house. He smashes his hand through the glass door, unlocking the door from the inside. The door swings open, and the glasses crack under his feet. Diablo cranes his neck, making a gesture to stay quiet.

"Okay?" I mouth to him.

I blow out a weary breath, inching through the vacant house behind Diablo. He stops at the bedroom door on the second floor and slowly pushes it open. A faint figure of a body lays under the bedsheets, rotating back and forth, groaning. I wait by the door frame while Diablo grips the individual by the neck, frightening them awake.

"You've been a busy boy, Maximo."

The color drains from his face as he claws at Diablo's grip. "W-Who sent you?"

Diablo wears his signature sadistic smile whenever he's in this mode. "What do I get if I tell you?"

Maximo swallows audibly while pleading, "Anything-- I have enough money to buy yourself an island."

"Oh..." Diablo frowns. "That's less than what I already have."

His lips tremble, and his hands begin to shake in fear. I cringe as Maximo's sheets turn a disgusting yellow color. Diablo grabs a knife from his back pants pockets and glides it over Maximo's neck.

"Do you want to do the honors, Mika?" Diablo asks, his eyes widening with hysteria.

So, this is his plan? To rekindle old memories when we would kill people left and right. That's how everything started-- I fell into the deep hole of cold-blood murder because Diablo wanted me to. Coldness washes over me. I pull up the mask of a cold-hearted killer, channeling the Mictlantecuhtli in me. You can't take the killer out of the person, even if they see the light.

"O-okay," I reply, licking my lips.

The plank creaks with my every step, stalking closer to the trembling man. Diablo hands over a butcher knife and tightens his grip on Maximo's neck. My hands seize the blade, and I stare at Maximo, eyeing how his face turns blue from the grip on his neck. I hate to break it to Diablo, but Mictlantecuhtli is hiding.