Visage | ONC 2023

FIVE:

That was the same night I saw Riley for the first time after more than a year...

This meant something. The group had to have reacted to Riley and her friends crossing the barrier. I reacted to her scent and killed Jimmy in the process. Someone had to be close by. An infected was close to the shop.

Biting the insides of my cheeks, I stared out the wide back windows of Bundo's. The alley lights brightened the shadows. I hoped, because of it, I could see movement. Was I dumb to think Riley could come back? I killed her "friend." I ate him. In front of her.

"Axel, how much trash do we have?" Gerry called out from the front.

"A day's worth," I lied. We hadn't been as busy as we were before. I guessed the thrill of terror only lasted twenty-four hours.

An audible dissatisfied grunt echoed from the front. "You've got fifteen minutes, Axel," he called out. "Shouldn't take longer than that!"

It was a five-minute job, but he didn't need to know that. I tied the bag again, for noise. "Got it, boss!"

I turned my gaze to the window. My heart pounded. The odds of Riley coming back were slim. Nonexistent. But for the longest, I believed she was dead—the possibility of having seen her again was the same, slim and nonexistent.

And yet... she was around. Alive, breathing. Coming back to make sure I wasn't a dream.

"Please," I whispered, approaching the window. I pressed myself against it, trying to catch movement in the area. When I saw a shadow shifting from left to right in the yard across the alley, my heart skipped a beat. "Please..."

Two faces appeared, peaking over the tall wooden fence. The person on the right, I didn't recognize. But the left? "Shit, she's here," I hissed, gritting my teeth.

Riley's hands gripped the top of the fence before dropping back down. Only a minute passed before she popped back up again, climbing over the fence like she'd done when we were in school. She plopped down on the dirty alley streets and wiped her legs before reaching up at the fence. The woman she was with reached over the fence for help.

My hands flattened against the glass as I watched the second woman climb over and land right beside Riley. Then the two of them faced Bundo's. I knew they could see me. Riley looked nervous.

I smiled. What else could I do? I didn't want to seem dangerous to her. After the other night, that was an image I couldn't cover very well, but I wanted to try. I wanted her to come to the window, to look at me, talk to me. And because of it, I wouldn't open the back door. If I did and smelled her, I'd change. I knew it.

With hesitant steps, Riley came over to the window. She smiled weakly.

"I'm glad you're back," I said, knowing she could hear me.

Her companion followed close. Taller than her with short blonde hair, the woman lifted her brows with a crooked smirk. Her eyes panned over to Riley as she poked out her lips. "I bet he's been thinking all about you," she said.

Riley shot her a stern look. "Shut up, Fiona," she hissed. "This isn't why you're here."

I cleared my throat, eyeing Fiona. "Why is she?" I looked back at Riley. "And, honestly, why are you?"

The words left me, but I didn't mean it. I wanted her to be here. Not only did I want to see her again, but I felt lost in my position. In less than forty-eight hours, my world was turned upside down and I ate a guy. And the man I'd always turned to and looked at with respect hid a secret from me.

I hated being out of the loop.

I killed someone, Gerry.

Riley flattened her hands against the glass, right where mine were. "What you said the other night had me thinking."