Subject #013 | ✓

Chapter 10

"Very good. You must have a large enough learning capacity to understand commands." Alix says, almost amused.

"I thought you would be older." I say. I've been wondering about it for a while, but it is only now that I build up the courage to actually ask. After he's threatened me, I realize.

"I thought you would be reasonable." Alix replies before flipping the locket backwards around his wrist to untangle it. "Now you will answer my questions. What do you know about this locket?"

I bite my lip. What matters more? My dead grandfather's reputation or my life?

"I don't know much about it. It's my grandfather's; I found it in his drawer. Please don't hurt me. I've had a strange and terrible day and I really just want information, and for my parents to answer my texts." I say, a bitter tone in my voice.

A look of recognition crosses Alix's face. The only thing I can't understand is why.

"Look, if you want that blasted locket, then just take it." I say to him, throwing my hands up in the air.

He's silent for a long moment. "You're going to help me."

Is he kidding? He kidnapped me, asked me about an old necklace, and now he wants me to help him? This guy is all about the unpredictable, yeah?

"What?" I protest. "I told you what you wanted to know, why can't I just go?" Then it hits me. Where exactly would I go? I'm sure I can find some spare change around the house, but even that won't last long. My shoulders slump, and my face drops.

"You have no place to go." Alix says, finishing my sentence..

I say nothing. I have no place to go, and he's a thief skilled at throwing knives. I'm not going anywhere. He must read something in my expression because he asks, "Why were you in town today?"

There's no point in holding this information back, so I spill. He would have gotten it out of me sooner or later.

"I was heading to the pawn shop. I was hoping that maybe the person who works there might know something about my grandfather and where he might have picked this up. But it was probably a lost cause, so you might as well just kill me now." I lie, deflated. I don't want to die. I want to grow up, go to a good college, fall in love, and die a happy woman. Psh. After today? "Besides, what could I possibly help you with?"

Alix fingers his knife, and he must notice me staring at it because he looks up at me with those eyes of his, and they study me for a moment before he slips the knife away into his tool belt.

"Relax, Fireball. You're much too pretty to kill. And you're wrong about some things. I am a man of my word. I will offer you a deal. We're both after the information about this locket. I'll help you get the information and find your parents, and in return, you keep my identity a secret."

I think about it. It takes me about thirty seconds to catch something suspicious.

"How do you know about my parents?" I ask, narrowing my eyes.

He doesn't look phased by my suspicion, which confuses me.

"Well." He starts. "You mentioned that 'all you wanted was for your parents to answer your texts,' and you unknowingly answered my rhetorical question about where you would go if I let you out of here... and not even idiots go out on those streets at night alone. I'm more perceptive that you think. So back to the offer. Deal?"

His run-down shocks me into silence. He is smarter than he looks. That's why he chose to put me in a glasswork store. If I tried to escape, he would know because I'm injured and would most likely knock something over. There's more to this guy than meets the eye.

His offer seems like a fairly good deal all in all. But there's still a chance he could be using me.

"What's the catch? You kill us all anyway?" I ask.

His smirk falls, a frown appearing on his face. It's not a good look on him. "Look, Princess, I don't kill. I've never killed anyone in my life, and I don't plan to. I'm a thief, not a mass-murderer."

He looks me straight in the eyes when he says this, and images of newspaper articles scan through my brain. Almost a half million dollars stolen from the New York City Bank by thief Alix Black. Thief Alix Black spotted along the California border? Alix Black, world-wide thief reported to have stolen ammunition from a private property in Minnesota. While these are terrible felonies, I don't recall any of them involving any murder whatsoever. Maybe he's telling the truth? Besides, I'd rather die trying to find my parents than die of starvation, parent-less, boyfriend-less, and movie-less. Might as well get a little thrill in my teenage years, yeah?

"Deal." I say, crossing my arms.

Alix says nothing about my response, and I get a feeling he knew I would choose to help him. After a while, the silence grows deafening. Out of the corner of my eye, I see him. Staring at me. I pretend not to notice, but I can feel the piercing blue of his eyes boring twin holes into my forehead. After about thirty seconds, I break. "Why are you staring at me? There's nothing to see." I say, shrinking under his penetrating gaze. There truly is nothing to see. My copper hair is in tangled waves down my back, I most likely have circles under my eyes, and I'm covered in dirt and grime from the streets. What is there to be seen?

He seems to snap out of it after a couple more seconds. He doesn't answer my question. His expression changes from curiosity to a blank slate over the course of a few seconds. If he wasn't an international thief, he'd make a good actor.

"What happened to my arm?" I ask him, cutting through the silence. As if on cue, pain shoots through my injured limb. I let out a groan.

"It was pulled out of its socket. I've never seen anything like it before. You fainted, but your body was still reacting to what I was doing to you." He responds, tilting his head at me.

"Maybe you could say that in English?" I ask, gritting my teeth.

He rolls his eyes at me. "It's simple, Princess. I held a chemical up to your nose that should have knocked you unconscious for a few hours. You collapsed, but when I picked you up to bring you here, you struggled against me. You flailed around so bad that you dislocated your arm."

I frown. "I don't remember doing any of that."

"That's funny." Alix replies. "Because the creepy thing is, your eyes never closed."

Do you trust Alix? Unfortunately, my era of daily chapters has come to an end. I should, hopefully, get things up every four or five days, depending on my schedule. I will try my best to have Chapter 11 up by Saturday (1/16) or Sunday (1/17). Comment thoughts below and vote if you want more! ;)