VICIOUS (II) : peter pan ouat

How to Find a Killer

At least Robert isn't in shock that I'm a girl. He's got more stuff to deal with right now anyway. I couldn't imagine what I'd do in his position. Depending on someone for so long, always being with someone. Only to have them stripped away by a cowardly boy.

Johnny flies into my thoughts, and I can't help it.

I leave my plate on the ground, as I walk away. Johnny. I need to find Johnny. I run through the camp, looking around for him. Where would he be?

Opening tent after tent, spinning around. He's not here. Robert lost James. I can't lose Johnny. I hate him, and all the disgusting things he's done. He's a murderer, egotistical, quick to anger, but I need him.

I can't do this without him.

I sprint out into the woods, looking for him. I wouldn't even know where to look. This island goes on for miles and miles. There are maybe thousands of trees, hundreds of nooks and crannies. If he was trying hard enough to hide, or maybe his body was hidden, it could be centuries before I find him. Literally.

A hand is on my shoulder, and I spin around and it's Johnny.

"Charlotte." He says.

He pulls me into a hug, but I don't hug him back.

"You're alive." He tells me. "I thought the Natives might've killed you by now."

How does he know I was with the Natives? I doubt Alex and Pan would've told anyone. Harry has bigger lips than they do though, so maybe the whole camp knows.

"No, Pan got us out."

He nods, looking me up and down. "Cats out of the bag know, huh."

Right, everyone knows I'm a girl now.

"Don't you feel silly now for trying to kill Thomas?" Oh God, way too soon.

I can feel the bile in the back of my throat and I swallow it down. Not in the mood.

Johnny isn't either. He looks at the ground, ashamed, not daring to meet my eyes.

Good.

"Listen," I offer. "This is so very complicated."

"Do you want to just start over?"

Absolutely not. Just because I'm ready to learn to live with this, doesn't mean I'm ready to forgive him. Or ready to forget. Even if I did kill people, it wasn't to save my own skin. I mean, except for Samuel. Everyone I killed, I made the world a better place. Samuel and Eric both were actively trying to kill people.

I never tried to kill anyone innocent.

"No," I tell him. "I need space."

I can't lose him, but is he gone already?

"Listen," he offers. "I'm sorry."

He reaches his hand up, and inside the sleeve of his cloak is the glowing turquoise liquid. A stain.

I grab his hand, swinging him back into a tree. My dagger flies out of my cloak, pressing against his neck.

He should not have that liquid on him. That liquid is the one from the flower field, the one Dominique had on him when he set fire to the camp. When I was hiding out in the bushes I didn't manage to get a drop of it on me. His sleeve is more than glowing; it's glowing brighter than he sun.

"You helped him kidnap Walela didn't you?" I demand. "Why do you have that turquoise stuff on your wrist? You were the inside man, you never needed to disappear like the rest of them. Dominique said he had an inside man, and it was you wasn't it?"

"What are you doing?" His voice is angry, as he goes to cover his wrist. "I was in the field, just like you, that's how I got it."

"You aren't denying the kidnapping." I tell him. "You aren't denying anything. Did you know about the fire?"

"No!" He tries to look back to the camp but I shove him back into the tree.

"What did you know about?" I ask. "You tried to kill Thomas. You helped those boys escape their cages right? How else would they have gotten out?."

It hits me.

"You killed the guard." I say. "The guard that was there, and then you helped them take Felix. How many other people did you kill for them?"

He struggles against me, but doesn't say anything.

More details flood back to me. "Felix was only there because a guard got sick. Food poisoning, from the Ketlish Weed. It was your job to get Felix to the cages and then kill the other guard right? You started the illness, didn't you? Poisoned us?"

He doesn't answer again, instead knocking me backwards, off of him. I land on the ground, slicing my hand open along my dagger as I fall.

"You lied to me." I say, pulling myself off the ground. "You told me you went to Lyle's grave to keep yourself from becoming a killer. Only days after you killed the guard. You made me pity you, and believe you were good. You manipulated me, so you could keep on murdering people."

"I did it to keep you safe."

I'm finally seeing him for who he is.

"No," I say, "you did it because you are a coward. You murderer that Native boy during the game, and don't say you didn't because we both know you did. You tried to kill Thomas. You killed two guards, and you started the illness. How many people died from the illness? Have you been counting? You're soaked in blood. Max is paralysed because of you. Thomas is dead from it."

"I had no choice." He argues.

I shake my head, running my tongue along my teeth before baring them at him. "You had every choice. You chose to kill, lie and destroy. Dominique didn't move Walela to the ruins of our camp. He couldn't have, because he was dead by the time our camp burnt to the ground. You moved her there didn't you? I bet you even watched her run off, found where she was hiding. That way you could keep an eye on her, and make sure she didn't get back to the Natives. I got kidnapped because of your dumb actions. I bet you saw me and Inali find her, it's how you knew they kidnapped me. You're still his bitch, even from beyond the grave."

"Shut your mouth." He shouts. "You don't know anything. I was doing it for you."

My eyes are wide open. "I know what it's like to have blood on my hands. I'm a murderer and I love it. I would kill Samuel, Eric and Sam again and again. They deserved it. You're ashamed, and you should be."

"You should be ashamed!" He says. "You don't regret anything."

"Oh, one day I'll kill you Johnny." I spit, shoving past him back to camp. "And like you said, I don't regret anything."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

... so I think we can all come to the same position on Johnny. And poor Robert. My hand slipped and whoops, he's suffering. Not that Charlie really cares, he's a bit rude.

Anyway, what do you think of Johnny's crimes? Do you think he was in the right, killing to protect Charlie, or was he in the wrong? What about Robert; where do you see him being in the near future?

I'm excited for the next chapter. Its going to be interesting, and it'll be out Sunday.

For now, explore more stories, and I'll see you Sunday.