Too Many Words

62. Gaining Control

4024 words.

Seriously THE longest chapter I have ever written, but I didn't want to split it up. So settle in, grab a cup of tea on this cold winter's night.... What's that? It's your hot summer's day? My bad. I live way down under, so I tend to enjoy my seasons back to front 😂😂😂
(But hopefully my readers are in all parts of the world and can relate to me ...maybe....) 😏😁

Enjoy~
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The night was dark, just like the expressions that passed across her face, fear not being the least of them. She also felt doubt, hesitance, rebellion, but mostly resignation.

And defeat.

For this was her last chance at doing something worthwhile. Something good, so others would look at her and no longer see a worthless, useless, waste of time.
Maybe I can die in peace, she allowed herself a small smile as she stepped into the shadows of the even darker alley.

Her foot tapping on the dirty pavement was the only sound for miles, as city traffic had faded long ago, and the rush of bat wings no longer bothered with this lonely soul. Even they knew better than to waste their time on the no-good runt of society.

When a figure stepped up behind her, his nose nuzzling the side of her neck, she froze and swallowed hard. "You're late," she managed to say beyond the pounding of her heart.

"You're early. Did you bring what I asked?" the man in a long black trench coat came around the front of her, his face still masked by swirling shadows, a lock of his jade fringe peeking out from under a hood, and his accent thick with its usual foreignness. It always caused a shiver to run down her spine.

"Yes," she slid the bag from her shoulder, letting the weight fall to the ground and she knelt to unzip it. Reaching inside, she pulled out the object, staring at the cold and lifeless piece of metal before handing it to him. But before letting go, she hesitated. "Your end of the deal?"

"Oh, of course," he chuckled, a humorless sound that bounced eerily off the blind buildings and dumpsters. "You will be richly rewarded, my dear," and with that, he reached into his coat and pulled out a disc that glinted strangely in the absence of light. "Thank you for saving my world, and destroying yours in the process."

He snatched the metal from her grasp at the same time as releasing the disc in a dizzying blur of cyclic motion.

It spun silently, embedding itself in its target, and her last thought as she watched blood seeping through her favourite white shirt, was that maybe peace was a treasure eluding everyone but the saints in the stars above.

"Oh, the stupid girl! That is why I don't have a TV. The characters always make such dumb decisions. I knew from the very start that weirdo couldn't be trusted!" Astrid threw the remote to the couch and dragged an arm over her face.

"If they always made good decisions, there'd be no drama and people would stop watching the shows. But people want something interesting to distract them from life."

"Like life isn't dramatic enough," she huffed, reaching across the table for her mug of herbal tea.

Jonas chuckled. "You and I are lucky. Normal people usually lead such boring lives."

"You call this lucky?" she motioned to her back that was still healing, and shook her head. "Maybe I want boring."

"No you don't. You'd hate it," Jonas tilted his head as he spun around on his swivel chair at his desk, staring at her intently. When he did that, she'd always feel a squirming sensation in her stomach. He was reading her, taking note of her mood, and seemed to always guess it better than she herself did.