A Spaceman

Chapter 9--His Love

"Why do you say he loves you?"

"BECAUSE HE SAID 'SEND HER MY LOVE'!" I cry, angrily, "You know why you said it yourself!"

"Send her my love isn't the same thing as I love you," he says.

"No, it's saying that all the love he has—which is probably very miniscule, is mine," I say, sitting back in the chair, taking deep breaths. No use getting angry. That won't do Becca or Kip or Jordan or any of the others any good. it won't bring them back. it won't bring Titus back. Not my Titus. Not the boy who so fresh and young, so innocent, kissed me so gently in the dark. No, that Titus doesn't exist. Not anymore. God, Titus, why?

**

I wake up slowly. My arms are tied up to things above my head. My legs are bound as well. I am floating, or my clothes are around me. we're not on any planet. We. I opened my eyes slowly. I am tied spread eagle to a wall, facing a room with all sorts of ladders and things at different angles to climb on. There are chests which are sealed. On the opposite wall, there is a window that looks out the open universe. In the distance, I faintly see Keplar and its moons. Home. The floor is black. The walls are black. And Titus, floating in front of the window, is dressed in white.

"Feeling better?" he asks, turning around, fluidly, and pulling along one of the ladders to come closer. there are ladders all over the room. each is a different, florescent color. They curve around and lead off into the ceiling and down into the floor. A madman's playground. The child who never got any toys.

I look to my left, straining my head. Tony is there next to me, tied up. He is gagged, and his face is red from crying. On my right, Commander Thorne is similarly gagged, but his eyes are burning at Titus.

"Why are you doing this?" I ask, my voice shaking.

"Look through the ages. There are men, and then there are gods. There are those who defy boundaries, defy limits, rules aren't made for men like me. I was sick of limits. Sick of orders. What was the point of fitting in? Of going with the mold. Of being good? When I can do this so well?" he asks, going over to a chest. He gets out a pump like machine, attached to a large clear container. There is a tube running off of it.

"You're not a god, you're a butcher," I say, spitting in his direction. I miss but it is the best I can do. "You slaughtered innocent people. None of them did anything to you."
"No, I know. I just don't care, you see," Titus says, calmly. There is a terrible light glowing in his eyes. He floats over to Tony, and inserts a needle in his arm. Tony whimpers. Then Titus starts the pump. Blood begins running down the tube and into the jug that floats not a foot from me. I feel my stomach turn. Tony whimpers as we both realize that he is going to kill us by pumping out all of our blood. "All my life I haven't cared for other people. For morals. For things that are good and bad. I realized other people did. But it didn't bother me. On the contrary, it intrigued me. I wanted to understand why I was different from anybody else. If there was anything I could do to make me feel emotion."

"And?" I ask. I am not interested in his mania, but if he's talking, he may not notice me working my hands in the ties. They are loose on my wrists. I may be able to get out.

"When I was fourteen, my sister used to walk me home from school. She was my eldest sister, and for some reason she was fonder of me than my other siblings. Used to bring me cakes, and remember my birthday, , those sorts of things. Well, one night it was dark, and late, and I asked her if we could take a short cut down an alley. like a fool, she followed me. She was a little thing, then I was taller than she was. well, I got her down there, and then I turned around, pushed her against the wall, and strangled her. She didn't even fight back she was so surprised. It was over in a minute. And I screamed and sobbed and ran to get police. And nobody thought it was me," he says, inserting a needle into my arm. I feel the pull as my vein begins to slowly collapse as the blood leaves it.