Choose (A Choose Your Own Story Adventure)

16. "My Name is Mia!"

"Actually, my name's not Andrea," Mia confesses.

"Wait, what?"

"My name is Mia Summers."

The Malice stares ahead at the road. Even so, his eyes seem to dart in every direction. If his mind is like his eyes, then it must be spinning. They drive a little further before the Malice abruptly turns off the road and parks.

He turns to look at Mia. "Do you have any association with Night Watch?"

"Well..." Did spending a day plotting with him count? "Not really."

The villain slides his hands over his face and sighs. Earlier he seemed so proud of himself for executing his plan successfully. His pride has evaporated and is replaced with exhaustion. He furrows his brows. He takes his hands off of his face and starts the car again. He continues to drive.

"It's not fair that Night Watch kept you in this. He should have let you stay out of it."

"No, you don't understand, I came up with the idea," Mia protests.

The Malice shakes his head. "Doesn't matter."

It grows quiet. Mia looks forward, wondering where the villain plans to take her. Are they still going to go to his intended destination? He doesn't seem as motivated to go through with his plan as he had earlier.

"Malice—"

"Just call me Zander."

"Zander..." The name feels weird on Mia's tongue. She has always associated his face with his villain name. It didn't occur to her that he'd have an actual name. "What are you going to do now?"

Zander looks like he's going to say something but then he closes his mouth. His shoulders sink. "I...don't know."

The rest of the car ride is quiet. Mia suddenly regrets telling him the truth. She didn't mean to make him feel so defeated. Why are you feeling bad for him? she asks herself. He's a villain!

Even so, she's not scared. Zander just seems like a normal person. He hasn't made any moves towards Mia that would make her scared. Would he have treated her the same if he still thought she was Andrea, though? Mia keeps that thought in her mind. She can't trust him, not this easily.

Zander stops in front of a building. It appears to have been abandoned for a while, for the paint on the walls are curled at the bottoms and the roof is caving in. Mia's nose wrinkles. It's not the most appealing sight she's seen.

Zander hops out of the truck and opens Mia's door. He motions towards the old building. "Follow me."

Hesitant, Mia gets out of the car and does as told. Zander shoves his hands into his pockets and walks slightly ahead of Mia. When they reach the door, the villain flips over the doormat to reveal a key. He slips it into the knob and opens the door. It takes all of his strength to get it open, but once he does, it opens easily. The inside is worse than the outside. There are parts of the floor that Mia has to avoid because the wood has been so destroyed. The ceiling is leaking in every corner. When Zander tries to turn the lights on, the few light bulbs glow dimly before turning back off.

"I rented this place out because I thought it would be a dramatic place to have a—" Zander leans his hand on a three-legged chair and it falls over, making the villain stumble. Mia suppresses her laughter. "—a dramatic final battle."

"Final battle?" Rented? Whoever owns this house should have given it to Zander for free. It's a piece of work.

"Yeah." Zander finally finds a sturdy chair. He spins it around, sits, and places his arms on the back of it. "I'm tired of fighting Night Watch. I thought that if I lured him in with his girlfriend and then embarrassed him, he may have just called it quits."