Arlo decides to go to bed before John does, at 10. That's a little early for John since he works in the night and he'd like to keep his routine that way. So, he sleep a lot, like a lot later than Arlo. Instead of sleeping, he stays up on his phone, in the living room, gaming and researching about how to greet other people.
He kind of wants to visit Seraphina but they were told to stay in their dorm unless it's for nessesary means, but even though, they weren't allowed to leave campus. So John and Arlo stay hogged up in the dorm.
John helps Arlo with tutor the best he can before he leaves and Arlo's grateful for it. Psychology interested him, he really liked studying the human brain and maybe he'll become the therapist one day.
Arlo's roommate invited Arlo to watch a movie with him in his room and NOT with the two other cripples, so that was kind of a bummer. Luckily, the police decided to bring John down for questioning if he's seen anything. They were almost done and they wanted to rush through this.
"Did you see anyone?" One tired policemen asked, which John shook his head to. The man wrote down some notes and proceeded on with the questioning.
It was less than 5 minutes and John thought it was very unprofessional of them, since he was the one who killed Zeke. The authorities is corrupted, but they tried to have a good cover. It's like trying to make the cover look good when the pages of the book are all scribbled on to the point where words couldn't be read.
It's fucking stupid. Instead of trying to fix the problem, they'd rather have an positive image of them.
After a few more hours, they were allowed to be let go. They couldn't determine anyone but they suspected it could have been a serial killer that was on the loose. The man killed at least 13 - 20 people although the deaths are not confirmed.
With that in mind, the headmaster informed everyone to be weary of others and never to go into places with no cameras. Then, the school was back in session.
Everyone had trouble getting back into their regular routines, but they managed. John didn't care, he had no trouble getting all the work done in a snap and was also pretty happy. "Hey John," Seraphina asked, not looking away from her phone.
"Yes?" He replied, also not looking away from his phone. He was looking through all the information that he'd gathered on the three trios.
"How do you do it? Blend right back in I mean."
"What? What are you talking about?"
"You managed to fit right back into your routine... How do you seem to peaceful at all times?" She asked, turning her head to stare at John. He placed his phone onto the ground, covering the screen.
"I am just happy that I live, I want to enjoy the moments I have before I die... you know?" He turned to glance at Seraphina with a smile on his face. "There's so much you have left to do before you die. You have so much more to see and feel."
Seraphina turned to look at what John was staring at the whole time as he said it. He was looking at the sky. She placed her phone down as well.
"Look at the sky. Isn't it so pretty?" He asked.
"It looks normal to me." Seraphina shrugged. John wrapped an arm around Seraphina's shoulder, pulling them closer together.
"Seraphina," John started to say, "Look a little deeper, Seraphina. Tell me, what do you see?"
Seraphina squinted her eyes, "Nothing...? What are you getting at John?"
"Maybe you'll see later on in life. If you stare hard enough into the sky, you'll see it." John said, getting up from his seat. "Keep looking Seraphina." He smiled, and picked up his phone. He walked inside into the school.
It was all just none sense. But it was what his mother had told him a long, long time ago.
***
"John and Volcan." The person through the phone said, "We need you to kill a certain someone. You will receive money for his death. I will send you the location and his appearance, although I think you already know who that is."
"Mhm, okay. We're on it." Volcan replied, within a few seconds, they got the address. On the way, they got another text, John almost choked when they saw whom it was. It was their favorite customer...
"Mom, it's... him." John said, Volcan glanced at the screen and turned back to the road.
"Well, swoop in for the kill and not think about anything else okay?" Volcan bit her lips, this was the first time John killed someone he knew dearly, so she tried to make this easy for him.
"Do... do we have to kill him...?"
"You know what happens when we don't. Orders are orders." Volcan sighed, she drove faster, wanting to get this over with. John was a little down but he reminded himself that he didn't know this man.
Finally, they arrived. Volcan walked in first, with her knife in her hand, behind her back. She knocked on the oddly shaped apartment door. The man opened it, "What? Why are you here again?" He eyed Volcan.
John pushed the door open forcefully, knocking the man over as he scrambled to get away. "What do you want?! How dare you do this to your client!" He shouted, he pushed himself back up in a rush and ran. He tried to run into the bathroom, but John stopped it.
"Let's just get this over with." Volcan said, walking towards him with her knife out.
"Mom, you didn't wear gloves." John spoke and Volcan paused. "I'll do it mom." He pulled out his pocket knife. Volcan didn't say anything else, and stared at her son, she nodded and looked away.
"Hey! Is this because I didn't pay back?! Is this why you're after me?!" He shouted. "L--listen! If you protect me, I will--" John sliced his throat. The man just stared in shock.
Blood was pouring from his neck, his hands tried to stop the blood but it kept on gushing out.
"Shut up, Loud mouth." John glared at the man, who gurgled as he tried to speak. John stabbed him in the stomach, stabbing him over and over and over. The man was already dead.
"Stop John, that's overkill." Volcan placed a hand on John's shoulders. He turned around to stare at his mother.
John sighed and smiled, "Okay mom!" He tossed the knife onto the ground. John happily walked out of the apartment building with his mother. They slid into the car and started to drive away.
John's evil. He was rotten to the core.
Volcan knows that John needs help, but she was the one who brought him into this. She was the one who turned John into a blood thirsty killer who hurt people for fun. No, not hurt, killed. Every single one of his victims, was brutally murdered with no mercy.
She wanted the best for him, but it turned him into this.
At first, Volcan wanted John to work on more, non gory things. Like helping out around in the lab to create different drugs, or a commander, who gave instructions. But ever since his ability started to form, the organization took advantage of him and used him to kill others.
She remembered the first time when he was brought out to murder without her permission. She was distributing drugs, when she came back to the lab, John was terribly shaken up. He was covered in blood with a dull look in his eyes.
She was so worried, when she found out what they brought him through, she screamed at the man. She was pissed, to the point where she even got into a fight with the commander. John pulled his mother away.
He didn't look dead anymore, but rather, cheerful. "I liked it Mommy." Was what he said.
Her eyes widened at him. "Wh--what did you just say...?"
"It was fun, I want to do it again!" He grinned and even had sparkles in his eyes. "It was so funny watching him suffer, I want to do it again! Again!" He sounded like a child even though he was talking like a maniac.
The man brushed the dust off his clothes, "What did I tell you?" He asked, and she turned around to look at him, "He's got potential."
"You." Volcan started to stand up, she grabbed at the man's shirt, "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?? WHY?? HE'S JUST A CHILD!" She started to sob. The man raises his hands in defeat.
"Nothing, I just brought him to a hurt child and let them both be. Although I might have given him a knife as well." He looked at Volcan, "I'm not guilty. It's curiosity."
His son hugged her, "Mommy, what's wrong?" He asked, "Don't be mad mommy. He's a good man."
Volcan sighed at the memory, he was a little demon child and she meant it. Call him a monster now a days and he'll take it as a compliment. He doesn't look miserable, he loved this life style.
***
"Pfft- Haha--" John laughs at Arlo. "You can't even get that question right?"
"Shut up! Smarty-pants!" Arlo shouted back at him, John was already dying of laughter. "Instead of making fun of me, why don't you help me??" Arlo was fustrated, this asshole was making him seem like an idiot. Which he was, but not that way.
"Oh geez. I haven't laughed like this in a while." He chuckled as he walked back to Arlo, "Now, which question was it again...?" He pointed.
Arlo likes this idiot. He's the only one that reached out to help him, the others, they just expected things from him. He's too embarressed to even ask Seraphina for any help. He knows that she'll just laugh at him and assume that it was a joke.
Or even just tell him to screw off.
Maybe cripples aren't as bad as they seem, or this guy at least. Maybe this guy is a little better than what he seems on the outside, maybe it's just because they've had a bad first impression. That's all.
"Arlo, listen to me." John firmly said, "Stop daydreaming." He snapped. Arlo instantly turned to look at him with a smile on his face.
"Yeah...?" He tried to make this situation less awkward. "I'm listening."
John stared at Arlo, "....Stop with that forced smile. It's fucking creepy." He sighed and turned back to his work. "Anyways, over here, you need to--"
Okay, Arlo takes that back. He's nothing but a sack of shit.
Since John's helping Arlo study a lot, starting back from the basics, John has gotten to know Arlo a lot. He was present even during one of his phone calls...
One day, John was helping Arlo study for chemistry, Arlo got a call from his aunt. John could tell that the mood changed like the flick of a light switch. Arlo was nervous, he quietly excused himself from John and walked out the door. "Ye-Yes aunt...?" Arlo asked.
Arlo was talking a little too loud and the door wasn't even closed properly. He was about to tell Arlo that when he heard his aunt scream over the phone. John, he was pissed, but he held it in.
"You little shit! Have you seen your grades?!" A woman's voice shouted at him. Oh yes, the grades have been sent to every student's guardians today. "A B+??? Are you kidding me?! Have you seen for your history?! An A-?? Arlo! I sent you to this school to excel and beat all of your classmates! And you bring back these grades!?"
John was fuming at this point, "Yes aunt. I'm sorry... I'll try harder next time."
"You'd better! If you keep these grades up, you'll be living in the dumps!" He could hear the woman heave a heavy sigh. He didn't know whether Arlo hung up because he was fed up, or it was the aunt.
Arlo sighed, and opened the door. John was perplexed, he was confused, he was completely thrown off guard. He though that Arlo was well liked by everyone, he thought that Arlo lived in a fancy house with a loving family. Maybe it was the opposite. Maybe he's not happy, because, Arlo fell onto the bed, complaining about a splitting headache.
John knows, he's been taught by a lot of different people and it was stress. Arlo's stressed, he'll kill himself if he keeps this up.
"John...? Can you leave for today? I don't feel so good." Arlo asked. "Can you get me an aspirin as well?"
"...No. Arlo, you will die if you keep this up." John bluntly replied, Arlo didn't expect that. He sat up quickly. "If you keep letting your aunt scream and yell at you like that."
"D-did you hear...?" Arlo asked.
John nodded, "Of course, with you talking that loud." He rolled his eyes, "What you need, isn't aspirin, it's rest."
"No, I don't want to dissappoint my aunt! If I do, I-- I might live out in the streets!" Arlo panicked. John sighed, this man really believed in his aunt?
"They wouldn't do that." John groaned, "They would be wasting your talent if they did that. If they wanted you to be successful, then they would have to have some kind of relationship with you. They're trying to get you under their control, don't you understand?" John shook his head in annoyance, was Arlo being serious?
"But...! But they actually threw me out!" Arlo shouted, "They actually-- they left me at the mall once..." John crossed his arms.
"Geez, what a toxic family. Just distance yourself from them. Ignore them Arlo, they don't deserve you," He said, flicking his finger at Arlo's forehead, "Idiot. Use your brain." He sighed, "If you want peace and quiet, I'll leave." He slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked out.
Arlo thought hard. Why was he so obedient to someone who didn't care if for him? Because he has no one other.
Why doesn't he? His aunt wasn't his mother. Because his parents died. They were murdered by EMBER.
Why doesn't he just give up on living? All his aunt and uncle does is treat him badly, they wouldn't care if he dies. Because, someone's helping him get through this. He still has someone, and that's John.
He doesn't want John to be sad. He doesn't want to dissappoint John, but not in the same way with his aunt and uncle, he doesn't want to leave the only person who even bothered to care for him. John.