Kitty
It was Tuesday night when we finally stopped off somewhere, parking the car at a local park near sunset and taking the time to get out and stretch our legs. Chelsea checked GPS and revealed we were in the northern part of Utah, the weather a lot colder down here than it had been in Silver Cove and only getting worse. I shivered and wrapped a blanket around myself as I leapt up to sit on top of the SUV and light a smoke.
"You've really got to quit," Jeff leveled a disappointed stare on me as he placed his hands on his hips.
"B-Bite me, bitch," I flipped him off as my teeth chattered.
"Is this where we're planning on camping out for the night?" Thomas asked as he joined me, bumming off my cig while my shivering finally ceased.
"Unless you have any better ideas on where you'd like to leave your decoys," Chelsea laughed, "there's a town literally right down the street. I'm going to swing by a store and get some food for us, but I figured it'd be a good idea to let you goons out to walk first."
"Much appreciated, my legs are killing me," Jeff sighed as he threw his arms into the air to pop his shoulders, my neck cracking as I whipped my head from side to side. Thomas shivered and covered his ears while I snickered at him.
"What, you can eat raw kidneys but you can't stand joints popping?" I teased and he pushed me.
"You're disgusting," he laughed, "I need to eat tonight anyway so this is a good stop."
"Are you, you know," Chelsea started, "going to try...?"
"I might as well, the book did say it elongated my lifespan so hopefully it'll help, even I don't go all the way." Thomas blew smoke before he dropped the cigarette, stomping it out on the pavement after he hopped down. I joined him and Jeff caught me before setting me on my feet.
"Alright, let's get this party rolling."
The sun had already set and night was creeping in, allowing us to move through the darkness with ease. Once we got to one of the residential neighborhoods we split off from Chelsea and Thomas, Jeff and I excitedly bickering over which house to take. We ended up agreeing on a small one with green paint and a black door, scoping out the windows to find which ones we could wiggle and which ones wouldn't work. I ended up finding squat and instead eyed the second story, pulling myself up onto a tree limb and silently jumping onto the shingles before I walked to the glass to pull upward. Bingo.
"Go around back, I'll let you in."
He flashed a thumbs up and I slithered into the home, adjusting my mask as I leaned down and climbed onto the counter of a bathroom, my steps soft as I put my head to the door to listen. Silence. When I opened it to peer around I figured I was in the clear and descended the steps before tiptoeing to the back door, pausing at the entrance to the kitchen when I saw a woman with her head in the fridge. The moment she looked away I slipped past her and flipped the lock up, turning the handle and popping it open while I held a finger to my mask for him to be quiet.
I pointed one of my knives to the kitchen and one upstairs before he held his up to motion he'd take whoever was up there while I snuck to the kitchen. She was still looking through the cabinets and after Jeff gave my rear end a parting squeeze I snuck inside, approaching her with silent steps before I struck. First the neck, slipping my knife between the right vertebrae to paralyze her before she fell into my arms; I dragged her to the middle of the room before her eyes locked on me, pain and terror flashing as she desperately tried to eek out a scream. Those eyes are so pretty when they're terrified. Destroy them.
"I'm sorry sunshine," I whispered as I mounted her hips, spinning my blades around for a moment before I raised them, the sensation of the knives sinking deep into her skull one I cherished every time. There was always resistance as I punctured the back of the sockets but I pushed past it again and again, my laughter slow and dark as I whipped my knives out and sprayed her blood against the walls. I'm going to paint this room red. I wanted to taste it. I flicked my mask up and carefully wrapped my tongue around the blade as the whispers sang for me, letting the blood flow over my lips while I grinned.
My vandalization of her body ceased when I heard a creak in the doorway, whipping my head to the side to watch Jeff approach. His knife dripped with red and I hummed as I got to my feet, arms hanging limply at my sides while my smile was wide and euphoric. I'd never get used to this feeling; I didn't want to. Everything buzzed as I approached and wrapped his arm tightly around my waist while he pinned me to his chest. Bloodlust shone in his eyes and I reveled in the fire that flowed through my veins.
"Have I ever told you that you looked beautiful in red?" His voice was dark and gravelly as he slowly said the words.
"I see why it's your favorite color," I purred back, "kiss me."
"Don't have to tell me twice."
He crushed me in his grip as he locked his lips with mine, the taste of blood still on my tongue while I played with his. I wanted to run my dripping hands over his body and feel his teeth sink into me but I stopped myself, knowing we were here for a reason and not just for fun. Jeff seemed to have realized it too and the bloodlust had faded by the time he pulled away.
"We should head back, shouldn't we?" I asked with a tiny pout as he nodded.
"Don't worry, next time," I felt his breath against my skin as he leaned his head down beside mine, "you can get me as bloody as you want while I pin you down and have a little fun."
"Don't threaten me with a good time."
I cracked a grin as I grabbed his hand, slipping my knives back into my pockets and dragging him out the back door into the night while my laughter echoed in the trees. Jeff was hot on my heels and we raced each other back to the SUV, breaking across the pavement first before I slowed to wait for him. It was hard not to laugh as he panted, wiping his knife off on his jeans before shoving it back into his pocket while I stifled a cough. Jeff's turn to tease me came as I started hacking through my laughter and he rubbed my back while I got it out.
"Fuckin' smoker lungs," I wheezed, "maybe you're right, I should quit 'cause damn I can't run like I used to."
"I keep telling you, those things are going to kill you," he scolded before I pulled my mask off and stashed it away in my backpack.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll do it eventually," I laughed, scanning the forest around us as I looked for our other two partners in crime, "I wonder how much longer they're going to make us wait."
"They're probably out having a little fun in the bushes," Jeff teased and I smacked him just as they emerged, waving my hand and getting a wave back from Chelsea. Curiosity ate away at me but I figured I'd let him do the talking.
Eyeless Jack
Chelsea and I split off from the two happy-go-lucky killers to find a reasonable target for myself. I was leery about having her with me after what happened with Nina but I never saw that same spark in her eyes like I had in the rest of our little band of misfits. She wasn't a killer like us. I intended on keeping it that way.
"How do you guys usually do this?" She asked softly as we walked down the sidewalk.
"Well, Jeff and I would break into houses and basically take them over while we were on the run," I explained, my ears burning as I ran a hand through my hair, "back when I was in Silver Cove I targeted people no one would miss. Vagrants, bums, until Kitty got kicked out. Then I set my sights on the girls."
"Is it...hard to kill someone?"
It was exhilarating. "Not when you know it's life or death for yourself. Jeff, Kitty, and I after a while...all started to enjoy it. That's why we treat it like a fuckin' hobby, not like I'm exactly proud of that, though."
"I told Kitty a long time ago I didn't know if I wouldn't make the same decision if she stuck me alone in a room with my ex and gave me a knife." Chelsea sighed as she held her hands behind her head. "For a while I thought about if I'd do the same to you for what you did to me. I realized the day you came back with Jeff I could never hurt you like that, just because I know you didn't want to hurt me. You felt like you had to."
"I'm...glad you understand, at least," I sighed, "hey uh, about what you said back at the Café, did you mean that?"
"Oh what, the boyfriend thing?" She snorted as she laughed, "more or less I was saying it so Liu wouldn't shoot you but...I mean, I'm not against it."
"Really? You'd be okay dating a fuckin' cannibal?" I laughed incredulously and she playfully smacked my chest.
"Can't be a cannibal if you aren't human— besides, I've kinda been waiting for my chance for a while. Remember when we first met the year I got kicked out and my hair was bright red?"
"Yeah, I do actually. I liked the red on you."
"I dyed it blue the next year because you said it was your favorite color."
My face burned as she gave me a warm, teasing smile; I'd really been this dumb the whole time. Four years of knowing each other and she'd been waiting patiently for almost two of them for me to pull my head out of my ass. Before I could say anything in response I noticed a figure ahead of us stepping out onto the street for a jog. I reached out to squeeze hers and she figured out that I'd picked my target before she squeezed back.
"I wouldn't recommend watching," I warned her quietly as the jogger approached, his earbuds in and paying no mind to the two of us. We looked like a couple out for a late night walk after all, and no one here knew danger was just around the corner.
The moment he got within arm's reach I whipped my hand out, gripping his throat and catching him by surprise before I slammed his head into the pavement. Chelsea jumped away at the sound and before he could get out of his daze I whipped the scalpel out, stabbing it directly into his carotid artery while I dragged him back into the woods in a smooth, simple motion. I'd gone through the steps tens of times and I made sure I stopped in a dimly lit clearing to watch him bleed out. Chelsea followed me in but stood at a distance while my stomach painfully squeezed, my salivary glands going into overdrive as I anticipated my next meal.
"How can you even eat all of that?" Chelsea's voice permeated the haze around my head as I sliced through his clothing, finding that he was pretty damn fit and would taste absolutely delectable.
"Honey, when you've got an appetite like mine, this is barely a snack," the voice that dripped from my lips was barely my own as I sunk the blade into his sternum and pulled straight down in one swoop. All the red and the smell of flesh urged me onward; I reached for the usual first, rolling my sleeves up before I dug through his abdomen to find his kidneys.
I ran through the checklist as I worked my way up, my hunger growing stronger the further I got. I'd never actually tried anything else before but I realized as I sunk my teeth into his liver that I had a whole five course meal sitting right in front of me. A sickening crack echoed through the clearing as I broke his ribs, pulling them apart until I could reach inside for the third course; his lungs were pristine and spongy like cake as I devoured them, his heart chewy and not at all tender like the rest of his organs. It was a muscle after all, of course it would be tougher. I was only half full by the time I got to his head and I realized what I'd been missing out on all this time.
A part of me was still focused on the fact that Chelsea was nearby, her gaze probably glued to the scene while I moved onto his eyes. I wondered if this was what Kitty felt when she gouged them out of her victims, the satisfying pop sending a chill down my spine while I pulled the first one out. It wasn't flavorful but the texture reminded me of tapioca pearls as it squished between my teeth. While I ate the second one I debated on how I was going to get his skull open, scanning the forest around me until I spotted a rock with a sharp edge. Chelsea went for it and handed it over, a knowing look on her face while she nodded. I lifted my hand and braced before slamming it down hard, his skull cracking before I was able to break fully into the cavity and find his brain. A chuckle escaped my lips as I pried the nerve out of the spinal column and held the mass in my bloodied hands, thinking about how I might've looked like a zombie to Chelsea. I could feel her eyes on me as I continued the final course, my hunger finally satisfied as I licked the blood from my fingers.
"Oh God," I huffed as I fell backwards into the leaves, "I feel like I just ate Thanksgiving dinner."
"That was like watching a fuckin' horror movie," Chelsea laughed as she moved to stand above me, whipping an arm up to cover her nose, "oh my God that smells so bad—"
"Dead bodies don't smell like dandelions," I howled as I pulled myself back up, "let me find a stream or something so I can wash up."
"I think I can hear running water, come on."
She led the way as we left the body behind, my head fuzzy while I took a deep breath and kept my eyes on the blue of her hair. What she'd said earlier came to mind again and a smile crossed my face, soft and hopeful as we finally found the stream. The water was cold and I dipped my arms in but even with all the carnage I'd managed to keep most of the blood on my skin and not my clothes. I took a deep breath and dunked my head, holding it there for a second before I sat up again.
"They're going to be so confused when they find that guy," I assessed as she helped me back to my feet, "different than my usual M.O. so they probably won't pin it on me."
"Not like it matters anyway, we already know who did it," Chelsea snorted as we walked back out to the sidewalk. The only proof we were ever here was the tiniest trail of blood into the bushes that I'm sure would wash away in the next rainfall.
"So do you still want to be my girlfriend after watching that?" I teased, her elbow digging into my ribs while I cackled.
"Brush your teeth and we'll talk."