I smile at the refreshing sarcasm I haven't heard in awhile. Be smart about this.
"How does that sound?" he says, smirking.
I nod to him. "Okay, but on one condition - you give me my background information afterwards and I'm not allowed to be killed." I walk up the stairs without waiting for a response and scope out the next floor, but there wasn't a single soul. I head back down and give Jean a thumbs up. "We gucci."
He nods and walks ahead of you, pulling the gun back out from behind him as he silently climbs up the stairs. He instructs you to wait at the entrance of the hall as he sneaks down the corridor, stopping at one door. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a silencer, twisting it onto the gun before entering the room.
There were a few moments of silence before you heard some muffled yelling, followed by some struggling, and then ended in two quiet gunshots.
Jean emerged from the doors with a bloody nose, but he was shuffling quickly in your direction.
"C'mon, let's go." He says, pushing you to the front door.
I open my mouth to question Jean, but we're already sprinting to the door. I spot a car pulling up in front of the building, to which Jean jumps into. I get into the backseat, trying to avoid hitting my head on the top of the car. He runs so fast.
I slam the door shut and the car immediately speeds off. My lungs are tight, struggling to get back the lost oxygen. In the driver's seat is a blonde man in a black hoodie. I look in the mirror to see he had freckles spilling over his cheeks. The partner?
"Jenny! You're coming with us?" he says cheerfully, a grin plastered on his face. "I'm Anubis, pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise?" I say, still trying to breathe.
Jean turns back to you as Anubis barely slows down to make turns; how these two haven't died from a crash, you don't know, but they seem to be unbothered by the driving. Jean turns to Anubis and says,
"She helped us with the job too, so she gets a share of the pay."
Anubis furrows his brow in curiosity and nods.
"Oh? How much are we giving her?"
"Five hundred."
Anubis retaliates.
"That's half the pay."
"Yeah, I thought since she did a field job, we'd just give your half to her."
Anubis snapped his head at Jean, who had a smart-ass grin on his face.
"Fuck you." Anubis mutters.
I giggle at their light-hearted bickering. Well, as light-hearted murder could get. I should be more fazed, but I feel as if hitmen and murder is the least of my problems. And definitely not the strangest encounter.
I lean in between their seats and ask, "Anubis, weird name by the way who named you haha : ), did you by chance find anything on a Kaiholo in my background check?" Perhaps he might have some answers?
Anubis eyes you in the mirror, but the rest of his expression is unreadable.
"Background check? You barely posted on social media, but when you did it was usually about Kai, is that what you mean?"
After a few turns, the car slowed to a stop in front of a house. Jean and Anubis climbed out of the car, grabbing their bags and other belongings before making their way to the house.
I bit my lip in frustration, deciding to give up on my case for now. I wonder how long these two will keep me around. Jean seemed too intent on killing me back there.
I followed them into the house. It's only one story, but the house is huge. We enter through a hall that leads to the kitchen and the living room. There's no dining table, but there is a bar and an island somewhere idk i forgot. I spot a piano in the far left corner of the room, next to the T.V. and the couches.
I see a cat.
"Oh, my god. Oh my god! Oh. My. God. You guys have a cat?(???????????)" I scream, wondering how approachable it is. "What's its name?"
"his name is better than u"
"His name is Prince." Anubis states proudly, walking over and bending down to pet the cat as he pushes his head into Anubis's hand. Jean returned from the other room and sighed, throwing himself onto the couch. Anubis looks at you for a moment, as if to silently say, 'Did you feel the stress emanating from him too?' Before standing up to look at Jean.
"What's up?" Anubis mutters.
"He won't pay us until next month."
Anubis retaliates.
"Next month? Why?"
"Wants to avoid suspicion, I mean he wasn't some dick with nothing going for him, he's part of ELife, that shit's getting real popular with their cyborgs and whatever, people aren't gonna turn their heads at it."
Anubis sighs heavily along with Jean, turning back to you.
Prince bounces off before I get a chance to pet him. I turn my attention back to Jean and Anubis.
"Wants to avoid suspicion, I mean he wasn't some dick with nothing going for him, he's part of ELife, that shit's getting real popular with their cyborgs and whatever, people aren't gonna turn their heads at it." I rub my temples. Cyborgs? How much did I forget? Apparently all I seem to know is that grass is green. l lean my elbows on the back of the couch, looking between the two. oh boi am i also thirsty yall got water? or food? im fucking dead inside please get me w-
"That's weird," I wonder aloud. "If he was able to contact you secretly, can't he pay you in secret too? Without raising suspicion?"
Jean shook his head, scratching behind his neck.
"I should have expected it, he told me to wait a month until we went through with the plans. Dude was extra cautious. He said he's been making small withdrawals over time to pay us in cash, and he's got one month left."
There's a few moments of silence before Jean turns to you.
"Alright, thanks for becoming our partners in crime, Jenny." He begins, offering you a hand. "It's time we take you home. Where do you live?"
I blink at Jean's hand.
Fuck.
"good fucking quesiton idk bitch"
"I-" I inhale sharply, wondering how to explain this. "Uh, okay, here's the issue. The reason I asked about my background was because I have amnesia. The last thing I remember is-" I stop in my tracks. Well I can't tell him about the whole universe thing. "Walking into that parking garage with those two men. I don't even fucking know how they know me. But I also don't know where I live."
I glance at Jean and hope he believes me. There seems to be some kind of distrust with people who claim to have memory loss.
Jean watches you for a long moment, his expression vacant. He slowly turns his head towards Anubis, who shrugs his shoulders and curiously shakes his head.
"Okay, you can stay here for a bit. Can't promise we'll be home very often so don't be surprised if you're alone a lot. Don't worry about anyone dangerous coming, though; you're safe here."
He pauses, adding one more thing.
"Oh, and Prince might crawl up with you when you fall asleep. Just a warning."
He leaves the room and walks down the hall,
leaving you with anubis
I turn my head to Anubis, who seems to look a little lost. His eyes flicker to me as he shoves his hands in his pockets. "Alcoholic drinks are in that cabinet, if you need any band-aids for those scratches, they're in that cabinet. sry im used to patching jean up. i notice his wounds yaknow? im just, i just really really care abo-. Showers down that hallway. Oh, and you're free to eat some of the leftovers. Goodnight," he says, removing his left hand to point to various places and saluting to me at the end. Anubis proceeds to disappear through another door before I can respond.
After carefully sticking band-aids on my legs, I pour myself a glass of water and find spaghetti in the fridge. It's too fucking spicy, so I end up fucking going toa fcukin hopstail. There is already a blanket on the couch. I toss and turn for what seems like hours before I finally fell asleep.
She looks with her eyes, but she does not speak with her mouth. Does she still make a sound?
Which way do you choose to go? North, East, South, West. Each direction takes you to a different place, but you can only choose one.
You hear him again. You know who it is this time.
"That's not possible, it just doesn't make sense. We're only characters, we simply cannot achieve such freedom like that. Besides, what makes you think she'll reveal herself so easily?"
"She's my friend."
"That's what she tells all of us."
Where are you going? Why are you running? Who, or what, is chasing you? Why are you falling? What did you trip on? There is nothing here. Trust me, I know. Why are you hiding? Do you understand what you are feeling? Do you believe in free will?
Don't worry about what they think, they do not matter to you.
Face to face with a gun. Is it Jean? No, someone different, who?
"Bang." He says.
You awake with a start. Next to you on the floor was a bag of clothes. The aroma of coffee hits your nose as you notice Jean in the kitchen, sitting at the island. He's drinking something out of a mug, presumably coffee.
"Didn't think you'd have a change of clothes so I got some for you. Just a t-shirt and jeans, but if you need more let me know."
He takes a sip of coffee as he studies your face.
"Seems you didn't sleep too well, what happened?"
I look to the bag, which contains a simple black shirt and jeans. A smile GrAcES M y lo i p s
im sorry i cant write that without mkaing it a joke
I stretch, feeling unnaturally energized despite the awfully weird dream. I throw on my glasses before responding. "I was stabbed while I slept. No, I'm kidding, I just had a weird dream. How did you sleep?" I say with my arms dangling over the couch. I think about the dream some more. She? I think about who Kai and I both know. Celia? No.
Kai's creator?
Jean takes another sip of coffee.
"You didn't wake up throughout the night?" He mutters, ignoring your question. "What did you dream about?" Anubis walks in, slightly dazed from just waking up. His hair was scattered about in a mess and his eyes were fuzzy as he trudges to the sink, pouring a bit of hot water before stepping to the coffee pot and filling what remains in the cup with coffee. He turns around and notices the two of you watching him.
"What, is there a fire or something?"
"Yeah, you set it last night. Killed a whole f a m i l y," I smirk. he wouldnt say that btw anyways He blinks at me, and I clear my throat. "I'm kidding," I mutter, turning back to Jean. "To answer your question, yes, I did wake up I think once? I'm not really sure, a lot of it was, like, me being half asleep."
I inhale and begin to explain what I remember of the dream. Anubis takes a seat next to Jean, listening intently as he drinks his fucking disgusting ass americano god what a l053r. After I finish, I await Jean's reaction.
Jean nods comprehensively as you explain you may have awoken once the previous night. As the two of them listen to your dream, Anubis would occasionally raise an intrigued eyebrow, Jean taking a sip of his coffee.
"Do you know who pointed the gun at you?"
Anubis muttered, glancing at Jean quickly when he said 'gun'.
"Was it the same person you were talking to?" Jean added, leaning into his elbows that were resting on the counter top.
I bite my lip and shake my head. "No, I don't think so. I don't know who it was though," I groan, wishing I could go back to bed, but I am too wide awake now. I eye them cautiously, wondering if they questioned the character part of the dream at all. I haven't thought much about the idea, but now I'm beginning to see people differently. "What do you guys think about free will? Do you think we have it?"
*fyi: anubis believes in free will (i think)
Anubis nods nonchalantly. "I mean why not?" He mutters, sitting up straight as Jean takes a sip of his coffee.
"I should hope so. If someone's controlling everyone in this world, we're all fucked. They're responsible for everything that happens, so clearly there's something wrong with them." They both look at you.
"What do you think?"
I nervously mess with a loose string on the couch. "I like to think we do, but I'm starting to doubt that theory," I say as my mind goes over what Kai had said. What if it really is only me who seems to be a 'variant'? Are Jean and Anubis just characters? Who made them? Is anything even real anymore? Where am I? My eyes are searching the floor, as if the answer is somewhere within the boards. If I'm just a character, than who am I in real life?
Anubis finishes his cup of coffee as he turns to Jean.
"Alright, I'm gonna go look for another job, what are your plans, GG?"
Jean shrugs his shoulders, eyeing you.
"Jenny should probably get more clothes, I'll come with since she probably needs someone to pay for it all. Don't worry, Jenny, this'll come out of your paycheck when it arrives next month." He says with a hint of a smirk.
Anubis furrows his brow.
"Are you kidding? You weren't asleep when I went to bed, how much sleep did you actually get last night?"
Jean gives Anubis an irritated look.
"Doesn't matter, c'mon Jenny."
I open my mouth to protest shopping but Jean's already heading out the door. Better change into the new outfit. ur clothes now smell nassstyyyyy girlll u need to shower omg I quickly throw on the new clothes and rush out to follow him.
We get in the car, but a wave of nausea hits me. I rest my elbow on the side door and gaze at Jean as he backs out of the driveway. "Could we stop somewhere for breakfast first?" I ask, as I wonder what his hair looks like down.
Jean looks at you for a few moments, eyeing you up and down before shrugging his shoulders.
"Okay, but I'm choosing where."
then he takes u to waffle house
im kidding
He pulls out of the neighborhood, patiently and quietly drives a few miles before pulling into a small cafe. It's exterior was nothing too impressive, just a few windows and a sign that read, "Kitty Brew Cat Cafe". He parks the car in front of the entrance and turns back to look at you.
"Hope you're not indecisive, I don't want to take too long at the counter."