Heart Pangs

Chapter 35 - Run

Weeks go by and not much changes. Lux's paranoia about being caught wanes until it's barely there. Even Cecil seems to get over having his prey stolen and goes back to trying to impress Lux with every chance he gets. Most likely Cecil has found some other new victim to torment. Lux wouldn't know. He'd left Cecil to his own devices. The last thing he needs is to make an enemy of him.

The only lingering reminder of that night is the way Eric Kline interacts with Lux every night when he checks out. The man is never rude to Lux. He's much too professional for that. But the security guard is far from friendly. He's courteous in a distant way. He doesn't make idle chatter. He doesn't comment on current events. He simply waves Lux on once he makes it through the check.

At first, Lux doesn't mind, but it starts to wear on him after awhile. He misses seeing a friendly face and having someone to unload to at the end of a long shift. But he puts up with it. It's a situation of his own making.

It's because of this, however, that he is somewhat relieved when Kline isn't working one night. It's a younger man whom Lux recognizes as usually working the earlier shifts at the door. He doesn't know him as well, but his name tag reads "Franklin."

"Kline out sick today?" Lux asks as he passes through. He didn't have disposal that day so it's no surprise when the scanner gives him a positive to leave.

The guard, Franklin, shrugs. "I suppose. No one really told me why he couldn't be in tonight. I just got a call from Supervisor Bakula asking me to cover his shift."

"Well, it's good to see a new face around here," Lux tells him in all sincerity. It had been such a long time since leaving his shift hadn't felt like walking on eggshells. "How has the night shift been going?"

Franklin nods. "Good. It's been going good."

The two chat amicably for a few minutes. Lux hadn't realized how much he'd missed friendly chats like this. Still, he feels a little relieved when they finally part ways, and he's free to drive home. His stomach is empty and he knows there's a contracted prey just waiting for him to get back.

That's one other thing that still remains from the night of the breakout. Though it's faded somewhat, Lux's mind still drifts back to the Marottas far more often than he wishes, especially when he's in the middle of consuming. His imagination will take over and suddenly it will be Benji and Camille sliding down his throat.

Lux usually tries to force the image from his mind, but sometimes he gives in and lingers over the possibility. He hates the way he feels afterwards. Dirty, wrong, selfish. But those are feelings he'd rather not deal with so he pushes them to the back of his mind and hopes they disappear.

Lux comes in to work the next day, thoughts of Kline and the Marottas shoved firmly out of his head. For the most part, it's business as usual. He is, however, surprised when the Supervisor pulls him aside rather early on in his shift.

"Is something wrong?" Lux asks. All his paranoia over the breakout comes back to him in a rush.

The Supervisor shakes his head. "No, no," he assures Lux. "Nothing like that. Quite the opposite actually. I was wondering if you'd ordered your prey for the night yet? That is, unless you had a request for disposal today that you haven't given me yet?"

Lux blinks. "No, I haven't ordered any yet. I usually wait til closer to the end of my shift. I'd rather not leave them unattended in my house for that long."

Bakula nods. "Understandable and excellent news."

"Why is that?"

"I wanted to order a prey for you myself. Something nice. Nicer than your usual."