The Bad Guy's Doctor

FOURTEEN

Maybe if I visited earlier, I would've been able to read their names from the moss covered stone. Maybe I would've been able to peel it back with my fingernails and known whether they spelled my mother's name right, if they wrote in cursive or plain test, if there was any mention of me in their description.

But there is nothing indicating that the stones were anything more than oddly shaped rocks, left in the fresh morning. And I, for one, didn't feel too bothered over the fact.

Arsenio shifts beside me, closing his eyes silently for a second before opening them. Paying his respects, I believe. I let out a soft sigh. This was it. The last of my past.

"Let's go." I turn, leading the way toward the cemetery entrance as he follows.

"Slow down," He takes my hand, pulling me back quickly. Almost immediately after, three figures appear from the front gates, dark hats and coats covering their bodies. It was barely dawn, there was no need for the coverings.

"Arsenio, it's been a while since you've been back in town." One of them pulls his hand out of his pocket, gun pointed straight at us. The other two follow after. Arsenio draws his body in front of me, narrowing his eyes. "Pretty bold, if you ask me."

My eyes flicker as I glance toward the gates, silhouette moving to and fro. We're trapped. And Arsenio knows. I swallow. They have much more than handguns.  He won't be able to fight and worry about me getting hit with stray bullets. "Come with us. You and the lady."

"Leave her, she has nothing to do with this, Yones." Arsenio growls, letting go of my hand.

"You and the lady." Yones repeats, before beckoning his gun upward. "Let's play a little game, alright? Hands up."

- - -

Yones slides across two glasses toward us both suspiciously clear. The guard standing at the corners of the room watch us with cold curiosity, guns held loosely against their torso. Five enemies total.

"Pick, my friends. One will kill you in the matter of minutes and one... well, it won't." Yones smiles. "There's no difference between the two, so there's no cheating. It's all about luck." I look up at Arsenio and he doesn't glance back. He's preparing for something.

"Is there an antidote?" I ask, turning his attention to me.

"Of course," He pulls out a small vial from his vest before unscrewing the top. "But not for you." The pale green liquid splashed against the ground, completely disappearing against the dark wood. "This is my personal killer, there's no other antidote beside the one up here." He taps against his skull, smirking widely at me.

I inhale slowly.

"Do you trust me?" Arsenio breathes, lowly, under his breath. Yones leans in to hear.

"Not completely," I whisper back. He gives me a boyish grin.

"That leaves room for mistakes then." Arsenio—Arsenio takes both glasses and downs them both, as Yones claps his hands and cheers. The guards do as well and I can barely duck when the first guard is shot in the throat. Three more shots go off, following by falling bodies.

Arsenio falls to his knees, coughing harshly. He grabs his throat, just as laughter surrounds us. "You stupid, stupid boy! They both were laced, you're dead!" Yones slams the table against the wall as Arsenio chokes. "I get to kill you with my hands then—"

I shoot him in the chest. He gurgles, and I shoot him again. I try not to notice the blood splattering on my face and the way my lungs won't expand, but my hands are shaking and Arsenio is dying— "Fuck."