Tick Tock Part Four - The Mouse Fell Down

An Unlucky Strike

It was a junkie this time. A junkie in withdrawal. From the facial twitches and darting eyes, along with the popularity of the drug these days, Gavin was pretty sure it was red ice. The guy was young. He looked mid-thirties, but with the effects of the drug, he could easily be late teens or early twenties. Nothing aged you like red ice. He'd seen people his own age who looked like grizzled old men. Physically, the young man hadn't started bloating yet. That seemed to happen with red ice. With the messed up metabolism, your body was always hungry. That he hadn't eaten suggested he was either a fairly new user or he lived on the street with limited access to food. The latter would make more sense for the Hickory Killer's purposes. Who'd notice if a homeless junkie disappeared?

The Hickory Killer offered the same deal as always. One person had to die, and the other two could live. The junkie's ticks increased at the news, beady blue eyes darting between the two glass cells. Gavin knew what he was thinking. Kitty was the obvious weak link. He even managed a small grin, the yellowing teeth giving him away as a red ice user. They hadn't started to rot yet, just heavy staining, but it wouldn't take long for the rot to set in. Gavin's lips curled in disgusting as he reminded himself it probably wasn't his fault. People didn't just turn to hard drugs for no reason. They did it to escape something. He considered himself pretty lucky he hadn't been offered drugs to take the edge off. He wasn't sure he'd turn it down at this point.

"H-hey! Hey-you!" Gavin looked over as the weaselly voice called him. The man was a little scruffy and unshaven as he grinned hopefully, trying to win him over. "What do you say we do her in and get out of here? Makes sense, right? Fighting each other would be a waste of energy. She's a kid! What's she going to do to us?" Logically, he had a point, and if he were another junkie with no connection to Kitty, he'd probably go for it. Unfortunately for this guy, that was his goddaughter he was talking about. The thought must have shown on his face as the man's smile dropped and he swallowed. He was anxious, and for good reason.

Of the two of them, Gavin had more muscle. The unknown man was tall but wiry. He looked like he'd snap like a twig. Despite that, Gavin was cautious. He'd tangled with guys like this before. Height would still give him an advantage when it came to reach, and withdrawals could do strange things to a guy. He didn't look strong, but he was desperate. For freedom and his next hit. The Hickory Killer had probably promised him both to sweeten the deal. People would go to extreme lengths for things like that. Gavin licked his licks, calculating his first move.

In the earlier days, he would have worried about protecting Kitty, but they'd built a system over the past few trials. Kitty's one and only job was to grab the cattle prod and keep herself safe. That usually entailed her running out, grabbing the rod, and running back in. She'd pull her door as tight as it would go and wait with the rod primed and ready. Gavin would watch over her, of course, but while she was grabbing the rod, he was usually already busy fighting whoever the Hickory Killer put in the other box. So far they'd all been pretty bad people. Murderers, paedophiles, and gang members with lengthy rap sheets. This was his first time getting a drug addict. Many addicts did bad things, but that didn't make them inherently evil. He tried not to think too hard about that. This was still a choice between the junkie and Kitty.

As soon as the door buzzed, Gavin forced his way through it. Kitty had already left her room by the time he grabbed the nearest weapon. A light metal bat. It wasn't the best weapon when it came to making a kill, but it would extend his reach. The junkie had his first weapon, too. A heavy iron crowbar. It would do more damage than the bat, but it was heavier. It would slow his running speed and take longer to swing, with less control when he did. Kitty snagged the rod and headed back to her cell, trusting Gavin to watch her back as she ran. He stepped between them as the junkie turned to head in her direction, bat already swinging.