Can't Say No

Chapter Eighteen

When Toby finally gets into the tree house with Masky and Hoodie right behind him, I throw my arms around him. "Thank god, how long were you out?" I say. Toby, surprised, stiffens for a second. Then he puts his arms around me. "Only a few hours, why? What happened?" I bit my lip. He didn't know. He could have been seen. Course, the bounty hunters weren't out yet, but I had still been worried. I immediately told Toby about everything I had heard. "Wait, you have super hearing?" Hoodie asks. Oh yeah, I forgot. I don't think o ever told these guys. Idiot I am. "Yeah, I can hear things all around. Thought you'd figured that out." Toby snickered, and was punched by Hoodie. Masky remained quiet for a bit. "So they finally smartened up." He said after his long silence. I nodded. "It seems so... What do we do?" I ask. Toby shrugs. "We could always go to Slender's mansion." "Who's?" I ask. "Tell you later." I shrugged and played with my kitchen knife. I had brought it with me, and always had it stowed beneath my pillow. "Well, we can't leave those kids in danger." I say. Hoodie chuckles. "Don't know if you've noticed, but we're not exactly protectors of people. We kill them, not save." I cross my arms, making a small cut on my left arm. Which I blatantly ignore. "Guys, I know that's the deal but my friends are in there. I'm not going to leave them to die because they knew me. You guys can either be in, or you can be out." The three boys are silent for a while. I become scared that they're going to say they won't help, but Toby is the first to give in. "If you're going in, I'm coming too." I smile gratefully at him. "Then count us in. One killer goes in, all killed go in." Says Masky. I sigh with relief. But... I also understand what must be done. I'll have to kill. Kill lots of people. But they threatened my home first. Now they'll taste my furry. Toby grabs my hand, shaking me out of my thoughts. "C'mon." He says, dragging me towards the door. "Where're we going?" I ask as we climb out. "If you're going to be a killer," he says as we jump down. "Then you're going to need some practice."
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Toby's POV:
I take Kayla into the woods and hand her some small knives. Two that will fit in her boots, one for in her hair, and one under her tongue. She doesn't object, just learns how to place them and take them out correctly. God, she so cute trying to be a killer. "Focus Toby." I tell myself as I teach her how to throw a knife. She's actually pretty good with her kitchen knife. And hand to hand combat is something I only have to dabble on. She got enough practice on that with her adoptive parents. After a few hours of practicing on trees and targets, I decide it's time for her first hunt. "Kayla, it's time for you to go out. Hunting, with me." Her eyes widen, but she still doesn't object. She has her heart set on saving her friends. She just grabs my hand and pulls me into a hug. I suddenly wish I wasn't wearing my mask and glasses, she clearly wanted a kiss. I might have wanted one as well. We walk with our hands clasped to the edge of the woods. Then, we wait for the sun to set. Kayla seems actually pretty comfortable doing this. She watches people, where they go and where they stay. When it's fully dark, we head into town. "Let's go for a high risk target first." I whisper, pointing at some hobos gathered around a fire. She nods. There are about three guys, and I feel like Kayla wants to take on at least two. But if she can't do it, I'll gladly take over. We sneak through the shadows, then pounce. Kayla stabs the first guy she sees in the chest, right where his heart is. "Nice shot." I think as I slash my guy with my hatchets. The last guy tries to run, but Kayla blocks his exit. Then, she makes me laugh. She teases the guy by juggling three knives in her hands, then four, then five. Then, without warning, she throws the five knives at the guy. Two lands on his arms, one for each arm. One for each leg, and the last goes straight through his head. We're both laughing as she retrieves her knives and cleans them on her shirt. "That was...surprisingly fun." She says as we walk further into town. And it gets even more fun. After eight houses I decide Kayla has had enough, as she looks exhausted. We killed about twenty five people tonight, Kayla taking top spot. We're both covered in blood, but she doesn't seem to care. I remember the first time we met, she was going to jump from the hospital ledge. I was watching, considering letting her fall. But in the end, I hadn't. And as we climbed into her tree house, I was glad I didn't. She held up a finger, then crawled into the fort, which was still up. A second later she came out, changed into a long sleeve shirt and jeans. She's got on blue slippers and is holding a huge blanket. I go and find a wash cloth, and put some water on it. I carefully wash all the blood off my clothes before joining Kayla. Masky and Hoodie are fast asleep, snoring in their corner. Kayla has the portable DVD player on her lap and a pair of earbuds in her hands. She's under the enormous blanket, and becomes for me to get under. "What're we watching?" I question as she hands me an earbud. "Jigsaw." She says. "Cool." I wrap my arms around her and watch the movie play out. I'm not really paying any attention to the movie, my focus is all on Kayla. The voices in my head, they didn't seem as strong around her. They seemed to quiet down, give me room to think. I kept twitching though, everyday I tried to stop but it just happened. I hated it, but Kayla never once said a word about it. When the movie ends she turns to me and asks "What'd you think?" I shrug. "I was paying attention to something much better." Kayla's face went a light shade of pink in the moonlight. I brought my face close to hers, and pressed my lips to hers. She smiled and kissed back, and passion seemed to flow through me. I loved Kayla so much, and was determined to keep her happy and alive. Whatever happens, she's what matters in my life. I kept kissing Kayla for the longest time, until finally became to groggy to stay awake. We both yawned and pulled pillows close to our heads. And just like that, I was asleep. Still holding tight to Kayla, never wanting to let go.