Unstoppable: Revitalized

-37-

"I just wanted to know what The Boss had planned. He must keep it there, or somewhere nearby. There must be something written down. That's all it was, alright?" I spoke with indignation, and stood by it. I needed to know what he had planned, what was wrong with me. 

At this point, it's eating at me.

"No- Adam, no. No, it's not fucking alright." Callum took a long, heavy drag, relying on his smoke for either de-stressing or refocusing. He let his words sit for a moment, telling me he meant whatever the hell he was about to say to me. My shoulders tensed, as if ready to be told off by a grown up. I refused to look at him: I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he was getting at me, so I kept myself entirely focused on the fire, letting the small snakes of heat skewer their way into the night sky, the last few days of my life shrouding themselves in the smoke.

"You really don't get how serious this is, do you? There are two other people here, Adam. Two people who are supposed to be dead. Two people The Boss needed to run his operations are still alive and well. They're alive, and they are here. If he suspects anything? He'll bust that door down, and he'll kill all of us-"

"I can't die-"

"This isn't about you anymore!" He raised his voice, causing me to flinch slightly as I finally turned to face him, allowing me to see the full picture: He'd practically flown out of his seat, fists balled, and anger radiating off of him at an alarming rate. The same emotion seemed to overtake his face as he stepped towards me, suddenly towering over me. He took a deep breath, his body flowing with his lungs, before striking a hand towards the house, pointing at it with a shaky finger.

"It's about us! It's. About. Us. We all have to live." My face twisted into one of confusion, remembering how deplorable the man in front of me was, and all the things he could do in a moment's notice. I clearly didn't hide it well as Callum's face became more rage filled, barely able to hold off at this point. "Do you think I enjoy this? Do you think I like walking on eggshells around someone who could have me killed in an instant? You think I like doing his bidding? Knocking off people, disrupting shit I shouldn't have anything to do with? Is that what you think? That I like this? For fuck's sake Adam, I killed you! Did you see me smile? Did you see me relax when you fell to your knees?"

Silence.

"No. No, I didn't fucking think so. So don't tell me you can't die. We all know. We're all very, very aware of this. You might live forever, but we can't. The Boss is crazy, Adam, he's a goddamn psychopath. If he didn't have to keep Moresby running? He'd blow the whole thing sky high, with everyone in it, just to keep you down long enough to dissect and kill you. And this is the problem." His finger now jabbed at my chest furiously as he carried on, the rage he'd kept caged in finally seeing daylight. "You don't think about everyone else. It's just you. How can I benefit? How do I save everyone? You don't. You aren't the fucking hero! No one is. We're all horrible people, doing horrible things, at an age where we shouldn't. You are a small fish in a big pond, Adam, and if you keep poking the biggest one? He'll stop pretending to be nice. Hell, as soon as whatever it is he's looking for wakes up in you, we're finished. He'll break down the doors with as many people as he needs to. Nothing, and I mean nothing, will stop him. I mean, for gods sake, he's known about every time you've escaped. You really think he's stupid enough to let it all go? He'd have you right back down there if he wanted to. Every time you ran? Every person you hurt? He knew, and he's helped you cover it up. He had people dressed as ambulance crew members take Liam away, the same way they did with you. The car that rolled over Poppy after you smashed her head in with a fucking rock? The Boss lit fire to it, and charred her fucking corpse. God knows how she got away, and god knows how The Boss doesn't know about it. He controls everything Adam. Fucking everything. It's his kindness that you are still above ground, still breathing. Some strange, twisted kindness."

I kept the silence for a while, trying to think of what to say, my newfound shame burning against my toughened skin, my own anger beginning to growl in my mind. I took a look at the fire, noticing how it was mostly cinders. I needed to think, and to give me more time, I shoved past him, throwing a few logs from the supplies against the fire, letting the smoulder clutch and creep up the dead wood as I refocused on my current problem.

"So, he knew you took me out of the Cooler?" I murmured, asking the first question of many. I leaned back in the chair, my eyes focused on my clasped hands, watching my hands change colour by the second, my mind trying to rationalise what he'd told me, and my actions. I became so lost in my own mind that I didn't hear what I thought I'd never until it practically broke my concentration: Laughter. Mad, cackling, maniacal laughter as Callum bent over, barely able to hold himself together, the sound turning more and more crazy by the second.

"That? That's the first thing you think of? Fucking that? Not the fact that for most of your life, and for the goddamned rest of it, someone else has been in charge of it? God, you've lost it. None of us should be here, we're walking on a thin line here, and all you can think about is 'Oh, maybe The Boss knows I'm betraying him.' Do I look like a fucking amateur to you? I knocked the cameraman out with the same hammer Poppy used, and ripped out every cable in there, cutting the rest. Every single camera was down, and has been down for a little while now. So, thankfully, unless he's been down there, he doesn't know you've escaped. But he'll know now. He must do. Oh, and the whole 'covering your tracks' thing? It's called being smart. You should try it sometime."

"I need to know what's wrong with me. What he put in me. It's killing me." I seemed to barely get the sentence out of me, my throat closing up as my head dropped into my chest, unable to even look at him. Even after this, The Boss and his member's still consumed my mind, the fantasies of breaking each of them burning into my brain. Callum sighed, and I felt the rage he had moments ago dissipate into nothingness. His breath cut short, telling me he was once again filling his lungs with smoke. My cigarette had been crushed in my hands, the small puff of flame burnt against my hands as I lost concentration in my anger and disgust with myself.

"I know what's wrong with you, except it isn't anything to do with what he put in you. It's your brain, Adam. Christ, you really are a fucked up kid. I can't even fucking look at you." I made out a filter flying through the air, before bouncing into the fire, his footsteps slowly retreating shortly after. My head came back up, centred in on the flames as I tried to quell both my thoughts and feelings.

'They do not seem happy.'

It'll pass. It always does with people.

'Mammals.. You truly are the strangest creatures I have ever encountered.'

I guess.

'Hm... I can read your mind, Adam. Your thoughts, too. When the time is right, we will strike. Once the leader is vulnerable, alone, and isolated from assistance, I will allow you extract any information you need. However, when this is concluded, we shall-'

Kill him. Slowly. Painfully.

'I will consume him, absorb his human genome, take any perfections in his deoxyribonucleic acid and alter it to adjust to our new, perfect strand, before discarding the remains. His body will be consumed whole, or in pieces. If you must feel the pleasure of taking his life, I will not stop you.'

You won't be able to.

'I have before. I can again. Do not overstep, Adam. It is entirely possible for me to leave your body, even if it would kill me. If you use me for evil? I will sacrifice myself to make sure it can never occur again. I feel the fury in you, Adam. I understand your anger.'

No. No you don't. And you never will. You will never experience what I do, and I hope you never have to.

The creature went silent, leaving me to lament in my thoughts, the only noticeable feeling besides the fire burning against my body being the cold tears that left my eyes.