Precedent

Chapter Seven

I wander around for seven minutes before finally acknowledging I need to ask someone for directions.

I ask the first person I see. It's girl with curly hair. She is sitting on a bench reading.

"Excuse me!" I call out. She doesn't look up. I walk closer.

"Hey!" I exclaim. She drops her book.

"Oh, you're Taylor Greycen's friend, right?"

"Yes."

"And Venus Ardal's?" I scowl.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I ask, slightly annoyed. The girl smiles. She looks discomfited.

"I'm sorry. I'm just wondering how that happened. She hates him," the girl says.

"I'm her roommate. I'm not sure about friends yet. I am sure Taylor is my friend." Yes, I am. He's not a killer yet. Being nice to him and stopping whatever causes him to become one might save him in the future. It might save a lot of people.

"Okay," she says. She doesn't say anything more, so I decide to ask my question now.

"Um, could you tell me how to get to Drew Mason's apartment?"

"You mean Munchkin Mason?" the girl asks.

"What's your name?" I demand. She blinks.

"Oh...I'm Frankie Norstoff."

I reply, "Let me tell you something, Frankie. There are so many things I could do with your name, bad things. So let's get this straight. If you ever, ever, make fun of my friends again..." I let the sentence trail off for dramatic effect. The girl gulped.

"Drew Mason lives in the third building to the right. He's on the fifth floor, I believe," Frankie tells me, her voice a little shaky. Now I understand why A-M terrorizes everyone; it's a bit fun. I wouldn't want to terrorize anyone who's good, but those who are bad...

"Thank you, Frankie," I say pleasantly. I quickly head to the building she indicated. I don't know what time it is, but it's only just past dinner time. I think it's about six thirty. I hope Drew isn't busy.

I do as Frankie said. I go into the third building, I press the fifth button on the elevator, and I step off when it ends.

I glance around, hoping for a sign that Drew occupies one of these rooms. Reluctantly, I knock on a random one.

It is opened by a girl in a turban. She is giggling in such a hysterical way I believe alcohol is involved. I scowl. As drinking any sort of toxin is illegal at R.A.O.F., I have a natural prejudice against it and people who do drink it.

"What room is Drew Mason in?" I ask. Laughing even more hysterically, she points across the hall. I nod in thanks, but then she actually says something.

She says, in a matter of speaking, that she can't believe Drew has a girlfriend. She didn't use those words though. She uses foul ones that fill my blood with fire.

Without thinking, I turn around and shove her to the ground. Now I'm towering over her. She's still laughing at the "joke" she's made. I want her to stop laughing. Why are people so horrible? My world might be crap, but the people weren't crap. I'm beginning to see why the Originator decides to terrorize these people.

They might just deserve it.

I shake my head mentally. No, they don't deserve it. They deserve the fear, the concern for others. They don't deserve to die though. And I'm willing to bed some of these people are going to die.

Personally, I hope it's this girl.

I leave the girl on the ground and turn around. I rap loudly on Drew's door. He opens it a crack. There's a chain lock on it.