i hired a hitman on myself // joshler [✓]

XXX

tw: mentions of violence & abduction

jenna went on with brendon, sarah, and dallon to plan out what the next move was after getting the information we needed. tyler and i weren't too involved in it as he seemed more interested in talking to me for some odd reason.

from where we were sitting we could hear the conversation, but weren't close enough to actually be apart of it. as we sat by ourselves, i couldn't help but wonder why tyler wasn't there planning it with them, though i really wasn't complaining about it, either.

i did like talking to him normally.

"so, you write your own music?" i was intrigued, tyler responded with a nod, "yeah i started doing it back in high school, but i never really continued it after that." he explained.

"why didn't you do it in college?" i wondered, this made tylers facial expression fall as he went silent. but after a few seconds, he answered with a sigh and mumbled his response under his breath.

"i never got to finish college..." was what i was able to make out, though i was pretty sure it was what he said. i could tell the topic seemed kind of sensitive, so i knew better than to ask why.

even though my curiosity was really getting to me when it came to tyler.

before the conversation went on, jenna called over tyler and i into the conversation. when we walked over, that's when jenna asked us both,
"d'ya guys think you can drive to town and get us some more guns 'n bullets?"

i looked over at tyler and was ready to admit that i had a stash of guns that i wasn't planning on keeping to myself, but tyler quickly spoke up before i got the chance.

"yeah sure," he casually agreed to it, "which ones d'ya guys need?" he wondered, questioning the whole group. it took them a few seconds to speak, but that's when dallon answered.

"few pistols and a few ak 47s, and pick up some blades while you're there." everyone seemed to agree with his response, in which tyler complied to the list of needed weapons.

"alright," tyler said as he took out his car keys, "we'll be back in a few." he was vague with his time, but i didn't question it and neither did anyone else. we walked away from the group and got into the elevator.

when the metal doors shut behind us, as we descended i couldn't help but ask him,
"why didn't you tell them about the guns i had?"

tyler shrugged, putting his hands in his jean pockets, "i didn't want dally to get suspicious as to why you were 'hiding guns'", he used his fingers to quote the last two words, "so we'll get a few guns at the shop but i'll slip yours in the pile when we head out after raz." he then explained, i nodded, understanding the idea.

we were silent all the way up to getting into the car, but it was clear that something wasn't sitting well with tyler after i asked him what happened in college.

when we drove a little ways away from the building, that's when i decided to break the quiet by speaking up,
"s-so uhhh," i tried getting my thoughts in order, "did you work as anything else before you were a hitman?"

tyler sighed, "nope, i've been a hitman for two years." he didn't look away from the road, he just continued to answer with clear regret and sadness in his tone.

"how'd you become a hitman?" the words poured out from my mouth like a broken faucet. regret came over me fast, and i almost considered jumping out of the car to avoid the conversion.

but to my surprise, after a few seconds of silence, he responded with, "it wasn't by choice." his voice was very monotonous, but he still didn't look at me when he answered.

"what happened to you?" i knew my question was vague, but i figured getting specific would lead me to a conversation i would have regret to ask.

tyler slowly looked over at me for the first time throughout the car ride, but remained silent until he went back to looking at the road. the tension in the air was high due to the silence that broke our conversation.

he sighed again, "i was... stupid," he stated, "i thought aimless browsing in the deep web was... fun." the way in which he responded gave me a weird sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

it made me anxious knowing that his situation sounded strangely similar to mine, i could already feel my body shaking on the inside and out. this kept me silent from answering, but it didn't stop tyler from continuing.

"it was one thing to watch people getting brutally murdered on your computer screen at 4 a.m." he inhaled, "but it's another thing to actually do it yourself."

tyler looked over at me again, "you haven't seen the worst of it yet, josh."

when he faced the road again, that's when i stuttered a sorry excuse for clarification,
"s-so you went o-on the deep web, and then what happened?"

"i woke up later in the night to all my college roommates slaughtered around me, their intestines strung up along the walls like decorations... but all i could do was stare at the dark cloaked figures standing over me, waving their knives in my direction..."

he trailed off but after a few seconds continued, "they told me i could either end up like my dead roommates or join them." there was something so ominous about how he said this, it sent chills up and down my spine.

the silence made its appearance again, but now it was clear that i was scared to speak up again. my palms were sweaty from my nerves clearly being shot from the conversation. i just stared down at my hands for what seemed like forever until tyler spoke up, and it felt like all the air left my lungs when he said,

"you're just lucky we got to you before his people did."