Red Rain

Chapter 16 - Collar Full

Mr. Smythe says he's gonna go back to the bookstore to talk with Mr. Darknell again, and in the meantime, we get to mix and mingle with each other, like it's any ordinary day.

The basement proves to be way too small to handle everyone's presence at once, so I go upstairs to the living room, with Aron and Paul following me. Dani and Jeanne emerge soon after, then Gabe. I hear Fionna chattering animatedly with the souls, so I guess she'll be staying down there for a while.

Just as well, then. I want to be alone with her at some point.

Feeling suddenly crowded as Jeanne and the Smythe brothers settle onto the loveseats, I get up and step outside into a chilly, misty afternoon. Sitting on a tree stump, I turn on the garden hose and spray a small arc into the air, trying to freeze it before it lands. It doesn't really work - it usually doesn't unless there's a large source of water at hand, like a river or a lake.

"Hey, bro." I look up and turn around, seeing Gabe walking up to me, his hands in his pockets.

"What's up?" I ask, shutting the hose off. "I take it you've heard the latest developments."

Gabe looks around before finding a tree to lean against. "Just...yeah. Our dad - not Ross, our sperm donor - being confirmed to be the same guy who got his shit fucked up with Red Rain, yada yada. So it's true? The Aqua Killer really is our dad?"

I nod, my lips itching to curl up. "And he looks exactly like you."

"You mean, I look like him," Gabe says. "He came first, unfortunately. What was he like?"

"Tall, blond, and Southern," I say. "Not sure if that matters or not, but he did have an accent. And he was scary. He just didn't have any emotion at all."

"Isn't that, like, the first requirement of a serial killer? Being emotionless?"

"Does he even count as a serial killer?" I ask. "Sure, there's the thing about him going after all the firstborns, but I thought serial killers always took out their victims the exact same way. Like some kind of ritual."

"I've heard things about 'disorganized' killers," Gabe says. "Killers with no pattern, so they're harder to catch."

"Terrifying," I say. "And you know, now I'm starting to wonder...if he can swim through the pipes, does he have to go naked? Can he only bring organic material with him, like in Terminator?"

We both shudder at the thought of our killer dad skinny-dipping in people's plumbing.

"You wanna go back inside?" I ask, shivering as the breeze picks up, driving more mist in my face.

Gabe, who's facing downwind, isn't as strongly affected, but he agrees to follow me back into the cabin. Inside, we find Fionna sitting all by herself on a loveseat.

"Hey, guys," she says, perking up as she hears us approach. "Where've you been?"

"Outside, processing things," I say. "It's not every day you learn your biological dad's trying to kill your friends."

"I dunno about the others, but I promise I won't hold that against you," Fionna says, laughing.

We chuckle along with her, then Gabe mutters something about needing to take a piss. Taking my cue, I direct him upstairs, and sit down next to Fionna, sighing heavily.

"You all right, Feathers?" Fionna asks, holding my hand. It's probably just because she's a fire elemental, but her hands are always at least warm, if not hot.

"Yeah," I say idly before Fionna's question really has a chance to register in my brain. "Ehh, not really. I..." I turn to my left so I can look her in the eye. Her eyes are so very pretty. I could look at them forever. "I...uh..." Why can't I just spit it out?