The Second Layer

Chapter 13: Ryan

Chapter 13: Ryan

Ryan walked into his apartment feeling that he'd done what he could. Vincent Carenzo had promised he'd contact the freak he dealt with and let him know that Ryan was looking for his kind. And if Vincent had been right, that was all that was necessary. Now Ryan just had to wait for the freak to come to him. He didn't even really have a plan for how he was going to deal with him when he did show up. All he knew was that only a freak could answer the questions that plagued him. So once he met this freak he'd just have to find a way to get those answers, and everything else he'd deal with as it came.

Ryan tossed his keys onto a table not far from the door before strolling into the bedroom. He needed to take a shower, go to bed, and hope it didn't take too many days before this freak contacted him. Pulling his cell phone out of his pocket, he set it on his nightstand and was just starting to unholster his new gun to put it in the drawer when there was a faint noise behind him, and then a voice spoke. "Hello, Mr. Lydon."

Immediately Ryan spun around to find that sitting in the only chair in the room was a man, blonde and blue eyed, immaculately dressed in expensive clothing. The only thing was, there'd been no one sitting in that chair a moment before. There'd been no one else in the room at all, Ryan would've sworn to it. So how in the hell had the man gotten there? Could he have snuck in behind him somehow? "Who are you?" Ryan finally asked, his fingers resting on his gun.

"You can call me Vryce, Mr. Lydon. I've heard you've been looking for freaks," the man said calmly.

"Yes, I have been. Are you saying that you're one?" Ryan asked. He hadn't expected someone to show up this soon. But at least this would explain how the man suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Well, actually, it didn't explain it at all. But he was sure there were quite a few things freaks could probably do that he wouldn't be able to explain.

"That's not important. What is important is that you've been looking into something you shouldn't. From what I've heard, you know very little about freaks at all. Not more than just the name. And so I've come to give you a warning. Forget you ever heard that word. Forget everything you think you know about it. Stop digging into this and go back to your life. Because if you don't, you will lose that life. This is the only warning you will ever receive. You're being given a second chance, I suggest you take it, because after this there won't be any more," Vryce told him.

"I'm afraid Carenzo lied to you about my lack of knowledge, probably to protect me. I saw a freak in action. I'm a detective with the police department. Last week my fiancee was attacked and killed. Four other officers were murdered. I was there, I saw the one who did it. Inhuman speed, inhuman strength. I shot him six times and the wounds just disappeared. That's why I've been searching for freaks. I found out what he was, and now I want to find him," Ryan replied.

"So you're the cop who survived. And you saw what he was capable of. Blaze, that lying little fuck. And not only did he lie, but he didn't even bother to take the time to track you down and finish you himself to cover up the truth. He really does think he can get away with anything," Vryce muttered, just shaking his head. "Of course, you must realize that by telling me all of this, you've signed your own death warrant."

"So you're going to be the one to kill me, then?" Ryan demanded.

"You haven't left me a choice," Vryce said, spreading his hands out in a hopeless gesture.

"Well, can you at least answer my questions, first?" Ryan pressed. The strange thing was he wasn't stalling for time. He knew that extra time wasn't going to help him at all. In fact, he wasn't sure precisely how he was going to survive this situation. At the moment he didn't really feel a fear of death, even though he was quite sure the man wasn't bluffing and fully intended to kill him. He knew that even with the gun his fingers still rested against, he didn't have a chance of stopping him when the man decided it was time.