"I feel bad for the people who never go crazy."
Trepidation (n): a feeling
of fear or
agitation
about
something
that may happen.
%
Athena Williams is a quiet and hardworking girl wit...
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THE COLD SETTLED in on the indigenous couple that was Jake Abbey and Athena Williams quite quickly. The fall turned to winter in a blink of an eye, and neither of the two was prepared for it. The pair sat side by side in Jake's beat up convertible, the heat on the lowest possible setting to ensure the maximum amount of gas for their journey. The further north they traveled, the colder the air became. Athena was not at all accustomed to the temperature shift, but Jake Abbey knew it all too well.
The duo has been traveling for weeks, taking some nights to sleep and a few hours in the day to rest. Minnesota was a long way from the little town of Ike. Athena would constantly look at Jake, in a sense of wonder. She had so many questions for him, yet she felt that they would all remain unanswered. She had learned personal attributes he had possessed, things much different from the juvenile "what's your favorite color?" questions...but still. In the heat of her frazzled thoughts, a reoccurring question popped up and made its way into the air between them.
"Why do you kill people, Jake?"
The man had done a double take at her from the driver's seat, his free hand moving to his face as his fingers caressed his lips in thought. He shakes his head slightly, sighing as he keeps his eyes on the road.
"I can't help it, I'm...it's impulsive."
Athena scrunched her face in surprise, not believing the answer. She imagined he would give her this whole extravagant speech talking about how he was abused when he was younger-tieing in his life to this horrible crime-riddled hobby.
"Impulsive?" Athena repeated, her tone questioning as Jake nodded once.
"Yeah." He lowly mutters, clearing his throat as Athena skunk back in her seat.
"Why did you do what you did to Dennis?" He suddenly inquired, sneaking a glance at the woman beside him.
Athena tilted her head, looking at nothing in particular as she opened her lips to speak but nothing came out.
"It was self-defense." She quietly answers, her eyes moving down to her fingers as she tried to knot them together.
"That's your answer, Thee. That's it."
"That guy at the gas station in Vegas wasn't hurting you-" She piqued up, her eyes turning to face him as he blinked slowly.
"I bet he didn't even know you were there."
"Yeah, but he could've hurt you, Athena. I protect myself and now you, against assholes who think they've got the upper hand. I bring them back down to their level."
"You put them in the ground." Athena states, her voice unwavering as Jake remained silent.
The pair didn't exchange any words until after the sun had set, and the sky was a navy blue adorned with a plethora of tiny diamond specks.
