To Be A Killer

Chapter 51: Seventeen

"So... Simon's alive?"

I nod. "And apparently he's going to stay that way since, as far as we know, he's immortal. Don't really know much about where he is now, but... yeah."

"Are you glad that he's alive?" Caleb asks.

"Are you?"

He shrugs. "I'm not disappointed, but he... betrayed us. He betrayed Abel."

"I know. But he did save my life, more than once, and I know why he... he told me why he betrayed us. It doesn't make it right, but still, it makes sense."

He nods, slowly taking a bite of his sandwich. "And what about the uh... visions?"

I raise a brow. "What about them?"

"How often do you get them?"

I shrug. "It's weird. Sometimes I'll get multiple in a week or two, and then sometimes I won't have one for months. And sometimes they're of the future, sometimes they're of the past. It's like a big guessing game, really."

"Do they help? Have they helped?"

"They do sometimes, but most of the time I can never decipher it until it's already happening. And some of the visions I've had... I wish I hadn't. There's certain things that you just shouldn't know."

He raises a brow in question. "Like..."

I sigh, averting my eyes away from him. How can I tell him I've seen myself die? I've heard it... How can I tell him I'm going to die and there's nothing I can do to change or stop this future?

"It's best I don't say. A lot of these things have already come to pass. No need to dwell on them, not with what we have to deal with now."

The lie works well enough. Caleb nods, and looks down at his lap, lips pursed and eyebrows furrowing together. "I am sorry, you know, for not being able to tell me where I was-where we all have been. I wanted to, really."

"I'm not angry with you," I say. "I was just worried. We all were. After a few months of absolutely nothing, we were beginning to believe you guys had-had died." My shoulders tense, my chest tightening painfully as I think of how this could have turned out. "I... was beginning to believe that you had..."

"I'm sorry," He says again. "It wasn't fair. I know, but Diana... she's ruthless, and she'll use every single one of us, make all of us here on these ships do whatever she wants us to, and we'll be powerless to stop it."

"I know. I saw it-the past. I felt it, when Albert was telling how he worked for Van Ark. I still had my conscience through most of it, so the feelings were... diluted, I guess. But I know how it feels now. I know that you'll do anything and everything she says because of how good it feels. And I know she's not afraid to kill anyone who gets in her way. Do you know of any way we can get to her? Stop her?"

"If we did, we wouldn't be hiding out here." The redhead groans, leaning back against the wall. "I really hate this. This place is a lot like Brunswick. I'm the only person my age here. I mean, you'd think they'd have some prodigies here that are younger, but it's just me. It's... I'm alone again."

"Well, I'm here now," I say, offering a closed lipped smile. "And when we go back to Abel, you'll get to see all our friends again. I mean, Tony's gone, but you never met him in the first place. Eugene, Jack, Phil, and Zoe have gone on a tour, but they'll be back in a few months. Phil keeps calling me his fiancé on the show. That's a great story-"

"Five, wait. Wait. Just stop for a second." Caleb frowns at me, and I tip my head to the side in confusion. "What-what do you mean 'go back to Abel'?"

Now it's my turn to frown. "I mean exactly that. I mean, we haven't searched for months and gone through all this trouble to find you just to-just to leave you here. We can get the equipment to build cryo-freezers. New Canton owes us for backing this mission. They probably have the equipment or will help us find it... I'm not leaving you here, Caleb."