Running

Fourty-Seven in total

TW: Pain, Cursing (Quite a bit - I'm sorry) Implied Threatened Non-con, Death mention, Make A Wish mention, Needles, Implied death, Screaming

It's now about 5pm, and, despite the painkillers, my side still hurts like hell. We're sitting around the TV, just talking. Well, I'm not really talking, but everyone else is.
The conversation is going really well when Patton's phone rings.

A name pops up on the screen. Emile Picani.
We all look around nervously, I told them all what Picani and Remy did earlier today.

Patton slides the green button with his thumb. "..Hi?"
"Hey, Pat." Picani starts. "I- uh, S-someone who wants t-to speak to Vi-Virgil is with me."

"He's right here, but-"
"Great. Can you, uh-" The man is cut off by a different person, who has obviously taken control of the phone.

"Hi, Virgil. It's good to hear from you." Fuck. Fuck, fuck. Every single fuck to exist. How did Mr Johns get Emile's phone?

I can visibly see that Melanie flinches back at the sound of his voice, just like I did.

"I gave you everything, young man. If it weren't for me, you'd be rotting away in prison. And, then, for you and your girlfriend to go a-"
For some reason, a feeling of bravery rises through me.

"She isn't my fucking girlfriend."

"Can she tell me that herself?" He retorts, condensendingly.

"He isn't my fucking boyfriend. Happy?" She doesn't usually swear, but it was pretty badass.

"Ooh, so she is there. Let me guess, all of your little group are listening in? Don't answer that." 
I find myself obeying his command, and I hate myself for it.
"Oh, and I can't believe what you did to that poor man. He was only trying to defend himself. I'll add his life to the count, how many is that now?"

I stay silent.
"I asked you a question." I want to not answer, but it's impossible, and I find myself repeating the number under my breath.
"47."

"Yes, very good. 47 whole people dead. Because of you." Everyone else in the room, bar Mel, turn and look at me with surprise.
"Alright, what do you want, dickhead?" I snap.

"Just letting you know, that, when we get you and your girlfriend back-" I flinch towards the phone, but Melanie puts her hand on my arm and shakes her head at me, as if telling me that he isn't worth it. "You'll end up with more than broken ribs to complain about on social media."

"That's great, because you won't be getting either of us back."

"No, I'll get you, and your mate, and your little friends too."
"You sound like the witch in Wizard of Oz!" Janus yells at the phone.

We all laugh, but Mel and I don't seem to laugh as much. "Is that the snake one? He is a pretty boy, isn't he? Such a shame that he'll likely be dead this time next year. You know, he's still eligible for Make a Wish for another year, you could all go together!"

"Piss off." Remus spits. I can see behind his eyes that he doesn't want to lose Janus.

"Don't talk to me like that, you whore." He pauses. "We have a shit ton of people looking for you all."

I look down at the floor, zoning out.

"See you soon."
Call ended.

We sit in silence for about a minute. Then, Roman looks up to me. "So you really are a serial killer?"
I completely ignore him.
"I don't think that that is a fair assumtion, Roman." Logan defends. "We are unaware of the circumstances."

Patton stands up, and walks over to me, kneeling down and gently pulling on my left wrist. "Is that what this is?"
He looks deeply at the tattoo permenantly scratched into my skin. 1317 with a tally of ink under it. The tally adding up to fourty-six.

"Woah!" Zion exclaims, looking at his phone. "No wonder he was pissed off, the video already has 3 million views, and it's only been four hours."

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"Please! Please, I'm too young!" The person screams as they're pinned down and tied to a chair, using thick leather straps. I can't see them, but they sound too young for this. Probably only about eighteen, four years older than me.

"Okay, I think we're ready." The doctor says, giving the command for a long, sharp needle to be stuck into my neck. I scream in pain, and fear. I feel someone press a cloth on where the needle was, to stop the bleeding.

"Please! I'm begging you!" They continue to wail, until, suddenly, the yells turn into hums, surpressed by something.
All of a sudden, a throbbing pain starts in my head, and I flinch, only to be held in place by the chair that I'm sitting on.

The blindfold is ripped off of me, and I squint my eyes to adjust to the light. I hardly have time before a pair of clammy hands tilts my chin up, forcing me to look at the person opposite me. They look tired, and desperate.

"We don't have all day. The activator will wear off." The doctor complains, walking over to me, wearing the same sunglasses as all the other staff in the room.

"No!" I wail, as he grabs me by my hair, jerking my head higher up. It's only for half a second, but my eyes connect with those of the other person.

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"Virgil? Virgil?" Patton clicks his fingers infront of me. "You there?"
I look up to him, only just returning to reality. "S-sorry." I mumble.
"You don't need to apologise, we're just worried about you."

"It's- It's fine. I'm just thinking, that's all."

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I don't really have much to say about this chapter, but, uh, I really should start dialing down the angst meter on these chapters, shouldn't I?
Hm. Maybe.

Stay safe!