Lovers at War - (A.R.)

Chapter 33

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Heroes of Hell

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I COULDN'T LOOK out of the window like normal, mainly because whenever I tried to, I felt like someone was gazing at me from the corner of my eye. It wasn't Arvin as he was too preoccupied staring down the couple who were generous enough to give us a ride. I wasn't even sure how far we'd gotten at this point, but it was the least of my priorities at the moment.

"So, what're y'all named?" Sandy asked, turning to face the two of us curiously.

I smiled softly. "Well, I'm -" I was interrupted by Arvin squeezing my hand gently.

He spoke instead, "I'm Russell and this is my wife, Faith."

"Ah, married young, huh?" Sandy smiled almost dreamily. She glanced at her husband with awe, reaching out to hold his hand only for him to pull away while muttering something incoherent. "Makes me remember when I first married Carl, here. Seems so long ago now that I think of it."

Since I didn't exactly know what to say, I resorted to staying silent. Arvin also remained quiet throughout the next few minutes, fiddling with his fingers occasionally. The silence was only broken once he started, "What did y'all say you do again?"

Sandy hesitated, looking at her husband quickly and then back at us. Something didn't add up, but I didn't want to come up with any assumptions out of the blue. "We're, uh, freelancers! We get around lookin' for different jobs, and um, that's about that."

Arvin's expression remained timid as the car came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the road. Ahead of us was a small lake, and Carl clicked off his seatbelt. "I gotta pee," he said before stepping out of the vehicle and turning the corner to the nearest tree.

Arvin fiddled with his hands, only this time when I looked, I realized that he was now holding onto his luger. I raised my eyebrows, nudging his side as to ask what the heck he was doing. Behind those eyes, I could only mask out one emotion: fear. Gulping hard, my attention shifted to Sandy, who looked deep in thought. I really hoped that Arvin wasn't going to do what I thought he was, but I also understood why he saw the need to in the first place. He was hiding something.

Just then, I noticed that Carl was nearing the car again, and Arvin was gripping his weapon with a lot more force. Instinctively, I shifted closer to him. Right when Carl opened up the door beside us, Arvin pulled the trigger - a whole three times as the untimely victim fell backwards.

Sandy pulled out her gun as well and the two pointed it at each other. "Wait, don't pull that! Please!"

"J-Just put the gun down," Arvin said. "I'm sorry . . ."

"No, you will be sorry when I kill your little whore right here." She shifted her gun's direction to face me, and I held my breath.

Arvin cocked his gun. "Hear
me . . . If anything and I mean anything at all, happens to her, you would only wish that you were dead."

They both shot at each other, the noise almost deafening my ears as I let out a scream. Sandy glanced down at her shirt and then at Arvin's, confused as he wasn't injured at all. She then fell back, dying instantly. I buried my face into Arvin's neck as he pulled us out of the car, his breathing ragged as if he wasn't sure what the Hell he just did. Or why the Hell he just did it. My back touched the solid ground with a thump, and my mind was swirling.

I wasn't going to let him have the time of the day. Quickly, I straddled him as he laid on the ground, fisting his shirt with burning eyes. "Arvin!" I screamed. "Why did you do it, Arvin? Why did you kill them, huh? Answer me!"

"You're not thinkin' straight!" He shouted back, flipping us around so he was now towering over me. "I was fuckin' terrified, Faye! Those bastards, I know them! They're all the same, each and every one of them. They wanted us as their next prey, you hear me? They did!"

At that, I felt speechless. Losing my will, and feeling like I'd just about lost my insanity, I pulled him into a hug, filled with tears and regret all at once. He didn't hug back at first, but after hearing my sobs, he huddled in as well.

"D-Don't cry, Faye . . ." He soothed into my ear, but I couldn't be helped. "We'll be okay. I'll protect you, I-I promise."

That was all it took for my anger to reappear. Pushing him away forcefully, I stood up, wanting to create some distance between the both of us. Arvin, as if he knew what I was thinking, quietly got up as well and with a single glance my way, he made his way over to Carl's dead body. I wanted to ask him what the Hell he was doing this time, but remained silent. He leaned down slightly and took hold of a few scraps of paper, which I then realized were photographs.

"Fuckin' bastards," I heard Arvin mutter, making me want to go up to him and ask what he was talking about. But, unsurprisingly, I didn't. He glanced at me. "They got some sorta fetish rolls. You seein' this?"

Letting go of my wits momentarily, I approached him and analyzed the photographs. Nude bodies of dead people, and the worst part of all - Sandy and Carl were present in the pictures, looking devilish as if they were proud of whatever disgusting business that they had going on.

I reached out to hand Arvin back the photographs, only to find him no longer across from me. Turning, I saw him get out of the car again with something else in his hand.

"Fuckers got it on tape too," he said.