I decided to head for the second floor restroom to relieve myself on my way to get a drink. It was one of the facilities that were actually maintained in decent shape, considering the environment. What that means is that you stand a good chance of not getting killed here, but if you do, the janitorial staff will promptly remove your body and push the missing pieces into the drain. We look out for our own.
I walked in, checking the corners but didn’t see anyone here. It pays to always watch your back, especially with Macy out for blood. There were twelve stalls surrounded by soiled, sticky tiles and dimly lit by overhead green fluorescent lamps. The shadows were deep under the stalls, so I couldn’t see anything. Since I didn’t hear anyone, I figured I was alone. The room reeked like a sewer.
I leaned into the mirror and looked at my face. It looked like someone a size too small was wearing my skin. Death doesn’t suit me well when it’s up close or personal. I liked Santiago but I couldn’t call him a friend. I’ve seen too many friends die to let anyone get close.
My gut began to tremble, but I made it to a stall before the heaves started in earnest. I held myself over the toilet and gave up my dinner plus what felt like a few pounds of flesh. The smell of the stall triggered its own set of heaves and I was nearly sprawled over the commode until I caught my breath. As I gasped for air, I heard voices coming into the restroom. I controlled my breathing so they wouldn’t hear me and so I could stifle the retching.
Laughter.
“Did you see that crazy fucker in the dress? ‘Yar unner uhres’T in thuh nayme uh SLA In-duh-stries!’ Who was he trying to kid? You kak’d him good, mate.”
“Yeah. Since he dressed like a girl, it makes sense that he’d scream like one!”More Laughter.
“Too bad about that freaky broad with no eyes, whaddaya call ‘em?”
“An Ibin. Yeah, that was a sorry shame that we couldn’t have just winged her. She woulda been a keeper, least til she was used up.”
“Nice bod on that one, at least til Chuck tore her fuckin head off with that reaper.”More laughter and the sound of zippers.
“Damn man, I never seen so much blood!”
“Then why the fuck did you aim for the head, asshole?”
“What can I say man, I sighted in on the fucker in the silverback and rock-n-rolled. Not my fault it sky’d on me and she caught one in the face.”The urinals flushed and there was some movement. The voices started to move away, but stopped for a moment.
“What about that Thing?”
“What about it?”
“Scary, huh?”
“What’s it matter? It’s dead, isn’t it. No reason to be afraid of something that’s dead and there isn’t anything you can’t kill with a 12.7 mm slug.”Oh yeah there is.
Lots of things. Nightmares. Slayer. Death itself. Other things.I waited until the room was quiet before I walked out of the stall. I didn’t want the cleaner crew to catch me puking my guts out since they’d never let me live it down. They had a different view on life and death than I did and violence didn’t bother them anymore. I couldn’t fault them on it though, since their kind existed because of mine.
I turned on the cold water and sank my hands in it. Splashing it on my face, I blew my nose with it and cleaned my chin. Drinking from cupped my hands, I tried to stop the burning in my throat. The cold water constricted my jaw and numbed my teeth. I spat it out and took another deep drink.
“Still aren’t on speak’n terms with Mr. blood and Mrs. guts yet, eh Mikey?”
Fuck.
I spat cold water onto mirror and swallowed more into my lungs. It took my breath away and I bent over leaning on the sink. He was standing behind me with a big grin showing through his mask.
I put my back to the sinks and continued to cough up water.
Fuck.
“What th-<cough> What do you <cough> want?” I asked between gasps. My knees were turning weak and I put my back to the mirror. I was too scared to pull my pistol or the Tazer.
“It’s been a long time Mikey. You never say ‘Hi, how’ya doing’, but you see me all the time. Any reason for that? After all, we’re old friends.”
He moved closer and put his arm across my shoulders. I could feel that I was trembling and he knew it. Predators can smell fear.
“You cold? That’s too bad. Or maybe you’re just scared shitless?” He grinned with rotten teeth.
“Leave me the fuck alone!” I said and tried to push away from him. His arm became a steel cable pinning me in his grasp.
“Where do you think you’re going? We ain’t finished talking yet. Are we?”
He squeezed my ribs and slowly grabbed my throat with the other hand. His hand was wide enough to lock around my neck from nearly ear to ear. I could barely breath.
“I get the idea that you don’t like me very much. Why is that?”
When I didn’t answer, he squeezed my throat and ribcage. I tried to talk, but only made a rasping sound. My mouth was made of dried cardboard.“HUH? I didn’t hear you very well. Li’l piggy got your tongue?”
He patted me on the back like a mad woman burps a baby and let me go. I spun away from him and rubbed my throat. Falling to one knee, I gasped for air.
“Maybe it’s because you know we’re a lot alike. A LOT alike.”
I could breathe now and my temper was rising. We had nothing in common except we both breathed. I started to chew my lip, thinking of what I should do next. He started to step forward as he talked. He was enjoying this.
“You know with a little push, you could be just like me! All it would take is a dead pig - you don’t like pigs, some stitches, and everything would-“
That was enough. I jerked my pistol from its holster and aimed it at his face. The front sights floated back and forth and I could barely hold it in my hand. I grasped it in both and leveled it between those pits he had for eyes. His smile was replaced with a sneer. In the green light, he was no longer human. He looked like a lord of Hell.
“You think a gun can stop me? Go ahead, pull the fucking trigger! PULL – THE – FUCK-ING – TRIG-GER!”
With each word, he stepped forward until the gun was pointed at his chest. “This make it easier?” He said and put his mouth over the gun.
He started laughing and I almost dropped the pistol. He smacked it out of my hands and it clattered towards the urinals. Grabbing my by the collar with one hand, he growled and hefted me against one of the stall partitions with a boom. My feet kicked into open air and I had to hold onto his wrist for support. He cocked back his left fist, snarled and held it. After a few moments, he gently set me down. His voice was calm and far away, like a person I used to know.
“I knew you couldn’t do it” he said and straightened my jacket. “You could never hurt me and you never will be able to.”
I ducked away from him and snatched my pistol off the floor. Backing away from him, I tried to put it into its holster, but after three misses, I put it into my belt. I was shaking like I had DT’s. He started towards the urinals and unzipped with a sneer. The chains on his costume jingled as he walked.
“Take a good look Mason! I’m your dark shadow, I’m your Yang, I’m your bogeyman. I’m everything you can be. Just what you’d expect from a big brother.”
“My brother is dead.”
“Keep thinking that if it helps you sleep at night. Oink! Oink! ” He winked and started taking care of business.
I stumbled out of urinal and ran into smack into Chaz. He started to say something and I pushed past him.
I needed that drink and cocktail now. I didn’t care how long it took me to wake up.
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