This Time it's for Real

This Time it’s for Real Doug wasn’t even surprised. From around the corner he watched as Abigail entered the Director’s office and then didn’t come out again. He’d always thought there was something off about her, something that sent goosebumps all up his arms. And with this, he knew what it was: her voice. The Director’s voice was modulated to hell and back, and he’d always wondered why. He figured it had been purely for intimidation. But now he realized that very important other reason: so no one would recognize it. Abigail had a very distinctive voice. If she hadn’t changed it, all her victims would have known it immediately. This was bad. This was very bad. If Abigail was the Director then… then she had been manipulating Jilli from the beginning. They had never taken control at all, because Abigail could play Jilli like a puppet. If Abby told her to, she wouldn’t even listen to Doug anymore. He was used to not being listened to, but this time, it really mattered. He had to tell Jilli before Abigail came out of the office. It was his only hope. For the last week, Abigail had hardly left Jilli’s side. This might be his only chance. And there was only one place that Jilli would be. Ever since the mess with Mike’s sister Jilli had been nearly inconsolable, and had holed up in the cafeteria. It was a long walk, nearly all the way across the building. But that’s what the Heelys were for. He zoomed down the halls towards the cafeteria. If he could tell Jilli, and get her to believe him, then they could corner Abigail and make her tell them where Mike was. He knew she had him, had been suspicious ever since he’d gone to the library that first morning after the revolution and found the door locked. Abigail had said that Mike was probably there, but if the door had been locked how could he have gotten in in the first place? If he was honest, it was probably his fault that Mike had gotten grabbed. He’d known something was off about him that week before, but he hadn’t said anything. He should have said something. He should have said something to Jilli too. He should have said something to a lot of people in his life, if he was honest. But now it was way too late, Mike was probably being tortured or killed, that red-haired lady with Mike’s sister was dead, her other friend gravely injured, Sonia gone. And it was all his fault. He knew the thought was highly irrational, but try telling his head that. The Heelys squealed as he pushed them to go faster. But the purpose of the wheels was more to look like a raging douche-canoe than to actually get you anywhere, and he nearly fell down a few times in his hurry. He slid down the banister of the old stairs, doubled back along the hall, and turned the corner. There was the door to the cafeteria, and in front of it was Gil. Doug paid him no mind at first, at least until he reached out to grab the handle and Gil stepped in front of him. “Move out of the way, man,” Doug frowned. “I need to talk to Jilli.”

“If I was able to, I would, young hero,” Gill glared off towards the far wall. “Unfortunately I have been cursed by hubris to isolate the maiden within. I am the dragon you must defeat.” It took Doug a good thirty seconds to figure out just what he had said. “Jesus, you just get even more confusing when you’re angry. Just drop the damn fantasy roleplay bullshit, this is important.” “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I’ve been ordered to not let anyone in.” “By who?” Doug narrowed his eyes as he stared up at Gil. “Jilli, or the Director?” Gil paused, caught off guard. “You know, then?” he asked. “Let me in, Gil,” he said, not breaking his gaze. “Jilli needs to know.” Though he seemed to fight with himself, Gil eventually sighed. “I’m going to regret this.” He stepped aside, and let Doug pass. Immediately, Doug saw that Jilli was further gone than he’d previously hoped. She was situated in the back of the room, on the platform, in the middle of what could only be called a nest. All of the pillows and blankets from her room seemed to have been sequestered around her, and the whole mound shivered. “Doug?” she asked, already able to tell who he was from across the room. He’d gotten used to that. There weren’t many people running around St. Adelaide’s with white hair. “Hey, Jill.” It seemed as if his throat was closed off, and his words only reached her as an echo. For a second, it seemed like maybe she had calmed down, that she would listen to him when he told her. “Are you here to kill me?” she asked, and that idea went right out the window. He took a few steps forward. He wanted to hug her, kiss her, hold her tight until she stopped shaking. But he was afraid she’d fight him if he tried. “What? No. Why would you think that?” “Someone’s going to, soon.” She glanced around the room, as if afraid that assassins would emerge from the very bricks of the walls. “The Director is getting impatient. She wants her kingdom back. I’m the only thing that stands in her way.” No, she was wrong. The Director had never lost her kingdom in the first place. She had always been here, but how could he tell her? What could he say that wouldn’t make her panic? Doug approached the platform, held out his hand. “Look at me,” he told her, and after a moment, she did. “Do you really think I’d wanna hurt you?” Jilli froze, staring into his eyes. “No,” she said finally, a small smile breaking across her face. She grabbed his hand and pulled him up to her. From behind, Doug sat, wrapped his arms around her, and squeezed. “I need you to trust me,” he whispered. “Because I have something to tell you.” “What is it?” he could hear her frown. “I know who the Director is.” Suddenly, she went rigid. “How?” “I was looking for Mike,” he explained. “I went to the Director’s office. I saw her go in.” “Who is it?” Here it was. The moment of truth. He desperately hoped that she would believe him. Doug took a deep breath, opened his mouth. “It’s—” “Oh, Jilli!” came a new voice from the door that sent shivers down his spine. “I have wonderful news!” And speaking of the devil, Abigail slunk through the doors and skipped right across the room. She cast her eyes over the two of them and eventually landed on Doug. She grinned at him cruelly. She knew. She knew that he knew. Doug stood, dragging Jilli with him. “What news?” Jilli asked, misreading Doug’s motion. “I found him,” Abigail beamed. “I found Mike!” “You did?” Jilli’s grip on Doug’s hand tightened just as Doug’s stomach tightened as well. He didn’t like any of the words coming out of Abigail’s mouth. ‘Well, found probably isn’t the right word,” she admitted. “More like kidnapped, experimented on, and then returned,” her expression didn’t even shift a fraction. Then she saw the sudden look of horror that was blooming over Jilli’s face. “Oh, had he not told you yet?” Abigail tilted her head in confusion. “For shame, Doug. I gave you a twenty minute head start.” “Told me what, Doug?” Jilli turned to him desperately, hoping beyond hope that the answer was something different. Doug opened his mouth, but Abigail didn’t let him answer. “That it’s me.” She grinned. “I’m the Director.” A small, helpless sob escaped Jilli’s throat. “No,” she shook her head. “No, no no no. It can’t be.”

“Oh, if only I could freeze that beautiful betrayal on your face.’ Abigail laughed. “Wait, I nearly forgot. I can!” Doug took a step in front of Jilli, but in the end, it wouldn’t matter. Abigail snapped her fingers, and the door to the cafeteria opened just a crack. But there was no one on the other side, just a dark smear that snaked through the room, too fast for Doug to see properly. “What the f—” he began, but was abruptly cut off by a sound from behind him. A cracking and a squishing, a horrible sound that no one should ever be subjected to. In slow motion he turned. First he saw Jilli’s face, frozen in an expression of horror and despair, just as Abigail wanted, gurgling as blood dribbled down her chin. Then his gaze fell to where an arm covered in guts and red was stuck right through her chest. In its hand was a lump of muscle that beat a few last, feeble pulses before falling still Doug didn’t say anything, he couldn’t. He just fell to his knees, staring up at Jilli’s glass-like eyes. A second later, the arm pushed itself back through and Jilli’s heartless body fell forward into his arms. But he almost didn’t catch her. Because behind Jilli, his arm covered in viscera, his face expressionless and without pity. It was Mike. Abigail cackled. “Do you like my new pet?” she asked, hopping up on the platform to wrap herself around Mike like some thirsty vine. “I call him Nihil.” Mike remained perfectly motionless throughout all of this. It was as if he wasn’t even the same person. Mike was fidgety, nervous. This person just looked… dead. Closing his eyes, Doug said the only thing he could think of. “Fuck you.” “What was that?” Abigail asked, grinning. “Fuck. You.” She just laughed. And laughed and laughed and laughed until he thought the echo of it would never leave his ears. “Good,” she said. “Good. That’s the Doug I know. Even after I’ve tortured or murdered everything that’s important to you, you still just keep moving. How much shit are you shouldering now, exactly? All of this,” she gestured around the room. “The years of torture I’ve put you through. But there’s more, isn’t there? There’s always more with you. Your mistakes, your addictions, your very poor, very sweet, very dead sister?” He looked up at her. How the hell did she know about that? “I know about everything, Doug,” she said, as if she could read his thoughts. “It just never ends with you. What’s one more dead girlfriend on top of the pile?” Jilli’s blood now thoroughly stained his sweatshirt, his jeans. Even the tips of his hair were drying pink. “But, unfortunately, as much fun as I’ve had with you, it’s time for all of this to come to an end. I can’t have you coming back to mess with my plans. No loose ends. That’s why I had to kill Jilli, you know. I don’t need her anymore.” Of course. In some bizarre, twisted way, it made perfect sense. Doug would have done the same thing. “You understand, don’t you? We’re more similar than you think, Doug. But, alas, I have to dispose of you now too. Don’t worry, though. I won’t just kill you, not after everything we’ve shared. I have something very special in mind.” Of course it wouldn’t be easy, or quick. Of course of course of course what the fuck else should he have expected? But what did it matter, really? He already felt dead anyway. “Nihil,” she commanded, and the person that had been Mike Miller grabbed Doug by his sweatshirt hood. He could have struggled out easily, but even if he managed to escape, where the hell could he go? She would find him easily in the small school. So he allowed himself to be dragged from the room, allowed Jilli’s body to fall to the floor. He watched it until the door closed and he couldn’t see it anymore. And still, her face held that expression of shock and horror that he should have felt, but couldn’t. All Doug felt was nothing.