1 I
BZZZZZT.
"Thank God it's over!" Dylan sighed. "Another minute and I might've quit this shit-hole."
As he finished punching in the number on the POS system to clock out, a stout woman with 5-o'clock shadow walks up and slaps his shoulder.
"Don't fucking forget to take out those boxes when you leave!" she growled. "The hell you think I'm paying you for?"
With a sigh, Dylan walked towards the back door and grabbed the cart bursting with cardboard boxes.
He grabbed the handle that was covered in years old grease, and tugged with most of his strength.
The cart barely moved, but he managed to get it rolling enough for gravity to make up for his lack of physical strength.
After returning the cart once his duty was complete, he grabbed his hoodie and bag from the crew room.
He went outside where his bike was chained to the light-pole, on the far side of the parking lot.
He proceeded to unlock his trusty transportation and mounted the bike. With a slight push on the ground he began to accelerate down the winding street of his home town.
Dylan lived in Mulberry for as long as he could remember. It was a small town, located about an hour away from any large cities.
His mother struggled to keep income, so they had lived in his grandparents home since he was a toddler. Fortunately, they gave his mother the property when they passed, but unfortunately that gave way for more irresponsible actions from his mother.
Just like a lot of estranged people in this town, she drowned her sorrows in mountains of narcotics and rivers of alcohol.
She only made any attempt to garner wages, when she needed drugs or if she had to pay off the bank to get them not to foreclose, due to the overdue mortgage payments. Maybe as unsurprising as her keeping the bills barely afloat, it turns out she also managed to upgrade her substance of choice, to IV drugs.
All of this was normal for Dylan by now though.
He was 28 years old, didn't finish high-school and worked at a fast food joint. One could say other than the drug abuse the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Although he didn't experiment in the harder drugs, he was a daily smoker.
Whether it was nicotine, or a natural blend he loved to fill his lungs.
A lot of the time, he could convince himself that he didn't want to use most substances, but things like marijuana or nicotine felt tame in comparison.
He considered himself above the average drug-addict, but it could be said, that it was pure copium.
(A/N pun intended :D)
As the streetlights and traffic lights turned into beams of energy, he raced his way towards his home.
He actually felt anxious, due to something finally going right for him. He actually managed to convince a member of the opposite sex to spend time with him.
Not just spend time in fact, she had even agreed to make their relationship official!
Her name was Lila.
-
A buzzing sound could be heard coming from a light that never shuts off.
Every night Dylan would be the last one to leave his job and as the last crew member on the job it was his duty to turn all the lights off when he left.
For years now he left one light on due to him wanting to be able to see the parking lot when he left.
He was currently walking out the back door as he noticed a person with a hoodie on walking towards the front door.
"Hey, we're closed!" he shouted. He was surprised anybody thought a place like this would be open this late, after the pandemic and all.
The person jerked with shock at the sound of Dylan's voice.
They pulled down their hood revealing deep auburn hair and and oak colored eyes.
"I'm Sorry," she said. "I was hoping you were open. I've been looking for somewhere to charge my phone and get some food for like two whole hours!"
"Yeah we closed at 10," Dylan responded. "Pretty much everywhere in town does now"
"Well, fuck," She resounded. "You look familiar by the way. Did you go to school here?"
Dylan felt insanely awkward but he didn't wanna make it weird so he chose to just answer honestly.
"Well not exactly. I grew up here but I went to The Crossing starting sophomore year."
The Crossing was an alternative school for underprivileged youth.
Most Kids went there due to getting in trouble and getting kicked out of regular school.
Dylan on the other hand, was forced to go to this school due to his mother not paying enrollment fees.
"Oh Yeah! I Knew i recognized you. My names Lila I went to the Crossing all four years." she said with an adorable smirk.
"I have no way to get home and my phone is dead. Is there anyway I could maybe, follow you to your place and charge my phone? Ill order something to eat to pay ya back. If we can find something open at least."
Dylan was taken aback.
This felt a little forced and he naturally assumed a set up but none of that added up.
If he was honest with himself, he would realize that this small interaction, was the nicest anyone had ever been to him. He thought about it for a sec before giving his answer.
"Sure."
-
A few hours later a young man and women sat on a porch laughing and talking away.
Smoke danced in the moonlight above the two.
Soft music could be heard coming from a portable speaker.
Over the past few hours they had bonded over reliving past memories of going to the same school.
Dylan had brought out his little black box that contained his hidden stash. With that the mood was calm and comfortable.
Before he knew it he was confiding in her.
"I like this stuff because it can calm me down with out fucking me up. It just seems like everyone i grew up with wants to get totally fucked and i just prefer to mellow out. Its like the only time i can relax is when I'm in my room smoking."
"Then what are we doing out here?" she asked.
Dylan froze.
He was embarrassed by the mess his mother was and kept around herself.
Not to mention once he managed to wade her through the swamp, his room was also embarrassing.
He was twenty-eight years old and had way to much anime memorabilia, to be considered an adult.
As he was thinking all this, Lila's voice broke him out of his spiraling thought process.
"Hey, it's okay," she said "I'm sure you got a million reasons why you don't want me to come in but if you can name one that doesn't involve your pride ill drop it."
She was right!
He had never been called out like that.
He didn't consider himself very prideful but truth be told, that's where his self conscious attitude comes from.
Lila just stared at him with a cute smile.
He threw caution to the wind and leaned forward to kiss her.
As soon as they made contact he could feel her pushing hard, back against him.
Their lips met and a soft velvet sensation came across Dylan's mouth.
He had kissed a few women but this was the first time it made his heart flutter.
After sharing in a long kiss, they parted and he stared in her eyes.
"So, I have a bean-bag and a gaming chair, but we could totally just sit on the bed," he said.
She giggled in response and with that they both went inside.
They would begin to spend the next few months getting to really know each other.
Life was, for the first time, starting to look up.
Six months in and they were practically inseparable.
Lila would come over nearly every night and they were having talks of getting a place together.
Dylan felt like he was on top of the world.
-
It was just like any other night at work.
First to arrive and last to leave.
Dylan had finished up and was now riding his bike, at a leisurely speed home.
Sending Lila a text to let her know he would be home soon, he neared his block.
He always got home around the same time but he still made sure to text her every time. He didn't receive an immediate response, which was weird but didn't alarm him.
He didn't like to question the exclusivity of their relationship and he also didn't consider a delayed reply any sign of bad news.
Dylan arrived in front of his child hood home.
When he was only a few steps from the door he began to fumble for his keys in his pocket.
Being distracted he stumbled up the stairs and caught himself with his hands.
When he looked over he notice a mound on his porch, that wasn't a part of the normal décor.
He made his way towards the weird shape and as he neared he began to notice the over-all shape of a human body!
It was dark but a passing car illuminated the porch for a moment.
Just long enough for Dylan to see that it was a female body.
Fear struck.
He immediately thought of his mother.
It wouldn't be the first time he found her OD'd off something.
He reached towards the body and turned it over. When he managed to make out the face his heart sank.
"Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck," he stammered. It was Lila!
Before he could even come to terms with what he was seeing, a hard strike resounded on the right side of his head.
His hearing went first, followed by his vison, and then his balance, as he toppled over.
Four more bangs reverberated through his skull.
A thick metal rod hung in the air, attached to a hand covered in blood. The hand was connected to the arm of a large black hooded figures. With one last swing the figured completely separated the brain from its stem.
It was a bloody kill but clean and precise nonetheless.
It would look like a murder done out of anger.
"Two out of three targets eliminated," a deep voice resounded from the figure.
"Proceed," a robotic voice responded.
