Chapter 3 - Axel

Axel curled up on the couch, biting his nails and taking shaky breaths. Ryan – he was the big burly guy on the bed, had already fallen asleep, despite the situation. Even though Axel's murder charges were bigger, he felt more scared. He sighed, trying to calm down his fidgeting body. It was alright. He was a cold-blooded murderer, killing without hesitation nor sorrow. A monster with no humanity, running from the police. Even though the announcement in the beginning didn't say so, he had brutally injured far more people than he killed.

He glanced at Ryan. Was he the same? Only one murder, and he regretted it later. Was that all there was to the quiet angry man?

There was a knock on the door beside his. That was the room with the serial killer and the shaking boy who had probably curled up in a corner and fallen asleep due to exhaustion. Despite the boy's frightened-to-death behavior, he had a fresh scent of blood on his that was mixed in with the vigorous smell of soap. The blood made Axel go crazy, so blinded he couldn't move his body the way he wanted to. The smell of iron was still there, but it had dimmed. He couldn't hear Willow's sobbing through the wall, so he must have fallen asleep.

The walls were thin, thinner than Axel anticipated. He heard Ren banging on the door, Scarlett's loud squeal, and the sound of the couch pushed to the door from Oscar and Will's room. Perhaps they were the only pair that slept in the same bed, and most likely without consent from the second party. As the knocking subsided, the footsteps came to their room.

There was a knock. Then a sigh. And then she left.

Axel wasn't scared at all, but he was relieved at that moment. The ballpoint pen on the bed stand was clutched in his hand, his only form of self-defense. He liked to play dirty with his victims, using knives, guns, and heavy iron poles, but he was weak by himself. His courage strengthened when the footsteps faded.

A soft thud sound from across the hallway, making Axel flinch. The footsteps quickened towards the noise, and with a dawning sensation, Axel realized it was Will and Oscar's room. What would happen now? Would the woman burst in or slam on the door? Perhaps she would go into a frenzy, or silently pick the lock and slowly open it, listening to the creaking as it drew a circle on the ground?

"Ahem, may I use the restroom?" a muffled voice asked. Axel was fully awake now.

It wasn't even a hard game. Just keep silent until the morning. They could've tried to tire her out, then kill her while she was sleeping. Anything. It wasn't a crazy mind game that you'd need to think through and through before opening your mouth or taking a step. It was so easy.

So, what was the problem with Will?

"Is somebody there?" a girl's voice asked, bored.

"Yup. Please let me out so I can piss, ma'am," Will called through the door. The whole hallway must have been listening.

"I don't have the key to the door. Can't you just open it by yourself?"

"Ma'am, please kindly turn away. I look really gross right now." 

"Will you let me sleep in your room?" the girl asked as the door creaked open. Perhaps it was a good thing if Will and Oscar died. The second highest criminal in the group and the troublemaker.

"You want to sleep with my man?" he heard their voices through the hallway now. Would Will be throttled now? When will the blood spatter on the ground and leak through cracks under the door?

Axel looked at Ryan. He was still sleeping, unaware of the situation. On the other hand, Axel was fully awake now, waiting for the sound of screaming.

"No, just the couch is fine."

Wasn't the couch in the doorway? Speaking of which, how had Will gotten outside without the sounds of him crawling over the couch? Had they moved the couch somewhere else? Why would they do that?

"But who knows? You may do all kinds of perverted things with my dear."

"...Didn't you just meet a few hours ago?"

There was silence.

"Ms. Lady, you see that room?" Axel's breath hitched. Was Will snitching? "There are two men in there, one very strong and one very vicious."

"Is that so?"

"Wouldn't those two be much more exciting than two scrawny boys? And, one… Samuel Bryan. You know that guy, right?"

Axel froze. It was their room. They were talking about his room. Why his?

And moreso, Will knew his real name.

Soon, there would be knocking on the door. The knob would turn, and two figures would be standing before them. Four eyes, looking down at him, a knife plunged into his throat.

The floor would be stained in red, his red. His blood.

Suddenly, he felt the fear that Willow must have felt. The fear of being killed, of tasting your own blood in your mouth. He looked up at Ryan, who's eyes were closed and body splayed out, deep in sleep. He gulped, holding his breath and listening to the rest of the conversation.

"I don't know this Samuel man."

"Oh really? Don't I have a story for you? That guy is such a sucker for his cute little girlfriend, y'know? Once, this guy accidentally knocked her over and he beat his head two inches into the concrete. There was blood everywhere. It was craazy."

How did Will know? Axel bit his lips, hugging himself. He wanted the dark to swallow him up, to just end him. He didn't want the false hope that the lady would walk away. Will already exposed him.

"How do I know if you're telling the truth?" Will laughed.

"I saw it with my own eyes, of course. Both the door and the murder." That guy is insane. There was no way the lady would believe him. Axel refused to believe so.

"What's your name, sir?"

"Ian. Ian Halls." Ian? Was Will's name fake too?

"Well, Mr. Ian. How about you open that door first?"

Ah.

Shit.

Shit, shit shit shit shit shit.

Axel broke into a cold sweat, clutching the ballpoint pen in his hand. He didn't want to die. Not yet. He wanted to live. He wanted to see his girlfriend again, too look at her smile one more time.

Not die here. Here, in this prison cell. Behind him was a panel of light, that replaced the window. If he broke the panel, would he be able to run? He looked back at Ryan, gulping.

There was a chuckle from outside, as footsteps approached their door. Axel stood up, running as quietly as he could towards the fake window. He grabbed the panel, shaking it, throwing his whole body against it. From outside, he could hear a paperclip in his lock. How did Will even get a paperclip? It wasn't top on Axel's mind right now. He shook Ryan awake desperately, but he wouldn't wake, only grunting and turning around. He grabbed his shoulders, tears forming from his eyes as he trembled, glancing back at the door. Will sure was taking his sweet time. What about Oscar? Why wasn't he saving them?

As Ryan's eyes cracked open finally, he heard the sound of the doorknob clinking and looked into Axel's panicked eyes, getting up quickly and rushing towards the window on Axel's command, kicking and punching the glass panel. He grabbed the glass, cracking it and throwing a harder punch, the metal denting. He hands bled as Axel ran towards the door, peeking into the doorhole.

Will looked up at him from the hole. His eyes showed an emotion Axel didn't understand. Pity, but more importantly the wide and trembling facade Willow always wore. He was scared.

Why?

Why was this traitor scared?

Axel shivered, throwing his whole body at the door in a desperate attempt to block it when Will unlocked it. The couch wouldn't work – he was too weak, and it was too far away. Tears formed in his eyes and he heard the desperate attempts Ryan made to throw his body against the panel. There was a hole, and outside, the gleaming night sky. But the hole wasn't big enough. Far to small. Only a crack.

As the lock clicked, Axel gave up. He collapsed on the ground, looking listlessly at Ryan's bloodied hands and thinking about his girlfriend. The only person in the world who loved him.

Was she… still thinking about him now?