"Speech"
'Thoughts'
["Speech Through Technology"]
||
…
[Four days later.]
I was leaning against one of the restaurant's front windows, smiling as I looked at the picture on my phone.
Malo had taken a picture of me during one of my conversations with Lucas. The picture even caught Lucas laughing in the background.
I had to admit, while Malo wasn't good at catching anything in my definition of "cool," she did take very cinematic photos. It felt like I was looking at the background art of a video game loading screen.
*Creak*
The opening of the front of the restaurant caught my attention. Turning, I saw Lucas exiting.
"Oh, you actually waited…" Lucas said as he looked at me.
"Of course I did," I responded as I put my phone in my pocket. "What do you take me for? A dickhead?"
"Yes." The tone of voice was so monotone that it felt like Lucas had half died as those words left his mouth.
"Ok, you know," I sighed with my eyes closed, shaking my head as I walked up to him. "Just because you're right doesn't mean you're correct."
Opening my eyes, I caught Lucas staring at me like I was a dumbass. Slowly bringing his hand up, he covered his eyes with his palm and shook his head.
"Anyways," I shrugged. "Why'd you ask me to wait for you? You're lucky you promised me a rematch. Otherwise, I wouldn't have even thought about waiting for you."
"Well, excusing your 'dumbassery,'" Lucas made sure to quote using his fingers. "I brought Ashley along."
Pointing with his thumb over his shoulder, Lucas did, in fact, bring Ashley along. He even made sure to lean to the side a little so I could get a look at her while she was still in the doorway.
How… gracious.
"…And you brought her with you… because?" I made sure to roll my hand with my sentence so he could feel my tone.
"The more hands, the better. It would make this quicker." Lucas said as he shrugged his shoulders.
"You still haven't explained to either of us what we're doing." The monotone tone I used caused Lucas to smile—"Bitch, don't smile, answer me!"
He refused to answer and instead gave a smug expression, starting to walk away.
"Walk with me. It's better that way," Lucas said quickly and waved his hand at us to follow.
Jogging a bit to catch up to him, I turned around as a safety precaution to see Ashley following behind us. I couldn't have us being snuck up on and stolen by some creature.
Once I caught up to him, I immediately slowed until we were walking at the same speed. "So, what are we doing this for, again?"
"You know me," Lucas turned his head slightly in my direction as he spoke. "Always trying to maximize efficiency wherever—"
"Know you?!" I cut Lucas off before he could finish. "If I wanted to listen about maximizing efficiency, I would've gotten hired at a tech firm. Stop trying to deflect. The answer you're going to give me can't be that bad."
I gave a glance behind us. Ashley was noticeably slower than she was before. Was this something to worry about?
"Fine," Lucas seemed to barely stop a sigh from leaving his lips. "I wanted your help moving some things, and I thought, 'Why not add Ashley? More hands, right?' Or something like that."
'Ahh, so he wanted—' My thoughts cut off. I could only equate this feeling to a detective finding faulty information given by a witness.
But I kept walking. Even as my heart rate increased, I kept walking as if everything was alright. I turned my head toward Malo for only a second. I saw her ears at the top of her head perk up.
I could feel her make eye contact with me.
Throughout my entire time in this reality, I found myself inside. I was never one to show off, to call out and call myself better, or to let my pride get in the way.
I wasn't a "prideful" person.
But there was one thing that I realized "Original Dante" did give me.
I have a Photographic Memory. Details that a normal person would throw out on a whim, I couldn't forget. All, and any, conversations I've had could be replayed in my head perfectly like I just had them.
The implications of what was said had already drawn theories in my head, most leading to dead ends. However, three were the most probable.
"—at least that was what I was thinking. So, are you in?" Lucas's voice cut back in as I slowed down my walking pace.
He was still facing forward even as I moved to walk behind him. My heart rate began increasing as I realized what I had to do.
"Lucas…" I said as I slowed my breathing.
"Yeah?" Lucas's cheerful tone as he spoke caused me to grit my teeth in regret even before I made my move.
"Turn around for me."
"Oh sur—?!" Lucas wasn't able to finish his sentence, as the second he turned around, my fist came flying at his face.
From my right hand came a jab. It was experimental. I had to make sure.
Continuing with a left-hand jab, I slowed my combo enough for Lucas to react. Grabbing him by the head as he recoiled, I drove my knee into his nose.
Lucas immediately grabbed his face, his entire body recoiling as he barely had time to groan.
Using my leg, I swept him. Normally, that wouldn't have worked, but combining my slight supernatural strength into the mix made it work.
Immediately, I was on top of him, both my hands wrapped tightly around his throat. Turning my head to my left, I saw Ashley around 15 feet away, completely wide-eyed.
It was as if she were frozen in space. Returning my attention to Lucas, I made sure to choke him just enough for him not to have too much trouble breathing.
His hands went from his face to around my wrists as he struggled to stop me.
"Wh..y..?" Lucas struggled to get his words out, his eyes wide.
'Think logically, Dante. Three scenarios didn't lead to dead ends once those words left his lips.' My thoughts, which I paused when I went in for the experimental swings, came back to me.
'Option 1: This is Lucas! What I've done here will irreparably damage our friendship, and no amount of words will help.' As I thought of this, Lucas began struggling more, causing me to tighten my hold on him.
Kill him.
'He is human! Forgetting things is in our nature; maybe he just let his thoughts slip!' Letting logic fuel me, I turned my head to the left.
"Ashley! Get over here!" I shouted.
'Option 2: Lucas is being mind-controlled!—' I immediately returned my attention to Lucas, releasing my hold just enough for him to get some words out.
"What…the…fuck!" Lucas tried shouting as he wrestled with me, his legs trying to flail enough to get me off of him.
'—If he is being mind-controlled, freeing him from this may be impossible/improbable at this time. I'm in a hostile environment, volatile variables abound, and there's no confirmation of what I'm doing is right or wrong.'
Kill him.
'Option 3: Lucas is a doppelgänger/alternate! The worst option of the bunch—' Cutting my thoughts, I turned my head to the left again.
"Ashley!" She was only five feet away, her body trembling like she was watching a horror movie take place in front of her. "I need you to get the knife I have on me and cut Lucas's tendons!"
Both Lucas and Ashley went wide-eyed. Lucas even began struggling harder.
"Ashley, don't listen to him!" Lucas immediately shouted. "He's gone—"
I quickly began choking him harder. His point of view would cloud Ashley's judgment.
"Ashley, don't listen to him!" I shouted at her, causing her to flinch at the harsh tone of my voice. "Listen to me! This isn't Lucas! No matter how you see him, no matter how you view him now, this is just some monster in his skin!"
'—this option…' My thoughts quickly caught up to my actions. 'Is the most probable! I slowed my punches, and even the sweep—a fighter like Lucas wouldn't have gotten hit by it.'
Kill him.
'This is the worst! Nobody ever talks about—' Turning back to Ashley, I grit my teeth.
"Ashley! We don't have time! Hurry up!" I shouted once more at the trembling—now crying—girl. However, the shouting caused my grip on Lucas to loosen slightly.
"Ashley, don't listen to him! He's trying to kill me! Use your brain!" Lucas's shouting caused Ashley's trembling to get worse.
Tears streaked down her face, ruining her makeup.
"I-I-I don't know what to do..." Ashley was barely able to get her words out as she grabbed her face. Insanity shone through as she looked ready to claw at her face from indecision.
""ASHLEY!!"" Both Lucas and I shouted at the same time. ""HELP ME!!!""
"I can't—I can't… I can't…" Ashley crumpled to the ground, her eyes unable to look away, but her will unable to act. "I'm sorry—I don't know what to do…"
'Lucas… give me something to work with!' I thought as I watched his face morph from painfully gritted teeth to a silent shout of pain.
'This is someone I ate with…'
Kill him.
'Someone I joked with…'
Kill Him.
'Someone I could call a friend in this… disgusting world.'
KILL HIM.
As I gritted my teeth, the thoughts I had went through my head so fast I didn't process them into words. Only feelings.
I've always tried to be a good person. Even when I know I'm a terrible person deep down. Everything I did was logical, even down to the three options—any of which could be correct.
In this situation, even I would call myself a monster. Never in my life did I think I would have to kill any of the people I considered friends.
But in this situation, I think I have to…
'Kill him.' KILL HIM!
Lucas's eyes went wide. His gaze bore straight into my face. My expression must have been that bad.
Suddenly, Lucas's facial expression changed. His face went from pained to almost orgasmic-looking pleasure.
"Hehe—hahahaha!"Lucas's laughter rang out, causing both Ashley and me to pause.
"You-you're not Lucas," I said, my tone being that of disbelief. My facial expression was the equivalent of a man ready to die.
"No, I'm not, but do you know where Lucas is?" The impostor sounded so close to bursting out laughing. "He's somewhere you'll never find him. Oh, don't worry, he's still alive and suffering.
And you'll never find him! At least without me, that is—" The thing impersonating Lucas was cut off as my grip around his neck came back in full force.
"I can't believe it… I was right," I said with a solemn tone, but my expression was euphoric. "You have no idea how scared I was of being wrong. You don't even have to explain yourself. I'll do it for you."
With a smile, I decided to take all the wind out of this Alternate's sails.
"You knew you were going to die, so, instead of dying, you decided on one final, last-ditch effort to cause as much suffering to both of us as possible." With my expression as euphoric as when I started, I continued.
"By telling us that Lucas was alive. You could either ensure your life by trying to get us to fall into your lair or giving us one final Hail Mary. In essence, you gambled." By this point in my monologue, I saw the Alternate's face change from shock to disbelief.
"However, I was gambling too, and while my luck may be bad, I got luckier than you. You see, I'm not the type of person you thought I was. I'm not a good person." Having taken all the explanations out of the Alternate's hand, I began taking out one of my knives.
"Also, the reason I knew you were an Alternate is because your kind are demons that feed on and love to cause despair in your victims. Your thinking was too tepid, and my thought process was just better than yours." Finished my monologue, I stabbed my knife directly into the heart of the Alternate.
"You damnable—"
Taking another knife from my holster inside my shirt, I stabbed the Alternate again in the neck. I took care, stabbing over and over and over until the body had at least 20 stab wounds in all the vital areas.
Only when I confirmed the creature dead did I finally clean off and retrieve my knives. Picking up the body, I decided to dump it in a dark alley somewhere.
"W-what are you doing with that?" Ashley said from behind me.
Turning to look at her, I decided it would be best to explain myself.
"Gonna go dump this thing in an alley and see if the devil makes it disappear."
"What?" That's all Ashley could say as I began walking away.
"What about Lucas?!" I heard Ashley shout.
"What about Lucas?" As soon as I said that, Ashley seemed to shut up. Taken aback by how I said it. "It's clear that Lucas is already dead. Even if he isn't, there's no way we'll find him. The Alternate was spewing bait in hopes we were dumb enough to try."
Dumping the body in the darkness of an alley, I made sure it had a good sitting posture. After all, it had the same looks as a friend of mine.
"Then, what do we do?" As Ashley said that, I walked up to her.
Invading her personal space slightly, I spoke. "Nothing."
And then began walking home.
The trauma from having to kill a friend stuck in both of us. I was sure to hug Malo harder from now on, especially after I got the blood off me.
"Why? Why did this happen?!" Ashley cried out, her voice cracking as she did so.
My head turned toward her, my expression blank.
"It just did. This world doesn't need a reason. Everything just happens." After saying that, I walked off.
…
Walking home, I felt dead inside. I may have only known Lucas for so long, but I felt the way he was lost was unfair.
That was all I could say. Even as I stood in the shower, water cascading down my body, I replayed all the information I had at my disposal, and nothing pointed to him being taken.
My only fault was a lack of information. The only way I saved Lucas in that situation was by having information beyond my means.
I dried myself and put on clothes consisting of red basketball shorts and a white t-shirt. I had even made a throwing knife holster that I wore underneath my shirt.
'Speaking of knife holsters, I'm definitely putting that shit back on.' I thought as I tiredly walked to my room. 'I should also get more gray and black sets of underwear.'
The blood washed off weirdly easily. There wasn't even a hint of crusted blood on me, unlike the first few times.
Entering my room, I grabbed the fully stocked knife holster and attached it to my stomach.
"Uhh, I appreciate you for—you know—having my back," I said as I turned towards Malo, who was sitting on the bed. "If you didn't nod, I don't know if I'd have the strength to do it. Well, not strength—more so, conviction."
Malo nodded softly, both of us sharing a look. I still couldn't tell why or how I knew exactly where she was looking.
"I also appreciate you for not involving yourself," I said while walking up to her slowly. "I don't want to force you to be a weapon whose sole purpose is to kill the people I can't. And if I had tried to stay longer, I would've broken down."
Even while she was seated, our heights were almost the same. With the distance between us being no more than a few inches from the knees, it felt more personal than before.
And in this position, I was looking down at her slightly.
"Nobody ever tells you how hard it'd be. It's always the, 'If I were in your situation, I would've just killed him' as if it were that easy. The knowledge that it wasn't him keeps me going, but even with that information, I find myself trying not to hurt over the situation. Some part of me wants to go find him even now." As I finished speaking, I felt two clawed hands caressing my face.
"What? You think I'm gonna cry?" The soft rubbing stilled slightly as I rolled my eyes. "Devils never cry…"
Malo tilted her head in the other direction, her ears wilting, entirely confused.
Bringing my hands onto her shoulders, I gave a good squeeze. "It was a joke. At least it was supposed to be one."
I leaned in for dramatic effect.
"If only—" I didn't get to finish as I felt Malo's left hand through my clothes, my holster, and touching my stomach. Her clawed fingers pressed on my stomach, while her palm didn't make contact. "Right, right, I forgot. No sleeping near or next to knives."
It was her most recent most disliked thing, that, and a knife underneath the pillow. Taking off the knife holster and putting it on my desk, I made my way back to Malo.
Grabbing her hands, I was able to lift them. I knew she had moved with me, but it would have been funnier if I hadn't acknowledged it.
"Sometimes I wonder. What would've happened to me if I were here alone? Would I have cowered? Would I have tried solo leveling? Would I have gone insane?" I found myself looking at our hands before staring Malo in the eyes as I continued. "It makes me grateful that I met you. I feel as though I don't appreciate you enough. It feels as though I don't treat you as important as you really are to me. It feels as though I don't treat you as a pa—"
Stopping end-sentence, my eyes widened a tiny bit. Malo's hands in mine, her tail curled slightly on my bed, her ears now fully upright, and her head tilted.
I could see her outline. Past the fur, I saw her figure. What she could look like.
I found my breath slowing, my heart rate slightly increasing, and my thoughts elevating.
She wasn't perfect, but she was mine. And I think that combined with what I could see and feel now, made her perfect.
I felt myself leaning in, only slightly. She was—
*Heartbeat*
"Sorry about that," I said as I stood up straight. "I think I'm a little tired. Thank you for listening to what I wanted to share."
That night, I still wasn't sleeping on that bed.