Page 72 of Sinful

“Is that all he has you doing?” I knew Everett. He wasn’t only making Dante scout out his next victims. He made use of him whenever Dante was around.

“You know how it is here,” Church said with a sigh. “I killed someone today.”

I swallowed at his words. Everett had taken me to kill people before too. Not nearly as many as Church had, but I’d seen Church unhinged in the punishment rooms. He was a murderous robot, void of all feelings. I’d thrown up the first time I’d killed someone.

I was ten.

Church had comforted me after.

“It’s OK, Malachi. Close your eyes and think of your favorite place in the world. It’s where I go when I do it.”

I closed my eyes and envisioned myself at home, watching my mom cook before everything went to shit. I thought of my dog Farley at my side, licking my hand. The way the house smelled from dinner. My favorite program playing in the background. The sound of birds singing outside. The setting sun shining through the windows, casting pretty colors along the old wooden floor.

“Are you there, Malachi?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“Then stay there. Whenever you go to the punishment room, go to your favorite place in the world. You can’t be hurt there.”

“Do you promise, Dante?”

“I never lie,” he answered, hugging me tightly.

“What did he do?” I asked, falling out of the old memory.

“Fucked around and found out,” he answered. “Owned money. Touched something he hadn’t paid for. Same shit as always. I don’t know why they’re always so fucking stupid. Like they don’t know they’ll be caught and have to pay.”

I grunted at that. The people who frequented the Underground were all dicks and no brains. Or tits and no brains because women went there too. Maybe not as much, but there were some sick bitches in this world.

Nausea twisted my insides as the ugly memory of the facility filled my head. Men and women. Both monsters.

“Malachi?”

His words pulled me out of an incoming panic attack.

“Yeah. Hey. Sorry. Got distracted.” I cleared my throat. “I, uh, needed to tell you something. Asylum. Or Mirage. Whatever personality he is or was, is who was meeting Sirena in the woods. He was here and told us. Mirage, I mean. Wearing a fucking rabbit mask.”

Church was silent.

“He said they’re friends and he was simply being her friend by offering her a shoulder to lean on, basically. This personality is just weird though. The rabbit thing? Weird.”

“So someone knew he wore that to meet her and impersonated him,” Church said dully.

“Seems so.”

“Fuck, he’s nuts. I want to beat the shit out of him more than anything else.” Church sighed. “Sirena was fine with him? In the mask? No weird outburst?”

“She ran right to him and hugged him. She seems to like this Mirage personality a lot more than Asylum, but we all know she likes Asylum.” I’d gotten up and moved out of earshot of Sirena and Ashes and had lowered my voice. “Are you mad?”

Church sighed. “I’m pissed she lied about it. But I get it. I can be…difficult. We all can be.”

I nodded. He was right about that.

“How is our girl?” Church asked, seeming to be willing to let it all go. Or maybe he’d stew on it overnight before raging.

I looked over to Ashes and Sirena, who were still doing some heavy making out. Of course, Ashes was taking his time.

“She looks like she’s having a good time,” I said with a soft laugh.

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