Page 26 of Entombed In Sin

There’s a short pause before a young voice responds, “Anything else, sir?”

I glance over at Beatrix. She’s no longer covered in blood, which is a damn shame. Now dressed in a clean, warm sweater, sweatpants, and her feet wrapped in fuzzy socks, my stepsister looks comfortable, and drunk. Slowly, she shakes her head without lifting her forehead off the glass or opening her eyes.

“No, that’s it,” I answer.

“Alright, pull up to the second window,” the kid drawls, his voice thick with boredom.

I do as requested, pulling around the drive-thru. As I do, I catch sight of headlights flickering off from across the street through my rearview mirror. My teeth clench as I pull to a stop and dig into my pocket for my wallet. The sliding window opens, and a teenager appears. The piercings on his face explain why he got the night shift at this dingy little place. The owners probably didn’t want to scare off potential customers.

“Your total is four dollars and?—”

I shove a twenty into his hand. “Keep the change. Hurry up with the shake, will ya?”

The teenager blinks rapidly, staring at bill then back at me. “Ah, sure man. One sec.”

The sliding glass partition closes and he disappears to go make Beatrix’s shake. I grab my phone from the cupholder and type out a quick message to Sagan.

“Everythin’ alright?” Beatrix mutters, her question slurred.

My phone lights up before I get a chance to put it back down. I don’t check the incoming message as I drop it back into the cupholder. My brother knows what to do.

“Everything’s fine. Are you feeling ok?”

“Mh-hm.” She hums.

“Good.” I check the rearview mirror again. My focus falls onto the small, beat up sedan trying its best to blend into the heavy shadow of woods. Too bad for him, the dull lighting from this twenty-four-hour ma and pa burger and shake place has just enough wattage to reach him.

The sliding partition opens again and the teenager is back, handing me the milkshake with a bit more enthusiasm. I give it to Beatrix, who sits up to take it.

“Have a good night, man,” he says.

I give him a nod and pull away. Beside me, Beatrix hums as she takes a long swig of her treat.

“Thank you,” she murmurs.

“You don’t have to thank me, Beatrix.” My truck turns onto the two-lane road. “Drink it up, the sugar will be good for you.”

Headlights from the hidden car turn on as it pulls onto the street and follows us back toward Chasm. My grip tightens on the steering wheel. Who is this and why follow us? Whoever it is stays a good distance away. I can’t see how many people are in the car or if it’s a lone rider. I didn’t have a tail on the way to Briar Glen, but this car appeared as I pulled onto Main Street while I headed away from the abandoned town and it’s been following us ever since.

Five minutes later, movement out of the corner of my eye drags my attention away from what’s behind me to who is next to me. Beatrix tucks her feet beneath her as she twists in her seat to look at me.

“How long have you guys been doing this? Killing people, I mean.” Her voice is stronger now and when I search her face, there is some color to it again. Her eyes are still very much unfocused, but that’s going to last for a while. Being blood drunk is even more intense than any stupor alcohol can cause.

I direct my smile at the windshield.

“My brother and I have been doing this since we were fifteen,” I tell her.

“Why?” she asks. “I mean… why do you do this?”

“Why not? We’re all animals, aren’t we? We weren’t meant to be bound by laws.” I shrug simply. “We should be able to do whatever the fuck we want. It’s not our fault other people subject themselves to arbitrary rules that go against our very nature. That they’re trapped beneath a blanket of pathetic morality. Besides.” I tilt my head in her direction, grinning. “Isn’t it fun?”

Beatrix gives me a reserved smile but doesn’t answer me. Instead, she asks, “How do serial killers find one another?”

I laugh. “We don’t.”

“Then how did you meet Knox?”

This question takes me by surprise, but I’m pleased by her curiosity. Maybe by talking about Knox, I can bridge the gap between them.

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