Page 66 of Moonstruck
“First, it was just my handler letting me know they could see me and that they knew I wasn’t completing the task as required. When I ignored them, the pictures started. Pictures of my mom, my dad, my sisters. Pictures from mall cameras and from their phones, their security feeds, businesses, traffic cams. I got the point. I hauled ass to the tracks and I did what they wanted.”
“What happened?” Asa asked.
“I almost got run over by a fucking train,” Eric said, breathless, like he was reliving the moment. “When I got back, there was another video and a warning to never ignore my handler or I would be punished. It was after that video when I woke up to the cuts on my arm.”
“You think the message was in the video?” Asa said.
Eric nodded. “I know it was. I couldn’t go back and check the past videos because they self-destruct after viewing. So, I screen-recorded the next one they sent on my cell phone and took the file to my friend, who helped me go frame by frame, and what we found was dark shit. ‘Kill yourself. Do it. You’re a burden to your family. Do it. Now. End it. End it all. Slit your wrists. Hang yourself.’ It was relentless. And that was just one video.”
Zane looked like he was going to be sick. “Jesus.”
Eric grimaced. “Yeah. That was when I realized the only end is death. Having this carved into my arm would make any cop not even question my suicide. Clearly, I was self-harming. I had suicidal tendencies. Then other tasks began to make sense. Writing letters to my family, writing my eulogy, writing down my deepest fears. When you add that up, it looks like I took my own life.”
“And that was when you ran?” Asa asked.
Eric shook his head. “No. That was when the handler tried to kill me himself.”
“You’ve seen him? This handler?” Asa asked, walking closer, dropping his hands onto Zane’s shoulders. Zane leaned back like he just needed to be closer to Asa. Maybe he did. This must be a lot. Somebody had psychologically tortured his brother to death.
“Not enough to pick him out of a line-up. He tried to run me over with his car. Or withacar. I doubt it was his.”
“What can you tell us?” Zane asked.
“He was in an old Buick. Like the big ones that old people drive. It was, like, a gold color. He was fat. Like, his face was super round and he wore those serial killer glasses.”
Zane looked over his shoulder at Asa, then back at Eric. “Serial killer glasses?”
Eric looked at them like they were stupid. “Yeah, you know, like those seventies black-frame glasses. Thick. Ugly.”
“Can you remember what kind of hair he had?”
Eric shook his head. He was wearing a hat. Not like yours.” He pointed to Asa’s cap. “Like one of those edgelord neckbeard types.”
Asa frowned. “What?”
Zane laughed. “Um, the kind of guys who sit around posting on Reddit about how women don’t date nice guys while calling them bitches and other not-very-nice names.”
“Incels,” Asa said, understanding dawning. “Got it.”
“How did you end up here?” Zane asked.
“I couldn’t go home. So, I called my dad’s burner phone.”
Asa dropped down into the chair between Eric and Zane. “Your dad is a professor. Why does he have a burner phone?”
“My dad teaches math at a community college, and my mom sells real estate. They have six kids. My dad has a…side business.”
“Your college professor dad is a drug dealer?” Zane clarified.
Eric’s shoulders went up, his expression guarded. “Just weed and shrooms mostly. Sometimes, some E. It’s just so he can take care of us. He’s not like selling to little kids and shit.”
“We’re not judging,” Zane promised. “How did you explain this to your father?”
“Carefully. He talked to my mom away from the house and any technology since we had no idea how far their reach extended. My parents can be relentless assholes, but they don’t want me to die. It took me a whole day to get to this house and feel like there was nobody following me.”
“You know you can’t hide out forever,” Zane said.
Eric’s chin thrust forward. “Well, the alternative is they kill me. They know I recorded the video. I violated the rules. I’m as good as dead if they find me.”
