Page 99 of Misery
I think about the video.
The background. The lighting. Wood paneling on the walls. Water stain in the corner shaped like a bird. Something familiar...
"The motel," I say suddenly. "He's at that abandoned motel on 44. The Starlite. Room had the same wood paneling. Same water stain. Room 237—we used to crash there when we were drinking underage and didn’t want to come back home."
Vanir rewinds the video, studies it. Zooms in on the background. "Fuck, you're right. That's definitely the Starlite. Can see the old wallpaper seam."
"Then we go," Runes decides. "Now. Full force."
"He'll be expecting that," I warn. "Thiago knows I'd recognize the room. He wants us to come."
"Then what do you suggest?"
I think about what Fenrir said. Do what Thiago doesn't expect.
"I go alone. He wants to play games with me. Fine. But not with her as the prize."
"That's suicide," Kraken says. "He'll kill you the moment you show up."
"No. He won't. Not until he gets what he wants. He needs me alive to suffer. To watch him take her. That's the point."
"Or," Dad speaks up, "we do both. You go in the front, keep him talking. We come from behind. Classic distraction play."
It's not perfect. But it's something.
"Either way," I say, standing, "I need to see Elfe first. Need to..."
"Tell her the truth?" Fenrir suggests.
"Yeah. All of it."
"Then go. We'll prep for the motel assault. Meet us there in two hours."
I head for the door, stop when Runes calls my name.
"Oskar. Whatever happens, we don't let him have her. Understood?"
"Understood."
"And if it comes down to it? If we have to choose?"
I meet his eyes. "We save who we can."
But as I ride toward Emil’s place, toward Elfe and the truth I've been hiding, I know it's not that simple. Because if it comes down to her or everyone else, I'll choose her. Every time. Without hesitation.
Just like Thiago would.
We're more alike than I want to admit. Both shaped by the same violence. Same desperation. Same need to possess something beautiful in a world of ugly.
The difference is what we're willing to do for love.
He'll destroy everything to own her.
I'll destroy myself to keep her free.
Even if that means finally telling her the truth about the monster I've been all along.
About the watching. The lying. The fact that I've been as much her stalker as her protector.
