Page 42 of Chaos Destiny
Dallas burst out laughing.
Memphis reproduced the air guitar.
Minus the crazy, they reminded me of my late twin brothers, Ty and Zach. They bounced off one another as if they shared one brain, the same way Ty and Zach used to. It was probably the only upside to having lost my family a long time ago; they never got the chance to see the world go to shit. My folks were good people. It was why they were able to leave for heaven long before hell was ushered in.
After losing my family, I’d found myself wondering if the real reason we didn’t know what happened when we died was because we would prefer it. We believed that hell was what happened after death, but it often felt as if we were already living in its embodiment.
Something in the distance twitched a tree branch.
“What’d you see,mate?”Dallas asked, and his ability to pull off an Australian accent gave me further clues that the Southern one was an act.
Memphis’ eyes lit up. “Is it a gator?”
I shook my head. “Don’t think so. Something taller. Land animal. Maybe a deer.”
It wasn’t Tayler’s steer, but she would be more than happy if we brought back a deer. I ignored the small voice in the back of my mind that claimed I would have traveled as far as the midwest to find her an entire cattle ranch if I could.
The Obsession.
“I’ll take the so-called deer,” Allen volunteered. “The rest of you, search the area for more wildlife. Memphis, Dallas—take the water. There might be fish.”
The twins didn’t budge.
“What say you, Wolfe?” Omar asked. “Heard you were Special Forces in Australia. Used to be a Marine myself. I say me and you take the deer, Allen can forage, and the devil twins can hit the water. Al, you’re not the best hunter. Don’t put yourself up to it just because of Gage. It’s not the time to be measuring dicks.”
Dallas coughed. “Might still lose.”
Admittedly, the pair was growing on me, and I blamed Giorgio for making me amenable to chaotic personalities. I was sure that if they ever met him, they would bow in worship.
“I’ll go with the twins,” I offered.
Omar nodded. “Okay, then.”
He handed me a pistol and a .308 caliber Winchester, and then he and Allen headed to where I’d spotted the movement. I waited for Memphis and Dallas to start for the lake, but from the looks on their faces, I could tell they knew what I’d really planned to do.
“Either one of you ever set a rope trap?” I asked.
Memphis waved his gun through the air. “Why, yessir!”
“All right. Get started. I’ll meet you.”
I followed Allen and Omar’s path and waited for Allen to give the order for them to split up. It didn’t take long; I’d bruised his ego back at the truck, and he needed to reclaim his manhood by single-handedly locating a wild animal he had no clue how to search for.
I crept up behind him, used one hand to cover his mouth, and placed the pistol’s nozzle against his temple with the other.
“Please don’t kill me.” He mumbled, his arms in the air despite being fully armed. “Whatever you want, it’s yours. Please don’t kill me. Whoever you are…please…”
I gave him a moment to struggle. I needed him to feel the helplessness, needed it cemented in his brain that everything that had occurred between us up to that point was nothing more than a game.
I pulled the trigger.
The gun clicked.
Still, I felt the moment he stopped breathing.
Before he passed out, pissed on himself, or both, I released him, holstered the pistol, and took a step back.
“It’s not ‘whoever’ or ‘new guy,’” I said. “Name’s Gage.”
