Page 40 of Killer of the Bells
I kicked at the newly fallen snow, no longer feeling peaceful. Instead, I wanted a flamethrower to destroy it all so I never had to see it again.
When my Uber arrived, I didn’t acknowledge the driver with anything more than a nod, and when we reached my car, I got out without so much as a wave. I left a nice tip, though, so the driver wouldn’t think they’d done something wrong. Just because I was in a shitty mood didn’t mean everyone around me had to suffer.
I drove my car to the university, parked, and then my day blurred like it always did. Lectures, pointless, one-sided conversations with colleagues, and students making last-ditch attempts to pull up their grades before finals next week.
Often, the circus before finals amused me, but I didn’t even notice it. The day might as well have not happened for all the attention I paid it.
Things might have continued that way if I hadn’t been interrupted by a cheerful voice I would have given my life savings to never hear again.
“Echo! How wonderful. I was hoping I’d run into you today,” Apple said, giving me a delighted smile. He clung to the tall man next to him, who, according to the local gossip, had become a taciturn, permanent fixture in Apple’s life.
I felt drawn to Apple immediately, and like magic, I went from barely existing to living and breathing only for Apple. “I was hoping I’d run into you today,” I parroted, even though a distant part of me was shoutingHell, the fuck no, I wasn’tat the top of my lungs.
Apple smiled merrily and said, “Vix told me about what happened last night, and I wanted to let you know that you didn’t miss anything. The bad guys had already vacated the area, so our guys didn’t get a chance to have any fun. Pity.”
“Pity,” I agreed.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll get a chance to go next time if you want to. I’ve decided that I’d be a lot happier if Gareth didn’t make you sick to look at, so you won’t have to worry about it anymore.”
Since Apple said it, it must be true, so I knew without a doubt that I didn’t have to worry about barfing all over Gareth anymore. What a relief.
And did I want to go on a dangerous mission to kill a bunch of crazy people, and get to watch Vale in action? Duh, obviously, so I said eagerly, “I want to.”
Apple clapped his hands together. “Perfect! However, I did hear that Vale isn’t keen on the idea anymore, and he’s impervious to my charm, so there isn’t much I can do on that front. I do have some advice for you, though. What are your thoughts on camping?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Camping?”
“Yes, it’s a time-honored tactic to get what you want from a member of the collective.”
“Used once,” Adam interrupted.
“To great effect,” Apple insisted.
“I didn’t even know you were there.”
“Whatever. Trust me, Echo. It’s going to work perfectly for you. You just need some camping gear… Ah, yes, thank you, Penelope, this is exactly what I needed.” Apple took a backpack and a tent from a bewildered young woman and handed them to me.
The young woman was star-struck and moved to a respectful distance away to watch us.
“Let me just look through it real quick to make sure it has everything you’ll need. Being around Adam tends to dull the Apple experience,” Apple said as he began rummaging around in the backpack. “Ok, the food is basic, but you can supplement that as needed. The sleeping bag is rated for forty below—which is overkill, but better safe than sorry—though there’s no sleeping mat, sorry about that.”
I watched, equally as starstruck as Penelope, while Apple went through her gear, listing off the pros and cons as he went. When he finally declared that I had everything I needed, he told me exactly where to set up the tent on their property and when the perfect time to park myself there would be. Then he and Adam left as suddenly as they came, with well-wishes from Apple and a stoic nod from Adam.
Penelope and I stared after them as they went, reeling in the wake of the Apple experience.
I was about to offer Penelope her stuff back when she said, “I’m so glad I had my old camping gear with me! How lucky was that? I can’t wait to tell everyone that I got to help Apple.”
With that, Penelope skipped away, heedless of the icy sidewalk.
I… I guess I was going camping? If Apple said so, it had to be a good idea, right?
Apple was a filthy, dirty, no-good, asshole, jerk of a person, and I was going to brutally murder him at my earliest convenience.
I sat hunched in a half-erected tent because I couldn’t figure out how to get it up the rest of the way.
Yeah, shut up. I know how it sounded, and trust me, what I was doing was as unsexy as it got.
Apple’s influence wore off halfway through setting up camp, and I found myself wondering what in the ever-loving fuck I was doing. How did he keep rolling my mind like that? Was that what he did to everyone? How was anyone willing to come near him after being caught in his orbit?
