A low groan escaped a pair of chapped lips, the result of an especially harsh breeze of winter wind infiltrating a run-down car.


    Smoke billowed from within the normal-looking vehicle, a pair of binoculars sitting on top of a large black folder.


    A slender man threw a burnt-up cigarette outside his car before quickly rolling up the manual window that was barely visible to outsiders under the moon''s quaint embrace.


    “Five hours, huh?” Matt mumbled to himself, glancing towards his worn-out watch that loosely hung from his left wrist.


    Lazily slumped against the stained leather seat of his covert car, the brunet pondered over his recent findings.


    “Indeed, those two kids are suspicious. I decided to stake out that orange-haired brat’s apartment and didn’t even have to stay here long enough to force me to use my good ol’ jar… Well, that’s probably for the best.” He chuckled to himself, picking up the folder that laid below the sleek military-grade binoculars and beginning to jot a few things on Chloe’s page.


    His hands moved quickly, dancing in a flurry across the page, his previous slothful nature nowhere to be seen.


    “One girl goes in, and then ten minutes later another girl. A further ten pass, and a third boy shows up. Hesitant to enter the door after opening it, he sprints inside, leaving the door to slam shut. Three hours later, only two leave, the little orange girl and the brown-haired boy holding bags containing what looked like clothes and other essentials. Both seeming disgruntled and worn out.”


    Mark didn’t like what his intuition told him was going on, and sadly it was hardly ever wrong.


    This would require a bit more serious work than he had previously estimated.


    “First things first, I’ll make sure my initial hunch is correct. I’ll stake this place out for a day or two and make sure I notice if that other blonde ever leaves the orange brat’s apartment. After that… I’ll just have to forcefully find some evidence myself…”


    <hr>


    A small girl cosily snuggled into a small double bed, hugging the black duvet so hard it would make others think that it was her most prized possession.


    Rubbing her small hands against her eyelids, Chloe let out a little yawn before her countenance hardened.


    “That went surprisingly well. I applaud myself for being such a great actor!” Chloe gloated to herself, golden orb staring upwards towards Aaron’s bedroom ceiling.


    Currently the two had decided to stay over at the brunet’s house for a small while whilst they decided what to do with the blonde’s body.


    Or maybe it would be more accurate to say Aaron decided. During the whole thing, Chloe tried to keep as quiet as possible, letting the boy spiral as much as possible.


    After all, it was for his benefit. Tearing down a few of his mental barriers that made him sane would make them able to understand each other better.


    And who wouldn’t want to understand their loved one better?


    Only one figure leisurely laid upon the floor next to the bed in which Chloe was currently residing.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Nathanial’s stitched-up corpse lazily drew images upon Aaron’s carpet, waiting for something interesting to happen.


    “So. How can you possibly top today? I think this day may be the craziest one of both our lives.” Nathanial enquired, as if he was worried that his main source of entertainment would up and vanish after what had just occurred.


    “Good question. How indeed…” The orange-haired girl pondered, thinking back to the events that had just taken place a few hours ago.


    Aaron was currently downstairs with his father and sister, leaving Chloe upstairs to her lonesome to hopefully help her calm down.


    Although Chloe thought it was more along the lines that he actually needed to give himself some time to consolidate the actions he’d taken and consequently realise the villain that he’d become.


    The small girl let out a small angry humph as she thought some more.


    “Although I’m happy with how things turned out, he did hypocritically accuse me of trying to leave him. Talking about how “All I have is him”. I mean… he’s 100% correct… but it somehow ticks me off.”


    The ashened boy’s eyebrow raised slightly after hearing her thoughts, triggering him to also recall what the boy had said.


    A mischievous smile grew wide upon his face as he spouted out an idea, sewed orbs moving under their eyelids towards where Chloe was currently lounging about.


    “It’s probably because he still has things other than you, whilst all you have is him. Seems a bit unfair, no?” Nathanial explained, his patched lips growing wider by the second.


    Chloe’s eyebrows furrowed as her singular orb moved over to her tormenter’s deceased corpse, intrigue clearly evident upon her brow.


    “Go on…” She prodded.


    “Why not just kill off his family? Then all you’d have is each other! Sounds perfect, no?” Nathanial beckoned, snapping his broken fingers and holding them under his chin as if he had solved a crime or the world’s most important problem.


    Chloe’s expression turned slightly ugly as she attempted to make peace with such a violent solution.


    After all, even if she was a cold-blooded murderer, that was usually only towards those who she bore ill will towards.


    Chloe was fond of Aaron’s family.


    “Family, huh… Wish I had something like that…” She momentarily thought to herself before getting back on track.


    Soon the thought of an Aaron who could only rely on herself entered her mind; the boy’s mind shattered and in disarray as he clung to her body, a dishevelled look embedded within his gaze that signalled the lengths he’d go to protect her from the world.


    “Now that… that would be… perfect…” The small girl dreamily concluded, already thinking about how she could kill the two obstacles that impertinently stood in her way.


    <hr>


    Reluctantly getting out of Aaron’s perfect bed, Chloe scrounged around in one of the backpacks that she’d brought from her house, picking up a small bottle of sleeping medication from it.


    Chloe had told Aaron that It helped with her nightmares, helped quell her mental problems somewhat. Aaron seemed to believe her whole-heartedly.


    In reality, such pills never had been able to protect Chloe from the monsters that called her name at night. And she never expected them to be able to in the first place.


    The reason she’d brought them was exactly for a situation like this, where she’d need the house to herself with all its residents fast asleep.


    All she needed to do was slip an abundant amount of the crushed pills into their food and it’d be nighty night for them.


    It might have adverse side-effects on their longevity due to the overdosage, but they wouldn’t be alive for much longer, so Chloe thought that they wouldn’t mind it.


    Chloe wasn’t about to do something that would endanger the brunet’s life, now that would be truly stupid.


    So instead, she’d give him a lower, more risk-free dose, and then ensure that he would be completely physically exhausted before he dozed off to sleep.


    That she could do. With pleasure.


    After they had all been sent to sleep, all Chloe had to do was suffocate those two nuisances with a pillow and send’em both to hell where they belonged.


    “Good riddance. That’s what you get for standing in our way.” She thought to herself, once again noticing in the corner of her eye that reality had started to merge into that of her nightmare world, that abhorred crimson city.


    Choosing to ignore her collapsed mental state, Chloe started crushing the pills and preparing for the long, long night ahead of her.


    She was going to have to find a way to get rid of the bodies as well and before morning came.


    What a nuisance.