After grabbing some materials from his house and putting them in a backpack he called necessities, Brendon told me we were going to this abandoned cabin a few miles in the woods, where no one would be able to find us. I didn't inquire as to why he wanted me to go with him, I just nodded in agreement.

After about a mile of walking in silence (and me keeping a distance of a little over 5 feet behind him), I ask "No one's gonna find us out here, right?"

"No."

I feel the blood on my nose harden and at this moment, I realize he didn't ask me to bring anything. I check my hoodie pocket for my knife and it's still there. I exhale a sigh of relief.

"You really love that thing, don't you?" He says without turning around.

How does he know I have it? "What do you mean?"

"That knife. A lot of trouble keeping some black market implement close to you."

My brows narrow, but I "Hmm" in response and quickly change the subject. "What's at the cabin?" I avert my eyes to the ground and hug myself to warm my body in the cold.

"Food, water, electricity. Stuff to survive."

"Enough for two people?"

He doesn't answer that. A clicking sound pulls my gaze ahead and I freeze, also realizing Brendon is no longer in front of me.

"Don't turn around." He says ominously. "Don't reach for your knife. Don't even speak. Just get on your knees... and put your hands behind your head."

I swallow hard but feel nothing. He's gonna kill me, I should be feeling something besides... nonchalance. Nonetheless, I do as he says. I get on the ground, knees first, and put both my hands behind my head. I'm still sickeningly calm about all this. I don't move in the slightest when Brendon towers over me, and I don't even flinch when the cool metal of the barrel touches the back of my neck.

"Are you afraid?" he asks.

"No," I say effortlessly. If I'm going to die, I might as well go out honest.

"Can you act like you are?"

"How?"

"Whether you mean it or not... say you don't want to die."

"I never said I didn't. Just not afraid to -"

"Just say it." his voice is stern.

I admire the scenery before me - tall trees dance in synchronization with the wind to produce the beautiful sounds of nature alongside crickets and other woodland creatures in the distance. I sigh. "I don't want to die."

"Again."

"I don't want to die."

"Once more."

"I don't -" My saliva gets caught in my throat. "I don't want to die."

He presses it a bit more into my neck. "Close your eyes."

I do, deciding to think about what comes after death. Maybe I'll see my parents and my victims. Wait, no I won't. They're all in heaven, where good people go. I guess I'm going to Hell with Billie if I'm lucky. I hope nothing comes after death for me. I don't deserve an afterlife, not even an after. Just a dark void forever -

BANG!

My body falls forward and there's a throbbing pain in the back of my neck where I was shot. At that moment, it feels like everything stopped. My body suddenly felt colder and my life didn't even flash before my eyes like in the movies. I can still sense everything, which is weird unless...

"Ugh." I groan as I sit up, turning my neck so it cracks in all places. "What's your deal with blank bullets?" I ask, standing to see Brendon in front of me again.

He smiles small. "Needed your trust."

"What for?"

"So you'd believe me when I say, 'I don't want to kill you anymore.' "

I don't say anything. I don't know what to say.

"Come with me. I'll take care of you. We'll go on the run together."

I shrug. "Don't have much of a choice, do I?"

"You could go back." He says sarcastically. "But I mean it."

I bite my lip and nod. "Okay. Only because I don't want to kill you anymore either."

He smiles genuinely and starts to lead the way again, but I stop him. "I lied, Brendon," I call. This makes him focus on me again and I take out my knife, unleashing it. "I didn't get this from a black market."

Brendon looks incredulous and surprised.

"It was my dad's. He brought it back with him when he came from serving in the military before... he and my mom died. He was supposed to be buried with it but that's when Billie started abusing me, so I stole it, just in case I ever needed to... you know."

"Sam -"

"Obviously, my parents are disappointed now given how I use this thing but... the power just went to my head."

He's speechless, and I don't blame him. What do you say to something like that?

"Why'd you save me from him?"

"I went through the same thing you did. With my parents."

"They were your first kill?"

"I was 18."

"Do you regret it?"

"Sort of. Yes, because they were my parents. No, because... power."

Woah. Not only do our minds think alike. We're practically the same person. Minus killing my parents, the fact that I was raised by my Uncle, age gap, and gender, it's like looking in a mirror.

"Also..." he says. "I'm the one who drank his last beer."

I laugh. "It's gonna be hard... not killing people anymore."

"Umm, we're gonna run out of food eventually. We're gonna have to hunt. I have more guns at the cabin. I can teach you how to shoot."

I smile. "I can teach you knife tricks."

Brendon grins. "Come on, we still have a way to go."

I follow, running up so I'm beside him this time.