Page 89 of Retrograde

What if something happened to him, and that’s why he hasn’t returned?

No, he just doesn’t care about your comfort or your needs—for him, you’re nothing more than the only source of fun in this place.

Would I even deserve for him to care about me after what I’ve done?

That’s not the real question here.

What is the real question then?

Why do you want him to care about you more than you’ve ever wanted anything in your whole damn life?

ARON

It’s only morning, but the day is already hot as hell, even in the shelter of the trees. As soon as we park by the Three Graces Crossroads, I exchange the helmet for my skull mask and peel the leather jacket off. The heat is a bit more bearable in the black tank I’m wearing underneath, but I’m still drenched in sweat before we reach the reservoir on foot.

There are three of us: me, Alex, and Corrado, who’s completely useless to us. I brought him with us because, for reasons I’m not going to dwell on, I didn’t want him to stay behind and talk to Riley without me around.

We cut through the chain-link fence, the trees thin out, and the reservoir comes into view—a grey concrete structure, ancient and melancholy. I wordlessly indicate to the other two to stop, remaining just barely concealed.

With my finger on the trigger of my automatic rifle, I scan the area with my eyes. When I finally spot the guard on the opposite side of the water tank underneath a sprawling oak tree, a low chuckle slips past my lips.

“Got the guard?” Alex asks in a whisper.

I nod without turning my head around and point. They both gasp.

“You stay. I go,” I voice noiselessly and then creep away, crouched, eyes fixed on the ground to avoid stepping on any pine cones or branches, my pulse thudding in my ears.

As I get closer, sucking and gagging noises reach my ears, and I slow down, more cautious than ever, until I can finally see them a few yards away from me.

The guard is a tall, strong woman, her blonde hair pinned up in an elegant knot, protruding from underneath her army cap. She is on her knees, her mouth around the cock of the rodent-eyed colonel I tried to strike a deal with, her hands squeezing his butt.

The colonel’s lips are parted, eyes closed, a nerve twitching at his temple. Looks like he’s almost there.

I creep even closer, hiding behind a trunk, watching. I’m not going to kill a guy when he’s two seconds away from spilling into a woman’s mouth. Some people have questioned if I have a heart at all, and that’s fair, all things considered. But what I do have for sure is balls, and this is a line they dictate I shouldn’t cross.

The colonel groans, the sound choked. He’s pistoning his hips, his hand wrapped around the back of the guard’s neck. I stalk forward, brandishing my knife.

The blade sings as I drag it across the guard’s throat whilst the colonel’s dick is still lodged deep inside it. Blood spurts, spilling over the screaming colonel’s front. The guard drops to the side, revealing the bite marks she left on her lover’s cock.

“My bad.” I draw my handgun and point it in between those rodent eyes. “I didn’t think that through. But don’t worry, you’ll have worse pain to worry about soon.”

“Krasnik!”

“We meet again.” He can’t see my smile behind the mask, but I make damn sure he can hear it.

“Wait! Wait!” He raises his arms, and I laugh.

“Fucking funny how you all think that me killing you immediately is a bad option for you,” I point out, adjusting the mask that keeps sticking to my sweaty face.

“I don’t think that,” he assures me, deflating. “You killing me fast would be the best thing to happen to me in years.”

Alright, you fucker, you’ve got my curiosity now.

“What, you think we’re all here because we believe in the glorious Dunnby Continuum?” he scoffs. “If you kill me, my kids’ education will be paid for, my poor wife will be set for life, and I won’t have to be here anymore. How is that not a win?”

I don’t say a thing. A bird chirps somewhere above our heads.

“Don’t waste your time with me. I’ll tell you anything.”