He sits in his car.
A dirty brown 1980 Chevy impala to be exact.
Though he wishes he could run.
Not that it really matters.
What matters is him sitting in this car at god knows what hour of the night parked by a pretty expensive house that he probably shouldn’t be parked beside.
The radio is just static and the car’s engine hums a little bit too loud. He hasn’t moved since he parked. His hands grip the steering wheel and his foot ready to press the gas while his eyes are locked straight ahead of him.
It’s pathetic really.
It’s only truly hit him now what’s about to transpire, and so he sits here and rethinks every life choice he’s ever made.
His mind races with the conversation that brought him here.
Before he can even think too deeply about it the passenger door is being swung open wide. He doesn’t turn his head. He doesn’t run.
“Alright, so we’re gonna wanna drive down to Joseph’s house. You know where Joseph lives right, Jesse?” they ask, all bubbly and excited as they look over at him and throw something like a bag into the back seats.
He’s silent before he sighs and finally moves to put his head down on the wheel.
“What are we doing Elliot?” he mumbles in a rough voice. It hasn’t been used ever since their conversation two days ago.
Elliot tilts their head with a confused look. “You know what we’re doing.” They lack a tone.
“No,” he looks up at them finally.
“What are we doing?!”
“…we’re going to kill someone.”
“Elliot!! What have you done?!?!?!”
“I poisoned her and she died.”
“Why?!”
“She was simply a rock in the middle of my road.”
Jesse drives them to Joseph’s house. Joseph being one of his closest pals from hockey. On the drive there Elliot explained why they were heading to Joseph’s in the first place; to kill Joseph’s girlfriend.
“Park your car a house or two away.” Elliot spoke, Jesse following his orders.
“She should be leaving his place soon. She’ll be high and delusional and probably very scared and confused once we get to her.” Elliot huffs as they reach behind them into the backseat to search through their bag.
Jesse shuts the car off, pockets his keys and rolls down his window with a sigh falling off his lips.
Elliot plops back in their seat with a face mask covering the bottom of their face, dark gloves and a baseball bat stained a light red. They shake their head to move their fluffy brown hair in front of their gray eyes for a little more coverage.
“Why her?” Jesse mumbles just loud enough for Eliot to pick up on it.
Eliot responds while searching in his bag for a baggy sweater. “She’s simply a rock in the middle of my road.”
“That gives you no right to murder someone!!”
“I’ll do whatever I please.”
“You psychopath!!”
“That I am, and If you keep screaming I’ll kill you too.”
“Fuck.” Eliot curses and falls back into their seat again. They run a hand through their hair and curse again. They look over at Jesse with an exasperated look before they light up with an idea.
“Give me your hoodie.”
Jesse perks up at the request and looks over at him. “…why?”
Eliot rolls his eyes like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
“We’re in the middle of a neighbourhood. If people somehow manage to see me knock her out then they can tell the build of my body easily, therefore I get reported to the authorities.” They gesture to their body. “I thought I brought myself a hoodie but clearly I didn’t.”
“I’m not giving you my hoodie.” Jesse crosses his arms, covering his hoodie.
“Bold of you to deny the psychopath.” They grip their bat and Jesse watches with decisive eyes. He examines the way Eliot holds the bat with covered hands, examines their soulless grey eyes as they flick from his face to his hoodie.
Jesse sighs and starts to pull his hoodie off of his body. Eliot lowers their bat and watches him a little too closely before quickly grabbing the hoodie. They easily throw it over themselves.
“Don’t be too excited now.” Jesse grumbles as he cranks up his window to keep himself somewhat warm.
Eliot giggles and hugs themselves while burring their face into his hoodie. “It smells just like you.” They mumble only for them to hear.
Then like a light has switched their pupils shrink and they snap up with one hand gripping their bat and the other holding onto the handle of the door as they look behind them to the houses.
“How could you kill someone like that?!?!?”
“I’ve always killed people.”
“She never did anything wrong!!!”
“She took what I want.”
Before Jesse can even get a word in, Eliot to opening the car door and walking, stalking, to the girl that they’re after.
Jesse could run. He doesn’t.
Instead, Jesse’s eyes widen as he turns in his seat to watch the interaction. He bites his lip as his mind to screaming to get out and protect the girl who… looks oddly familiar.
Eliot seems to converse with her for a little, calming Jesse’s nerves before Eliot is grabbing her wrist and dragging her not-so-nicely towards the car. It seems as soon as she realizes she’s being kidnapped she starts resisting and yells.
She tries to yell out before Eliot is bringing their bat up and swinging it back down to collide with her head.
She passes out and falls into Eliot’s arms. Not even a speck of blood to left behind. Clearly, they know how to knock someone out without a trace.
They bridal style carry her to the car like she’s made of feathers, opening the back seat door and throwing her unconscious body in before slamming the door shut and sliding into the passenger seat.
They pull down their mask. “Drive.” Their voice is void of emotion as they stare straight ahead.
Jesse scrambles to put the keys into the car but as soon as they’re in he’s driving off to the pre-planned location.
The lake.
No place to run there.
“Now since you witnessed her death, you’re going to help me throw her body into the lake.”
“I don’t have to help you with shit.”
“You’ll help because I’m the crazy one here and you don’t wanna be my next rock in the middle of my road now do you?”
Jesse finds himself parking his car on the side of an abandoned road. He’s been here before. Regrettably. Before the car even comes to a complete stop, Eliot is opening the door and opening the back seat door.
Jesse pockets his keys again and leaves the car as well. He stretches a little as he’s been sitting for a while, and watches as Eliot retrieves rope and ties the innocent girl's hands behind her back and tapes her mouth shut with cheap duck tape.
Eliot’s moves seem calculated and practiced. Jesse fears for the girl's life yet again.
Eliot looks up over the car. “What are you staring at? Do you expect me to do all the work?”
Eliot walks around the car and stares up at Jesse who’s only a foot or two taller. Eliot dramatically gestures to the other side of the car.
“Grab her.” Eliot flips the hood of their—Jesses—hoodie over their head and shoves their gloved hands into their—once again Jesse’s—pockets.
Jesse hesitates before walking around and carefully picking up the unconscious girl in his arms. Eliot hums leaves something from their bag in the car, then grabs their bag to hoist it over their shoulders.
Before they shut the door closed they look into the front seat to see a pack of matches resting by Jesse’s ashtray. They quickly grab the matches, stuffing them into their pocket.
They shut the door and door closed and walk into the woods in a random direction. Jesse follows reluctantly.
Now that the girl is closer to Jesse’s face he can tell where he remembers her from.
“Is she…” he pushes her hair out of her face as they walk. “Is she Sam? Like… my ex Sam?” He whispers to not wake her, even though he’s pretty sure that doesn’t matter.
Eliot tenses as they walk a little faster. “Yes. All of them are.”
Jesse looks up at that, keeping up with their pace. “What?”
He wants to run.
“I’m not gonna help you drown my ex!!!”
“You’re going to help me with whatever I want.”
“I’m calling the cops!!!”
They reach the lakeside. Eliot stops and swings their bag off their shoulders and points to the ground behind them.
“Lay her there.”
Jesse does as he’s told, carefully laying her on the ground. He sits beside her and watches her chest rise and fall. Oh, how easy it would be to save her life.
“Stop fucking looking at her like that.” Eliot seethes as they walk over, baseball bat in hand, and shove Jesse aside. He stands and just watches.
Eliot pulls a blade from their pocket and aggressively slashes at the girl's cheek. She wakes up with a muffled gasp and takes a moment to process before her eyes shrink with fear and tears roll down her cheeks.
Eliot licks their blade, Jesse covers his mouth with a mix of shock and fear, and they throw it toward their backpack.
Eliot leans in close to her face and shushes her softly, a finger coming up to their lips as her tears are momentarily still.
“You did this to yourself, sweetheart.” Eliot whispers to her as they stand back up and rest the end of their baseball bat to her forehead. She shakes with fear as Eliot continues.
“You were a rock in the middle of my road.”
Eliot raises their bat. And-
Jesse feels the world around him spin as he feels the urge to hurl.
He feels the urge to watch closer.
Everything happens so fast yet so slowly.
Jesse feels all of it happen again just like it did before with Kassandra.
All of these confusing emotions.
Sadness, fear, anger, excitement, pride, a burning sensation neither good nor bad.
The way Eliot breaks both of Sam’s legs with their bat. The way they snap her arms.
Jesse can’t handle it.
Though he doesn’t pass out like last time. He doesn’t run.
He watches.
“Call the cops and you’re dead.”
“Let me go!!”
“I will never let you go.”
Jesse thinks his memory blurred out the rest of the death of Samantha because next thing he knows Sam is gone and Eliot is standing at the edge of the lake and looking up at the sky.
Her body must be deep under the waves.
Eliot turns around and looks at Jesse with a calm look.
Jesse shakes and struggles to breathe. His mind is screaming ‘run’.
“Did you even like her?” Eliot speaks softly as they walk over to Jesse.
Jesse struggles to even make a noise.
Run.
“Did she make everything better for you?” Eliot continues regardless.
Run.
“Did she complete you in all the right ways?” They stand a foot or two away from each other.
Run.
“Did you love her?” Eliot moves closer so there is barely any distance between them.
Run.
“Or did you just date all of them to make it seem like the boyfriends they had were far more attractive?”
Jesse steps back.
Stop.
“N-no-no! You- you can’t change- change the subject!!” Jesse shouts.
“Jesse.” He bluntly ignores Eliot.
“You killed a girl!!”
“You’re not as straight as you think.”
“You tortured her!!!”
“Stop running from it.”
“She was innocent!!!!”
“You’re selfish.”
“STOP!!!” Jesse shoves Eliot back hard enough for them to fall to the ground with a huff.
Eliot sits on the ground and watches as Jesse paces back and forth.
Eliot gives him a chance to run.
Hands grip into gelled back hair as he heaves out useless breaths. The world is spinning, it’s scrambled and unorganized. All he can see is dots and flashes of missing posters. His stomach lurches and bail crawls up his throat.
“I killed them for you, you know.”
Eliot speaks matter-of-factly and it grabs Jesse by the collar of his shirt and brings him back down to earth. He spins on his heel to look at them.
“Wh-What?” His voice is watery as he realizes tears are just now falling down his face.
Eliot sighs and runs a hand through their hair. “I killed them for you because they knew you were gay. They knew all of the darkest secrets you had without diving that deep. I thought,” Eliot moves to stand.
“That if I killed them the rumours you stop out of fear. You wouldn’t have to run.” Eliot dusts off their pants.
“I’ve killed all of the transphobic pricks who think it’s funny to bring back the boy I once was. I killed all of the homophobic assholes who ran your name through the dirt.” Eliot grits their teeth as they gesture to the lake.
“That’s how you get respected in this world. No one listens until there's a body hanging on a rope.”
Jesse hates the fact that Eliot is right. They’re not right for murdering innocent people, but they’re right about not being heard.
“How-how many…?” Jesse’s voice is horse as he finally speaks.
“Only a few-“
“How many, Eliot!?” Jesse cuts them off, his voice cracking.
“…six girls under eighteen… ten men under thirty…” Eliot turns and looks back to the lake. “Half are under there.” They point mindlessly before bringing their hand back to them and hugging themselves.
Jesse can’t breathe again.
He can’t run.
This is all too much, it’s insane, there’s no way it’s real.
He wishes there was a phone booth or something nearby but they’re in the middle of nowhere. No phones around, no police, no people.
“I-I could c-call the cops on you-!” He doesn’t know why he threatens them. It’s dumb, it won’t do anything.
“You could… if you wanted jail time too.” Eliot chuckles. They speak as if he’s the one who murdered sixteen people.
“W-what?!”
Eliot looks over their shoulder and gives him a look like he’s an idiot.
“You’re an accomplice? You’ll get arrested for witnessing two murders and not saying anything.” Jesse considers it for a moment only for a moment before Eliot perks up again.
A distant ringing starts.
Eliot rushes over and grabs Jesse’s wrist, whispering to him only one word.
“Run.”
Jesse doesn’t have time to process before Eliot is running, dragging Jesse harshly behind him. Jesse’s surroundings blur around him as Eliot leads the two of them through the trees in mindless directions frantically.
“How much did you love that car?” Eliot asks out of breath.
“Uh- a lot?!” Jesse responds as Eliot pulls out some sort of remote-like device that’s barely standing on its own. Eliot flicks a few switches and presses a button before a loud explosion noise is heard in the distance followed but police sirens.
Jesse gasps as Eliot laugh’s brightly.
“We might not be going to school tomorrow!!” Eliot shouts over the nearing sirens.
Jesse wants to feel panicked and scared of what will happen, of running away from the police, running hand in hand with a teenage serial killer. He wants to feel anger and hurt from said teenager killing people freely, but he really can’t find it in him to care about them anymore.
They’re just bodies in water now.
All he feels is adrenaline and excitement. A rush of blood to his head that makes him run faster and feel bolder.
At that moment Jesse seems to realize either he joins Eliot in a runaway chase from the police and live life however he wants, or he spends his time rotting in jail.
Jesse’s never really liked staying in one place.
“You’re a bad influence!!” Jesse calls.
Eliot giggles but they fall short as they break out of the trees and come face to face with lines of police cars.
Police officers hold guns pointed to their warm faces. They pant breathlessly and stare at the officers with their hands intertwined.
“Remove all rocks in the middle of your road.” Jesse looks down at Eliot.
“If all else fails,” Eliot whispers as they strike a match.
“Arson.”
They smile up at Jesse.
They throw the match to a tree beside one of the officers. It lights ablaze and they run.
They run because that’s all they’ve ever known.
They run because they don’t care.
They run off into the woods and don’t stop until they find another town.
And then they keep running.
Because it is easy because is easy to run.
Just as easy as it is to kill.