"There are too many types of pain. I've long lost the count."

——————

"I heard about your mother. I'm sorry," Amy said.

*Bang*

"If you're sorry, then stop throwing cards!" Joey shouted.

"...What about you?"

He blinked.

Amy lowered the cards for a moment. "Are you sorry?"

After a few seconds of silence, he looked down and sighed.

Amy clenched the deck. "For breaking my friend's heart!" She threw a card with extra force.

*Bang!*

It nicked Joey's ear, drawing blood to roll down his cheek. Still, he didn't react. No...he didn't even feel it. There was a much more powerful feeling overwhelming everything. He glanced at Amy.

"Hgg..." She was using her sleeve to wipe the tears flowing down her face, but her arm couldn't keep up. Her clown make-up was ruined.

Joey didn't know what to say. This surprised him more than the kidnapping because he'd never seen this side of her. Only now did he understand how much Amy cared about Ellie…even though he should've guessed it. After all, Amy's the only one who's been there for Ellie all this time, and although he wasn't aware of the specifics, Ellie must've been there for her too. It surprised Joey to discover he could feel even worse…

He shook his head."I didn't have a choice."

"Did you have a choice when you made her fall in love with you, bastard?!?"

...

"Did you know she hasn't stopped crying? Did you know she's sick with grief? Did you know she's been crying worse than when she ran away from home?!? DID YOU?!?"

Joey didn't know. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know anything.

*Bang*

It nicked his arm, but he didn't complain.

*Bang*

His right leg.

*Bang*

His left shoulder.

*Bang*

His...

Joey lifted his head.

Amy had dropped the cards. "...How could you do it?"

Joey showed a helpless smile. "If my mother dies, I won't have anything else to live for. The only thing that can save her is money...lots of money. There's no time for anything else now. I would've even dropped out of school if she hadn't made me promise to go. So, I can't afford to spend time with Ellie...and...I don't deserve her."

Amy stood still and shuffled the deck in her hands for an entire minute. Then, she sighed. "I believe you, and I understand." She picked up a knife and took slow steps towards Joey.

When they were within arm's reach, she lifted the knife and stared into his eyes.

Joey looked at her runny make-up. He wasn't the only one suffering, there was Ellie...and it seemed Amy too. "...Amy, it's enough. Don't play games, hurry and cut me down. I have to see my mother in the morning. She needs me."

Amy nodded. "I understand...Still, it was the wrong answer." She tilted the weapon...and stabbed it into his heart!

"Hu..." Joey's jaw dropped as he looked down at the handle sticking from his chest! His eyes bulged out! He couldn't believe it!

The air was thick with the smell of his blood!

Joey's eyes shook. "Why..."

Amy looked at him with contempt. She snorted. "This is what you deserve."

Full of disbelief and confusion, Joey stared at her, unconvinced…unwilling…That answer…not…good enough…

"Why..."

Amy's face became colder than death, unresponsive.

"…does it not hurt?" Joey finished his question.

...

…

…

"Tch…" Amy pulled back the knife.

Joey looked down, but...there was no wound!"

"Circus prop knife...see?" She stabbed it into her hand and the blade bent into the handle.

Joey took an exaggerated inhale.

"I was just clowning you..." Amy pouted. "I wish you gave the right answer though, then I would've used the other knife." She took out another blade from a holster on her back and showed it to Joey.

"Your sense of right and wrong are twisted!"

Amy went behind the wheel and cut open all Joey's restraints.

Free, he frowned as he rubbed his wrists. That's when the small pool of blood on the ground captured his attention. He examined his limbs, only now realizing that he had a mass of cuts all over. "You sure are good at throwing deadly weapons."

Amy blushed. "Really? ...Thanks!" She couldn't hold back a smile. "No one at the circus ever complimented my killing throws..." She glanced at the spinning wheel. "I missed all of the throws though..."

Joey turned pale. 'She was really trying to kill me!'

Noticing he was bleeding, Amy handed him a rag. "Here, this one doesn't have chloroform. Use it for your wounds. It's as clean a rag as you can find in a place like this."

Joey looked around at the decrepit dump. "Is that supposed to reassure me?!?" He gave it about a 50/50 chance the rag would infect his wounds if he didn't disinfect them later, but he still used it to clean off the blood for now.

*Scree* *Scree*

"What's that?" Joey asked.

Amy narrowed her eyes, scanning around the room until her gaze landed on her table of goodies.

Both of them noticed multiple tiny shadows on the ground scurrying in their direction.

Amy's gasped. "The demon rats escaped! They smell blood! Run!"