Chapter 174 – Recklessness
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The ruthless serial killer known as Psydeath was the most feared man in a city plagued with violent crime. His victims totalled in the thousands. No psychic could hope to resist his overwhelming strength. No one knew who he was or why he did what he did. And there was no telling where he'd strike next. Psydeath was a living legend, a bizarre beacon of hope, a supernatural force sweeping the Pit for criminals to drag to Hell. They called him Grandebelle's Faceless Killer, the Evil Mist, the Bandaged Butcher, and a hundred more names besides. Some of the rumors surrounding the mysterious man were too ridiculous to be believed, and some were too terrifying.

But the truth was far less dramatic than any of the wild stories the public had invented to amuse themselves. The man behind all the horror wasn't some bloodthirsty monster or superhuman assassin with incredible skill. Indeed, Psydeath was little more than a clumsy, awkward loser, a person who was trying to do the right thing and failing spectacularly. His real name was Rex, and he was a complete idiot.

"I'm sure there are tons of girls who'd love to go out with you," said Karen, a curvaceous brunette in a tight cheetah-print dress, her playful smile revealing rows of perfect teeth. Her perfectly tanned caramel-brown skin shimmered like warm wax under the soft light of the bar's soft blue lighting. "I'm just not one of them. Sorry, Rex."

"No, no, that's not what I meant! What I was trying to say... well, let me put it this way. I care about you a lot. That's all I'm trying to say."

Rex was a little drunk. He insisted that they should go somewhere tonight, which was rare for him, and Karen reluctantly decided to accompany him despite her better judgment. He seemed really excited about something, but when he started going on and on, it soon became obvious that he wasn't even sure what exactly he was so enthusiastic about. Rex had never been much for introspection. To put it bluntly, he was clueless.

The Joker's Lounge was a small place, and somewhat unexpectedly rather empty. They ended up getting their own private room, which was nice. Rex had gotten started with a few overpriced fruity cocktails and a few appetizers which he was more than happy to share... except, it wasn't really sharing, since he wasn't eating any of it. Just drinking. Karen had been warning him to take it slow all night, and he’d listened, but he nonetheless got completely smashed far more quickly than either of them had anticipated.

"Are you okay, Rex?"
"Heh heh heh! I feel great!"
"Drink some water. You look awful."

Rex obediently drank the rest of his water. Then he tried to pour himself some more, but he ended up spilling half the pitcher onto the table. Karen rolled her eyes at him and turned away with an exasperated sigh.

"Sheesh. What am I going to do with you?" said Karen, flipping her bangs nonchalantly.
"Sorry. Hey... hey. We're best friends, right? Right?"
"Yeah. You're my best friend. God help me."

"Right. Good. Yeah. I've been meaning to tell you something," said Rex after a moment of thought. His gaze was heavy and dark as he looked into the depths of his colorful pink cocktail, swirling it around and taking sips here and there. He was smiling, a strange smile that Karen found bothered her, although she couldn't put her finger on why.

"You're acting weird," said Karen with a slight tilt of the head, trying to read him and not quite succeeding. "I know you invited me out here for a reason. So what is it?"

She assumed he wanted to ask her to be his girlfriend, officially. A pretty natural assumption. But given how little it bothered him when she told him that wasn’t happening... it seemed like that wasn't it.

"What? Tell me. Please," she said, leaning forward and peering intently into his unfocused eyes.

"Do you know why I came back to Grandebelle? I mean really. Do you have the slightest idea why?"

Karen shook her head slowly. She had no idea why Rex came back. And she wasn't deluded enough to think he came back for her sake. Although she did enjoy spending time with the little goofball. More than she would ever admit.

It was clear to see that Rex hated Grandebelle with a passion. He was always complaining about homeless people and muggers and drug addicts like some sort of moral crusader. They were getting their filth everywhere, the government should lock them all up, people who sold drugs to kids deserved to die, blah, blah, blah. And he didn't even try to find a job or make friends or do anything at all other than sit in his stinky apartment day in and day out, doodling cartoon animals in his little notebooks and playing with toys.

"I know this is going to sound ridiculous. I want you to hear me out, alright?"

Karen leaned back in her seat as if to signal she was ready to hear whatever crazy thing Rex wanted to tell her. She was fairly sure whatever he was about to say wasn't anything good. He was talking a bit too fast and loudly for her liking, too animated, too pleased with himself. It reminded her a little of how the old Rex would behave before going off on some grandiose tirade. Back when he used to work at the gift shop with her. Before he quit.

The old Rex was a bit of a self-centered jerk. He thought he was the smartest guy in Grandebelle, and he loved showing his coworkers exactly how dumb he thought they were. But he grew out of it. Or maybe everyone just got used to his antics and stopped getting so mad when he said something ridiculous or insensitive or stupid. Karen couldn’t remember exactly how it went. That was ancient history, now. Either way, the new Rex wasn't nearly as touchy or condescending or... annoying.

He was quieter now. Calmer. He was more thoughtful. At least, that was the case when he was sober. The old manic Rex was back for a surprise performance tonight.

"So... uh..." said Rex, rubbing his eyes. "See, this was before I met you, okay? I was in this gang, the Animal Brotherhood... and it wasn't just any random gang. We had rules. The rules were sacred. You don't abandon your Brothers in their time of need. You owe your life to your Brothers. You die to keep your Brothers safe."

He was slurring his words, swaying back and forth in a slow, hypnotic motion that reminded Karen of a tree blowing gently in the wind.

"You trust your Brothers..." he continued happily. "You can't leave your family. The only way to leave is death. Those were the rules. You see this scar on my hand? That's... from when I was initiated. I swore a blood oath. That's the kind of gang it was. More like a family than a gang, almost. And then... anyway... the point of this is that, well... I came back to the city for them."

The two shared a moment of mutual silence.

He'd told her about the Brotherhood before. They turned on him one day out of the blue, beat him half to death, and dumped him on the street in front of his mom's place bleeding and broken. He was lucky, actually. An elderly neighbor found his unconscious body and took him to the hospital. If it wasn't for that old woman, he might've died.

He'd told her he'd rather die than get involved with them ever again.

Was that just a lie, then?

"You came back here for them? What are you talking about?"
"Hmm hmm. Well, you know. The Brotherhood is gone now, but my Brothers are still out there. So, the way I see it is... I don't have anywhere to go, and... what's a life without family, anyway? Heh heh heh! Ha hah!"

"What does that have to do with us, Rex? Are you seriously telling me... are you saying... that you came back to Grandebelle to get back together with them? You want to go back to being a gang member?"

"No, no. I didn't mean... that's... heh heh! No... you don't get it. You're misunderstanding me. See, I never really left the Brotherhood. I swore an oath, remember? They broke the sacred rules. Not me. I'm bound by my oath... to kill those worthless traitors."

Karen felt a chill run down her spine.

"That's horrible," she muttered.

"It wasn't easy tracking them down. But I found them. Just a few weeks ago. It turns out they joined another gang! The Chosen Ones! The same people who sell drugs to kids!"

"Wait, the..."

"Yeah. I've been watching them," said Rex, anger beginning to creep into his voice. "They're a big, big criminal syndicate. They operate out of a skyscraper downtown... Cobbler Center. They call it the Tower of the Chosen. I saw the whole setup with my own two eyes. They kidnap kids and get them addicted to Nuke. It's sickening."

"Oh God, oh God, Rex. Don't say that. You're scaring me. Stop talking about this. Please."

Karen looked down into her empty glass with wide, pleading eyes, her shoulders trembling. She knew he was involved with some pretty bad stuff back when he was younger, but she wanted to believe he'd moved past it. She wanted to believe he'd matured. She was wrong. Of course. She was so, so horribly wrong.

He was worse than ever.

"You need to move on with your life," she finally said. "You need to get away from all this craziness and... just go live a normal life far, far away from here. Like somewhere nice and safe and... peaceful."

She was clenching her hands together in her lap and looking off to the side as she spoke to the table. Her nails were digging into her palms. She couldn't stop shaking.

"Karen... I wanted to tell you all this a long time ago, honestly, and I tried, but I didn't know where to start, and... anyway, I should have told you a lot sooner. I'm sorry. This is really hard to talk about... I thought the alcohol would make it easier, but... I guess not. Heh... heh heh. Sorry... sorry... you look scared."

"I am scared!" said Karen with an exasperated shake of the head as tears streamed from her face. "I'm scared you're going to get hurt! Oh my God, Rex... please listen to me. Don't do this!"

The man sitting across from her stared blankly at the table for a few moments, a hateful little smirk twisting the corners of his lips up slightly.

"You don't understand... I have to. The Animal Brotherhood, they were... they are... they turned me into... this. They have to pay for what they've done. Do you want to know what they did to me? They stuck a knife in my back, and scraped the life out of me... and I lived for three years after that... just to kill them."

"Rex, Rex. I'm begging you. Please... don't go through with this. There has to be another way."

Karen leaned forward and reached over the table to grasp his wrist, her hands quivering, desperate. Tears fell onto the white tablecloth between them like raindrops.

"Please... don't hurt them, Rex," said Karen, her voice low and tinged with despair. "Let the police deal with them. It happened three years ago. It's... it's over. You need to let this go."

She let go of him, wiping her tears on her sleeve. He wasn't listening. She couldn't convince him to give up on this, no matter how hard she tried. He had his mind made up.

That's what she thought. What else could she think?

But she was wrong.

"Karen," began Rex quietly. His speech was still sloppy and slurred, but he was trying to be serious. "If you really... really want me to stop this... this thing with the Brotherhood... the Chosen Ones... whatever they're calling themselves now... I can stop."

"You can... you will?"

Karen's throat went dry and she felt her heart beating like a hummingbird's wings. Rex nodded slowly, sadly, staring at his hands for a moment before speaking again, almost whispering.

"If you think I should stop... I'll stop. You... you're not going to leave me, right? I need a friend right now. A real friend. Someone I can rely on to keep things normal. You're going to stay with me. Right?"

"Of course," said Karen quickly. "Please... don't do anything crazy. I'll help you figure this out. I'm not going anywhere. I'm here for you."

Rex wasn't thinking straight. He was serious about going after that gang. Those horrible criminals who preyed on young children. If he got caught doing what he planned to do... they'd kill him. Probably in a really painful and humiliating way, too.

Karen wiped the last tear from her face with the back of her napkin. Her shoulders shook again, just barely.

She felt sick. So afraid, so terribly sad...

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