Jerry Atrik may have been blind, but he could always tell when the new hire was in a foul mood. Whenever she got emotional she would let her guard down, and that's when he could hear her weird little mutterings even over the spinning blade of his metalworking lathe.

"Slow down, ye dim-witted girl! Do ye want to burn through all of mah materials with yer blasted recklessness!?" the old man shouted at his blue-haired apprentice. Quin gritted her teeth in frustration.

"I'm the best damn machinist you've ever had, you sad sack of wrinkled skin! Just shut your denture-filled mouth and let me work in peace for once, would you!?"

Jerry chuckled under his breath. She was a fiery one just like his daughter had been, there was no doubt about that. He was almost lost in a wave of sentimentality before remembering he was a crotchety old man who couldn't trust his apprentice to do a damn thing without his guidance.

"How can I when yer a walkin', talkin' disaster just waitin'a happen!? If I take mah eyes off of ye for so much as one second the entire shop will go down in flames!"

"You're blind you daft fool, your eyes aren't doing much of anything, let alone preventing fires! Or are you going senile now as well? Should I start looking for the nursing home with the worst reviews to throw you away in, or would you prefer I do the elder abuse myself?"

"Oh ho, don't ye underestimate me! I can see yer every mistake in my mind's eye, see, and I have to say - yer completely and utterly hopeless! Ye might as well start packin' yer things and get out before ye accidentally produce somethin' half-decent!"

And so they went back and forth for some time as she worked. Quin had spent the better part of a month here with this old codger, both to earn some under-the-table cash and to develop a few more hands-on skills that might come in handy with her new runagate lifestyle. Since his daughter-turned-protege had died in an accident many years ago, this obstinate geezer had apparently thrown out every apprentice-to-be to come to his door thus far - and yet here Quin still stood, enduring his creative insults day in and day out.

She'd planned on simply using the man - his blindness prevented him from placing her as the wanted fugitive she was, and his machining yard had served as the perfect base of operations for her for the time being. And so she'd applied without a resume (which he hadn't asked for in the first place, considering his condition) and managed to impress him with her skill, staying with the job a lot longer than she had ever actually planned to.

It was hard to admit, but she was growing somewhat fond of the miserable old bastard. As she admired the craftsmanship of the commissioned part she'd just forged by her own hand, she realized she owed her mentor a great deal. That's what made the words she had to speak even harder to get out.

"...I'm gonna level with you, old man. This job just ain't for me."

"Well, looks like we finally agree on somethin', eh?"

A silence lingered between them for a time. Jerry finally let out a long breath.

"...damn it girl, was I too hard on ye? Ye have a real knack for this work, ye know..."

"Hah! I'm not some spoiled princess - You could have been a lot harsher. There's just something I have to do that I've been putting off... and the longer I stay here, the harder it gets to work up the guts I'll need to actually do it."

The old man nodded to himself knowingly.

"I knew ye were a drifter and that ye'd never planned to stay forever, but damn if ye didn't impress me, girly. I wish ye would have waited a while longer before walkin' off into the sunset though-"

"Oh, shove the mushy crap up your liver-spotted asshole you coffin-stuffer, it's not making things easier for either of us. How about this; If you don't kick the bucket the second I walk out the door, who knows... Maybe I'll actually come back some day against my better judgement and introduce you to my beloved wife-to-be."

Jerry's unfocused eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

"Yer a ragin' lesbo, then? Considerin' yer skill with a saw I shoulda saw that comin' a mile away..." he mused to himself. Quin rolled her eyes, deciding not to make another blind joke out of the opportunity.

He had actually heard Quin mutter lovesick poems about the girl under her breath countless times, but had decided long ago not to tease her about that.

"Anyway, yer welcome through those doors any time, girly. I doubt anyone else is too eager to take ye in, given that yer a wanted fugtive an' all. Heh heh..."

Quin froze.

"Y-you knew all along!?"

"I told ye not to underestimate me, didn't I? I don't rightly know the whole story, but it don't matter none. I believe in givin' people second chances. And with any luck, so will she-"

Jerry thought his heart had stopped when the girl threw her tiny arms around him. She talked tough, but she really was a sweetheart after all. A warm smile spread across the old man's face for the first time in years.

"Go on, get outta here before I start bawlin'. If that happens, neither of us will ever live it down."

"Alright, alright, don't get your diaper in a twist. I'm going..."

Quin hoisted the duffel bag that carried her few belongings - including the firearm she'd built, a few accessories, the money she'd made, clothing, and a whole host of bullets - and headed for the entrance. She paused as she grasped the door handle.

"I'm serious, old man. Don't you dare die on me before I get back."

"No promises there, girly. Just come on back as soon as ye can, yeah?"

"...yeah. I will."

So resolved, Quin turned the handle and stepped out into the small town's streets. She had quite the journey ahead of her, but she could feel the way there deep within her heart.

Ready or not, my love... Here I come.

---

I was back in Quin's hideout. Pleasure threatened to overtake me, familiar and bittersweet. Our passion, stretched out over the hours as it had been, had turned us both raw. And yet, my release was always just a moment away.

"Just say it, my fated. Say those three little words that mean everything to me..."

"I can't. I... I'm sorry, Quin..."

"You're sorry? You're sorry!?"

She looked completely heartbroken, tears pouring down her face.

"It's not that hard, my love! Just repeat after me! "I! Love! You!"

"It's not just that I can't... it's that I didn't..."

My memory of Quin stared at me with an empty gaze, demanding an explanation.

"I-I was scared, Quin! The drugs, they... they made things clearer. In that haze, I knew that it was my fault that you so desperately wanted me all to yourself - that my desire for you had slowly but surely warped your own - but it was too crazy to believe back then! And regardless of what I might have felt, I was afraid of what would happen if I had pushed your obsession even further by telling you I loved you-"

Quin's features warped beyond recognition, turning her into some kind of demonic nightmare. She leaned into me, placing her lips right against my ear, and yet I heard every word directly in my mind.

And yet how easily you said it to that woman you're clinging to now!!

My monstrous mental image of Quin managed to calm down after this outburst, and she reverted back to human form. She put both hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eyes with genuine concern. Her mouth didn't move but I heard her words in my mind again.

Wake up and take a good, long look at yourself, Norma. Deep down you know that I'm coming for you, and I suspect that I'm not the only one, am I? So you had damn well better figure out exactly what - or who - it is that you want by then...

I spent a few minutes considering her words as she got dressed. When she was finished she regarded me with the kind of caring smile that she might have flashed my way back in grade school.

"Until we meet again, my love~"

As she walked out the bedroom door, I woke up in my own bed. Ves was sleeping soundly in my arms - her university math course started pretty early today, but it looked like I had beaten her alarm.

"What I want, huh...?"

The Quin I had been speaking with may have just been a dream phantom, but she was right. I needed to think carefully about how I proceeded from here on out.

But with these terrible powers of mine, will a mindful, can-do attitude really be enough?

I suddenly remembered my 'murder orgy' nightmare with vivid clarity.

Or am I destined, along with the rest of the world, to be washed away in a tidal wave of blood and lust...