Funny Little Creatures (Skyler)

Drifter skidded behind a desk, bullets whizzing by his head. His heart was racing. There were too many, and he was pinned down. He couldn't even think about returning fire. A constant barrage was keeping him exactly where he was. All the vigilante could do was stay alert, and of course, wait it out.

"Come on Luke. That's not like you! Doncha' always say you have to face adversity head on? Practice what you preach, dude," said a robotic, yet playful voice from over the desk. Drifter didn't know who this person was, and he had even less of an idea how they knew his name. Right now though, he was just trying to not get shot. He could theorize later.

Grabbing a flash grenade from the strap on his chest, Luke threw it over the top of his cover without even looking. When it went off, he moved. He was gambling, really. There was no telling if such a maneuver would work, but he had to at least try. The alternative was waiting to die behind flimsy cover.

Drifter popped up from the safety of the desk. The three men he saw were obviously blinded. They held their eyes in pain, and one even collapsed to his knees.

Now was his chance.

Luke unloaded on the trio, not even thinking about the act of killing these men. They deserved it, didn't they? It was him or them, right? It wasn't worth contemplation. This was the way of the world: Survival of the fittest.

Once the adrenaline wore off, the shells from his wrist launchers hit the ground, and the dust settled, Drifter could clearly see three of his assailants were in pools of their own blood. There were more of course, but he at least earned himself a breather.

That's what their lives were worth to him--a break.

Lukas shook the thoughts from his head. Now was not the time. He heard movement in the maze of office cubicals. This was still the lion's den. It was highly unlikely he would make it out alive, but he was going to try anyway.

"Come on you off-brand Darth Vader motherfucker, where are you!?" Drifter yelled. He got out from behind the desk, moving slowly through the office building. It was mostly silent, but there was the occasional sound of footsteps. This seemed deliberately designed to keep him on his toes, or at least to piss him off. Either way, the cat and mouse was getting annoying.

To Drifter's sudden terror, yet relief at the same time, a hail of bullets poured down the hall he had been moving through. With no cover he could get to quickly, Luke just decided to hit the ground. He returned fire as he did, hoping that it would cover him enough to prevent his death.

He saw two of the three men at the end of the hall go down, but not before a stabbing pain erupted in his shoulder. He'd been hit; the blood on his hand after he'd touched the spot made that evident.

The remaining man disappeared when Drifter looked back up. Luke knew in his gut he was the one that had been taunting him this whole time. It had to be. He'd seen enough movies to know the boss was unfortunately not likely to go down before any of his goons. That meant they were going to have a stand off.

Perfect.

Holding his shoulder, Drifter pulled himself to a wall, and there he propped himself upright as best he could. How had he got to this point? Shooting people to stay alive? It had been a slow progression, hadn't it? He had refused to believe he would do anything like this right up until the point he did it, and by then it was too late to stop.

"Pathetic. Even with all your supposed righteousness, you still take life without even flinching when you deem it necessary. I wonder how you're twisting it right now. I wonder just how badly you're trying to avoid accepting that you're capable of just as much evil as anyone else," the voice from before said. Drifter couldn't quite make out where it was coming from. It was as if it was everywhere, or rather, like it was in his head.

"You'll sit there and come up with clever ways to call whatever heinous act you do good. You'll do it so you can remain the hero, even as you degenerate into a psychopath. Eventually, your mind will conclude that everything you do is justified, and that you can do no wrong." The voice was getting louder now. Drifter, collapsed against the wall of a cubical, raised his arms. He was ready to protect himself against whatever threatened him.

"And oh boy, once that happens, I can do whatever I want, and you'll go right along with it as if you were the greatest hero the world has ever known. It won't matter what it is. So keep denying I exist. Keep thinking that there's no darkness to keep in line. The more you fall into that delusional idea, the more I can get away with." It was as if the voice was pounding in his skull now. Drifter could barely keep his eyes open, let alone respond.

A figure came around the corner. Luke was dizzy from the loss of blood, but he could clearly make out who this man was. He kept his guns trained on him. He didn't fire, however. He somehow knew it wouldn't work. This thing couldn't be destroyed. Believing that it could be would only make it stronger.

"This is a dream, isn't it?" Drifter asked, lowering his wrist guns. The man with his face just laughed.

"How long did it take you this time?" the man asked, yellow eyes staring at Lukas with a malevolent playfulness.

"After I got shot. Thought I'd ride this one out though. I always enjoy hearing your monologues," Drifter said, standing up. He was apparently fine now.

"Bravo. You're really starting to get good at this. Still, I meant every word. You better get your shit together," the shadow said. The office building slowly faded away, leaving nothing but a white void and the two opposites standing in it.

"Yeah yeah, I will. Integration isn't the easiest fucking thing in the world, you know. Takes time that I don't have," Drifter said, getting ready to snap his fingers to wake himself. It wasn't really necessary, but he had trained himself to get up immediately once the act was performed. Lots easier than just trying to pry your eyes open.

"Not my problem. Well, I guess it is, sorta...... Whatever, you know what I mean. Anyway, tell Sky I said hey, will you?" the man said as he walked away, looking back to wink at Drifter. Luke rolled his eyes.

"Fuck off," Drifter said in an irritated, dismissive tone, and then snapped his fingers.

That guy was such a prick.

____________


"Hey, babe. You awake?" Drifter said, cups of coffee in his hands. If she reached for hers, he'd hand it to her, otherwise he'd just put it on the nightstand.

Luke had gotten fully dressed in casual pants and a t-shirt. He also made coffee and seemed to have taken a shower as well. Apparently he'd been up for quite awhile. Whether Skyler woke up during any of that he didn't know, but she certainly remained in bed.

Luke moved over to the curtains, letting the light in. It was so bright even he squinted. He imagined the effect would be even worse for Skyler, but it was probably time to get on with the day. It would help to let some light in.

"So, I was thinking we could, well, catch up. You know, talk without getting bullets shot at us. Go somewhere nice maybe?" Drifter asked, gulping his own coffee down. He wasn't really set on anything in particular, but he figured they needed to get out. The night before had been dangerous, emotional, terrifying, heart breaking, and, well, fun, but they needed some time to slow down. This relationship couldn't just be based on almost getting killed together, especially just after such a long separation.

"Have anything in mind? Seriously. What do you want to do with me today. I'm all yours."

"I did get rid of it, yeah. I know a guy with a junk yard. Crushed it right in front of me. I even picked up a replacement. Pays to have friends, I guess," Luke said, a smile on his face. All things considered, he felt pretty good. Yeah, he was a bit hungover, and he might have still been trying to figure out precisely what caused his little breakdown the night before, but overall he felt as good as he could in such a situation. He was with the woman he loved, and she looked as beautiful as ever. Today, for the first time in awhile, he could just relax—enjoy his life.

"The park sounds wonderful, actually. I hear there's a rock music festival going on at Griffith Park. Not exactly quiet, but...... Can't go a day without a little excitement, now can we?" Drifter walked around the table, meeting Skyler as she came into the room. He put his hands on Skyler's hips as he finished his last sentence, lovingly embracing her. He saw a bit of conflict on her face when he looked at her. It wasn't towards him, thankfully, but she was contemplating something nonetheless.

"What's wrong? .....It's not your hair again, is it? I told you, Sky—I like it better." Luke knew it was either that or her eye, but he wasn't certain. Might as well take a shot at it, either way. She was way too self conscious to be allowed.

Once Skyler was ready, they could go out to the car and head out. Unless she had an alternative, they would be taking the vehicle Drifter got at his friend's yard. It was an early 2000s Mustang, red. Nothing special, but it was nip and tuck and clean, and more importantly, not implicated in a dozen crimes.