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"How come you still keep that around?"
His brown eyes raised to the mirror where his missing person's photograph was wedged. It looked like this one had been cut from an old magazine from the way it had been creased over and over.
Hands deep within cheap plastic gloves, I smeared pink hair dye over the bleached clumps at the back I pulled up.
"Don't you ever wonder if they look for you? What photo they used? It's not even my best one."
Glancing again, I scanned over the silly smiling face above the bold letters proclaiming him as missing.
Did anyone look for me?
"It's been a while" I smiled back, shaking up the bottle to squeeze more onto his head "it's been way too long to even look for me now."
His eyes met mine in the mirror. I stared at them, looking away.
"Besides, do I want to go back?" I joked.
It was different now. I was the second in command of this stupid organisation. Branded and drugged to keep me and my monster under control. If it was up to me, I'd be another face in the crowd like him.
Everyone has their own purpose here and ability to contribute. Mine was just a little more noticably savage.
Black eyes glinted under the dull light over the sink. Teeth that once tore out throats now only choked back drugs to keep myself in this state of mind.
If I lost it, I'd lose all these memories. I'd be back to wondering where I was and how I had gone wrong.
"I had a little sister" he smiled "and an older brother too. To think that they took me and not them."
"Well, you must have been special" I shrugged "we all have our bit to contribute, Oli."
Oleander. That was his fake name; not menacing in any way. Once dragged down here, we were wiped clean and given a new identity. It followed us everywhere on the tracker we had to wear on our left wrists.
Mine was Pearce. Mum used to call me Dominic when we gardened together....
"Do you think they are still looking?" Oleander frowned to me focusing on peeling up his hair to smother in more dye "if I went back...."
"They'd run you out of town" my black eyes hardened on him "you're nothing but a criminal in their eyes now."
His dropped down again. I sighed and kept massaging in the colour that burned my nose.
"Why pink?" I smirked at it.
"Hmm?"
I lifted a plastered lock to drop back down with a chuckle.
"Why not?" Oleander shrugged, smiling "it's more peach, actually."
"No, it's light pink" I snorted and checked the bottle "you did get the right one, right?"
Oleander checked the bottle i held down to him, seeing the dye smeared across the gloves that was different to what he anticipated.
"Well, it's got to be that now" he sighed, snorting when I shook my head back.
"You really do make things interesting, you know."
"And you like living life far too dangerously" Oleander tilted his head towards the staircase opposite the room "anyone could be listening."
I checked too, knowing I wouldn't see anyone.
"Well, if they are, I could always put my teeth to good use."
Oleander rolled his eyes, laughing when I tilted his head down and nipped the back of his neck playfully.
"I think someone is listening" he giggled and squirmed from me "and you should go check it out."
"Why me?"
Oleander gestured to his setting head that I sighed at.
"Ok. I'll be back soon, Mr Paranoid."
"And you'll see I was right!" he sang back cheekily.
Peeling off my gloves and dumping them in the bin on my way to the stairs, any lightheartedness quickly washed out of me.
If someone was listening or watching us, they'd see there was more to Oleander and me than I allowed past his front door.
Out there, amongst the others, I was the bloody right hand of the feared leader. If I had attachments, anyone could use them against me.
Of course, disappearing into Oleander's room would raise eyebrows in the first place. It was whether anyone was dumb enough to follow behind me that would be the real question.
What a pain.
But, heading downstairs, I saw legs scatter before I dipped down into view.
Smiling to myself, I felt my heart quicken at the possibility of a fresh hunt.
The chase was always the most exciting part. In the beginning, that's how I fell for Oleander.
Now, I was going to chase down whoever I needed to just to keep him safe.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
