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Jake gasped, coughing out droplets of water. He rolled onto his back, the blizzard had passed, and the distant sun cast its heatless glow as it sank under the horizon.  He sat up, dusting a thin layer of ice off his clothes. How long had he been unconscious? The unfamiliar peaks turned vivid red in the fading light, and he brought his knees up to his chest, shivering. He may as well stop for now; he was an easy target wherever he went… he hugged himself, dying of the cold was his only option besides arrest.

Jake looked at his hands, seeing them covered in azure blood slowly turning purple, from them, his gaze wandered to the gun laying in the snow. His fingers shook. It could not have been Fabian, as in his brother, that he had killed. It was a monster trying to influence his emotions – maybe Fabian’s ghost… the kid was never cremated.

Though it was an old superstition, a dead person’s soul was not at rest without proper cremation. If not, he could cause trouble with portal travel, appear as a ghost to haunt his loved ones, or transform into an animal if some deranged god of the past took pity on him. Could Fabian have possessed the anthropomorph? But that was superstition. It was impossible. There were no gods.

Then the image of the boy flooded Jake’s mind, his small frame half-incinerated… he shook his head. But still, though he had thought it impossible, could it be true? The monster did have Fabian’s mannerisms, the way he rubbed the back of his neck and how he asked so many questions, even the simple fact that he’d helped the man trying to kill him! Besides, none had seen Fabian’s body after the attack… and who would want to? The bomb hadn’t left much to burn. Jake swallowed a lump in his throat and pressed his trembling lips together, “It wasn’t him.” was it possible he’d failed… again?

Footsteps crunched the snow behind him.

Jake struggled to his feet, his bionic barely functioning. It was Marian. She stepped nearer. Jake readied into a fighting stance. Marian coolly aimed her gun at him. Jake’s hands trembled, and he clenched his fists tighter. “Go away.”

Her eyes locked with Jake’s, staring into him without a reply.

Jake opened his mouth then closed it. He huffed, saying, “You’re still into me? Really?”

“No.” Marian lowered her gun, “I have my duties – and you yours.”

“I don’t. I’m just a criminal to you now, right?”

“Perhaps,” Marian’s pale lips turned into a hard line. “How could you shoot your own brother?” her eyes shimmered, “Should I even be as surprised as I am?”

“I didn’t…” Jake began to examine the snow about their feet.

“Your little brother could be dying by your hand. Jake, don’t you think that it should concern you?”

“Quit tricking me.”

“I’m not trying to trick you.” Marian stepped back, “There are laws and…” she glanced to the side, “I… would rather you not break more than you can help… for Fabian’s sake.”

Jake examined her face, saying, “Do you care about me, or not?”

“That’s completely beside the point. If you let them arrest you, I won’t have to use force. I’m trying to keep you alive.”

Jake crossed his arms, looking away, “You just wish you hadn’t ended what was between us.”

Marian clenched her jaw, “You were the one who chose to steal drugs and sell them to the Underground.” Her gaze sharpened on him as his skin bunched below his eyelids, “Your brother’s afraid. But if you come to him now, you have a chance to”—

“My brother’s dead.” Jake paled. But is it because of me?

She sighed, “Look, if you come with me, you’ll be alive for longer than if you stayed here.”

Jake began to walk away.

“You’re just going to run away?”

Jake turned on her, “Well I don’t have any other options, do I?”

“I was hoping that my discoveries about you could be proven wrong. But… at this point… your brother isn’t the only person you’ve lost.” She sighed, “Why do you have to be such a disappointment?”

Jake flinched.

Marian’s cold gaze thawed. “Jake I –”

“Hands up!”

He looked up. A few enforcers trained their guns on him.

Marian looked away as they moved to handcuff him. Jake gritted his teeth, the tears lurking in his eyes vanishing. “Well looks like I won’t disappoint you anymore.”
<p style=”text-align: center;”>***</p>
When Jake was escorted back through the portal, he saw him. Fabian lay on the floor outside the entry hall with some enforcers preparing to move the body… still connected to the equipment that couldn’t save him. Jake trembled as Marian’s grip on his shoulder tightened, he saw blue blood pooling on the floor and began to sweat. That’d been his brother, unmistakably – and now he was dead.

Jake was taken to a transfer cell at the enforcer’s station, he said, “I have a necklace on.” He looked at Marian, “Could you get it please? I don’t want it to be stolen.”

Marian reached around his neck, unclasping the chain. Jake closed his eyes as her hands touched his neck, opening them once she stepped away from him. “Why do you have a woman’s necklace?”

Jake felt sweat gathering at his temples, “My mom gave it to me to sell for money. Can you keep it in case I get out?”

“I see.” She put it in her pocket, “I’ll take care of it for you.”

“Thanks.”

Marian touched his hand, her thoughts shooting like electricity up his arm: a picture of Fabian as a human flashed through his mind, being replaced by the corpse of the thrid.

Before Jake could see the rest of her message, he pulled away – “I get it already!” his voice cracked, “Would it kill you to just leave me alone?”

Marian stepped back, closing the door to the tiny cell.

Jake sat as he heard the door seal. He rested his forehead on his knees – a tremor passed through his body like a wave, and he squeezed his eyes shut.

Jake did not care for any gods as they didn’t appear to care for him, and it was more a miasma of theories anyway, but it seemed like he’d been given a chance for once in his life to truly succeed, and he’d ruined it. Yellow mist began to taint the air, perhaps that failure would’ve happened regardless, especially for a man like him.

Jake looked at his hands, this catastrophe was just as inevitable as the gas would make him sleep – and what was to happen next. His fingers curled into fists; it would be much less of a tragedy – who cared for the death of a criminal? And who would be there to grieve? The only person who would’ve cared was dead. And his parents? The people that really should care? He was simply a failure, like he’d always been – and to his real father? For all he knew, something worth forgetting. They wished he’d never been born, and it was the same with Marian.

His heart began to pound, and the cell felt emptier than ever. The justice system would simply be doing what he was too afraid to, and what she couldn’t… quickly dispose of him. Jake smirked before his expression crumbled, who even believed in love and happiness anyway? He’d tried to pursue it, but he’d found it to be nothing more than a rip-off.

Jake laid on his side, recalling how similar it was to the position he had been in when he first saw his brother after he’d managed to drag them out of the burning building. He clamped a hand over his mouth and stifled a cry, remembering the boy’s wide eyes and his mouth open in a suffocated scream, the scent of burnt flesh and the agony in his body mirroring what Fabian must’ve felt as… he shook his head, groaning “No.” But as the air became opaque, he knew he could never escape. He was the monster that should be killed.