Jeff the Killer: Liu

HERE AND NOW
Brooklyn, New York

A young man, 18 years old, sits next to his living room window. He’s gazing distantly out towards the city streets, watching as strangers walk by. He has much on his mind and little of it good.

A woman, close to his age, older by a margin not great enough to mark a difference to the passive viewer enters. He looks up briefly, sadness apparent in his eyes as she approaches to join him.

“Tea?” a demure voice asks.

“Not right now, thank you though,” he replies before returning to stare vacantly at the pedestrians beyond the glass.

“Last night was difficult, I know, but you must continue doing what it is that you’ve always done. The strength that carried you through 2015, the will power that brought you from Mandeville to this point in your… no; our lives, that has to be your focal point. Don’t throw it all away, you’ve dealt with much worse.”

The man looks to his companion with gratitude in his eyes. Her words are his stalwart comfort.

“I just… miss him so much…”

The woman’s eyes remain fixed, waiting… waiting…

“Liu, I’m waiting,” she says, this time with a bit of sarcasm in her voice. A smile was threatening to form at the corners of her mouth, which would spell disaster at this exact moment.

After a moment of almost palpable effort, Liu Woods releases a harsh sigh and his mask of misery was quickly replaced with a brief smile of his own.

“Shit… sorry Jess, I just can’t cry on command. I told you this before we wrote this out.”

Jessica Lum, who was both Liu’s girlfriend and self-appointed director of public relations allowed herself to chuckle a bit as well.

“Looks like we’re going to have to break out the stage tears again.”

“Oh Jess you know I hate those damn things. Oily as all hell and I think they clogged my pours last time. I’m not too old for pimples yet. Do you really want that shit on your YouTube thumbnail?”

“Well Liu, had that bitch down in Mandeville not tanked our spotlight last night on Jack Elder, we likely would be done with this online diary crap. I can’t believe Elder’s producers let that bullshit happen. I mean, this was your moment!”

“Yeah, I know. Freaking Jane Alabama or whatever her name is… why the hell did she get to call in and cowboy the whole damned interview?”

“Her name is Arkansaw. I’ve been doing my research since last night. Remember that rich guy that was murdered in Mandeville a while back that was her daddy. I guess since then this girl has been on some sort of mission to expose the town. She recently appeared on some B-Rate shit-show called Cult Hunters. After her episode was filmed, the actors playing the roles of her and your brother were found murdered. It’s all the buzz down there. You really should start watching the news Liu.”

“Jess, the day I start reading the paper or watching the news is the day I want you to shoot me in the face with a flare gun, because that is the day I start turning into my dad. Death will be a welcomed mercy to avoid that fate.”

“But Liu, if I shoot you with a flare, you’ll turn into your brother. Liu the Killer just doesn’t have the same ring to it.”

“So you’re saying that Jeff the Killer does? Christ, only my big brother could become an infamous serial killer and come out sounding like a… fuck, I don’t even know…”

“If he danced like Michael, he could be Jeff the Thriller!” Jessica announced, starting a routine that she and Liu came up with right after they started dating.

“If he calls you over to watch Netflix, he could be Jeff the Chiller!”

“If he holds up the moral aptitude of a community, he’d be Jeff the Pillar!”

“Damn woman, why are you so good at this? Okay, if he was a pilgrim he could be Jeff the Miller!”

“Weak. If he worked for the IRS, he could be Jeff the Biller!”

“Okay, if he was a shitty writer who couldn’t stay away from purple prose, he’d be Jeff the Filler!”

“Aww Liu, you really tried there. If he rolled a natural 20 on a save throw to avoid being hypnotized by an evil wizard, he’d be Jeff the Willer!”

“I challenge, willer is not a word!” he demanded.

“Well sweetie, I hate to break it to you, but ‘Liu’ is not a name, yet you’re still here. Challenge overturned!”

“Damn Jess… you really go for the balls!”

By the end of their game both Liu Woods and Jessica Lum were laughing in long, earnest bouts that required breaks to catch their breath. The aggravation of Jane Arkansaw’s telephonic intrusion from her call on Liu’s live interview with Jack Elder the night before was starting to fade a bit. He was still annoyed over it, maybe even downright pissed off, but there would be other chances. Until then he still had his book deal, his check from appearing on Elder’s show and whatever publicity would come with it. Even if the world was more interested in some girl from Mandeville and her sob story, he was still the brother of Jeff the Killer. His check was written and cashed the moment Jeff murdered their parents. Jane Alabama or whatever her name was could come and lap up the crumbs if she wanted to, but there was only one Liu Woods and he was determined to ride that name straight into celebrity status.

On the subject of celebrities, Liu’s sit down with Elder had sported not only the aggravation of Jane calling in, ranting about the cover-ups in Mandeville, the murder of two actors working with Cult Hunters and about a million other portholes into insanity, but he’d also been stood up by Randy Hayden, who was scheduled to be a ‘surprise guest’ on the show. The idea had been cleared with Liu beforehand, as Elder didn’t want his program to devolve into an afternoon talk show of drama and chair throwing, and the youngest brother Woods had been all on board.

Elder had teased dragging Liu through the painful memories of the fight at Friendly Video, (a concept that was turning into his version of the O-K Coral) while his guest sat there and feigned anger. Elder would lead into something along the lines of:

“If Randy was here today, would you face him?”

Liu, fist balled, eyes filled with stoic courage, yet body language that spoke only of chaos, would nod once, hopefully producing the elusive tear. Elder would then announce:

“Well, here he is!”

At this point Randy would nervously walk onto the stage, hat in hand, shoulders shrugged, as he finally faced one of his victims in person. They would talk, they would tackle hard and emotional facets of their past, and in the end… the hug seen ‘round the world. Forgiveness from Liu, healing for Randy, it would have been a ratings bonanza.

However, Randy never showed. Though Liu hadn’t spoken to him personally, Elder’s production team had assured all in attendance that the legendary bully from Mandeville, son of tyrannical swindler Maxwell Hayden, wielder of the fateful flare gun would indeed be present for duty when Elder called his name. That didn’t happen. Liu had been informed before filming began that Randy simply fell off the face of the earth as far as the Newsroom production staff could tell. Phone calls and voice mails went unanswered, emails were ignored, Twitter messages fell on blind eyes and in the end, and Randy Hayden was a no-show. Liu was furious, but thankfully his ever-faithful friend, lover and keeper of secrets, (although many she filmed) Jessica Lum had managed to calm him down and get him back on track.

“This sucks Liu, but it’s more camera time for you, okay? It’s not like we’re letting any of your fans down, you never promised them a meeting with Randy. It was supposed to be a surprise, so no P.R. damage done. Plus, if Randy does pop back up, this may get you another spot on Newsroom, or maybe The View or Dr. Phil or who the fuck cares as long as it’s camera time for you. Now go out there and knock ‘em deader than your brother on a flare gun fueled ‘my mommy didn’t love me’ murder spree!”

She always knew what to say to him. Jane had been a curve ball though that even the crafty Jessica had not seen coming. The show was going all right, it was being broadcasted live, and it was obvious to Jessica that Elder was throwing Liu too many softball questions. People liked the broken Liu, the damaged Liu, and the victim of the victim Liu. All of that was fine and dandy, but Elder was lingering too much on the parts of the story that everyone already knew. Anyone that picked up Monica Davenport’s ‘Jeff Tapes’ could tell you about the emotionally neglectful parents. Anyone who watched Randy Hayden spill his guts to Leslie Matthews could tell you about the affluent bullies and the police force that refused to make a move against them or their families. She wanted Elder to dig into Liu’s life after 2015. His long road to recovery while being bullied at Texas public schools after he was shuttled off to live with extended family. His grit in finding the strength to pour his pain into the pages of his best-selling book, and of course, his future plans in New York.

Before Elder could eventually (if he ever would have) shifted the interview into new territory though, Jane Arkansaw had called in. She’d ranted about the issues that were still going on down in Mandeville. The death of some police officer with a goofy sounding name, (Jessica couldn’t remember it, but she recalled that it rhymed) the death of two bit-part actors who appeared in an even more bit-part cable television program hosted by the king of bit-parts, Derrick “I Crashed a Boat” Reynolds and a slew of other horror stories suddenly took over the entire show. Jessica held back rage as she watched Liu (who also appeared to be holding back an urge to scream) sit across from Elder while this woman from Mandeville hijacked the entire damned episode. Suddenly it was as if she were being interviewed over the phone by Elder as Liu only sat and tried to nod here and there, although he actually hadn’t been keeping up with any of the grizzly little scenarios that had been (and according to Jane still were) unfolding in his former little suburb, as if he could contribute to the conversation. Jessica timed it, and Jane’s little phone call ate up what equated to a whopping 37% of the entire hour-long presentation. In the end, Elder likely put her on the line with his scheduling people to try to get her a spot on his show. Jessica was not happy.

“Get this Liu,” she told him afterwards, as they both turned to ‘better living through chemistry’ to ease their angst at the whole debacle. “Turns out that the cable network that carries Cult Hunters isn’t going to air that episode now, at least, not until some time passes and the two actors are buried and mourned. Does this little Jane bitch really think she’s fooling anyone? Her opportunity at the limelight was canceled, so she had to steal yours. Fucking asshole… this is why girls hate each other.”

Liu, who had been using a credit card to mill through a white powder, a powder that not only decorated a portion of his living room table but also was dotted faintly above his upper lip and right below his nose, nodded with an accompanying grunt of agreement.

Jess continued, “According to the internet, she didn’t even move to Mandeville until after you were out in Texas living with relatives. Her dad apparently pissed off some fucktards who like to dress up as your brother… post flare version of course.”

“Of course,” Liu agreed.

“Anyway, she moved into your old house, how do you like that? Said fucktards then came over and burned the damn placed down with, going by the internet at least, the intention of cooking Miss Arkansaw inside; she’d been tied to a chair. Her lawyer rescued her at the last minute, apparently shooting the attacker, another Jeff clone, in the leg. He escaped in the chaos, but little Janey was rescued and got to steal your fifteen minutes of fame as a parting gift.”

After a loud snorting session followed by a loud breath of euphoric satisfaction, Liu joined the conversation.

“Whatever, it’s annoying, but honestly that interview was over for me as soon as Randy bailed. What a dick! The guy shoots my brother with a flare gun and then can’t even have the decency to repay me with some top notch ratings.”

Liu’s compass of success had not always pointed so diligently to the north, however. His teenage years after 2015 were not entirely pleasant. As he began to reflect Jessica interrupted him as she began to turn off the cameras that she’d set up to film a testimonial from Liu concerning his feelings after appearing on Jack Elder. He’d not mention Randy or Jane during this video. Instead he was to lament in the typical sad-sack style that he employed when making most of his videos for Jess. On tape he was the sad, broken brother; the humbled survivor, grieving orphan and the ultimate beacon of sympathy. In reality Liu woods wanted his share of the profit from the crap his brother had heaped onto him four years ago. Liu had asked for none of this, yet it’d been delivered to him in the form of two slaughtered parents left to rot in a bedroom just a few yards down the hall from his own.

Jeff had left and in his wake was ruination. Liu had to live with it, and he’d decided some time ago that if he had to live as the brother of Jeff the Killer, he would damn sure do it his way.

“Babe, I’m going out to get some stage tears. Zits or not, you gotta cry on this video, that’s your money shot kid.”

He looked up at his girlfriend as she was making her way to the door. “Okay, get food while you’re out.”

“If I have to stop and get you food, your ass better be camera ready when I get back. Real emotion Liu!”

She left. Liu thought about what she’d said… ‘real emotion.’ He used to have those. Now that he had the house to himself he decided to continue his reminiscing. He walked into the small bedroom that he and Jessica shared and opened up the case that held each and every video she’d ever shot concerning the past, present and future of Liu Woods. Jessica had labeled them religiously. They were perfectly ordered. Liu found the video that he wanted immediately. The first. The story of what happened after Jeff Woods bid his brother farewell and vanished into the night. He returned to his living room and loaded the tape. He knew Jess would be out for a while; she was a slow shopper. He’d have time to watch his tape without interruption. He picked up the remote and pressed play.

THEN AND THERE
Liu sat back and listened as his own voice and words washed over him. Jessica asked question after question, and as Liu heard himself responding his mind began to paint pictures, the pictures began to move and before long the younger brother of Jeff the Killer was enjoying a movie in his mind, the plot being moved along by his own retelling. He allowed his eyes to close so that he could watch the movie without any real-world distractions. Soon enough his mind’s eye took him back to Mandeville, back to 2015 and the horror that became his life for quite some time.

Liu Woods had been moved first to his Aunt Marcy’s home in Abita Springs. He’d left her home less than 48 hours prior to the events that would change his remaining childhood years forever. He’d been sent to his aunt’s as a punishment by his now deceased parents for the fight between Jeff and Randy Hayden’s friends and believed that he’d be forced to remain there until the start of the school year.

However, a careless act of stupidity with a loaded flare gun changed all of that. His mother informed her sister that her oldest son was lying in a hospital bed after an accident at a friend’s house. Liu still remembered hearing his mom refer to Randy as a “friend” and even until this day it still angered him. That was just Shelia Woods for you though. Some punk kid shoots her son with a flare and she still finds a way to put a community friendly spin on the situation. Marcy had driven Liu the short distance from Abita Springs to Mandeville but never wavered in complaining about the burden the task was placing on her. She repeated to her 14-year-old nephew several times that her car was old and she didn’t like taking it so far from home. It was as if Marcy didn’t care that her other nephew was in the hospital with severe burns to his face. She sighed loudly each time she had to stop for a red light. She made no effort to expedite their trip to the hospital, despite the fact that Liu was in a full-blown panic. After all, Jeff the Killer had yet to be born. The teenager in the emergency room was still just Jeff, still Liu’s big brother and best friend.

Once they finally did arrive, Liu immediately bolted from the car. He still recalled seeing Jeff lying in the bed with his face wrapped and I.V.’s hooked to his arm. Marcy caught up eventually, and she and her sister began to talk in hushed tones. Matt Woods only sat and stared at his son. Liu saw that his eyes were red. His father had cried, and in that moment Liu allowed himself to pretend to be a child with normal parents. He walked over to his father who hugged him firmly.

“Liu, Jeff is going to be okay, I promise. The EMT’s assured us that the injuries to his face are not life threatening.”

“What happened dad?”

“We don’t know yet, but…”

Shelia Woods interrupted.

“We know. Jeff was playing with a flare gun, showing off for his friends.”

Liu could see that his mother had also shed tears, but he didn’t feel that same level of empathy. He had a theory that Shelia’s tears were more likely caused from the embarrassment of having her son injure himself. She was likely far more concerned about being labeled a bad mother than having her first born in the care of the E.R.

Then it dawned on him… what friends? He and Jeff hadn’t made any friends since moving to Mandeville. The only other kids they’d met had been Randy, Keith and Troy, and they most certainly weren’t friends.

Liu briefly pondered how absurd it would be if his mother had actually forced Jeff to go and hang out with those assholes from the video store parking lot. After finding out that Randy’s father was in charge of the branch that his dad worked for, it would almost seem possible. Liu dismissed it though, believing that such an act was far too outrageous for even his parents to come up with.

Then Shelia told him.

“It was Randy Hayden along with two of his friends. Those boys tried to talk Jeff into putting that flare gun away… why would he be so…”

Liu felt his own brand of anger growing although his was not laced with the shades of blooming insanity that Jeff’s had recently become. Despite his age, Liu was no fool when it came to the methods and thinking of his mother and father. He couldn’t imagine a scenario in which Jeff and Randy’s group would become friends so quickly, although he did have to admit that it was possible. Still, something in his mother’s tone, the way she defended the three pieces of shit that accosted her children barely a week ago, something was there that Liu didn’t like or trust.

“Why was Jeff hanging out with Randy?”

“Liu, let it be,” Matt stated patiently.

“No dad, what really happened over there?”

“I told you what happened Liu!” Shelia snapped.

“Let’s take a walk son,” Matt said, and led Liu out into the hallway.

“Dad, I know you work for Hayden, I know our fight caused you some problems maybe, but… why was Jeff there? Is mom telling the truth?”

Liu was waiting for his father’s typical reaction; stress, annoyance and dismissal. So when his father began to engage his son’s concerns, Liu was almost as shocked as when he’d first seen Jeff’s condition.

They continued to walk as Matt spoke.

“Liu, we’re not going to know what really happened in that garage today until Jeff wakes up and gives us his side of the story. The say Jeff shot himself in the face out of negligence, but that was based only on the information given by three little rich assholes. I also couldn’t help but notice that the same cop, Williamson that came to our house last week was also investigating this incident.”

“That guy is covering for Randy and his friends…”

“I know son. Believe me, it was almost impossible for me to stand there and listen to him scold you and Jeff about not locking up your bikes, as if that was justification for them to ride on them.”

“Dad, if you know all of this… why did you let mom send me to Marcy’s? And you still haven’t told me why Jeff hanging out with Randy today? Were they really friends all of a sudden or was there something else?”

“Jeff and Randy weren’t friends. Your mom and his mom were trying to smooth things over and…” A pause from Matt Woods, “No, I won’t lie. Your mom wanted Jeff and Randy to get along so because the Hayden’s are important people in this town. I’d already squared things away with Max Hayden for the most part. The idea of the kids trying to make friends came from your Shelia.”

“Why does mom care so much about that shit… oops, I mean crap, sorry…”

“No Liu, shit is exactly what those kids are. Their family’s wealth, the success that came from the parents they were just lucky enough to be born from… well, that becomes their shield and sword. It protects them, like with Williamson, and it can be used as a weapon too. I’ve dealt with people like the Hayden’s all of my life. I worked my ass off to climb the damn corporate ladder, having to bow down executives who likely produce the majority of the Randy’s in the world. I hated it, because Liu, no matter how many times you write the reports that make them look good to their bosses, no matter how many times you come in early so they can have hot coffee waiting, no matter how many times you kiss the goddamned ring, you’re always trash to them.”

“Just like me and Jeff are to Randy, Keith and Troy.”

“No! You’re not! You and Jeff are better now than those little fucks will be in their entire lives. I just wanted to make sure that you and Jeff never had to be like me. Rotting away in a cubicle, complimenting some jackass’s tie and laughing at his jokes all in the name of making a living. But Christ Liu, I fucked this up royally didn’t I?”

“I just don’t understand why you and mom have to act like you do? Why couldn’t you have stood up for us with Williamson? Why can’t you stand up to mom?”

“It’s because I love Shelia so much. One day you’ll see what that’s like, when you’re married. Your mother has put up with a lot from me over the years as well. I’ve… made mistakes in the past and she’s chosen to forgive them. This… this town, this illusion of status, it gives her something that I think I may have taken away years ago.”

“Dad? What...?”

“It’s not for you to know Liu. But… as much as I love your mother, I cannot ignore the fact that my son is in the hospital because of some shithead kids. Trust me Liu, once we find out from Jeff’s side of the story, if it turns out Randy or his friends did this, I won’t have to worry about working for Max Hayden any longer, because I’ll put those kids’ heads through a fucking wall.”

Despite the mental trauma that Liu felt he was drowning in, his father’s words brought a genuine smile to his face. His father continued,

“Now listen son, don’t take any of this to your mom. She’s going to have to deal with this in her way, and you already know what that way is likely going to be. I’m going to support her too. She has to go through the emotional distress of having an injured child. She may not show it in the best of ways, but she loves you both very much. She has her own cross to bear, and I hope one day you can understand that. I hope you won’t hate her.”

“Okay dad, I won’t hassle mom.”

“Good boy… thank you. Look, I’ll take care of Shelia for the next few days if you agree to take care of Jeff. He’s going to need a lot of emotional support. I know I have to rebuild some trust with him, and I will, but in the meantime he’s going to expect for you to be his shoulder to lean on. Can you do that for me Liu?”

“Of course dad. And… thank you for talking to me, for being honest about this. I don’t care what kind of house we live in or how much money you make… I just want my dad… and mom too.”

“You’ll have us both. Once Jeff recovers, I’m going to take some time off of work. Maybe we can go camping or something.”

In that moment Liu felt a joy and peace come over him that he’d not felt in ages. He felt like he was just reunited with his father. He believed in his heart without doubt that things were going to get better now.

He was wrong.

Liu discovered his parents’ murder on what would have otherwise been a rather typical late summer morning. The police were called. Reports were filed, questions were asked, and a search was formed for Jeff. At the time the assumption was that he was kidnapped by whoever murdered Matthew and Shelia. Crime scene investigators did their jobs and as more evidence was compiled from the blood bath left in the master bedroom, Liu couldn’t help but notice that the adults were telling him less and less. Something was going on that they didn’t want him to know about.

Liu was temporarily living with his Aunt Marcy, who, by the grace of God above had rediscovered her ability to express compassion and empathy. He stayed secluded as much as possible and said very little. He was being interviewed almost daily by police detectives and based on their questions he was starting to piece the rest of the puzzle together.

“So, you recall your brother waking you up on the night of your parents’ murder, correct?” asked the senior investigator for the Mandeville Police. His name was Detective Mitchell Hardy.

“Yes… it was his first night back from the hospital. He was acting strange most of the evening, but… he’d just been through all the… you know, injuries, so I sort of…” Liu replied.

“I understand that. He’d been through a lot of traumas, right? So, you mentioned that you tried to bring his behavior up to your parents earlier that evening, you said that Jeff was making you nervous, is that correct?”

“I mean, he kept looking at his face and saying weird stuff. I thought he might be depressed. My parents were tired though, and they didn’t want to talk.”

“So, tell me again what he said to you the last time you spoke?”

“He said that I was free now, that I’d understand in the morning… oh man, do you guys really think Jeff…”

“What I think Liu is that you’ve lived through something really horrible and you’re being quite brave in helping us. You’re a very strong young man. This investigation is just starting, so we have to explore every possible avenue. No one is accusing your brother of anything, but we cannot ignore evidence. Do you understand that Liu?”

“Yes sir. Detective Hardy, can I ask you a question?”

“Certainly.”

“Have you spoken to Randy Hayden or any of his friends from the day of the flare injury?”

“About your parents? No. Do you believe they have information?”

“I think… I think they are the ones that shot Jeff with that flare gun. That cop, Williamson, he was there and…”

Hardy interrupts.

“Liu, I think right now we need to focus on your parents and finding your brother. I’m not just concerned with questioning him about the night of the murders, but I am also concerned for his health. He had quite a bad burn on his face and without proper care he could get an infection and get sick, possibly even die.”

“I know, I want to find him too.”

“Good. So, think really hard Liu. I know you and Jeff weren’t living in Mandeville for long, but is there anywhere that you can think of where he could be hiding out? Did you guys have a hangout, you know, like a clubhouse or something?”

For just a moment Liu did have an idea, a place that he and Jeff had discovered on the day they encountered Randy in the parking lot. However, Hardy was giving off a vibe now that Liu couldn’t quite describe, but he certainly didn’t care for. Perhaps it was because Hardy had started their interview in ‘friend mode.’ Just another Officer Friendly coming by to try to help piece Liu’s life back together. However, just below the Officer Friendly lurked something else, an agenda that made Liu fear for his brother’s safety. Hardy wasn’t interested in getting Jeff medical attention; Hardy was interested in arresting and interrogating him. He also couldn’t miss the very intentional dodge thrown by Hardy when the question of Randy was asked. He decided at that moment to tell the detective nothing.

“I’m sorry sir, but I can’t think of anywhere Jeff may have gone. I just really hope you find him.”

After a few more questions the interview was concluded and Hardy left, promising he’d be back in touch with Liu soon. It was soon after that Williamson, Keith and Troy were murdered.

Liu was moved from Abita Springs within a matter of days. With the photograph of Jeff taken by Williamson’s son released to the press, there was no longer any question that the oldest Woods brother was behind these killings. He was moved out to Texas where some extended family lived. There he was expected to start a new life, far away from his dead parents and insane big brother. Things however were far from ideal, at first anyway.

Jeff the Killer was becoming a national headline by this time, and despite moving to another state, Liu Woods was immediately identified by his peers at school. They were not kind.

“Hey Liu, did your brother fuck your mom after he stabbed her to death?” came an insult one long, dreadful day as the now orphaned teenager tried to push through math class. The teacher, a man who appeared to have a less spine than hair, looked up from his newspaper, saw the brewing tension and pretended as though he heard nothing.

For a moment Liu was torn. Anger rose within him, but along with it came a sense of defeat. He wanted to say something, and had he still possessed the unwavering confidence that he’d possessed when Jeff was alive, when Jeff was his best friend instead of a national headline, perhaps would’ve. Of course, if Jeff was still the brother he’d grown up with, chances are he wouldn’t have to deal with some asshole kid taking cheap shots at his dead parents.

“Hey pussy! I asked you a question!” the antagonistic classmate called out.

Liu saw this for what it was, the same song and dance, perhaps set to a slightly different tune, perhaps in a new venue, but in the end, the same as always. The kid antagonizing Liu was named Trace Dunkin. However, he demanded to be called ‘Logan’ for whatever reason, most likely because he imagined himself like the character Wolverine from the comics. Trace fancied himself to be a real badass, and since Liu had shown up in the classroom that he no doubt considered his and attempted to assimilate into a world that Trace also and without a doubt considered ‘his,’ he’d made Liu his verbal punching bag. The jokes were always the same, dead parents this, crazy brother that, necrophilia sprinkled in for added impact. The other kids in class would snicker and Liu would juggle his options in his mind each time.

Liu thought, “I could fight, sure. If Trace is half as tough as he talks, he might very well kick the shit out of me. If I fight him and win, he’ll likely show up with friends. He won’t take a loss. I can try to strike back with insults or jokes. If I had a single friend in this class, or if half the students weren’t either scared of Trace or just glad that he’d found a target that wasn’t one of them, I might get a laugh from them. Of course, I tried that with Randy and his friends back in Mandeville. I made some stupid joke about me and Jeff saving up allowance to go screw his mom… yeah; because she was a prostitute… ha… that’s the joke. All that did was accelerated violence that might not have existed had we just picked up our bikes and walked away.”

Liu heard the familiar sound of notebook paper being ripped from the book, followed by it being balled up. He knew what was coming now.

‘POP’

A ball of paper bounces off the back of Liu’s head.

“So now we move into Act 2,” Liu thought. “The verbal jabs about my parents, the constant jokes about my brother fucking them and that class chestnut, calling me a pussy didn’t quite get me worked up. At least… not visibly, so now our friend Trace 'Logan' Dunkin will begins that traditional tossing of the balled up sheets of paper. He’ll keep doing this until the bell rings, all to the giggles and glee of those around him. Our illustrious teacher, Mr. Falcone, will simply sit behind his desk and pretend to grade papers, because Falcone is also afraid of the Logan’s of the world. Sure, Falcone isn’t scared that Logan will beat him up, Falcone is afraid that Logan will openly defy him in front of the class, making our adult supervisor appear weak, meaningless… impotent perhaps. So what do I do God? Do I sit here and wallow in torment as Trace ‘Call me Logan’ Dunkin gets his jollies at my expense? If so Lord, what do I gain? My brother and I remained obedient as our parents took the words of violent peers and crooked cops and look where that got us? So please dear God in heaven above, do stroke thy beard in my favor and tell a screwed up kid that’s been cast from everything he’s ever known what to do… please!”

God chose to take the path so favored by the professional educator and reader of newspapers Mr. Michael Falcone and remained the hell out of this mess. Finally the bell rang and Trace ‘I’ve Got a Hard-On for Wolverine’ Dunkin, along with his snickering band of idiots left the room. Liu, as he did each and every day since moving to Austin and starting school there, stayed in his seat.

“Mr. Woods, class is over, please go to your next assigned classroom,” spoke the teacher, proving that even he waited for the bullies to leave before moving.

“Mr. Falcone, did you not see all that? Trace ridiculing my parents, calling me a pussy, throwing stuff… throwing SHIT at my head?”

“You did the right thing Liu, playing into their antics doesn’t help anything.”

“I know that I did the right thing, I wish you had.”

Falcone appeared to consider correcting his student as he slowly crept towards insolence, but perhaps being aware of what the 15-year-old standing before him had endured barely one year ago, he chose to gesture towards the hallway and remind Liu that he had other classes to attend.

There would be no more class today though. He decided he’d had enough of Austin public education for one day and chose to head to the office and call home sick. His family would know he wasn’t really ill, but they’d informed him several times that should things get difficult or should he start feeling overly stressed, that he could call home anytime and they’d come and pick him up. For the first few months of the school year Liu hadn’t taken them up on that rather generous offer of rescue, but today he decided he would.

As he walked towards the principal’s office tucked away in the administrative annex, he let his head hang down as he continued to think about his current state of affairs.

“Falcone is just like dad… he knows that the status quo is wrong, corrupt and vile, but he also knows that rocking the boat can be worse. Fucking Trace… just another Randy, why, I bet he has a really fat friend and a really skinny friend that follow him around and parrot whatever bullshit he throws around. This whole thing isn’t unique at all. What happened in Mandeville, it’s happening right here. The only thing that made the incident back home stand out was… Jeff…”

On some days when Trace Dunkin or some other mean spirited schoolmate chose to make Liu the target of their fun, he’d realize that Jeff was a catalyst, a one-of-a-kind event that could happen in almost any walk of life, but rarely does. Bullies, negligent adults, corrupt officials… they’re everywhere. But very few of them ever see what their actions can really produce. Jeff though, he stood out from the typical victim of torment and abuse. Liu was convinced that no one believed that such rage could exist within a young man like Jeff, a child who’d been raised with a good education and lots of outlets for his ever growing connection to the world around him. Liu theorized that perhaps what transformed Jeff Woods, brother, teacher and friend into the depraved ghoul known as Jeff the Killer was that those little fail-safes, those little switches that kick on in people’s minds, like the ones that told Liu not to instigate Trace… well, in the case of Jeff, those fail-safes simply… failed.

Jeff had described his anger as ‘syrup,’ a metaphor that made Liu cringe a bit but also hit home as accurate, if not perhaps a bit overused. It leaked in, probably a little at a time over the years that Matt and Shelia ignored them. It got worse with the move to Mandeville though. Jeff didn’t want to be there. Randy and his friends contributed a crack or two, and the outright cartoonish treachery of Officer Williamson added a few more. Their parents sending Liu away, not caring that Randy had started the whole fight, that perhaps allowed the cracks to spread enough to spider web into each other, turning several small, most likely harmless breaks in the wall into large, deeper and far more alarming holes in the armor. The flare gun, Jeff’s face and the emotional devastation of hearing that the same parents that supported the criminally negligent policing styles of Williamson, the same mother that forced her son to try to engage with the very kid that kicked off the damned problems and finally having to hear that his parents, even when he was lying in the hospital, chose to believe said lying asshole kids… well, that shattered the wall. The fail-safes were gone. Whatever was left of the old Jeff, the best friend and mentor, that was now floating in the same raging sea of madness where the rage, the revenge and that sweet syrup of sadistic bliss all met and became one.

Liu began to realize that when a caterpillar goes into the cocoon, what comes out is not a new creature all together. Whatever made up the caterpillar still exists within the moth, but the moth is now a composite of a lot of other factors that were perhaps locked up inside the caterpillar’s genetic make-up, but kept dormant.

Jeff was driven insane… Jeff was…

“Complete,” Liu whispered. “Randy, our parents, Williamson, the disfigurement… it didn’t create a new person, it simply… unlocked too much. The reason that some people are sick fucks and others are good members of society…  it’s because only so much of our entire… self… can exist at once. When it all comes together though…”

“Ummm, Woods!” a male voice suddenly called from nearby, breaking Liu’s concentration and bringing him crashing back into reality. It was the school’s principal, Mr. Robinson.

“Yes sir?” he asked, walking over to the man. He really just wanted to sign out and go home, but he supposed that so long as he wasn’t in a classroom having paper balls thrown at his head, he could endure a few more minutes of school today.

“Uhhh, I’m sorry Woods, how do you say you’re first name? Is it pronounced “Lee-U?”

This, similar to bullies and bastards, was another constant in Liu’s life. He’d dealt with it since his first day of pre-school, and before Jeff decided to take a kitchen knife to their mother and father, he honestly believed it might be the biggest concern that he’d ever have to live with. He supposed that even if the world one day forgot about Jeff the Killer, he’d still have to explain the correct pronunciation of his name for the rest of his life.

“It’s pronounced “Lou” sir, just spelled weird.”

Liu counted down the seconds in his mind until the next inevitable question/comment would follow.

“I take it that you’ve got some Asian ancestry?”

“Not that I know of sir, just parents that wanted to reinvent the wheel when it came to naming I think.”

“Very good then. Now Liu, I’d like you to do me a favor. We have a new student here, her first day at this school in fact. I know you’ve got class, but I’d like you to show her around. You’re pretty new yourself so you can let her know what to expect as a fresh transfer. Mind doing that for me?”

He wanted to go home, but upon seeing the bright eyes and warm smile on the face of the young woman who stepped out of the office to greet him, Liu decided that perhaps he could tough out the remainder of the day.

“Liu, this is Vivianna Alexander. She transferred here from another Austin high school in a different district. Vivianna, this is Liu, he moved to Texas last year from New Orleans.”

“Liu, nice to meet you! I’ve always wanted to visit New Orleans!”

Vivianna was what Liu supposed was called a ‘perky goth,’ dark on the outside, cheery on the inside. Her clothing seemed more homemade than Hot Topic, which reminded him of some older gothic kids that hung out in Jackson Square back in New Orleans. For a moment he felt a pang of homesickness that he hadn’t experienced in some time. Maybe because she reminded him of days when he and Jeff still lived in Walnut Square out in New Orleans East. Back in those days they’d hope the public bus and head downtown. They’d sit around Jackson Square watching the artists and buskers do their thing. Painters would create quick but respectable portraits for tourists with money burning away at their pockets. The tarot card readers represented a strange and esoteric presence that always fascinated Liu. He can remember time after time asking if he could get his palm read. Jeff would always tell him no that it was a waste of money and a bunch of superstitious foolishness for drunk visitors to New Orleans. Still though, Liu always swore that when he was old enough to come down to the Square alone that he’d finally lay down some cash and see what the cards held in store for him.

“Vivianna… you’d umm, you’d fit in nice in New Orleans…” Liu stammered.

The principal returned to his office and Liu gestured for Viv to follow him as he tried his best to remember where everything was in a school that he himself was still a bit new. They’d made it halfway down the first hall when she spoke up.

“Liu Woods, the younger brother of Jeff Woods. I didn’t think I’d meet anyone like this on my first day here.”

Liu waited for the snide comment, the fearful eyes or perhaps even the pity. He’d found that not all the children were as cruel hearted as Logan. Some were worse, treating him like something to be feared and avoided. Others handled him like porcelain as though the any mention of his past life in Louisiana at all would simply shatter him into dust.

“That’s me… so, if you go up this hall…”

“Darn it… I’m sorry Liu; that was a bitchy thing for me to say like that. I’ll never know what it’s like to go through what you did, or at least I hope I’ll never know. I do sort of get what it’s like to be treated like an outcast,” as she said this, she raised her arms and did a slight turn, as if to punctuate her position with a visual demonstration.

“My dad is an artist, and he’s come up with some pretty crazy exhibits. The kids at my last school happened upon one of his more… ambitious showcases, and well, let’s just say it got so bad for me that I had to switch schools.”

“What was it?” Liu asked.

“He’s really into gore, like, that’s his forte you could say. He created a really bloody scene… fake blood of course… Oh GOD I’m so stupid… Liu, I’m so sorry…”

“What’s the matter?”

“It’s just, I’m talking about this fake bloody crap that my father did, and you… you had to see the real thing…”

At times like this, Liu generally would crawl into his own emotional shell, politely lie and say that he wasn’t bothered or offended, and then awkwardly continue his day. He didn’t intend to break away from his routine this time, but it still happened. Maybe it was the open and honest vibes radiating from Vivianna that brought on this new response, but once it was out, Liu didn’t know how to feel.

“I thought it was fake blood when I first saw it on my parent’s wall. I have no idea how my mind was going to logic its being there, but that was what I thought for at least a second or two.”

“Liu, you don’t have to explain anything to me…”

He cut her off.

“My brother Jeff… Jeff the Killer as everyone calls him now, he just snapped one night. I guess if you knew who I was you’re familiar with the case; the flare gun, the damage to his face, my mother’s concern that he was going to embarrass the family or something…”

“Yeah, I listened to Monica Davenport’s Jeff Tapes. I guess when you just see it on television and never have to meet the people it happened to, you could just observe it as a spectator. It’s wrong that people have used this for publicity though.”

“No it’s not. It’s a story, they’re reporters. Did you know that I tried to tell my parents that night before I went to bed?”

Vivianna shook her head slowly.

“Jeff was acting weird and…”

Suddenly a familiar voice, laced with sadistic sarcasm and ill intent broke in to their conversation.

“Fucking Liu, who’s this, the mortician that buried your mom?” Trace Dunkin asked. He had three other kids with him, two boys and a girl. She was a cheerleader that often hung around the likes of Trace.

“C’mon,” Vivianna whispered, giving Liu’s arm a slight tug. However, he stood his ground.

That sensation was upon him again, the very same feeling that he’d felt when opening up to Viv. It was something that he liked, a sense of situational understanding. He did not feel flustered or confused as he almost always did in these types of encounters.

“Logan, the mortician that buried my mother was a 60-year-old man with a crooked nose and a glass eye. Vivianna here is anything but that, wouldn’t you say?”

“So you’re into freaks now Liu?” he fired back, causing the cheerleader to giggle her approval.

“Nope, just being real with you. Vivianna is beautiful. If she were my mortician, I’d probably track down my fucking brother and ask him to finish what he started.”

“That’s sick dude,” the cheerleader scolded, as though all of her friend Logan’s comments about Liu’s past were just fine, perfectly appropriate, but let the actual survivor say something and suddenly he should be ashamed.

“A lot of that shit back in Mandeville was sick, ummm, Jackie is it?”

Jackie, the cheerleader nodded.

“Logan, to my knowledge Jeff never fucked the corpse of my mother… or father for that matter, but then again, it was dark when he came into my room and said that weird goodbye… so, if he had a chub I wouldn’t have been able to tell.”

Logan appeared to consider his options. Liu decided to assist.

“Logan, you can go ahead and make the joke that’s on the tip of your tongue right now. Call me gay for my brother or something. After all, I just referenced him coming into my dark room with a possible hard-on. Or, maybe you’d like to know what it was like living there, dealing with assholes like Randy Hayden. Did you know that he and his parents had to go into hiding? I mean, Jeff the Killer took out his two best friends, it seemed logical that he was next.”

“What was it like, back before Jeff went… you know?” asked one of Logan’s friends.

“Crazy as a shit-house rat is the phrase I think you’re looking for,” Liu corrected, and this time all those present, Trace Dunkin included, responded with laughter that was not at all mean spirited.

“Don’t we have class?” Dunkin asked.

“Logan… I know you aren’t worried about getting back to class. Do you guys really want to hear some Jeff stories or not?”

“Let’s go, I know a place with some shade out behind the gym.”

“Lead the way Logan,” Liu replied.

As he and Vivianna followed behind, she leaned close to him and whispered, “You don’t have to do this you know. If you don’t want to tell these creeps about your past, you certainly shouldn’t.”

Liu turned a smile to Viv, a smile that felt real and happy, a feeling he’d been lacking in his life for a very long time.

“Vivianna, I do want to tell them. They’re interested and this shit isn’t doing anything but turning into a slow tumor if I keep it bottled up. C’mon, they won’t be looking for us anytime soon, I’m supposed to be giving you a tour after all.”

An hour later, Liu finished his story to a crowd of at least a dozen students. Others had seen Logan and his pals circled around the two new kids and likely assumed some gawk worthy action was about to take place. In many ways they were correct.

“So, this fucking asshole Randy… he just got away?” Logan asked. His tone and demeanor were so different now that it was almost as if he was a different person.

“Yep, his dad saw the writing on the wall you know. Jeff was hunting down people one-by-one, and Randy was most certainly the next target.”

“That sucks, that douche sounds like he should have been first!”

“Liu, did you ever have, you know, the same impulses… you know, for revenge?” asked Jackie the cheerleader.

“Who me? Christ no! I mean, can you imagine what the paper would have called me? My brother already has the least frightening serial killer title in history. I get Jack the Ripper; that just sounds cool as shit, but Jeff the Killer? I guess whoever was on writing duty that day was going for the minimalist style. If I’d lost my mind too, I’d probably get something like Liu the Stabber, or maybe Homicidal…”

“Liu,” Vivianna whispered as she tugged on his shirtsleeve.

“What’s up?”

“I think we’ve missed at least two classes by now. I mean, this is fun and I love listening to your story obviously, but this is my first day and I don’t know if this is how I want to start out here.”

Logan looked up, a smile on his face, “Hey Liu, does your girlfriend need to get to class?”

Liu felt that defensive wall shift inside of him for a moment, but then he looked at the earnest and friendly grin on Logan’s face and realized that his question had not been laced with any hint of sarcasm. He honestly just assumed they were together.

“I think she does, but we’re not dating, she just got here today.”

“Oh, well, you guys make a cute couple, you should consider it,” Jackie chimed in as a few other girls nodded in agreement.

“Okay then, later people,” Liu announced and he and Vivianna walked away.

As they entered the school, their steps making loud echoes in the empty halls, Viv made a life changing suggestion.

“Liu, I know it’s your story and your pain to deal with, but when you were out there telling that story, I don’t know… I saw a real joy in you. I’m not sure if it was just because the usual pricks were sitting and listening instead of hurling insults, but you were enjoying yourself, weren’t you?”

“I was, I really was. All this time I never knew what to do with it, you know, the weight of being Liu Woods. Today though, it just felt right.”

“If you wrote a book, I bet people would buy it.”

“I don’t know, people already know the story, it’s all over the Internet. Jeff the Killer is possibly the most popular horror story online right now.”

“Probably second most,” Vivianna responded.

“Either way though Vivianna, there isn’t much else to tell. The web is pretty saturated with the plight of Jeff, and I’m not much of a writer.”

“I’m not suggesting you just write about the facts of the case. What I’m saying is that you should write your version. You tell the story your way, dig into it, and tell them about Liu Woods, not just Jeff Woods. I mean, 2015 is over, right? It was a bad year for you, a bad year for the community… of Mandeville. If you could give the people something fresh, something new, sure, you’ll have to stick to the original events, but you can add to it, expand on it… I bet people would love it!”

“I give that about a 50/50 chance right there Viv.”

“Will you at least think about it?”

“Will you help me if I do? You’re the artsy one after all,” he asked her.

“Of course!”

From that day forward the harassment came to an almost complete halt. It had to taper a bit here and there, but with Logan no longer leading the charge and word spreading that Liu was willing to give full details of growing up with one of the most sensationalized murderers in the country, public interest had shifted from ridiculing to listening. Liu and Vivianna remained close friends, and she often asked if he’d started writing yet. He always told her he wasn’t quite there yet. In truth he’d tried a few times but found himself just staring at his computer monitor. In his head he could easily string his feelings together, but when it came to translating them into type, he found that even the title was beyond him.

A few months later Liu received a phone call from Viv. She sounded both sad and excited at the same time.

“Liu, do you want the good news of the bad news?” she’d asked.

“Dealer’s choice.”

“Fine, make me do all the work. I found out today that my parents and I are moving and guess where?”

“Wait, is that the good news or the bad news?”

“Who cares Liu, guess!”

“Hmmm, did your dad finally get that downtown loft he’d been interested in?”

“No, I guess I’ll just tell you. It’s going to be kind of sad though, because it’s not in Austin or even in Texas?”

“So you’re really moving, like, a new life moving?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry Liu. It sucks for me too, I mean, I was just starting to get to that point where I could walk down the hall without at least one person asking me if I worshiped the devil or if my dad’s name was Gomez…”

“It’s weird that kids in 2016 would use the Addams Family to insult you.”

“It’s kind of cool though. We’re move to New Orleans! You can totally come visit and show me around!”

“Why are you moving?”

“Tell you what Liu, come over and have dinner with me and my family tonight. I’ll tell you all about it.”

“Dinner with Vivianna, okay, it’s on my today list.”

“You wrote down what you’re going to do in less than two hours?”

“It was more to validate the statement.”

That night Liu dined with Viv and her parents. He’d met them a time or two during his friendship with their daughter, and while they were a bit strange, they were also kind and supportive towards her interests. Her father, a huge man named Casper, explained that his latest art exhibit, a simulated murder scene on the streets of downtown Austin, had gone quite poorly. The property management firm who held Casper’s lease had received massive public pressure to evict the man, and finally the powers that he paid rent to caved in. They’d agreed to refund Viv’s dad the entirety of what he’d already paid them in rent for the year plus throw in a sizable check to cover relocation if Casper would sign a contract agreeing not to contest the eviction. Casper felt that he could likely do far more than that, he could probably sue them for breaching their end of the deal considering that he’d done nothing that violated his rental contract. Casper however was not the sue-happy type. He accepted their deal. He and his family had decided that they’d try New Orleans next.

“What in particular made you pick New Orleans?” Liu asked.

“Well, for starters it’s close. It has a great art scene, but I’m sure you know that already, and from what I’ve read and the contacts that I’ve spoken it down there, the local crowd may be a bit more accepting of our… uniqueness.”

Vivianna smiled and added, “He means our weirdness.”

Renee Alexander, Viv’s mom, asked Liu, “So, what part of town should we move to? So far we’ve researched homes in the French Quarter, the By-Water, New Orleans East… I mean, I know crime can be bad down there, so what’s a good middle ground?”

“You’ll spend a fortune on a tiny apartment in the French Quarter. Plus parking is a nightmare down there, and the crowds go all night sometimes. If you do any art from home and like to have peace and quiet, I’d avoid that. The By-Water has sort of become a hipster attraction, so it might fit your work. New Orleans East though… that’s where Jeff and I grew up. I really miss it.”

After dinner concluded that night, Liu and Vivianna took a walk down her street together.

“I wish you guys would just stay in Austin. Thanks to you I’ve made some friends here, but you’re my closest,” he said to her.

“I know, I want to be excited about the move. I’ve always wanted to go to New Orleans, but every time I try to get really happy about it, I think about leaving your behind. Liu, I honestly didn’t know if I’d make a single friend this year, and on that first day when we met, I really thought I’d ruined any chance of us being friends, when I… brought up your past so quickly.”

“Viv, you were the first person that wasn’t a therapist, journalist or adult relative that recognized me and treated me like someone they actually wanted to get to know. You remember how Logan was at first… I’d been dealing with that all year. If you hadn’t gotten me to talk about it…”

“I still want you to write that book. Please Liu. I even thought of a title you might like, Jeffery Woods: Brother-Friend-Killer. I hope that killer part doesn’t seem too harsh. You can name it whatever you want of course, but I wanted to give you a real contribution while we still had time.”

“That’s going to be the title then, no questions about it. I love it.”

“And Liu, we can still email and talk on the phone and Facebook. I want regular updates on the book too, don’t go getting famous and forgetting little Viv here.”

“I could never forget you. Of course I’ll bug the hell out of you on the Internet.”

Vivianna laughed, and they stopped at the corner. They’d walked a bit and Liu knew that if they didn’t turn around now, they might just walk all the way to New Orleans, chatting the whole time.

“Vivianna… I know we’re close friends and…” Liu stopped mid-sentence. He wanted to express that he’d grown a bit closer to her than just good friends, but he was also worried that he could ruin what was the first real friend he’d made since Jeff vanished.

“Liu,” she replied, her voice dropping to a soft tone. “You survived Mandeville, you walked out of your house alive. You’re Liu Woods, future best-selling author and all around amazing person. If you want to kiss me, do it. I like you too… I have for some time. If I’d known we were going to move so quickly, I would have told you much earlier.”

That night Liu Woods received his first real kiss. He and Viv embraced for several moments before she pulled back and begin to giggle.

“Am I that bad of a kisser?” he asked her.

“No… I just realized that someone is over there watching us. The guy must have come out to check his mail or something, see?”

Liu looked down the street in the direction of Viv’s pointed finger and saw that about a block away was a figure standing on the sidewalk. Due to the distance he couldn’t make out any features, couldn’t even tell if it was a man or a woman.

“He’s still staring at us,” Liu said in a flat voice, more to himself than to Viv.

Liu focused harder and thought that he could make out something on the person’s face. As he stared, Vivianna tapped his shoulder.

“Liu, look past the guy, to his left where the road ends and those bushes are, does that look like… another guy dressed the same?”

“I… I think I see him, yeah. Shit, you’re right, they’re identical.”

“Liu, look over there, behind that red car on the left side of the street!”

He trained his eyes on the area she’d pointed to and saw a third individual, also playing the statue game. Then he spotted a fourth, another clone stepping out of the darkened bushes. Viv grabbed Liu’s arm and whispered into his ear in a harsh voice, “I see two more, they’re standing in that yard with the chain-link fence over there.”

To Liu this entire scene reminded him of home when he and Jeff were growing up in Walnut Square. There were some older kids that would sometimes beat up the younger children in the neighborhood, and his current situation reminded him of how it would typically go down. Getting ‘jumped’ as it was known would involve the older kids blocking in their victims by sort of forming a perimeter. No matter where he might try to run, someone much bigger and stronger would be there. He and Jeff could always tell when it was about to happen just from the way the aggressors would sort of stand back and wait. Finally, whichever one of the assholes had come up with the idea would make a move and the rest would close in.

Liu looked up the street in the direction of Viv’s house to see if more were waiting, closing them in, but he saw no one.

“Okay Vivianna, we start walking. We walk fast but don’t run. If they’re after us and we start sprinting, they’ll do the same. I don’t know how fast you are, but I know I can’t run from here to your house without stopping, and maybe those guys behind us are all fucking track stars. So we power walk, okay. If they start following we just watch how far back they’re staying. If they close in, we start running our asses off and just hope that we get to your place before we completely run out of steam.”

“Liu, I’m wearing freaking moon boots, I don’t know if I can run at all in these.”

“Ok. We power walk then. If they start charging, we start screaming. We can just run up to one of the houses and start banging on the door if we have too.”

Liu took another quick glance and confirmed that the silent figures had yet to move. He didn’t take the time to verify, but from his brief assessment he estimated there were at least eight of them, all dress in identical clothing. They were wearing black hooded sweatshirts and black pants. All had their hoods pulled up, turning their faces into mysteries in the darkness. Liu still believed he saw something though, but with the poor lighting it was difficult to say exactly what. It looked like something was painted on to its face though.

“Let’s move,” Liu stated with authority and took Vivianna by the hand. No sooner did they move than the group of shadowy figures began to move as well. They walked slowly, almost matching Liu’s pace. He began to walk faster, and when he’d cast his head back in their direction, he noticed they too picked up their speed.

“Fuck it Liu, I’ll run in the boots!” Vivianna declared, and they both began to run. Liu maintained his grip on her hand. She was indeed slowing them down quite badly, but he wasn’t going to leave her.

Just as he began to debate the merits of possibly attempting to run while carrying Vivianna, two more hooded people moved quickly from behind a parked car and into the street to block them. As Liu turn to consider charging up to a porch, the remainder of the group arrived. He and Viv were now surrounded.

Now that the entire freak show was up close, he could see what was on their faces. They were all wearing solid white masks. Two eyeholes appeared, perfect round. A single rectangular slit served as the mouth. He saw that a red substance, what he thought looked like blood, was smeared across each mask.

“What do you want?” Liu demanded.

“Hello,” it replied. It was a man, which was obvious by the voice.

“Let us go or I’ll scream,” Vivianna stated.

The masked speaker pointed towards the first of the four homes that surrounded them. “For sale, for sale, on vacation, an elderly woman with a hearing aid.” He completed point to each location and giving them its occupancy status, then turned his attention back to his victims.

Liu once again asked, this time in a voice slightly less confident, what it was that they wanted.

“Did you like seeing their dead bodies?” the man asked. “Did see them laying there, covered in blood make you happy?”

Liu was thunderstruck. Did these people know who he was? Were they after him for what Jeff did?

“Look, I didn’t have anything to do with it… I tried to warn them…” Liu stammered, “They wouldn’t listen!”

“Did they even have names? Can you show the dead at least the respect of calling them by their names!” he screamed.

“Yes, yes! Mom, Dad, Donald Williamson, Troy, Keith and the reporter… ummm, Rosenberg!”

Two of the masked figures looked at each other and tilted their heads a bit.

“Naming them changes nothing! We will not have you here, we shall not allow such evil to enter our community!”

The man drew a knife, and as if on cue, the rest did as well.

Liu tried to position himself in front of Viv, but they were surrounded. He raised his hands but against such odds could not muster the will to try to fight.

“Please, don’t hurt her, don’t hurt either of us, I can’t help what Jeff did, I tried to help him… I tried to help them all!”

“Too late. You must pay! It’s time… GO… TO… ANOTHER CITY!”

Suddenly the entire street was lit up with the blinding lights of a motorist’s high beams and the deafening sound of a horn. The speaker of the group turned, dropped his knife and began to try to rally his group to the intersection. The car drove around them and quickly came to a halt, blocking much of the street.

“Mom, dad!” Vivianna exclaimed with joy.

Casper threw open the driver’s door and reached for the first retreating body that his strong hands could grasp. He was able to catch one of them. There was no struggle as the huge artist slammed his prey into the side of his car.

The rest were fleeing. Liu reached over and picked up the knife that’d been dropped. It was rubber, fake, just a prop you’d find at a Halloween store.

Liu looked back up and saw that Casper had removed the mask. The attacker was a young man, probably only a few years older than Liu and Viv. Perhaps it was the very youthful appearance of now detained man that calmed Casper down enough to prevent him from smashing his head into the side of his car a few more times.

“What the fuck were you doing to my daughter?” Casper demanded.

“It… it wasn’t my idea sir, please… I was just part of the pastor’s group. He said that we were just going to scare your daughter, so that you… so that you wouldn’t open up your gallery in Austin again… I’m sorry sir, please… no one was going to hurt anyone… I swear…”

As Liu heard this, the whole story came together, these men weren’t after him, they were after Vivianna. All the talk about dead bodies and blood had been in reference to Casper’s exhibit. He felt relief run though his body, but he also felt something else. Exposed. Over the past several months since he’d started telling his story he began, each day, to feel a little more whole. He’d allowed himself to believe on some level that this was enough. However, after his breakdown in the street, all of those emotions were not just brought back but also altered in some terrible way. All of this time he’d allowed his self to believe that he and Jeff were both victims in some way. Victims of neglect, victims of bullying and just plain old victims of circumstance in general, now though, now he felt different.

He could have done more. On the night that his family returned home from the hospital with Jeff, he’d immediately noticed his brother’s mental state. The disfigured boy admiring his face in the mirror barely felt like the same person he’d grown up with his entire life. He knew that something was terribly wrong. He felt it strongly enough that he risked knocking on his parent’s closed door, a cardinal sin in the Woods home for sure. When his parents told him to leave, he’d given up. He could have continued to knock; he could have demanded to at least speak with his father. After their chat at the hospital, Liu had felt that a renewed bond with his dad had been formed. He could have done something more than simply returning to his bedroom and eventually falling asleep.

The sound of approaching police sirens broke Liu’s dreadful reflections. The police arrived and the familiar song and dance took place. Liu and Vivianna gave their accounts of what happened. Casper explained to the officer that he’d become worried when his Viv and Liu were gone so long on what was supposed to be a short walk up the block.

The final statements came from the former masked boogeyman that was now just a sniveling and terrified boy, really. His name was Joshua Paris, and he was only 18. By the time all the smoke settled and Casper finally returned from the police precinct the whole story was out, and it was something that Vivianna’s father had apparently been dealing with for some time.

It turned out to be the work of the East Austin Holy Book; a non-denominational church of Christ that was known for its outspoken politics and frequent boycotts and protests. Casper had been keeping this information from his wife and daughter so as not to worry them. He explained that they’d started to harass him several weeks ago due to the nature of his art. They demanded that he close his gallery or else. Casper had called their bluff, and when they continued to send in church members posing as customers, members who would browse until there were a good number of clients in the gallery and then begin ranting and raving like a Puritan minister. Casper even admitted to Renee (which earned him a dirty look and a slap to the back of his head) that he’d intentionally increased the gore factor of his latest exhibit just to piss this church off.

That had cost him though as his over the top display of death and gore gave the community enough concern to join in with the Holy Book church in pressuring the property owner to remove Casper from the building. The little stunt tonight was meant to scare Casper away from Austin more than likely.

“So that kid that I roughed up tonight, Joshua… the detectives already told me he was making a deal with the District Attorney. The kid is young and according to his parents who thankfully were not members of this church as well, told me that he’d already been awarded a full ride scholarship to Texas Tech. The detectives didn’t even have to lean on him very hard. He was ready to make any deal so long as he stayed out of jail and still got to attend college. From what I’ve been told, this pastor… ummm, Buddy Carter, he’s been known for doing this kind of shit in the past. This time though they have a solid couple of witnesses, and of course, Mr. Texas Tech Joshua’s testimony… I don’t know, they think they can get him for real.”

For a moment Liu felt a rise in joy. If they had to go through a trial, then perhaps they’d stay in Austin.

“Mr. Casper, does this mean you’re not going to move?” Liu asked.

His momentary euphoria shattered upon hearing Casper’s response.

“No Liu, I’m really sorry but it’s actually quite the opposite. We’re going to pull Viv from school tomorrow. While I was waiting down at the precinct, I went ahead and closed a quick rental deal with some apartments in New Orleans East. So, looks like you did have the best suggestion.”

Casper’s attempt to putting a positive not on the situation was appreciated, but Liu was too disappointed to benefit from it at all.

“So, when are you leaving?”

Renee answered, as she’d been working the logistics while Casper was downtown.

“Tomorrow evening.”

Viv’s face showed a shock and made Liu’s melancholy accelerate.

“Mom… how can we even do all that? We have nothing packed; I’m not enrolled in school down there… Come on, I have a biology paper due in two days and…” she looked briefly at Liu, “and I have other important matters here… please mom, can’t we just wait?”

Casper answered for his wife. “Sweetheart listen, we can’t stay here with this bat shit church running around out there. Even if they arrest the pastor, it doesn’t mean other people might not come after us. I can’t bear the thought of you be attacked like that again. If they threatened two kids with bloody masks and fake knives because of an art exhibit, I don’t want to think of what they might do in retaliation for having their leader arrested.”

“But dad…”

Casper’s voice raised a notch, an action he so rarely took against his daughter that she jumped a bit at first. “Vivianna, this is the part where you have to just listen. You know your mother and I respect you as an equal in most things, but this is a time where you have to be the child and we have to be the parents. We’re pulling you from school tomorrow. You may have to miss a couple weeks while we get you set up in New Orleans, but that’s okay, we won’t make you go to summer school or anything unless you want to. We’re going to Lake Charles tomorrow, it’s about three hours away from New Orleans. I have friend of mine there from the art scene. He has an extra studio that’s currently vacant. He’s going to let us store all of our things in there and we can live in the loft above it until we have things all ready to roll in New Orleans. I’ll have to sell a lot of our personal collection to raise the money to get the gallery running in New Orleans and I doubt I’ll get nearly as good a deal as I would if we waited, but I cannot and will not put my family in danger.”

“Liu… can Liu spend the night?” she asked, not directing the question to any parent in particular.

“I don’t think that’s really appropriate Viv,” Renee answered. Liu could tell by the sound of her voice that it was likely a rare moment in the Alexander home when they were at odds with their daughter.

“He can sleep on the couch, I mean, we’re not going to do anything, I promise, but…”

Vivianna broke down in tears and collapsed into a sitting position on the floor. Liu hated to see her like this, but he didn’t know what to say to make it any better. As he pondered any useful words, Casper tapped his shoulder and asked him to talk privately in the kitchen. Liu nodded.

“Tonight, Liu, tonight you attempted to stand between men with knives and my daughter. I never imagined anyone else willing to do something like that besides Renee or myself. You are a remarkable kid, and… well, I started thinking out there… you and Vivianna seem to have a very solid friendship, and I’d be willing to bet that friendship is not where it’s going to end.”

This comment caused Liu to blush, “Well sir, I mean, I like your daughter, you know, like as a great friend, but also, I mean, she…”

Casper held up his hand and gestured for Liu to pause. “Liu, you and Vivianna like each other, it’s okay. As I said before, you’ve shown more courage and valor as a teenager than a lot of adults I know will ever demonstrate. And believe me, Vivianna talks about you all the time around here. We knew she saw you as more than just a friend when she couldn’t help but smile each and every time her phone rang and your name was on the screen. So, here is what I’m proposing… come with us, back to New Orleans. Obviously we’d have to run it through the proper channels. You’re legal guardians would have to approve, as would the courts. They’d have to pull you from school… I mean; it’s a lot. But look, I heard the way your voice became so down when you were telling us about your old neighborhood. After all you’ve been through, I know you must be homesick as hell. That place you told me about, Walnut Square… well, the apartment I got us is just a couple blocks away. It hasn’t even been two years since you moved from there, right? I bet most of your old friends are still there, I mean, this would be good for Vivianna, and I think it would be good for you. I guess what I’m saying son… you looking out for Viv tonight isn’t the only reason I’m inviting you. I can’t imagine what it was like to live through what you did. You deserve a fresh start, a real fresh start, not out here in Austin with distant relatives, but back at home. I don’t know if you and Vivianna are destined to for romance or not, but even if you two decided to just stay friends, you’re still welcomed to be a part of our family. If you two do end up dating, well, at least I’ll know my daughter has a boyfriend that I don’t have to polish my gun in front of just to make sure he treats her right. So, I know you need some time to think on it, but what are your thoughts on the offer?”

Liu gave a brief smile and nodded with no conviction. “That could be good I guess,” he said with no faith that his forced response carried any credibility as truth.

Casper clearly picked up on it. When he spoke again, he did not attempt to sell the idea any further. Instead he handed Liu one of his business cards and told him that if he was interested in taking them up on the offer, to have his aunt and uncle call him up and they could begin the process of working it out.

They shook hands. Liu hadn’t planned to leave so soon when he and Casper walked into the kitchen, nor had Casper intended to ask him to go home. He’d actually considered Viv’s request and thought that perhaps the couch was a safe enough place. He trusted his daughter, and after tonight, he trusted Liu. However, something hung in the air now, and both knew exactly what it was. Liu clearly was not going to take his offer to come along with his family to New Orleans. Liu himself had no intentions to even ask his aunt and uncle about the proposal. He had his reasons, and as much as he desired to spend more time with Vivianna, he knew this was not the time to return home.

“Hey,” Casper began, “I won’t mention the move idea to Viv unless you decide you want to go for it. You know, don’t want to get her hopes up.”

“Thank you,” Liu replied softly. He was trying not to cry in front of the man.

Liu and Renee shared a hug. She told him that he was an honorary Alexander for the rest of his life. Vivianna and Liu went out to the front porch of their home to wait for his uncle to come and pick him up.

For almost 10 minutes they did not speak. Viv’s crying had stopped, leaving only random bursts of sobs, and then that stopped as well, with only sniffles and red eyes to remind her that the breakdown was ever there.

Liu finally strung together a thought and the words to carry it to his friend.

“Sorry for freaking out tonight when that guy was throwing all those questions out. I thought it was something to do with my brother.”

“Oh, no problem. Honestly I did too. I didn’t know dad was getting heat from a church all this time.”

“Fuck them, I hope that bust that pastor really soon.”

“Liu… are you really okay, with all the stuff we’ve been talking about?”

He sighed. I wanted to talk to her about this, but with the emotions being so new, he wasn’t quite sure how to say what he wanted to.

“I’m always okay when you’re around, even if we’re surrounded by idiots with plastic knives. Really, I thought I was getting over it. Telling the other kids at school did help a lot, and I will always owe you for that.”

“Don’t forget the book title too!” she amended, finally with a tone of voice that, while not happy, at least wasn’t completely miserable.

“Of course, yeah. But, to be truthful, I never considered that I could have done so much more than I did. A minute longer of banging on their door and my parents might still be alive. Jeff couldn’t gotten help… a minute more of knocking at the door Viv and who knows, maybe six people wouldn’t have had to die.”

“I don’t know Liu… sometimes I write these weird little… formulas, maybe? Just dumb pseudo-goth crap like everyone would expect from me. One night I was thinking about the time that I got… oh, promise not to laugh Liu!”

“Promise!”

“One morning I got hit with a garbage can.”

The next few seconds were some of the most mentally grueling of Liu’s life, as he fought not to fall from the chair in a fit of laughter. He fought hard though, and after a few seconds (that felt like hours) went by, his urges to laugh passed.

“How exactly…?”

“It was a Saturday morning. A few years ago there was this stupid bagel shop about a mile from our house. They’d open at 4AM and usually had a line at the door well before. See, they sold something called a ‘Knucklehead.’ It was some sort of bear claw looking pastry, and people raved about them. They only made a few dozen every morning though, and once they ran out, that was it. So, one night I decide to set my alarm for 3AM and just peddle down there and wait. I wanted a damned Knucklehead Liu, and I was sick of these early bird donut lovers snatching them all up. So, my alarm goes off at 3AM and I hit snooze. It goes off five minutes later and I get up, get dressed and start riding my bike to the bakery. As I’m biking a garbage truck is up ahead doing the typical routine. I get on the sidewalk in order to be a safe distance, and just as I passed the rear of the truck, the trash collector must have just dumped the can. So, you know how they do, dump the can, throw the can and drive to the next house? Well, they changed it up for me. It was dump the can, throw the can into Vivianna and then Vivianna goes to the hospital. I got two cracked ribs, and it dislocated my shoulder.”

“Damn, rough morning. But, what does this have to do with your little formula or whatever?”

“Well, I started thinking, like, what if I hadn’t hit snooze, or, what if I’d hit snooze a second time, every impulse in my body was telling me to do? I’ll tell you, the garbage truck would have been somewhere else when I got to that part of the sidewalk. The trashcan that ensured I’d never throw the discus in the Olympics would have still been full of trash had I skipped the snooze, or it would have already been empty had I hit it again. But then I started realizing that I could trace it back even further. When my alarm went off the first time I almost just turned it off. I mean, it’s a Saturday morning, is some pastry really worth torturing myself into clothes? Had I not gone out that morning at all, I too could be in a totally different place right now. Or my bike; I had to pump up the tires on it the night before, something I would have done sooner but my dad broke our air pump. It just so happened that someone threw one away a couple days before in the dumpster behind dad’s gallery. He’d noticed it there and when he saw that it still functioned he brought it home. But my dad only went out to the dumpster to run the trash because his clerk called in sick that day. So, had my dad not brought the pump home, I wouldn’t have been able to fill my tires, and that would also changed everything.

Anyway, I just kept going with it, diving back deeper and deeper. Finally I Googled the history of the little bagel shop. It turns out that the two original owners met because one of them bent down to pick up a nickel from the sidewalk, but before doing asked someone to please hold his briefcase. A helpful guy that just happened to be an investor looking for ideas happened to be there and offered to hold the case. They got too talking after than and eventually they founded that bagel place. So, I was this, imagine if whoever dropped that nickel like back in 1945 or something had noticed it and picked it up. Or, what if the other bagel guy hadn’t had time to hold the briefcase, or what if the first guy just didn’t notice the nickel? No matter what, it likely would have meant no bagel shop, and thus no place for me to wake myself up at 3AM for.

Think about it Liu, I had to wrap my ribs like a mummy and never pick up anything heavy and miss a ton of school… all because back in 1945 some guy dropped a nickel on the ground.”

“Woah… that’s deep Viv.”

“I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not, but Liu, what I’m saying is that some things that we think just happened because of whatever may already be set in motion, anyway. If you’d managed to get your parents to come to the door, maybe they would have gone in and checked on Jeff, maybe they would have sent him back to the hospital, or maybe he would have just refused to tell them anything and they would’ve gone right back to their room thinking he was just fine. That’s how blame works Liu, you go back to one point in time when you had some kind of control and put yourself into this position of godhood. But all of this stuff happens because of things that have already happened. If Randy’s dad had locked up the flare gun, none of this may have happened. If Randy’s mom had been on birth control, maybe none of this would have happened. If your dad hadn’t been offered the promotion and a job in Mandeville, maybe… maybe… maybe. You can trace it back to Randy’s great-great-great grandparents meeting for the first time if you want. The present adds up no matter what Liu, it always will.”

Liu Woods stared at the young woman sitting next to him. In that moment he decided that he loved her.

“You’re the best person that I’ve ever known,” he told her. Tears danced in his eyes. She leaned in to him and the two embraced in a slow and gentle kiss that lasted until the sound of an approaching vehicle, Liu’s ride, interrupted their shared affection.

“Come see me before I leave tomorrow, okay Liu?”

“I’ll be here. Goodnight Viv, I…” he almost said that he loved her. However, to express such a profound truth and then immediately drive off seemed as though it would cheapen the deal. This wasn’t some corny romantic-comedy where such absurd actions were considered cute and were accompanied by a light-hearted soundtrack.

Liu rode home without speaking very much. His aunt and uncle had about a million questions concerning the attack from the church members. Liu played it down as a scare tactic based on them being offended by an art exhibit. Still, he told the story and answered the same questions over and over again until his guardians gave in to their age and the lateness of the hour. They retired to bed and Liu began to write his book. Once he began to allow the words to flow, the story being told line by line, truth by truth and pain by pain, he found that he did not want to stop. It wouldn’t be until the sun itself began to lighten the sky that he realized he’d been up all night. He was tired but felt a pang of regret the moment that he saved and closed the file. As soon as it was gone from his screen, he wanted it back. There was still so much to tell. He climbed into his bed and closed his eyes, feeling almost certain that he wouldn’t be able to sleep.

As he lay still, allowing his mind to wander and ponder, his mind went to Vivianna. He loved her; he knew that to be a truth and not a product of youthful optimism. He wanted to be with her no matter what, no matter where. He felt a touch of guilt at turning down Casper’s offer as he did. Viv’s dad had most likely expected Liu to be thrilled at the chance to move back home. Liu loved his aunt and uncle and was appreciative that they took him in, but he also felt like a constant guest in their home. A welcomed guest, sure, but a guest is a guest. He understood that he would essentially still be a guest in the Alexander home, but with their acceptance of the growing relationship with their daughter, perhaps it’d be more like family. He could show Viv around his old neighborhood, introduce her to his old friends and eventually take her out to Mandeville and show her where the infamous crimes occurred that would shatter his life. He might even say something sweet to her, tell her how he was indeed shattered until he found her and she put him back together. He smiled at that and decided at that moment that he would apologize to Casper and accept the offer. If he were lucky, maybe that’d keep Vivianna in Austin for another couple days, as Casper and Renee would have to hammer out a lot of details with Liu’s guardians. He also decided that he would tell Viv as soon as he saw her that he loved her. No waiting. He was Liu Woods, a survivor. As Viv herself assured him, he was not weak and should not be afraid of life. Sleep finally took Liu as he was imaging his life-to-be with Viv and her parents in New Orleans East. He drifted off knowing that his old life, home and peace of mind would soon return.

When he awoke sometime later, he had an immediate feeling that something was wrong. The sunlight that illuminated his room was too bright. He sat up and struggled to focus his newly awakened eyes on the digital clock on his desk. When he was finally able to see the time, an immediate cocktail of regret and panic rose in him. It was after 3pm, late into the afternoon. Liu fumbled about his nightstand until he found his cellphone and was further horrified to see that he’d failed to charge it the night before. It was dead.

He rolled out of bed and quickly placed the phone on the charger. It would still be a few minutes though before it’d have enough juice to come on and stay on. He sat down at his computer desk and opened his email. What he feared was waiting.

Email from Vivianna Alexander to Liu Woods

Dear Liu,

I tried to get my parents to wait a longer, but eventually they said we had to get on the road. I’m not angry, so no worries. I guess something came up; we were attacked last night by crazy people after all lol. And don’t feel guilty, we’ll talk on the phone and stuff real soon. And if you feel guilty about not getting to say goodbye in person, don’t okay. We had a beautiful goodbye on my porch last night. I’m not sure if we could top that anyway (get your mind out of the gutter lol) so we can always say that our first goodbye was on a high note. I can’t wait for you to come down to New Orleans and visit. Well, I’m gonna go. Call me when you can.

Viv

The time-stamp on the email showed that it was sent about two hours ago. Regardless, Liu rushed to throw on clothes and raced downstairs. His uncle, a man old enough to be mistaken for a younger grandfather, was sitting at the kitchen table sort of just staring off.

“Uncle Mark! Can you drive me over to Vivianna’s house? Where you picked me up last night?”

“Oh, you wantin’ to go and say goodbye?”

“Yes please, I think they may have left already but they might still be packing. Can you please take me over there?”

“I wish I could Liu, but your Aunt has the car. She went shopping. Knowing that woman she won’t be home until late. Just take the bus. That house isn’t too far away.”

Liu looked down at his feet and felt the heat of frustration. He had no idea how the bus system in Austin ran. In New Orleans he could have mapped the city from end to end by way of the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority, in Austin though he’d be lost by the first intersection.

“Uncle Mark… I don’t know the bus route.”

Liu’s uncle frowned in empathy. “Do you know her address? I think I could spare you cab fare if you don’t tell your Aunt that I’m just handing out ‘her’ money.”

Liu realized that he didn’t know the address at all. He knew her neighborhood though, a subdivision called Glenshire. All the streets had Renaissance styled names. If he could get there, he was quite certain that he could find her home.

“Okay, yeah, that sounds great!” Liu stated with enthusiasm that felt very artificial.

While his uncle fished out a couple of $20 bills, Liu called the first cab company his phone’s Google app produced and got the ball rolling. As he did this though, trying to feel excited about prospect of seeing her, his mind was scolding him as though he were the dumbest human being alive.

‘Just call her!’ his mind demanded. ‘If she’s still home, you can actually tell her to wait and increase your odds. Plus it’ll save you a cab ride.’

True logic if ever there was, however, Liu needed this slight chance right now. As long as he remained intentionally naïve, the hope that she was still home remained real, even if it was highly misguided and unlikely.

At the core of it although, if Liu actually believed that she was still there, he would call her and ask her to wait. Liu and Jeff grew up in an environment of constant disappointment though, from their parents to themselves, they’d become far too skilled at detecting bad outcomes. He knew she was most likely halfway to the Louisiana state line if Casper drove fast. The truth though was ugly and cruel. It gave no shelter and cared not for the feelings of a lovesick teenager. The lie though, the lie he told himself, well, that provided hope. That lie allowed Liu to imagine his cab pulling up as Vivianna was perhaps just stepping outside with a box or bag in her arms, bringing whatever they could in the car while the rest would be packed up later. He imagined that she’d look up and see the cab, dismissing it at first but then quickly snapping back, eyes growing wide, smile growing more radiant as she locked eyes with him. The cab would stop on the curb and she’d already be racing over as he shoved the cash in the driver’s hand, jumping out without concerning himself with change. They would hug. She would laugh and scold him for over sleeping. He would tell her that he loved her and hope that she maintained her joy. He would tell her about Casper’s offer and that he wanted to take it. She would be overjoyed and hug him even harder. He and Casper would talk again, this time with Viv in attendance. He wouldn’t leave with them today but plans would be set in motion and soon enough he and Vivianna would be walking down Crowder Blvd in New Orleans East together, hand-in-hand.

That was the lie that prevented Liu from conducting a simple and surefire method to save him both time and money. Because saving time and money were components of the same cold reality where his parents were dead and his brother was an insane monster. The lie was where he decided to take shelter until the cold truth would inevitably find him.

After what seemed an eternity, the cab finally pulled up. Liu’s uncle made the same joke for the tenth time since the cab was requested, “Calm down Liu, she’s still going to be pretty when you get there.”

He told Liu that he’d spotted them kissing as they pulled up the night before, but didn’t want to embarrass him in front of his aunt. Liu thanked him for his discretion, though he was sure his aunt saw them too, and was met with the same wink and smile that his uncle always employed when discussing matters of ‘the real world’ as he called them. Mark had allowed Liu to drink a beer once and damn near winked and smiled to every sip. However, he was a kind man who treated his nephew like an adult for the most part, and considering how easily Liu could have ended up at his Aunt Marcy’s house in Abita Springs, he counted this as a blessing each and every time.

The cab ride was almost as unbearable as the wait to be picked up. The driver seemed to catch every single red light. Even yellow lights that even the most elderly of driver would likely pass under, this driver apparently stopped for everything. He seemed to always teeter just under the speed limit and would slow down and wave any car in that was waiting to exit a parking lot. Liu considered that he might just have found the world’s only courteous and safe taxi driver. As nice as this rare find might be in a normal situation, he currently found himself practically crawling out of his skin though. He wanted to scream for the driver to hurry up. Each time the cab took a long and slow halt to meet the commands of a stop sign or reduced speed to a crawl to take a turn, Liu wondered if perhaps he didn’t contract some of Jeff’s insanity like an airborne virus.

Initially Liu had told the man to drop him at the gates of the Glenshire housing subdivision, but upon seeing the place, finally, he felt confident that he could actually guide the driver there. He turned out to be right. The subdivision was smartly developed with easy to remember landmarks and a simple grid of streets with no surprises or dead ends. When Liu saw Capulet Street (a fitting name since he was in pursuit of love, though thankfully not contested like this street’s namesake) he asked the driver to let him out there. Viv’s house was around the middle, and Liu could walk to it in less than two minutes. The truth though was that Liu, already knowing he’d be walking up to a vacant home, knew that he’d want some time by himself to digest the sadness that would follow. He most certainly didn’t want to break down into tears, and while he was pretty confident that he wouldn’t, he didn’t want to risk it in front of a stranger. If Viv wasn’t there, he would just walk for a bit, let his mind work around his folly of oversleeping and missing her call. Then he’d just call for another cab and go home.

After paying the cabbie Liu began to the brisk walk to Viv’s house. He almost wished the walk could be a bit longer. He was safe in his lie still. Once the house was in sight, he immediately felt his hope drop to near extinction. Casper’s huge black sedan wasn’t in the driveway. Already strike one and Liu hadn’t even stepped on the porch yet. He saw that the porch light wasn’t on, although twilight was approaching, and didn’t see any lights on from the windows. Strike two. Preparing for the final strike before being sent back to the dugout, Liu was actually amazed when he saw that the front door was not closed. The door was about halfway open, which in his experience was the standard sign of people moving in or out of a house. Since all of their large possessions were still inside, the door wouldn’t be open unless they were home. Liu’s mind return, although with caution, to his imagined world that’d carried him to sleep last night. He would knock on their door while allowing it to swing open a bit more. He’d probably hear music playing as Viv threw together the last few essentials that she’d need. She’d light up with joy as she realized who was at the door. Maybe Casper had taken the car out to get some provisions for the road. Maybe he’d gone down to make sure the gas tank was full, and the tires were fully inflated. Either way, Liu didn’t care.

Upon reaching the door though, Liu began to doubt his second chance, and that cautious optimism that fueled his daydream diminished quickly. Liu knocked but received no response. Looking through the partially opened door showed Liu a dark house. There were no lights on and no sounds of music or television. The place simply screamed empty. So why the open door; surely they weren’t in such a rush to leave town that they left all of their possession unsecured?

Liu didn’t think a robbery was taking place either. Growing up in New Orleans he’d seen a few going down from time to time. There was no vehicle to load the stolen goods into, no look-out man to make sure the neighbors weren’t getting nosey and from what he could tell by looking at the door, there was no sign of forced entry. Ignoring his increasing sense that something here was wrong in favor of the still lingering hope that Vivianna might just be inside, Liu opened the door completely and knocked loudly on its wooden surface.

“It’s me, Liu! Is anyone home?”

No response.

He peered further inside and could still find no signs of activity. He knocked again, louder than the first time, and once called out.

No response.

When his cell phone began to ring loudly from his back pocket, Liu jumped a bit in surprise. The silence had crept up around him so slowly that his ringtone sounded as though speakers amplified it. He looked at the screen and saw that Viv was calling him. His mind took no time to indulge in the fantasy that perhaps she was upstairs or in the backyard, instead he just hit the talk button and hoped for a miracle.

“Viv, hey, believe it or not, I’m actually at your…”

Her voice, frantic, replied, “I know Liu, I started getting these weird videos… look, you have to get out of there, you’re in danger…!”

“What do you mean?”

“About 10 minutes ago my parents and I all started receiving these weird videos. Someone out there… they got our information or something. They sent us a video of them walking around in our house, looking through our things… then, just a minute ago, I received a video from them. Here, I’m sending, but don’t stand there and watch it, start calling for help, something!”

Liu was far too enraptured both in her story and in that sense of safety that anyone standing outside on a clean street in a nice neighborhood with adequate sunlight to follow the good advice that Viv was providing. He did back up a few steps from the open door, but the front yard was empty and he was sure he could hear a lawnmower nearby. The environment simply defined safety and Liu’s intellectual mind could seemingly not move forward unless it was assisted by real fear.

As he waited for the video to start, he asked the most important question he could imagine, “Vivianna, are you and your parents okay?”

Her voice was growing far more impatient with each response, “Yes Liu, we’re almost to the state line. Are you looking for help, are you knocking on doors, c’mon Liu, the video… they’re watching!”

Liu looked back to his screen and suddenly the fear came fast and without mercy. The video Viv sent him showed a replay of the last 5 minutes of his life. The video, which appeared to have been shot from across the street in the cover of bushes, was Liu, walking towards Viv’s house. He watched himself slowly approach her porch, saw how he’d slowed down in reaction to the open door, and then watched as he climbed the steps and eventually began knocking. The video cut off at that point.

He raised the phone back to his head, fully intending to turn and run to the next house, following the same game plan he’d devised the night before, to bang on doors and scream.

“Did you call the police?” he asked her.

A voice from directly behind him, almost in his ear, “They’ll never make it on time…”

Before Liu could turn he was struck in the head. He didn’t know by what, but he recalled the strange sensation that came with the blow. He realized, in a thought process that felt very slippery and difficult to follow, that he’d dropped his phone. He watched it drift slowly to the ground. He felt his knees buckle just slightly before blacking out.

An unknown amount of time passed before Liu regained consciousness. He came back to reality slowly, taking in what his confused mind and throbbing head would allow. He was in a chair… his attempt to move though were stifled by something. His eyes were pulsing in painful rhythm with his rapidly accelerating heartbeat. The room was well lit, a harsh white that could come from no other source than industrial fluorescent tubes. He moved his head from left to right, wincing at the stiffness that’d settled into his neck. On both sides he saw rows of white seats, the sort with the hard plastic base and backrest that could be linked together if desired. The floor was white tile. Looking ahead, he saw a podium with a microphone rising from it. Speakers were set up in the corner, and in the very center was a table covered in a white cloth. As Liu continued to gather any information that might explain where he was and how he got there, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching quickly. They were very loud in the large space as they clicked on the hard tiles.

“Hello…?” Liu called out.

In a blur a large figure walked past him. A man, he was wearing a black shirt tucked into olive drab cargo pants.

“Hello, where… where am I?” Liu asked again, feeling some degree of control returning to his voice and mind as the fog of his time unconscious continued to clear.

The man ignored him and instead briskly walked over to a wooden door. From the looks of the room, this door did not lead to the outside world but rather to an office or storage room. The man knocked on the door in three rapid strikes that appeared almost rehearsed. Each strike was uniform to the one before it. Someone gave a verbal reply to the knock.

“He’s awake sir!”

The man spoke in a manner that sounded like the stereotypical way that people in the military are portrayed. Very robotic and loud, like anger that’d been tempered by discipline but never fully removed.

“Hey… can you please tell me what happened?” Liu attempted to stand, momentarily forgetting about his prior sensation of being restrained, and found that his hands were tied at his sides. He looked down frantically and saw that his feet were also strapped to the base of the chair.

“Why am I tied up… what is this???”

The man in cargo pants continued to ignore Liu. Instead of replying he simply walked up to the left side of the cloth-covered table and took up a standing position there. His posture appeared, like his voice, to be in imitation of the military.

The wooden door opened. Liu observed a man of perhaps his late 50’s or early 60’s enter. He was very thin with blonde hair that was unquestionably achieved through hair dye. He wore a suit that would be an eyesore in any gathering. It was light blue. A similarly colored tie completed the outfit. On the lapel of his jacket was a golden cross.

The man in the blue suit walked in a bizarre style that seemed as though it needed music to function correctly. His wrists swing about and his kicked his knees. As he passed in front of Liu, he flashed a smile that appeared very genuine, but not intended to demonstrate any positive intentions. Liu thought that if someone could look gleefully disgusted that might be the look to accompany it. Blue Suit continued to shake and shimmy his way over to Cargo Pants. He walked up close to the large man and gave him two pats on the shoulder. Cargo looked Blue in the eyes and gave a sharp nod. Then, after finally dance-walking back to the center of the stage, Blue spoke to Liu.

“Miiiister Woods! Mister Liu Woods of the Sodom of the South, New Orleans!” The man in the suit spoke in a deep southern accent, very much in the style of the charismatic, red faced and fired up televangelist that appeared on cable access channels very late at night.

“Sir… what…” Liu attempted to ask yet again the simple question of where he was and was cut off immediately as Blue Suit continued.

Blue directed his attention to Cargo again. “Brother Anthony! Did you know, did YOU know that Mister Woods here is a celebrity?”

Brother Anthony smiled and focused his gaze as though he were some kid listening to a ghost story and he knew the good part was almost upon him. Blue continued,

“Oh yes Brother Anthony, Mister Liu Woods here is none other than the brother of that crazy boy down in New Orleans what went and killed his mama and papa. Can you believe that he washed up from the Sodom of the South to the Gomorrah of the Lone Star State! It’s crazy how sin is a magnet, isn’t that what I always say Brother Anthony?”

“YES SIR!” responded Anthony. His response terrified Liu more than his knocking or walking habits. Liu heard no humanity in the booming affirmation. What he did hear was an eagerness to appease and a clear blind obedience.

“Now, Mister Woods, I am the good Reverend Buddy Sherman Carter! You may call me Reverend Carter. We are in the Lord’s House, but it is I who keeps these lights burning so I demand the respect that should accompany my efforts. You are currently a guest of sorts I’d say in my House of Praise more commonly known as the East Austin Holy Book! I do hate so much that I must include this forsaken city in the name of my House of God but it is very important that people know where to come to receive the only real truth that anyone other than the Lord God above is going to tell them on this sad, sick planet. Ain’t that right Brother Anthony, ain’t I the only source besides God Himself who gonna tell these poor lost sinners the truth?”

“YES SIR!”

“Now Mister Woods, since we have been formally introduced, I will ask that you forgive me for dropping the title of mister and simply referring to you as Liu. Don’t care if you like it, this is my house and the only authority that can override my will here is God above. Liu, you think God gonna come down and tell me to untie you from that chair? Cuz if he do, I promise you son that I will obey his commands to the letter. If God tells me to turn over the lease to this very church to you then I will do so without question, for Liu, I do not question the will of God. But you sure do, don’t you sinner?”

“Sir… I…” No sooner did the Liu begin to speak, Brother Anthony was upon him. He gripped Liu’s ears and began to twist them. The pain grew until he was terrified that huge man would simply rip them from his head.

“Okay now Brother Anthony, we need not cause more harm than necessary. Liu, I was quite fair and direct with you at the start of our conversation that you were to refer to me as Reverend, was I not?”

As the goon released pressure on his ears, Liu struggled to find the ability to speak. He did not want to make this man ask him any question twice.

“Yes… Reverend, you did…”

“Okay good, I was just checking because I thought I might be losing my marbles. So, since you remember your instructions, a simple request if I do say so, you must have called me ‘sir’ in order to get a rise out me, didn’t you now?”

“Reverend… no, it was a mis…”

“Oh, so you are saying that I am lying in the House of God!! Yes indeed, what a world the Lord has given us to suffer upon. Liu, while I am a man of God I think you need to be well aware that I am also a man of action, and my actions are all taken from the Holy Scripture so that means my actions are in line with God’s Will. Brother Anthony, can God lie?”

“NO SIR!”

“Of course not! God does not lie and I am a reflection of the Will, Word and Sword of the Lord! So if I could not have lied, then that means you’re still trying to get a rise out of me. Maybe Liu, maybe you see an old man such as me and think if you get me worked up enough I might just fall over and die!”

The Reverend leaned in very close to Liu and uttered a laugh was a rancid mixture of sinister intent and unbridled conviction. In a lower, almost conversation tone, he continued. “Liu… now listen little sinner, many have tried to bring about my demise. You most certainly ain’t the first and you for sure ain’t the worst. You will not be the last no way either. You see, so long as I’m out there preaching the Word, telling these sinners all the things that they don’t wanna hear, telling these Sodomites, whores, gamblers, fornicators and worshipers of all idols false, people always gonna want to shut me up and turn off the truth. It’s ain’t easy hearing the truth, now is it?”

Liu, hoping that silence was a safe alternative, found out quickly that there was no safe choice here. Once again Anthony gripped his ears and resumed the blindingly painful twisting that was his obvious go-to form of corrective action.

“ANSWER THE REVEREND WHEN HE SPEAKS TO YOU!”

“Reverend, I’m sorry for whatever I did, jus… just please don’t kill me…”

Carter nodded and Liu’s ears were released once again.

“Hear that Brother Anthony? He’s sorry for what he did and has even found the humility to ask forgiveness. The Lord’s means are never wrong, now are they? Why, he had to turn Lot’s wife into a pillar of salt just to get his message across to her. I wonder until this day as her she took her last breaths; did she finally understand just how honest our God is? And that was merciful. That time he gave a sinner a chance to obey one rule and live. Other times the Lord has had to take greater steps. He flooded the earth out of his love for his people Liu. Had to get rid of all the trash so that his flock, those that were on the Ark could live in a clean world. That is how God works Liu. He might ask you once, might ask you twice, maybe just maybe gonna ask you thrice… please love me! That’s all he asks Liu. When he gets ignored he goes back to the drawing board Liu that’s what creators do. They go back and reexamine the blue prints and try to make a better plan that’s all any of that ever is. Our God don’t punish for no reason. But Liu… you have put yourself in line for some judgment I do believe. And I am the agent of God to carry out his most righteous commands!”

“Reverend, please, can you tell me what I did to you? I don’t understand any of this…”

In response to Liu’s question, Carter began to execute some strange side-to-side sway. Every complete left to right would be accompanied by a clap of his hands.

“He wants to know what did he do Lord? He wants to know how he has sinned! The Bible lays out such a simple set of rules to follow. No surprises in there. Yet, each and every time we get one of these sinners in this very chair, they can’t even figure out when of ten simple little Commandments that they broke. I keep praying that one night we gonna get a smart one in here. A quick repent and out the door they go. Brother Anthony, I am starting to believe that the All Heavenly Father gets a kick out of testing this old man. But that’s fine Lord, for I am your most humble servant and obedient child. I cannot fail you Lord because everything I do I do for you!!”

Liu felt tears begin to roll down his cheek. He had no idea what to do or say that wouldn’t result in pain or worse.

The Reverend continued, “Now Liu, every time I ask you a question you go all flip in the mouth trying to kill me from the shock that a youthful little sinner is so far gone that even in God’s House he cannot control his forked tongue, so to demonstrate mercy I will ask that you simply listen. Perhaps if you still yourself Brother Anthony will not keep finding the need to correct you. You’re here because last night you and that little whore caused quite the problem for my flock. Because of you one of my sheep was not only captured by the corrupt and ever so sinful Austin Police, but my sources, which are multiple and far reaching, tell me that my lost sheep began to spread awful lies about what it is that I do and why I had my flock out doing the Will of God. See, the Austin Police do not like your pal the Reverend here. They do not like that I bring the truth to them and grant no refuge from it! But Liu, I am wrapped in the protection of our Almighty God, and each time those agents of Satan think they have me dead to rights, God sends his judgment to remind them that their laws mean nothing in the Face of the Lord! But this time Liu… this time Satan has inspired them in a way only a crafty monster like himself could create. He has corrupted my former sheep and turned him against me.”

Carter fell silent and allowed his head to roll from side to side. After several iterations he stopped and appeared to stare at the floor. Anthony stepped away from Liu and returned to his original position by the table. Liu was still terrified, but having the hulking zealot no longer standing directly behind him brought on relief just the same.

Liu was desperately trying to think of something to say or do here that might save him or at least buy him some time. As he struggled to find some solution that didn’t seem terrible or too obvious, Carter slowly began to lift his head back. Across his face was the sort of frozen grin one would expect to see on the corpse of someone who died very happy about something. His eyes looked vacant, reinforcing the comparison to a corpse. He stared at Liu with glass eyes and that frozen smile for so long that the boy in the chair almost began to scream in panic. That gaze was both dead and very much alive at the same time. Knowing the intentions of the man wearing that expression made matters exponentially more horrifying. What could have been mere moments before Liu could stand no more, Carter began to speak once more.

“See Liu, last night the Lord sent me yet another test. Much like in the story of Job, God occasionally allows Satan a little of room to work. There is no greater test for the sheep than to be tested regularly, but I am not a sheep, I am a shepherd. The Lord may not feel the need to test me all the time, for my name is written in the Book of Life and my seat in Heaven is reserved; but Liu, when the Lord flexes his infinite wisdom towards me and feels that a bit of a refresher course is in order, he does not spare me the challenge. My flock was not gonna hurt you or that whore-witch last night. They were there to remind the witch’s father that his time in Austin was over. I had tried to explain to Casper Alexander time and time again that his store was a Den of Sin! I tried to use the soothing voice or reason and allow the man to gracefully exit. He would not listen though, no he wouldn’t. However, that little stunt he pulled with dead bodies and blood all over the streets where children walk and play, well that was his downfall. It takes a great deal of sinning to get these fiends of Gomorrah that reside in Austin to do the Lord’s work, but you know what they say about giving a man enough rope. Anyway, the Lord strikes like a tactician when he needs to, and we knew that Casper might just open up another one of his smut shops, so we wanted to reinforce the notion to him that it wasn’t just his shop that the Lord exiled, it was his entire perverted clan. But something went wrong Liu, something went wrong last night and now one of my former faithful is sitting in a jail cell giving those heretics the lies they will need to prevent me from serving the Lord!!”

From the corner of his eye Liu saw Anthony reach into his pocket. In that second Liu was almost certain that he was reaching for some sort of weapon to execute him with. However, it turned out to be a cell phone. Anthony looked a bit concerned though the look appeared and vanished in mere less than a second. He raised his hand to chest level to get Carter’s attention.

“Sir, it’s Brother Phillip. He wishes to report something to me. May I please be excused to the back so that I may speak with him without disturbing your sermon?”

“Are his ropes and binds sufficient? I do not wish to have to be put in a position where I must enforce a penance on you as I had to on Brother Dennis.”

Liu had no idea what that penance might have been, but a look of real fear and concern suddenly took over the formerly stoic face of Anthony. He briskly walked behind Liu’s chair and doubled checked the knots. Once he was satisfied, he spoke a low, harsh litany of threats into Liu’s ear.

“Be aware Woods, I am only stepping into a neighboring room. If you try anything at all, if you so much as sneeze, I will be out here and I will bring some very real pain with me. Do you understand?”

“Yes sir.”

Anthony stepped into the back room and the Reverend resumed his sermon.

“Now I’m just up to my eyeballs in trying to serve the Lord and dealing with these sinners and the one time Liu, the one time I try to simply practice the mercy of the Lord instead of the vengeance, well, then you go and spoil it! You and that little whore of yours!”

“Don’t call her that.”

The words slipped out so quickly that Liu was almost startled at his own reply. He knew this would enrage the man and understood that nothing good could come from it. However, in a moment so brief that he wasn’t even aware of it, he became utterly tired of hearing this moron speak.

There was no rage, no mixing of emotions as his brother had once described. The very logical fear that he felt still remained as well, but with it came something almost akin to boredom. He didn’t care that Carter was clearly insane, he didn’t care that he was at this lunatic’s mercy. Not in that moment anyway. In that brief fraction of time he was sick of hearing this clown trash talk his girl and ramble on and on about what a righteous man of faith he was.

The look of stunned, animal-like stupidity that fell across Carter’s face only served to bring more out more disgust from Liu.

“Don’t call her what Liu, don’t call her a whore! She is a whore, my ever faithful flock witness her fornicating with you on a public street where any child could have bore witness. I knew that you were a liar before I had you brought to me Liu, but I find it amusing that you’re also a whoremonger, and so proud of it!”

Liu hoped that his first outburst of defiance would be his last, however, as the Reverend continued to speak, Liu found that he simply couldn’t remain silent any longer.

“You mean when we kissed? Listen man, when people who don’t go around kidnapping children in the name of their god meet people they like, kissing is usually a pretty normal course of action. I guess you’re too busy serving up the Kool-Aid here to keep up with the trends though.”

When Liu observed Carter’s response to his remarks, he believed for a second that he might actually really kill the man as he’d suggested before, by causing him to kill over from sensory overload. He watched as Carter’s face turned a deep red. His mouth was pressed tightly closed, causing him to take on a physical quality that Liu could only describe as ‘Muppet-like.' This did Liu no favors as he began to first grin and finally laugh at the thought. Carter balled his fists and placed them at his side, his arms shaking slightly. His posture was almost like that of a Looney Tunes villain when they get constantly outsmarted and finally throw their hat on the ground and start stomping it.

Carter looked sharply towards the wooden door, clearly wanting Anthony to return so that Liu could be punished, or, at this point possibly murdered. Liu had no desire to hear Carter speak anymore, so he continued on with his verbal disobedience.

“You know, for a man who claimed to know all about me when you pulled me in here tonight, you sure as hell don’t seem to understand what I’ve been through. See, I’ve spent the last year absolutely hating myself for things I didn’t even cause. My chief complaint was that I simply never spoke up, and that’s true. When a crooked cop named Williamson stood in the living room of my parents’ home and told lie after lie to protect a rich kid and his asshole friends, I didn’t say much. I could have done more. I could have called down to the Mandeville Police Department and reported Williamson. I chose to just stay quiet though and accept things as they were.

When my mom was sending me off to my aunt’s house I could have just refused. I mean, she wasn’t going to physically carry me to the car. She would have been pissed, sure, but in the end she wouldn’t have been able to do anything other than bring my father in to the mix. I could have told him to fuck off as well. I might have spent the rest of that summer with no means of entertainment, but at least I would have shown them that I was sick of their crap. Who knows, things might’ve changed for all of us.

On the night that my brother murdered my parents, I could have kept knocking. I could have called the cops, crooked or not, at least Jeff would have been locked away from killing people and would have probably gotten the mental help he needed. But I stayed quiet and now both of my parents are dead. Hell sir, Jeff is probably dead too. I mean, it’s not like the can just walk into a grocery store and buy food. And now this… it looks like I’m going to join them sooner than later. I mean, you seemed like you were probably going to kill me even if I sat here and kissed your ass with all your titles and pretentious bullshit, and after this little turn of events, I place my odds of walking out of here alive pretty fucking low. So you know what, if another member of the Woods family has to die, at least I won’t die like a sniveling victim. I won’t go like my mother or father, begging a fucking psychopath for mercy that isn’t there. So stop looking around for your fucking ass slave in the other room and just do it. Smite me you cocksucker!”

Carter continued a transformation that was as baffling as it was hilarious. His previous sealed mouth was now rapidly trembling, opening and closing so quickly that Liu thought his jaw might unhinge. His hands were no longer balled into fists at his sides. Instead they were passing back and forth in front of his thighs like he was trying to do the Charleston but had the legs part wrong. As for his legs, it seemed as though he were almost trying to march in place but was pretending like he was standing in invisible mud. Liu tried to remind himself that this could just be more show, but he didn’t think that had a shred of truth. This man was breaking down. Liu found it hard to believe that he could be the first person confronted by Reverend Carter to stand up to him, someone else would have had to at least once. Maybe Carter gagged most of his other victims, maybe he never let one of these ‘sermons’ go on long enough to get to this moment, or maybe Liu’s defiance was simply the last straw. After all, one of his own members had flipped on his rather quickly and Carter probably knew that prison was on the horizon.

With that bit of inspiration, Liu went on.

“Listen Rev, maybe we can just work something out. If what you told me is true, that your little pal from last night is giving you over to the cops, you have to know what’s next, right? And believe me, if you think New Orleans and Austin are living the Sodom lifestyle, just wait until you get to prison!”

“You… call me… REVEREND… in my house…” Carter spoke through layers of rage, his mouth still twitching, his body still performing strange dances to no music.

“No, I don’t revere you so that would be a lie, and we know you’re not a big fan of that. I also think you’re stretching by calling this a house or a church or well, anything. Just from looking around at the inside of the place, the shape of the room and such, I bet… I bet we’re in a strip mall, am I right? You couldn’t afford a real church, nope, no steeple and pews for you. You had to find a failing mini-mall with cheap space and buy some flimsy chairs and… oh wait, that altar… I’ll make you a bet right now Carter. If you remove that white cloth and something besides a cheap card table is underneath it, I will pledge my loyalty to your flock right this second! How about it Rev, win another soul over for God and shut an annoying teenager up in one move, it’s a good deal!”

Carter began to walk towards the back room, clearly done with waiting for Antony to finish his phone call. Liu looked around quickly and perhaps in an actual moment of divine intervention, found what he felt he just might need.

It was right there on the wall, large as life simply begging for attention. It was quite faded, clear effort had been made to remove it, but there it remained. On the wall, above the altar was the Pay Less Shoes logo. Liu could even see the slogan still written beneath the orange logo.

“Reverend, please wait just a moment! I know I am well past the point of no return, and I know that in my life I have sinned. I have also never been shown the true word of god. My parents didn’t like going to church very often you know. Maybe that’s why god sent my brother to kill them. My surviving might have been God’s way of putting me back on the right track, by testing me and taking my family from me, like… like Job right?”

Carter stopped and slowly began to walk towards Liu, but this time everything was different. His first entry had been full of flash and show. His stupid strut, the freaky smile, all just part of the good rev’s bag of tricks. This time though Carter was approaching with an undeniable caution. Even though Liu was a kid tied to a chair in a building with a big oaf just one room away and no one around to hear him call for help, it appeared that Buddy Carter was not just cautious, but maybe even afraid of his hostage.

Still with trembling lips and with no trace of the original steel conviction in his tone, Carter spoke. “You better not be preparing to disrespect the Bible in my presence boy…”

Liu smiled. “Of course not Reverend. You see, I’m a changed kid. I think God has sent you to steer me right. While I was blaspheming there a moment ago, allowing the devil to just puppet my words, I looked towards your altar. As I did, I think God gave me a sign. I believe that he wants me to seek guidance from you Reverend on a question most important.”

Carter’s eyes were now twitching as well as his mouth. With his hands shaking and knees starting to bend a bit and his feet now rotating back and forth like little windshield wipers, Liu could easily imagine the man as a cartoon yet again. He remembered on all the old cartoons that when a character would run off of a cliff, the never fell until the looked down. That was where he imagined Carter was at this point.

With a voice filled with quivering doubt Carter said, “Ask… ask your question boy…”

“Reverend, doesn’t it feel good to pay less?”

What followed would never cease to amazing Liu. Carter began to laugh. What shocked the young man tied to the chair was not so much the laughter, as he’d already decided that Carter was clearly insane, but rather the genuine joy heard within it. This was not evil laughter or the giggles of a lunatic. It was instead friendly and warm. Liu was quite confused.

Brother Anthony stepped into the room.

“Sir, the police are apparently on their way here. Seems that the young woman and her family alerted them after Liu was abducted from their former home. I estimate 15 minutes before they arrive.”

“That is fine Brother. Liu, let us make a deal, shall we?”

“What? Make a deal with you? After what you’ve put me and Vivianna through? Fuck you!”

Carter snickered. “Ah yes, fuck us all, right? That is the nature of the world today; one fucks another who then fucks the next. The whole damn world becomes one massive orgy until all the dicks go limp and all the cunts go dry.”

Liu was almost in awe at Carter’s sudden change of sermon. This man seemed to aim for the epitome of piety less than a moment ago.

“Liu, we have little time to haggle so I will make this short and simple. When the police arrive, you can stagger out into that parking lot as a victim. Cry into their arms as you beg them to protect you from the big, bad preacher man. You will go on television no doubt, where the populace will take pity on you, as your story, coupled with your prior issues in Louisiana, will no doubt make you quite pitiful indeed. I will go to prison more than likely and may even die there. You will continue on as a consummate victim of everything in the world that is stronger than you. You will receive sympathy from those fortunate enough to not be you, but no one will ever speak your name without acknowledging, even if to themselves, that you are a rather pathetic and defenseless victim.”

“Wow Reverend, you really know how to…” Liu began, but Carter cut him off.

“No time for any more banter Liu. Here is your other option. When the police arrive you remain right here as though you and I have been simply conversing as new friends. You will explain to the police that you encountered me at your friend’s home. I will tell them that I went there to stop those members of my flock that had broken in and sent her those videos. I invited you back to my church where we spoke for a long time on many issues. I counseled you about your problems back in Mandeville and you forgave me for allowing my congregation to grow too zealous and slip from my control. We will appear on television a couple of times where you will tell the world just how good of friends you and I have become.”

Liu began to laugh in spite of his current circumstances, “Now why in the hell would I do that you crazy old bastard?”

Carter did not appear upset at the insult, “Because Liu, if you do I will pay you $1,000,000. I shall say that it is a donation to your betterment while recovering from your struggles. I will also ensure that your book is published.”

“How did you know…” Liu began to ask, never having recalled mentioning this to Carter.

“How and why no longer matter Liu. In addition, I will use my legal connections to grant you emancipation from your aunt and uncle. You will be a very wealthy legal adult with a published book under your belt. As far as your little friend Miss Alexander, though my church may have hindered her father’s work a bit, just imagine what you can do for that family with the financial advantages I am offering you? This is your chance to finally be a victim no longer! After all, did Randy’s family offer you support? Did Williamson’s? Has your own brother come back to assist you? I may be yet another ghoul in your life, but Liu, how many other ghouls have offered to repair you and set you up for greatness?”

“Sir, the police have arrived, they are currently exiting their vehicles and approaching the doors of the church, please advise!” Brother Anthony stated with a hint of urgency.

Carter walked over to Liu and began to release the straps holding him to his chair.

“Well Mr. Woods, the time to decide has arrived. Will you be a victim yet again? Or are you ready to conquer your life and live the way you desire instead of the way the predators of this sick world demand?”

Liu felt speechless. He heard the doors of the church open behind him, heard men moving forward, demanding that Carter step back. Liu took a deep breath and finally spoke.

A week later photographs of Liu Woods and Reverend Buddy Carter were plastered on newspapers all over Austin. In those pictures Liu and Carter were shaking hands and smiling. Two weeks later and Liu was appearing with Carter on several local a few statewide cable programs. Some of these shows were religious, some were just the news, but the message was always the same. Liu owed Carter a debt of gratitude for helping bring him down from the ledge of anxiety and depression caused by his brother’s infamous crimes. Carter owed Liu for shining a light on just how far his minions were willing to go.

After several months of back and forth with the courts, Carter was found to ‘not guilty’ for involvement with his group’s illegal activities. In exchange for all of this Liu received wealth that he never believed he’d come close too in his life. His book was written and began to sweep the nation. What was originally meant to be a simple telling of his life with Jeff leading to the murders transformed as more information became public concerning the cover-ups with Maxwell Hayden and other Mandeville city officials. Liu soon found himself a court-ordered legal adult, and with his book sales soaring and his finances vast, he moved away from Texas and found himself in New York.

He’d tried several times to re-connect with Vivianna. He wanted to offer her money. He wanted to have her move to New York with him. However, after he’d agreed to flip his testimony to support Carter, she would have nothing to do with him ever again. He received only one reply in his many attempts to contact her.

Email from Vivianna Alexander to Liu Woods

Liu,

You are the worst kind of human, a coward who would throw his friends away to line his pockets. I thought there was so much more to you. I am grateful that you exposed yourself early though; at least I didn’t waste any real time on you. I will never be able to recover the very real emotions I wasted on you though, but I can live with that so long as I never see you again.

Do not contact me anymore; I have blocked you on all media except for this email account, which I will delete once I send this to you.

V. Alexander

Liu remembered wanting to cry that day. Afterwards though, as the months rolled on and his fame grew, he found that he cared less and less about her opinion. He didn’t credit her in his book, and eventually couldn’t understand why he ever felt sorry for her at all. She could have come along with him on this journey, but perhaps he wasn’t her type after all. She seemed to be into victims, and that wasn’t him at all.

THINGS TO COME
“Liu! Are you listening to those old tapes again?” Jessica asked, walking into their apartment with grocery bags hanging from her arms.

Liu looked up and was shocked at how much time had passed. “Umm, yeah, you know, just admiring your work I guess.”

“Good boy, I’m glad to hear that you approve, because while I was out, I had the most brilliant idea!”

“Uh-oh! Should I increase my insurance coverage?”

“No smart ass, just listen. I was thinking that since our little friend Jane wanted to piggy-back off of your time in the sun, perhaps we should return the favor.”

“Jess… what exactly do you have in mind?”

“Well, I was just thinking that maybe it’s time we take this little podcast on the road. Hear me out… what if we go down to New Orleans… Mandeville to be specific; we can do some filming, visit some of your old haunts and maybe, just maybe… visit Jane in person.”

“I don’t know Jessica… I haven’t been back there since… since the incident itself…”

“Then it’s high time for a reunion show if you ask me. And we do it our way, no producers, no executives, just to two of us. C’mon Liu, can you imagine what folks will think if you and Jane Arkansaw are in the same room together?”

“Can I have a little time to think it over?”

“Sure, I figure by the time I pack our bags and get our flights set up, well, that should give you at least a day to think. Hell, you can think about it on the plane ride down there, you can think about it as we’re renting a car… I mean, thinking is free, right Liu?”

Liu smiled a bit. “So what you’re really saying is that I have no choice in the matter?”

“Liu, don’t be silly, you can choose our hotel,” she replied with an impish grin.

Liu returned to his living room window and gazed out onto the street. He knew she’d eventually wear him down on this and fighting it was really pointless. Plus, he wasn’t really opposed to the idea of touring his old stomping grounds.

“Fine Jessica, we can go… but how in the hell are we going to set up a sit-down with Jane?”

“Oh Liu, you leave that to me. All you have to do is show up and be the sweet little broken down victim of circumstance the world loves so much. Now, please put my tapes back the way you found them and come help me pack some clothes.”

Liu did as he was told, and two days later he and Jessica Lum were boarding a plane destined for New Orleans; a plan in the works to put him and Jane in the same room together to share their experiences. Liu was very nervous about the upcoming days; Jessica though had a far more sterile view. To her this was just another stage of a much larger plan coming together, a plan that even Liu was not fully privy to.