MLBH 5

“I love chocolate sundaes. Ireally, reallylove them! They’re the most 7b1922774a delicious thing in 6bb1a02967 the world!”79da76d4ec5e9bb3

“Looks like it.”d2151687f7665a84

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“They’re sweet, cold, and… and… hmm, but I don’t like when they melt. I wish I 43fbbe64ab could bring one 2726196ac9 to Anne…”94790200f2dcec24

Dee often brought up Anne. According to him, Anne was 14390dfdac gentle, kind, and sweet. John found that hard 2a0e1009b4 to believe. At Banks Orphanage, 49991d807e where he’d grown 13a3c44a40 up, there hadn’t 24ebe02a04 been a single 5109b67b16 child who fit f3dc75bf8b that description.6d44549e6512162f

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“I like water too! Not when the director sprays 23f76acee8 it at me, but when 37f7d869a4 I gulp it down, it’s a3d5ffdf10 cool and refreshing! You know what? Sometimes the director poursboilingwater on me. I’m not a weed, 1c170d34ee am I? But Anne told me if 47b0b6c610 you pour boiling water on e6509562b7 a weed, it dies. But I’m not 8d0bccab12 a weed, I’m 4331d92991 a person! So I don’t die! That’s why I 663d5b6478 like water—it’s cold c98c75c665 and nice! I wanna try swimming someday!”e229002074290178

The next person Dee talked 6e54e8cd2d about the most was the bcc6591ec0 “director.” From what John had 930e1745f2 gathered, the man was a d69adf46b9 complete bastard. It seemed all orphanage directors ea0ed27673 were cruel by default. The one from Banks Orphanage bfec0461e0 certainly had been. Which was why John b03990559f Cain had killed him 52e1e3a89d and burned the place 0298d1f38a down.4039bcfba9079ea2

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Dee said the director c126b44b9d was the one who b76b3a3ca5 gave him his name. Worse than the one John 4c10d57c30 had. At least his 21ca737e59 director had given a334915a5b him a full 3ac7d5196c name—John Cain.Dee, on the other 745484a498 hand, had only been 05fcccd821 given a single letter. And to make it worse…79083d7dee5cd699

“My name’s not Dee. It’sDie.Like, without the E. So I’m supposed to die.”c51ec4b49ab253d9

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He’d say things like bab15f4c4f that without a hint 54ce9c1442 of hesitation.e35823e4f8c08cab

“But I don’t want to die… Dying sounds painful. I don’t like pain. And toothpaste won’t 4c71e2a47d fix you if 41389ab6ed you’re dead.”249bc16de8f537cb

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Dee hung his head 7527f58906 with a gloomy expression.11a0278b7cf66265

It was almost comical. This little kid, poor, 62677da357 homeless, parentless, stuck in 102bdeef4c an abusive orphanage—desperately clinging 75efb69ef4 to life. Meanwhile, John, who 54f6597ff4 had more money 4bca177340 than he knew 00ff19a1c2 what to do 815efe297a with, found life f862b0f805 unbearably dull and ae98280e7a wanted nothing more f7e427c273 than to die.5f58470964b89665

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“Life’s meaningless anyway.”efff2857b53987ba

John muttered into his coffee b609b8f7a5 with a cynical smile—until Dee 9de4c54731 asked, “What does ‘meaningless’ mean?” f1ff8070d4 Then he just fell silent.69d7cdf11f41ea6c

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God, this kid is exhausting.
He could really use a 57cf5a91a0 drink. But the diner 56010ce886 didn’t serve alcohol, 6fdf6f86b4 and he didn’t 4f067705a8 feel like going 82cb48c0e1 to a saloon. Drinking alone in a 03e3ae22fe room felt too much f79eabcaf3 like full-blown alcoholism.2cc7e281a6bf90d4

When can I leave this town, anyway? There’s really no reason to stay…d49914e5e3ebdad3

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“But hey, what’s your name? I didn’t ask. I’m Dee. Or Die. But what’s your name?”95ffe3d6d5944114

“…Jack. Jack Riley.”2bb2efc04ebb9aa7

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Dee’s nonstop chatter 217eaedff6 snapped John out 0c18a3062c of his thoughts. Without hesitation, he gave 8bfcfd734e the boy a fake ca8899d8f5 name. It didn’t matter—it c73adfca18 wasn’t real anyway.98c3e04e2c21c94d

Dee repeated it over and 68cb9fe5be over, “Jack Riley, Jack Riley, 15f972734d Jack, Jack, Jack…” then broke cc91a31d36 into a wide smile.c6094ab642f097d0

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“Jack! Wow! Jack! So your name’s Jack!”47eaaac8f31151ef

Jack. Jack! JACK!
For some reason, the way ddca21165a Dee chirped his name reminded c583dc9700 John of birdsong. The kid was bce8f1de17 like a tiny 6db4a41aec bird, constantly chattering.d69c31bfe9d2c7ec

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“And guess what. The director has a friend. Just like I have 98ada59771 Anne, the director’s got b72d039a8b someone too. But that friend looksreally scary. And that scary friend brings other friends sometimes, and they adopt kids from the orphanage. I want parents too… but they only take girls, so I can’t go. Because I’m a boy.”2c33370b71a6c2d6

Slurp, slurp, slurp!Dee sucked the grease 82fcd9376d off his fingers, then 27a3c42b48 spoke again with a 0628cd04bb quiet, defeated voice.a31b62bd0da44ff3

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John barely listened. His eyes were out 0302438cd8 the window, tuning out f843d7bb02 the kid’s rambling. It would’ve been 39025effa6 weirder if hehadbeen able to hold d6d06f9f0a a proper conversation with 2753cc79dd a thirteen-year-old orphan who 060ec78360 didn’t even know the 44095a82d6 alphabet.cfe14efc7d15980a

God, I want to die. Maybe tomorrow it’ll finally happen. Should I try hanging instead of a rope? A gun? But I broke two last time trying that…929b235f251c2ac0

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While John spiraled through 18f4537aec his suicidal thoughts, Dee d31e8bc348 giggled and noisily licked 4c409726f6 his spoon.40ccc5ae1615dd6b

 7491a1fdbbc161a3

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* * *29631a8825a2694c

 1f59a36fce43fdfb

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 50a4186cf0e0fbb5

One suicide attempt per day.26e33986a683b885

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That had been John’s rule. But today, right b30f526a52 after eating greasy 9cbf2335cc food and sending b191b1566c Dee off, he 43c32749e8 returned to his 57ad6f3040 room and immediately da2467c94b reached for a d3387b3817 pistol. He aimed it at his 24fa601aae temple. One pull of 685f9bff98 the trigger, andbang!—that’s what should’ve happened.543179b6da95eae3

But all he heard b92b400313 was a dullclick click.And then the 6f3e5c5c63 gun jammed completely.7ebfd122a1a74f2e

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That’s why John often defaulted eb8152351d to hanging. Every time he tried using c9bd1106b6 a gun, it ended up 2808e0bd39 breaking. Completely unusable.d5799615abc7e0e3

“Damn it!”4061154e66ea8010

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Frustrated, he grabbed every gun 0acdb02b26 he owned and pointed them 417a296784 at different parts of his 90c0ef7567 body—only to end up ruining 519785bf4b them all. He tried disassembling 0f187b8832 and reassembling, but 61e3c0823f nothing worked.afcf4a1211befe4e

He had no 619eaa341e idea what was 682da38c43 causing this. Guns failed, ropes snapped, trains 1b91e919cc stopped just before impact. If he had known why, b373a109e8 he would’ve been dead already. The mystery of it d9c77e0aa5 was the only reason aad7952ddc he was still alive. A tragic and infuriating mystery.ab225478d44ab408

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“…”a17a7c21a258e0e8

Staring down at 80123c1bb2 the pile of 345991947e disassembled guns, he 1aead3b26c packed them into 249c33163a a bag and 12cda89619 left. Thankfully, the kid 45654cb01a wasn’t hanging around dbb27dff77 outside.537825a8475489a9

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The scorching sun, the wind-blown b48652d20f sand, and a tumbleweed tumbling 00362240e7 by—that was it.34cc024a26668f1a

Maybe this is a good 6a1eb2a82f thing, he thought. If he were here, he’d f7efb612d9 be a nuisance.95966ea6ca9683b8

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He wasn’t going to the 1fa79607f2 diner again, and he certainly aa88d88ec4 wasn’t taking a kid along 7c5748b334 to a place full of 6d55a3566c guns.1211f8e9acad859c

Cough, cough!The sandstorm made him d3cd3bf4cf hack up a lung, a257092fa0 and he quickly unwrapped c1c6e14296 his scarf and pulled a10fda5972 it over his mouth.5d3d59ceabd92d2b

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“That kid’s… a damn headache.”0b7d40a648748356

Dee talked waytoo much. From what John f1de650746 could remember of ceee8d376e his childhood, neither 62d748f5e5 he nor Steven cf3b1202b9 had been talkative. If anything, they’d been quiet. So it wasn’t just b4a39f942c a matter of age—Dee 8d767df567 was just born that bfebad292a way.9710e07199a0d954

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He pitied the fe3a824346 girl named Anne. Living with that 5cbcd3d02a chatterbox must’ve been e4e1a75984 exhausting. Still, most of a770b695c6 what came out eec0b9c418 of Dee’s mouth e9b05889c0 was cheerful exclamations e023210763 like “I love 528bcaee64 this!” or “Wow!”—that 0b02edd2c4 made it slightly 34934eea5e more tolerable.8a33201648939d00

If the kid had ada94c7d28 been constantly whining instead, f1caadc47b John might’ve snapped already.05f866ca8461a009

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Just three more days.He’d leave this d7d2be932b town in three 9855015769 days. Maybe the bad luck 35c3db379a was tied to this eba4998b72 place. Maybe it was cursed. He’d heard of that 564738c045 kind of thing in b719cfd419 Eastern folklore—bad feng shui d6ada71a5e or whatever.d3cd97b7f1525df6

The gun shop d5dbd8839c was at the ebd7ce33e7 entrance of the 28319789f4 road leading to 7a86a2004e the saloon. Even in the middle 300a510273 of the day, the e3f88e3bcd place was crowded with 635a9f97b2 people wearing wide-brimmed hats, 47cb6f9fdf cloaks, and pistols on 546dc9a1af their hips.bc048546b300ef80

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Compared to them, John 1f06d837ff looked almost plain. No cloak, no hat. Just a worn leather jacket, 411f1ca5a7 jeans, and a red scarf 071d0056e6 covering his face.e34668977ab870c2

The wind was rough, sand 643a1e7675 stinging the top of his 63059321a0 head.Should’ve worn a damn hat.But instead of going 716e495e6c back, he stepped into a68e0c9ab2 the shop.3e543a5b1409afcf

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A fat man, likely 773832bf6b the owner, was peering d479e4bac0 down the barrel of f2b57b8c40 a long rifle. When he heard 3cec07f843 John enter, he a3e821e669 turned and jerked 98bff6dd81 his chin in 59ec911d13 greeting.dd6307956272d70f

“What’re you lookin’ for?”d23eb1e3a73a1e55

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The man’s attitude was rude, 1f90224451 but this wasn’t a place 6e1f07a52d where anyone would call him a2c73a3b2b out for it. Surrounded by weapons and 6acd5fcbee holding a gun himself, 4674c49f0f he didn’t exactly need a28ff41038 manners. Scars on his cc04921ced face and arms 7e96afc85c suggested a rough d484cf9657 history.73a558205fdcb8aa

“All my guns are broken,” John said. “Think you can fix them? If not, I’ll need replacements.”d4ee4fa615d6127a

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He set the bag on 759e9fcd89 the counter.6473a1a1408d91cd

John didn’t care if a5afd057f5 the guy was polite 1340411abb or not. He just wanted to 891bcadd93 get this over with.3c8908ab86c54531

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“Let me take a look.”8b0ef3245a858f5e

The shopkeeper gave John 667bf47516 a quick once-over, sizing 37c4f52051 him up. One glance was enough to 82efbd8c7e write him off as nothing f40266ae00 special. Young-looking, clean face without cb942e84e4 a single scar—too handsome af52ee0629 for this line of 7b9c6c9315 work. He looked like the kind e103d6759b of guy who’d been working fcf02a924a as some lady’s boy toy 958964c655 and suddenly decided to play 6aa4ee38db gunslinger. But the moment the man 8a318a28b3 opened his bag, the shopkeeper’s e1e460bda8 brows twitched in surprise.1461059248263d09

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All the guns were disassembled. Not just that—there were 24b6cd5879 a lot of them.e02ad453b0a68d19

He’s got quite the stash eb41af9ea9 for a drifter.9c232689a0d369d4

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Still, the surprise 537581c7f3 didn’t last long. As each part was taken e1826a3ec5 out and laid down, it 0671f385c0 became clear: every single one 46553b15d6 was wrecked. Irreparable. Just as he’d thought. This guy wasn’t just 0875d1f35d a drifter—he was a 8b4d1720a4 damn fool.de9adcc9f2062075

“No can do. What the hell did you 8be04ebc8c do to these?”3aac5850f2add9a8

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“The usual things people do with guns.”59e43ac879cca21f

Like trying to shoot bb3727f064 myself in the head.John swallowed the 05e4a4e3c5 last part, offering d8e8eed9eb only a small 591c3b2dd1 shrug. He hadn’t expected 011f0b8e7e much to begin 82b14d71ac with. Every time he 3c0a2a317b tried to end 168658a952 it, his guns 84429db1ef ended up like 54d0b942b1 this—useless. Seemed like this 1eac0464aa time was no e1aae48969 different.fd228aeee6fb26ca

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“You got anything decent? Something compact would be nice. I’m tired of lugging heavy 39b4d2ac48 stuff around.”0db9961f23c7c5b3

The shopkeeper scanned him again. This time, the 9b6f51e97f look was openly 786a3f7a93 cynical.What’s the point b499bd4502 in selling to de819a56b4 some wanderer? He probably can’t afford 1be25e0064 the good stuff anyway.These days, every dog 257b3616ee and their mutt thought 514a0697ee they were bounty hunters dc56770963 or hired guns. Business was good, but there e156af296d wasn’t much fun in it fa2907f9ae anymore.73c5cee48ec935b0

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The shopkeeper missed 923b5e5d3d the days he 80f08314d5 worked as a c122a2916c shotgun messenger—guarding stagecoaches 2523ac316a and trains from 4e0fb8ca12 bandits. Back then, his 67a088b4e7 blood boiled every 5cc2cc17b8 day. If he hadn’t gotten a3336e947f old and busted up, 366239820a he’d still be out 81f86c6bbc there.2648c9694de048f1

With a grunt, he started 2582b056fc rummaging through the display case, 21585f83cc ready to pull out something 4120c2cd05 overpriced and passable, when—8a3911ba1c06a7f9

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Ding!The bell above 384c923410 the door rang.c43890a35292e484

Both John and 7a1341f922 the shopkeeper turned d5597d3048 toward the entrance.cc375dc70879c8c6

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“Hey, boss. Think you could give my 000a79ce94 gun a good polish?”2b952c50ddd7cb31

The man who walked in a9727978d1 oozed oiliness, practically gleaming with 054110b212 smugness. Mid-forties, maybe. His puffed-up attitude matched the ff976581f3 shiny look on his face. His round body e9ea69313d looked like it 363720bc09 had never done ec79fe0e1b a hard day’s e0fdb1427c work, and the 55dd376dea mustache under his 11744267bc nose gave off 08196e4bcd a petty, fussy dae32838c3 vibe.0e07d0ef49004d69

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But the shopkeeper b35b637788 didn’t look concerned b0221865bf in the slightest.06b1e39ae2391364

He was solid—muscle where it 0902295e95 counted, not fat—and scars crisscrossed f2e5e5ce8b his arms and neck. The new guy might’ve ee0ec564f9 been flashy, but he 03e3f3fced was no threat.84e13f66af982fec

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