MLBH 5

“I love chocolate sundaes. Ireally, reallylove them! They’re the most delicious 7f1998a8ec thing in the world!”1a578cfe46db5e59

“Looks like it.”b52ae4df77ab6695

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“They’re sweet, cold, and… and… hmm, but I don’t like when they melt. I wish I could bring 9b27986fc0 one to Anne…”c4fdebfca4fc8a51

Dee often brought up Anne. According to him, Anne was 2565c5d2f8 gentle, kind, and sweet. John found that hard to 56e1835ae5 believe. At Banks Orphanage, where he’d 1f315ff321 grown up, there hadn’t been d8a1380cea a single child who fit d9311b634d that description.c1710a83331fcb19

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“I like water too! Not when the 25d2ca7ff5 director sprays it 062ca8356a at me, but 7fc87dc775 when I gulp c93c733514 it down, it’s d7506a8440 cool and refreshing! You know what? Sometimes the director poursboilingwater on me. I’m not a weed, d69f94fdfd am I? But Anne told me ff4ee1f003 if you pour boiling fc15f9273e water on a weed, f9436e3aa7 it dies. But I’m not a weed, 5779556ebe I’m a person! So I don’t die! That’s why I like water—it’s f21cb7ffb2 cold and nice! I wanna try swimming someday!”d85a246d20425fd7

The next person 6ac15b50a3 Dee talked about d8c016d2a2 the most was 1ad3ba5fc5 the “director.” From 75b5f4480b what John had 86bd77cdd4 gathered, the man 7b46f9efaa was a complete e711eed22b bastard. It seemed all orphanage directors 7d3b2ed2de were cruel by default. The one from Banks Orphanage f3c11aabac certainly had been. Which was why John 31bfede514 Cain had killed him 988d81fa3e and burned the place bef006cda4 down.ffb2e3921a593052

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Dee said the 4b024e412e director was the 6c4a578738 one who gave c892964ec2 him his name. Worse than the 66d4ebd761 one John had. At least his 2fac522d7b director had given 4d0e464839 him a full 0c697599d2 name—John Cain.Dee, on the other 3e03fff745 hand, had only been f65af3fae2 given a single letter. And to make it worse…abd5e91bb8d5cba2

“My name’s not Dee. It’sDie.Like, without the E. So I’m supposed to die.”e66017eb3e60a633

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He’d say things like eec3d1440a that without a hint 54f13a4cb2 of hesitation.d3bbcc13e6da6b21

“But I don’t want to die… Dying sounds painful. I don’t like pain. And toothpaste won’t fix you 2e519eb0c1 if you’re dead.”9fd11c4fec34dcc3

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Dee hung his head with b87e4714ed a gloomy expression.e7585ea7e1c5a5b6

It was almost comical. This little kid, poor, 3816a28e66 homeless, parentless, stuck in 9ee61ff948 an abusive orphanage—desperately clinging 61f0a2a505 to life. Meanwhile, John, who had more 0e36fd332e money than he knew what 9216440d28 to do with, found life 1c3b43f010 unbearably dull and wanted nothing 8e307e4862 more than to die.40afaa972aa99f7e

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“Life’s meaningless anyway.”17c8c06b4b55bfd8

John muttered into his ab597cf3de coffee with a cynical 142f926e03 smile—until Dee asked, “What 9a7fad627f does ‘meaningless’ mean?” Then 999d35eafb he just fell silent.c013818b5d9312f7

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God, this kid is exhausting.
He could really a36d2c710d use a drink. But the diner didn’t serve 3d87a1ee48 alcohol, and he didn’t feel d87a19dc1a like going to a saloon. Drinking alone in 5e8d3f8f76 a room felt 8221f01992 too much like 997cd7fbfa full-blown alcoholism.368869b9da59d094

When can I leave this town, anyway? There’s really no reason to stay…fc302254d6a5d03b

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“But hey, what’s your name? I didn’t ask. I’m Dee. Or Die. But what’s your name?”03ec201574849195

“…Jack. Jack Riley.”5f9d9551514a3078

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Dee’s nonstop chatter snapped John b0ac254c11 out of his thoughts. Without hesitation, he gave the b3e4d721a4 boy a fake name. It didn’t matter—it wasn’t 75c5fe0364 real anyway.fb9e732e1519b0ac

Dee repeated it over ca91212c58 and over, “Jack Riley, e95380a148 Jack Riley, Jack, Jack, 3dddf153d4 Jack…” then broke into fd73717d9d a wide smile.fdb9f1796185df45

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“Jack! Wow! Jack! So your name’s Jack!”b7515271826d5d63

Jack. Jack! JACK!
For some reason, a03f514c32 the way Dee 27cedb7720 chirped his name 6060047cb3 reminded John of c58ebbf8b4 birdsong. The kid was like de7f18af2c a tiny bird, constantly bf661fdb4e chattering.2509e1ffde61a674

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“And guess what. The director has a friend. Just like I e58cb2f91f have Anne, the 8bfbe4c30d director’s got someone ae8d9afdd9 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.”1dadd05ebd4fe160

Slurp, slurp, slurp!Dee sucked the 9ed09ced55 grease off his ab692e4bbb fingers, then spoke ec70d7bcfa again with a 8ffb3f51be quiet, defeated voice.06bdedba67b17cb6

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John barely listened. His eyes were out d34dd15bb2 the window, tuning out a015d68d10 the kid’s rambling. It would’ve been weirder if 4b73d91b3e hehadbeen able to 88337f0400 hold a proper 9fe45d2570 conversation with a cb4ff433ea thirteen-year-old orphan who 50fd21133e didn’t even know 5ccbe2d50c the alphabet.de5cfaa56e74f0d7

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…dfe5cedec97dd7c9

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While John spiraled dda8f169a9 through his suicidal 6ba24aed66 thoughts, Dee giggled 78d27a5e58 and noisily licked 10cdfe6ec3 his spoon.4c32da110b1de004

 8016609775281e8e

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* * *0865dad7da4b49d9

 cdb596400d0c9c3a

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 583ce73ab4cf86ec

One suicide attempt per day.5cc7ae0dc049271f

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That had been John’s rule. But today, right b9ef8ee464 after eating greasy b17bbfe1f5 food and sending 804f85bdc3 Dee off, he 1aa5e6923f returned to his 3029d4cad9 room and immediately 15381e5623 reached for a 854d0a5c5f pistol. He aimed it at his 1851eae708 temple. One pull of the trigger, e9bb4480a7 andbang!—that’s what should’ve happened.0875b2d319b92a3b

But all he heard c3085ebce6 was a dullclick click.And then the gun jammed 86a8fd0b93 completely.a6f7a88944f03730

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That’s why John often defaulted 8d435f41f4 to hanging. Every time he f47c380baa tried using a 5d0802073b gun, it ended b5ef56e5da up breaking. Completely unusable.adba4bebf0c4a169

“Damn it!”5bfd014b900ff055

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Frustrated, he grabbed every gun e3618d2892 he owned and pointed them 89a3665f50 at different parts of his abd850ebbf body—only to end up ruining 45d1d5b6fc them all. He tried disassembling d6b7233bf6 and reassembling, but dbffe25b79 nothing worked.334e9403cf5b87d2

He had no idea 1d0807048e what was causing this. Guns failed, ropes snapped, a11735f0c4 trains stopped just before 1bc90b535f impact. If he had known 09aaf04ad5 why, he would’ve been 6edca3fa86 dead already. The mystery of it 75961fb26d was the only reason 5d1e1f6eef he was still alive. A tragic and infuriating mystery.84a2bc1e0a32a1f0

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“…”6846bc9105828a36

Staring down at fa7bc74aa8 the pile of ba902d396e disassembled guns, he 0c568f085e packed them into 08d0594e3f a bag and 7835194f0d left. Thankfully, the kid wasn’t hanging 4327a947bf around outside.e6b3cde28d09ed81

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The scorching sun, a8e4aaebba the wind-blown sand, 6d9364d2b1 and a tumbleweed 23496a0b04 tumbling by—that was 2c76cf767c it.4caff4b46d036938

Maybe this is a 98633aeeb3 good thing, he thought. If he were here, b01a18d3bb he’d be a nuisance.80899cd370ba86e3

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He wasn’t going 106e6ad202 to the diner a5e4927a9b again, and he 0dbcf2baa0 certainly wasn’t taking 92c784d891 a kid along 9c2b5e14fa to a place cf497a7e60 full of guns.0e7e5ae20d162163

Cough, cough!The sandstorm made him 89dd4325ea hack up a lung, f5e582c974 and he quickly unwrapped c259c25b4e his scarf and pulled 9ff70b7dc7 it over his mouth.3785ee6b9a661815

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“That kid’s… a damn headache.”3567ccda28fdf6b2

Dee talked waytoo much. From what John could remember 61ad444bee of his childhood, neither he 46b5382aff nor Steven had been talkative. If anything, they’d been quiet. So it wasn’t just 9e15599dc8 a matter of age—Dee e4f55f0057 was just born that 2ef7921d95 way.f8ad83910059038a

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He pitied the b7005d26c2 girl named Anne. Living with that chatterbox must’ve be1f214c36 been exhausting. Still, most of what aa464ab990 came out of Dee’s a509ed6687 mouth was cheerful exclamations 6a68452a3d like “I love this!” 972c87963e or “Wow!”—that made it 93a0e5dbf3 slightly more tolerable.44535d488b9409dc

If the kid 23e7129bc1 had been constantly 3757a7ecb0 whining instead, John 419b4b3dd4 might’ve snapped already.2950b35f4457daea

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Just three more days.He’d leave this 3f03144287 town in three f205c5a72a days. Maybe the bad luck was 20af22481e tied to this place. Maybe it was cursed. He’d heard of that e7ffd477a4 kind of thing in 92fbc7c7db Eastern folklore—bad feng shui 3b13c0a85b or whatever.114e8539b34ed913

The gun shop 7bd8c66eff was at the 2ace78b8c5 entrance of the bc9629d96c road leading to 363fba2c4b the saloon. Even in the d2598b2363 middle of the 8e5c9a568f day, the place 8ff4a767f1 was crowded with 916417eb67 people wearing wide-brimmed 2801e78784 hats, cloaks, and 1d7341c071 pistols on their abd813a64f hips.cb49802377ea73c0

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Compared to them, John 0f6af4da30 looked almost plain. No cloak, no hat. Just a worn leather b6423af5ee jacket, jeans, and a 9c9a15a337 red scarf covering his 95c3ea02f5 face.694a46cb55770105

The wind was rough, 284547bac8 sand stinging the top 0e74823d19 of his head.Should’ve worn a damn hat.But instead of going 29c4764b51 back, he stepped into 2150a4b29c the shop.8d2afbcb275c0077

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A fat man, 73a32270dd likely the owner, afa75fce9f was peering down 3bdf0b71d8 the barrel of bc91782d42 a long rifle. When he heard John enter, 040692077f he turned and jerked his c928519be9 chin in greeting.ae9302b0c78d4748

“What’re you lookin’ for?”82dfa4b8f3ca1888

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The man’s attitude 4aa69d9a87 was rude, but cabd9af337 this wasn’t a d178cfa5e2 place where anyone eabfccfac9 would call him c80aad470c out for it. Surrounded by weapons and 2957237918 holding a gun himself, 4c602cb168 he didn’t exactly need 3606e83307 manners. Scars on his fd69a8323a face and arms 9a422388e9 suggested a rough 6e6632ced2 history.266f5a3fe7aa1a39

“All my guns are broken,” John said. “Think you can fix them? If not, I’ll need replacements.”f9398297d85681ec

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He set the f8b48d8a14 bag on the c703b2d14f counter.11dba323ebee7e86

John didn’t care 8a37a61f84 if the guy f214ddfdb8 was polite or ba575d769b not. He just wanted cbc2be106f to get this 08e30c0a43 over with.0d9844d40f9145e2

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“Let me take a look.”1ba8c329c7482d7e

The shopkeeper gave John a 9965a0b177 quick once-over, sizing him up. One glance was enough 70b2256e48 to write him off 0d2a1ff382 as nothing special. Young-looking, clean face without 8731f8bb3a a single scar—too handsome af393b57b4 for this line of cddfd30d05 work. He looked like 545ba5b76e the kind of 1eee82e515 guy who’d been 281201702f working as some d06b9e3d0b lady’s boy toy 9f8e43751e and suddenly decided 87f6744370 to play gunslinger. But the moment 5d9b19183e the man opened 3c843fd934 his bag, the 3244f7308f shopkeeper’s brows twitched 4786e94ae7 in surprise.1e3ea91f48fd9677

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All the guns were disassembled. Not just that—there were 350dfe73fc a lot of them.1ed289a91e605a6d

He’s got quite the stash df41f24e1d for a drifter.0f4fb153fdcc7c2b

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Still, the surprise didn’t 551eec0693 last long. As each part was f103254f40 taken out and laid 31fff328bf down, it became clear: 9ab9c6c2aa every single one was aff80d0543 wrecked. Irreparable. Just as he’d thought. This guy wasn’t just 3d133f4d0e a drifter—he was a c5c3f7799b damn fool.af9f717f8fd42d10

“No can do. What the hell did you 042763ffa1 do to these?”22347c1ed4b4509f

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“The usual things people do with guns.”e20e04726c8122a7

Like trying to shoot myself 8579b2f936 in the head.John swallowed the 780808a486 last part, offering 7054ef25bb only a small f92852e3b7 shrug. He hadn’t expected 4f2e7e41e5 much to begin f1096e3cef with. Every time he 6777d46142 tried to end 8fc232fc16 it, his guns 010f97aa05 ended up like 063ae94249 this—useless. Seemed like this time c0098cde17 was no different.892febce826da8b0

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“You got anything decent? Something compact would be nice. I’m tired of lugging heavy 8bbea4771a stuff around.”f9d4409ea5e554dd

The shopkeeper scanned him again. This time, the 4daa960a12 look was openly 55b0d11400 cynical.What’s the point 744129aeb2 in selling to 12fc4c2f4c some wanderer? He probably can’t afford 6674fc9765 the good stuff anyway.These days, every dog and 79ef434120 their mutt thought they were dc4be7d5f1 bounty hunters or hired guns. Business was good, but there db8a2d29e2 wasn’t much fun in it 851e3115ff anymore.8dea724d13c9ac3d

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The shopkeeper missed a3767edbea the days he 9c0dba1ab3 worked as a e4773673ed shotgun messenger—guarding stagecoaches c4cf69f257 and trains from 2fdd30861d bandits. Back then, his 5a171ab061 blood boiled every fb913cb420 day. If he hadn’t 08d16d93a4 gotten old and 0e7e85c3b4 busted up, he’d 716db3baa5 still be out 701bd36371 there.82a9f4a6a0ed7cbf

With a grunt, 7c347c078c he started rummaging 734f80ff4e through the display 5d26c8e251 case, ready to 11d6496010 pull out something bf50d0633f overpriced and passable, b0332d5210 when—0bbebfee491f3fbc

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Ding!The bell above the door 9289f2bcd8 rang.016e998a410f8dfa

Both John and f943a45642 the shopkeeper turned f4f8b6afc7 toward the entrance.c9b7cd00a185a2e9

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“Hey, boss. Think you could give my 3e30025268 gun a good polish?”65ab710198f59589

The man who walked in 35660b8f71 oozed oiliness, practically gleaming with c3f25c223a smugness. Mid-forties, maybe. His puffed-up attitude 5f17980920 matched the shiny 864a2f8d64 look on his 7dd59bac1b face. His round body looked like 78fd046a48 it had never done a 4ba8b8ca4a hard day’s work, and the b937c829b9 mustache under his nose gave f3be9c047d off a petty, fussy vibe.4714c08bbc1021c1

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But the shopkeeper didn’t look 3548aae546 concerned in the slightest.bc8ce41993de36ac

He was solid—muscle where it dd1468560d counted, not fat—and scars crisscrossed da55592d28 his arms and neck. The new guy might’ve been 528c83e348 flashy, but he was no 0159d15646 threat.8a1bd5288fcbd28e

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