Ch.54Ch.5 – The Dead City Dreams and Waits (9)

Aurora didn’t stop. The mafia men who had been at a loss were now a blur as they got out of their cars.

“Aha, ahaha, ahahahaha!”

Aurora, showing her teeth in a refreshing smile, stuck her left hand out the window and waved. Like a fighter jet in a steep dive, the coupe sped out of downtown Pollard.

* * * * *

May 11, 1929. 1:24 PM

Road to the Northern Pastures

“This is it. This is living. Don’t you think?”

The coupe shook slightly whenever another car passed by. It seemed that driving at such high speed made it susceptible to even minor interference.

I gripped the passenger handle tightly, but Aurora drove on fearlessly, smiling brightly.

“Are you scared? Hey, are you afraid? Close your eyes then. That’s it. Hahaha! Close your eyes and smile with your teeth showing!”

But it was Aurora who closed her eyes. Fortunately, it was a straight road, wide enough, with no oncoming traffic.

Just as my stomach lurched like I’d been punched, I saw rows of trees lining both sides of the road.

Around that time, Aurora opened her eyes again and slowly decelerated.

Eventually, we reached the massive elm tree beyond the fork in the road where Officer Walters had been napping.

The tree was enormous, its shade deep enough to easily conceal a coupe.

“Ha. Ha.”

Aurora’s breathing grew increasingly labored. Her body was already drenched in sweat, making her wine-colored silk dress cling to her skin.

As the car entered the tall grass and the engine completely shut off, her breathing became even more ragged. Heek. Hic, gasping sounds.

Aurora’s pupils dilated, then she immediately broke into convulsions, making choking sounds.

“Left, left…”

With difficulty, she pointed to a box attached to the driver’s door. In my panic, I failed to think of the simple solution of getting out and opening the driver’s door.

Instead, I leaned toward Aurora and stretched out my right arm. Aurora leaned toward the steering wheel.

Unfortunately, my right hand got caught between her chest and the lower part of the steering wheel.

Aurora turned her head toward me.

She was smiling.

“Tell me.”

Aurora grabbed my right arm with her left. She extended her right hand toward my neck, and I felt a prickling sensation on the side. It seemed like she was holding something like an awl.

“Do you bleed too?”

I felt a sharp pain on the tender part of my neck. I couldn’t put strength into my right arm.

Aurora’s grip was stronger than I expected, and one wrong move would cause the awl to pierce my neck.

“Finally, time for just the two of us. Right? You have no idea how much, how much I’ve waited for this moment.

Ha. Of course, I don’t like one-sided things. So let’s play a game. You stake your neck. I stake my heart. A game of truth.

So relax your right arm. For this moment, I even took off all my underwear at the department store earlier.

I’m wearing absolutely nothing under this dress.”

The left side of my neck stung a bit more. Aurora pulled my right hand inside the bodice of her dress.

Her breast grew slightly larger with each touch of my hand. Eventually, I could feel her flesh and bone, and beneath them, her pulsing heart.

“Ah.”

Aurora’s lips turned even redder. She twisted her upper body slightly as if uncomfortable. Her left breast was completely exposed outside the dress.

“When I heard that Abasina rescued you from the neutral zone in the entertainment district, I couldn’t believe it.

The nun I know isn’t that type of person. But then, I had this thought:

If someone was chosen by Abasina, they might be worth tasting.

So tell me. What exactly are you? Where did you come from, what’s your name, and what’s your favorite position?”

I am Crayfield’s sixth assistant. That’s all I can say. Aurora’s heartbeat slowed somewhat.

“No. No. That’s not it. That’s not it.”

I felt a dull yet sharp pain. It was in the nape of my neck, where the muscles were tense.

My right hand, now with strength in it, pressed down on Aurora’s heart.

“Ahh, yes, yes! This is it. The heart and neck game. This is how it’s done. You’re good. You’re doing very well.

Now. My second question. Do you love the nun? Will you marry her? Can you go to the ends of hell?

Even if you have to live your whole life looking at her through glass, could you live like that?

Even if the Vatican separates you?”

Her heart pounded violently. I gave no answer.

A smile spread across Aurora’s face. It was not a friendly smile, but one of madness.

“You know what? I wouldn’t have cared what you said. I could just take what I want. I’m not afraid of some nun.

With you, I think I wouldn’t be afraid of anything.”

[Unfortunately, Aurora was almost the only one in that family who could think rationally]

Aurora’s bloodshot eyes drew closer. Her black pupils, like burning coal, were now blazing like the throat of a volcano.

A fire beyond mere heat, a fire that consumes everything—the fire of greed.

“I like your eyes. Eyes that say nothing matters. Eyes that seem not of this world.

Your eyes are like camera lenses. If you look long enough, all you see is me.”

As we stared into each other’s eyes, Aurora’s heartbeat gradually slowed.

“I know. The you that’s here is just a shell. The real you isn’t inside this wonderful skull.

It’s deeper. Far, far away, in a distant place. A place no one’s imagination can reach.

I’ve seen dying men in field hospitals. I’ve seen their eyes. They all died with eyes like yours.”

She came close enough that our noses almost touched, close enough to feel her breath.

“And the second assistant of Crayfield who killed my brother had eyes like these too.

Listen to me. I’ll tell you something that high-and-mighty Crayfield would never tell you.”

[Remember. Aurora is a venomous snake. She caused problems wherever she went.]

“My brother killed him. Bang. Bang. Bang.”

Aurora pressed her lips against mine. The stinging in my neck was more distinct than the sticky sensation.

Aurora put her forehead against mine and whispered.

“Do you know what happened then? Darkness flowed out of his body. It devoured my brother. I shot my brother.

Gunfire. Hee, hee, hee! My brother and the second assistant shot each other? No. I shot him. I killed my brother!

So, is that bad? After my father and mother beat us, my brother would beat me and my younger brother.

When a person gets hit too much, they can’t smell anything anymore, you wouldn’t know that.”

[Giovanni’s plans began to falter after an unexpected event: when his eldest son, who was considered the heir to the organization, got caught in a shooting and passed away]

Again. Aurora pressed her lips against mine. Her accusing heart beat. Her more swollen breast pushed my hand slightly away.

“And. My brother. Saw it. I closed my brother’s eyes. It’s okay, Michael. This is all a dream. A dream.

My brother called me a murderer, but I couldn’t cover his mouth.

Because I saw the second assistant scatter like night fog, like dawn darkness.

Can a person scatter like night fog? I saw it. I saw it. No one believed me, but I saw it.

That’s when I knew. Even a fearsome being like my brother could be killed if they could bleed.

So I truly loved that second assistant. Because he showed me something very precious.

After experiencing the battlefield, I clearly understood. Anything that can bleed can be killed.”

[Aurora was broken, but at least she managed to protect Michael]

Now her heart felt like someone was kicking it from the inside. Her body was heating up to the point where my palm was starting to sting.

“Why? Why? Why can’t I live normally? Why can’t I live like other families, just like a normal family?

Tell me. Why, why do I always have to live in the snow path, in the snow path, in the snow path, in the snow path?

Close your eyes, before I gouge them out! No. No. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It’s okay. Surprised?

It’s okay. Shh. Shh. I’m scared, Assistant. I’m scared.

I’m afraid someone will put a gun to the back of my head when I turn around.

I’m afraid I’ll wake up to find someone’s head on my bedsheet.

I’m afraid a bomb will go off when I drive through the streets.

I’m afraid I’ll experience all the things I’ve done to others.”

[She’s full of fear that she’ll be attacked someday, so she tries to divide everyone around her to remove herself from being a target]

Once more. Aurora pressed her lips against mine. This time it was longer, and hotter.

The sticky sweat between her chest and my palm made it slippery.

“See? You’re not afraid. Right? You’re exactly the person I’ve been looking for. You have no fear.

You’re different from someone like Henry Paine who’s gripped by fear and only runs away.

You’re the one person I’ve been searching for. Come, knight who knows no fear. Take me out of the Tower of the White Hand.

Free me from fear. Then, I’ll make you a king.

White gloves? Omeli? Ha. Ha. Ha. I’ll do everything for you. You’ll become a legend of darkness.

Just sit still. I swear on my heart.

How about it? Can you feel what my heart is saying? Thump. Thump. Thump. I can hear it. How about you? To me…”

Again. Aurora pressed her lips against mine. Her accusing heart beat. Her more swollen breast pushed my hand slightly away.

Hiccup. Aurora pulled her head back in surprise. Her lips had turned slightly blue. Her face was also pale. This time it was a real seizure.

Yet Aurora desperately tried to speak. I told her to let go of my hand, but she shook her head.

“Give me your neck. Take my heart. Please. Normally… like others… without fear… together… just normal…”

Her body went limp. Her will was still strong, but her heart was pounding in terror, begging to be saved.

Even the hand holding the awl lost its strength, and she slumped.

Looking again, it wasn’t an awl but a spare car key.

I opened the driver’s side pouch. I gave her the respirator.

A tear rolled down from Aurora’s eye.

“It’s all shit. Everything is shit.”

After sobbing for a while in a threadlike voice, she reached out to me. I gently pushed her hand away and properly fixed her dress.

Completely exhausted, Aurora exhaled a long breath as if even resistance was too troublesome. I grabbed the car door handle.

“No. Don’t go.”

Aurora choked my neck. There was barely any strength, like a spring breeze. Her slipping hand scratched down my collar as if it were a wall.

“Just… stay a little longer… as much as you did for that nun. No, just half of half of half that much… You promised. Until six o’clock. Six… six o’clock…”

I took out my wallet. I removed all the bills Aurora had stuffed in and placed them on the passenger seat.

When I opened the car door and stepped out, the scorching sunlight beat down on me, making me hesitate.

When I was about three or four steps away from the car, Aurora opened the door and came out.

She had a gun in her hand.

I aimed my revolver.

Aurora immediately pushed both shoulder straps of her dress down along her arms. The wine-colored dress flowed down like a circus curtain.

She truly was wearing nothing except a necklace, black stockings, and silk gloves that came up to her elbows.

“See? My heart. If you’re going to shoot, shoot my heart. With one bullet. Precisely. Don’t shoot my face. I too.”

Her hair, flowing down beside her shoulders, covered her mouth. Only after the wind died down did she finish her sentence.

“I too am just an ordinary woman.”

Sunlight flowed from her neck down to her chest.

Her eyes were as quiet as ashes.

I lowered my gun and turned around.

One step. Another step. Gunshots rang out.

I didn’t look back.

Five. Six.

I didn’t look back again.

I just walked down the afternoon road, hoping to find a house where I could call a taxi before the soles of my shoes wore out completely.