Chapter Text
Over the past month, Jeff and Liu had hid in the homes of their dead victims and pay by the hour motels. They moved frequently by stealing cars and on trains. Both options presented their own risks, people reported stolen cars and trains had conductors. It took one nosy person to recognise Jeff’s scars, then they recognised Jeff and then they had to race out of the state before they were caught, arrested and separated.
Liu had been awake for forty hours, after he’d been found on a train without a ticket. Jeff had been in the bathroom, a small mercy but not one Liu would hedge bets on. He’d been moving on the train and Liu stood out on his own. Someone could have seen them. So he’d pulled Jeff off at the next stop - ten stops before they’d planned. They’d hotwired an expensive car that had paid for a weekend's worth of parking and started driving.
Jeff slept in the backseat, his head resting against the window. He snored. Liu used to hate how loud Jeff snored but it was a comfort now. It was impossible to sleep at the wheel while Jeff was sleeping and impossible to sleep while Jeff was awake because he did nothing but talk.
Two hours later, Liu pulled into a motel on the side of the road. He flipped through the stolen wallet of their last victims and counted the remaining bills. It hadn’t lasted as much as Liu had hoped it would. They would still need to find food for the night and however more nights on the road. The last victims hadn’t kept many non-perishables meaning they’d been denting the rations for if they had to vanish into the woods over the past three days.
Liu climbed out of the car and wandered around the car park. He couldn’t find any camera’s or a ticket metre. It was dark with no streetlights. In the sleek black car, it was possible they wouldn’t be caught on any cameras that were around. He climbed back into the car.
“Jeff,” Liu hissed, “Jeff wake up.”
Jeff opened one eye, “What?”
“Can you wake me up when it starts getting bright?”
Jeff groaned. He shut his eyes and ignored anything else Liu said. Liu rolled his eyes. He took his scarf off and balled it up into a pillow. It made the sleep a tiny bit more restful. Liu was asleep as soon as his head hit the window.
Six hours later, the sun was high in the sky and someone was knocking on their windows. Liu immediately woke up. He turned to the back.
Jeff shrugged, “You looked like you needed the sleep.”
“Have they seen you?”
“That guy?” Jeff pointed out the window. Liu blanched. “Oh,” there was a pause,”I don’t think so, he’s been here for five minutes. Think he thinks I’m your kid.”
Liu took a short sharp breath and reached for the masks on the passenger seat. He attached it and then winded down the window.
“Sorry, I’m sick.” Liu said, gesturing towards the mask, “How can I help you?”
The man backed away, “You two have been here all night.”
Liu nodded.
“And you didn’t pay at the motel?”
“No, I was tired, passed,” he pretended to cough, “passed out in the car before I could book a room. Do we owe you any cash?” He fished out the wallet from between the seat and started to count out the few notes they had left.
Before he could finish, the man cut him off, “Is that your kid?” He pointed towards Jeff.
Liu nodded, “Little brother. I had him for a long weekend at college, give Mum and Dad a break now and then.”
“You don’t have class right now?”
“Lecturer’s sick. There’s a cold going round right now.” He pretended to cough again.
He looked across at Jeff. Jeff was staring at him with his red eyes. He didn’t blink the entire time the man stared at him, which wasn’t helping his perpetual dry eye. Liu would have to remind Jeff to take some of the eye drops they’d stolen once they left. Jeff nodded, “He ain’t lyin’”
“Look what do I owe you,”
Something in Liu’s voice must have given away how desperate he was because the man only rubbed his forehead. “Kid, you didn’t rent a room and we aren’t running low on parking. Just get home safe okay.” He said, before he turned around and headed back to the motel. Liu’s head fell against his chest. All his energy left him ,as if he hadn’t slept at all, when he knew they were in the clear. He let himself indulge in the peace for a minute. Jeff was quiet, they still had enough money to get breakfast and fill up the gas. For one minute, he let himself imagine he really was dropping his brat sibling back at Mum and Dads and had fallen asleep against the wheel.
He pulled his mask off, turned the key in the car and started driving again.
“How do you feel about stopping at the next state?”
“For real or for gas?”
“Real?”
“Sure. Reckon we could go for the suburbs? Splash out a bit and stay in a hotel?”
“Let’s see how much we have when we get there.” Liu said. They wouldn’t have enough for a hotel even if they didn’t buy anything while travelling. The only worse thing than a bored Jeff though, was an angry Jeff.
Later on, at the cheapest gas station they were gonna find, Liu spent half the budget filling the car’s tank and a quarter of their remaining cash on rich pastries for himself and Jeff, as a preemptive apology. They sat at the pump while they ate. In the wing mirror, Liu could see Jeff picking up stray flakes and licking them off his fingers. Liu’s stomach twisted as he took another bite of his plain croissant, holding his left hand below his mouth so he likewise wouldn’t lose a single crumb of food. Once they were both done, all the food eaten, Liu drove out of the gas station and continued driving.
He made sure to drive within the speed limit and took as many backroads as possible to avoid the stolen vehicle being recognised by cctv cameras. After breakfast, Liu felt more alive. He and Jeff hadn’t travelled much before. It was fun watching the world go by - another perk of staying off the main roads which were nothing but concrete upon concrete upon concrete. Jeff pressed his hand against the window as they passed a farm with animals grazing on the fields. When they continued past pig pens and horses, he shoved his entire face across the window. Liu smiled and kept one eye on traffic and the other eye watching the animals Jeff gushed about. Liu commented about one of the pigs and Jeff pulled away from the window, slouched in his seat and crossed his arms.
Jeff explained his murder plans for the next town in detail. They wouldn’t have the time to be organised so they couldn’t try and ensure their victims wouldn’t fight back or be heard. Liu thought it would be better to go after a small house in a neighbourhood filled with the elderly. They were retired and a couple of missed bingo meetings could be chalked to sickness rather than death. “No.” Jeff said in reply to Liu’s idea, “Whose going to be scared of Jeff The Killer if I only kill Grandma’s?”
“Their families?”
“But not for their own lives. It would ruin my reputation!” Then Jeff fell right back into his ramblings about how they should go after a family with a toddler - show how cruel he really could be. He was insistent on the toddler. There had to be a toddler.
“Alright, so we find a nice family home and then what if there isn’t a toddler Jeff?”
“Let me pick the house. There will be a toddler.” Liu rolled his eyes. Jeff tapped his forehead, “I’ll sense it here.” In moments like this, his exaggerated smile made him abhuman. Liu could almost believe him. Then he remembered this is his shit eating little brother.
“No, I’m serious.” Jeff continues. “Trust me.”
Liu didn’t trust Jeff as far as he could throw him, which was a distance that got shorter every year. However, letting Jeff choose and be wrong would get him to shut up. So Liu nodded, “Fine. Just this once.”
It is only natural, that Jeff, by pure dumb fucking luck, picks a house with not just a toddler, but an five year old kid who he can also kill. Liu knew this because of the boxes of baby formula that were getting close to the gone off date and the large amounts of chicken nuggets in the fridge. He is only a little jealous, he wished he could feed Jeff chicken nuggets most nights as well. They’re easy to cook and don’t get boring and don’t require trying to steal cutlery. Chicken nuggets requiring freezing though. Liu went back to the pantry and started taking all the soup and putting it in a can. He also took the bags of cereal and canned ravioli. It was rare the houses they raided had a full stock. They could live for weeks off this haul.
There was a loud scream from upstairs. Liu checked the pantry for the second time. There wasn’t any more food worth taking. The next stop would have to be upstairs. He picked the bag up and wandered up the stairs.
One of the bedroom doors was open. Jeff stood over a small bed. He turned his head and the large smile of his was splattered with blood. He looked happy but in the faint glow of the light, it was too dark to tell for sure.
Liu turned around and walked into the bathroom. He locked the door behind him. There, in the bath, trembling, was a middle aged man. His hair was balding and starting to turn grey but his face wasn’t wrinkled with age just yet. Liu rummaged through the cupboards. He found a singular tube of toothpaste - strawberry flavoured. Less than ideal but Liu and Jeff could cope.
“Please… please- don’t hur-hurt me.” The man in the bathtub blubbered. His fingers were white from how hard they were gripping the edges. Liu picked up a razor and looked over him.
It’s important, he thought, to recognise that he didn’t feel much guilt.
The house is covered by yellow police tape. Jeff is safe in the car, a two hour walk away from the crime scene, asleep. Liu walks down the street. He isn’t sure why but making sure none of the victims survive has become part of his routine. Jeff has the ritual of the murders and Liu has the ritual of watching. Four bodies are carted off in body bags. Two are small bags. One of the police officers is crying, must have kids their age. They’ve turned off the bright red and blue lights so it’s too dark for anyone else to know what’s happened.
A car speeds down the road, slows down. Liu recognises the licence plate. If he were less of a gambling man, he’d probably be afraid of how quickly the same car always came to the crime scenes. He ducks between the bushes and waits until she gets out the car.
The few years apart have been good for Jane. She’s grown and the way she holds herself demands attention. Despite being sixteen, no one else gets out of the car beside her. None of the cops question it, they never do.
Liu doesn’t stick around the crime scene after that. All four family members are dead, they have enough food to travel for a few weeks and he has to make it back to his brother before he wakes up.