Join the new world

The drive to my Q4 flat in central København didn't take long. Most of the city had been brutally butchered by the attacking hordes of Swedes, and little mercy was given to the buildings either. Since then, most flats stood empty - and with my long experience in house carpenting, I had been able to turn what used to be a dump into the fine flat that I called my home. It used to have guts and brains spread all over the walls, but it was nothing a grinder and two gallons of hydrocloric acid couldn't fix. Most of the flat was marble, which made the echo of 7empl4r's grunting unbearable for even the deaf. A tear left my eye as he checked his surroundings and gave out a cry of not feeling at home.

I showed 7emp to the guest room - which included most parts of what a regular flat would include. Fridge, bed, closets and a 42" TV connected to the satellite dish on the roof. If there was a channel out there, that dish could pick it up. There also was a food elevator, connected to an abandoned restaurant downstairs. It didn't work, but I had plans to set up shop there in the upcoming future.

"Alright, let's get these things of your back", I said to 7emp and placed myself in front of him. Two large leather belts held two suitcases with money firmly attached to his back. It didn't look comfy, but 7emp wasn't the comfortable type of dude. Trying to pry open the pins in the belt proved harder than I thought. Someone had used special tools to tighten these fuckers to their maximum extent.
"Geez, did Fredrik do this?", I asked him. He nodded. I'm not sure if it was to save my ears from getting punted or if he figured I didn't know the difference between one grunt and another. Nonetheless, I could see the vision of the two genetic brothers packing a shitload of money into regular suitcases and almost killing eachother trying to fix them to 7emp's back. At least one of them must have been drunk. One of them always was. That's why he added "Fiesta" in front of his name every fucking time we were at bars with women. We always had to drag his drunk ass home.

"I need to get a knife, I can't get these fuckers off", I said and started walking to the kitchen. I wasn't a great cook. Most of the stuff in the kitchen was just for show. After grabbing the biggest knife I could find I returned to the guest room. Spotting the knife, 7emp became a bit nervous.
"Don't worry, it's not like I can hurt anything with this thing", I said. 7emp however did not agree, and showed me so by letting of yet another soul-ripping cry. "All right, do you have any ideas, Einstein?", I said. 7emp then first breathed out heavily, almost emptying his lungs of oxygen. The smell of animal breath filled the room, which bothered me a bit. Mostly, I was just happy I didn't have to sleep in here. A moment of silence followed. Then, slowly things started to vibrate in the room. The plastic flowers all turned towards 7emp and even the bed cover started to blow in it's edges. It was like an explosion - all the air was sucked out of my lungs. I could see the dust moving rapidly towards his wide open mouth. It took several second to fill his lungs, and I almost had to brace myself not to move. Two loud bangs echoed in the room. The belts had snapped when 7emp's chest expanded.

"Problem solved", I said. "Make yourself at home". He literally jumped into the bed. The legs snapped like rotten branches on an old tree. The air which a few moments ago had left my lungs suddenly came back, as the bed slammed into the floor. I was now completely deaf.

"I'LL BE RIGHT BACK!!", I shouted. I couldn't hear myself think.

I stepped into my bedroom to change my underwear and take a shower in my private bathroom - hidden behind a closet. Behind this cover was the only place I removed my mask to reveal my face. Scar tissue ran along most of my face - like a web made by a drunk spider. My nose never really had recovered from the beating I had gotten from Skinke that one night of terror. The bones had deformed into strange angles and strained the skin in certain places. My nose also made a slight whistling sound - a perfect E - when I leaned my head to the right. It was great for late nights with a a bottle of cheep scotch and a guitar in need of tuning. It also was a cool trick to show of around children.

Removing my clothes revealed the stench which had followed me. Without further ado I entered the shower and allowed the cleansing hot water flow over my body. I felt completely relaxed - which I had not done in quite some time. Life sure was hard, but it made these moments even better. Yeah... It had been a while since last time... Just a quick one - that can't hurt anybody, right? I moved my hand down towards my groin and started imagining strange pictures of Snow-white and her seven furry little dwarfs who had decided to gang up on her.

"Now now, there's no need to get that exited", she said. He didn't stop. He acted as if she even wasn't in the room. "Did you think that you could escape from me by leaving the country?", she continued. Still no reaction, instead he started grunting. "Will you please stop that?"

"NO, NOT YET!!", I yelled to Grumpy. Damn, why did he always want to come in her face the first chance he got? I really needed new fantasies...

"Geez, you don't need to yell! I'm standing right here!". He was acting strange. "I'm just here to tell you that I still care for you. I'm not going to let you just leave me. I'm watching you." She walked up to the glass, which had become all fogged up, and kissed the glass. Her blood red lipstick smeared on the glass and left a print of her soft lips. She left the bathroom and simply walked out of the apartment. 7emp was too busy counting the money to notice anything other than the front door slamming shut.

After a good 20 minutes, I was clean and relieved. After shutting of the water I turned to the door and noticed the lipstick on the glass. It took me a while to register it, but then I realized. She had found me. My eyes opened wide while my lungs filled with air. I couldn't hear myself screaming - which made it even more scarier.

How had she found me?