Victor wandered between the various aisles made of solid wooden shelves, paying particular attention to the large hunting knives that seemed to call out to him.
One in particular drew his eye — it was over fifteen centimeters long, its handle made of dark wood and its blade shining with a silver gleam.
It was… rather beautiful.
And above all, useful — far better than the knife he had taken from Stefan's corpse.
Victor continued to roam the armory for a few more minutes, but seeing nothing else that interested him, he decided to rejoin the others, who had already moved on to the supermarket inside the mall.
He had hesitated for a moment about taking a firearm, but ultimately decided against it, for several reasons. The first was that he didn't know how to use one. The second was the noise they made — far too loud. And finally, such weapons would be useless against enemies fast enough to dodge bullets or tough enough that bullets couldn't pierce their skin.
Even he, with his current stats, could easily see a bullet leaving the barrel and avoid it accordingly.
Those weapons were far too weak to be of any real help.
Victor soon arrived near Mary, who was busy stuffing as much food as possible into her bag while simultaneously devouring chocolate.
He stared at her for a moment, the expression of pure bliss on her face making him suspicious.
Noticing the strange boy standing silently beside her, Mary held out a chocolate bar to him.
Victor evaluated the brown bar in front of him.
He knew what chocolate was, but had never had the chance to taste it.
To be honest, it didn't look very appetizing.
« You don't like chocolate? »
Mary frowned, murmuring to herself.
« And here I thought all kids liked it… »
Victor narrowed his eyes — this was the third time someone had called him a kid.
He slowly took the bar with his three fingers, brought it close to his face, and sniffed it.
« I've just never eaten it before, that's all. »
Mary stared at him for a few seconds, a complicated expression crossing her face as she examined yet again the battered, scarred body of the teenager.
She had once been a special education worker — she knew how to recognize an abused child when she saw one.
Victor bit into the unappealing-looking bar.
His pupils widened the instant the chocolate touched his taste buds.
He had never tasted anything so delicious.
Even the steak Lucie had cooked a few days earlier paled in comparison to the sweetness he now held in his hands.
This teenager, who reaped lives as casually as one plucks weeds, was on the verge of tears over something as simple as chocolate.
But it made sense— to most people, it was just a basic, affordable, sugary snack.
But for someone who had known only hunger and the blandest of food, it felt like discovering an entirely new world.
Victor devoured the bar in a few bites, leaving not even a crumb behind.
He abruptly turned his head toward the shelf next to him, spotting the endless rows of chocolate waiting for one thing only.
To be devoured by him.
And so he proceeded — filling both his bag and his stomach with sweets at an unnatural speed, emptying nearly half the aisle in just a few minutes.
Mary looked a little worried as she watched him.
« You shouldn't eat that much… »
Victor stopped, satisfied with his abundant harvest.
« Why? »
The woman sighed, letting her arms fall.
« It's too late, you'll find out for yourself in an hour or two. »
The boy shrugged and began wandering through the aisles again.
He had never been in a place like this before — he knew only school, his sister's apartment, and his parents' home.
Not that he was forbidden — after all, his sister didn't stalk him — but he had no friends, no money, so no reason to ever go to such places.
Victor noticed Daniel a bit farther away — the bearded man in a checkered shirt was staring at children's toys, his eyes vacant, clearly lost in thought.
The boy approached him, examining more closely what had put the imposing man in such a state.
Just simple plastic dolls, of various designs, stored in cardboard boxes.
« You like them? »
The question seemed to bring the man back to reality, his gruff face shifting into an expression of sorrow Victor couldn't understand.
« Very funny, kid. »
Victor raised an eyebrow, not understanding the reaction.
« I don't see what's funny about what I said. »
Daniel turned his head toward him, his previous sadness replaced by genuine surprise.
« I'm an adult. Adults don't play with dolls — especially men. »
Victor placed a hand on his chin, perplexed.
« I didn't know there was such a law. That's rather stupid. »
Daniel clicked his tongue, unsure whether the boy was serious or mocking him.
« It's not a law, it's just… social norms. »
Victor narrowed his eyes, his expression instantly shifting from confusion to ridicule.
« What stupidity. That's the problem with people like you. You care so much about how others see you that you can't take three steps without worrying about what the person in front of you thinks about the way you walk. »
Without giving the man time to respond, he turned on his heel, leaving him alone, unsure how to react to the sudden outburst from the otherwise indifferent-looking boy.
Yet those simple words were enough to change Daniel's expression, sending him back into memories of a time that was now just that.
A memory.
*
« What are you doing Anna?! Turn left! »
« Raaah… Stop telling me what to do, Melissa! You're distracting me! »
« Careful, he's going to pass you! »
« Shut up, I'm trying to focus! »
Victor watched the two young women, both focused on the screen in front of them.
He approached, curious, observing the frantic car race displayed as Anna frantically moved a white controller in her hands while Melissa kept shouting at her, criticizing her performance.
Melissa turned around, having sensed the boy behind her.
She flinched slightly, not used to his horrific appearance, but quickly recovered.
It didn't escape Victor's sharp eyes, but he ignored it — he was used to far worse.
« What? You wanna try? »
The boy raised an eyebrow.
« What would I gain from doing something like that? »
Naturally, he knew what he assumed was a video game.
But who would have ever given him the chance to play one?
His mother, who tortured him every day when she came home from work?
His father, who passed out every night from drinking too much?
Or his sister, who treated him as if he didn't exist?
The only "games" he ever played were predicting whether or not his father would beat his mother that night, or how his mother would vent her frustration on him.
It became repetitive very quickly.
Melissa hesitated, unsure how to respond, but Anna spoke first.
« It's not about gaining anything. It's about having fun, distracting yourself, forgetting everyday problems… At least, that's how it used to be. »
Her voice weakened at the end, becoming a faint whisper as she lowered her eyes and dropped the controller.
Soft sniffles followed as her shoulders began to tremble.
Melissa wrapped her arms around her sister, hugging her tightly while gently stroking her hair.
« It'll be okay, sis. Everything's going to be alright, you know that. As long as we stay together, nothing can happen to us. »
Victor felt a sharp pain in his chest at the sight.
Was that what a family was supposed to look like?
Was that how his sister should have acted when his pain became unbearable?
Should his mother have held him this way, instead of putting out cigarettes on his tongue?
Was his father supposed to protect him from those who hurt him?
He had asked himself these questions before, dismissing them, but seeing these two sisters love each other so sincerely brought them all back.
For the first time, he found himself imagining holding his mother in his arms as a gentle smile lit her face with angelic warmth.
But the thought stopped there — the scene instantly dissolving into the damp basement he knew far too well.
No, he couldn't imagine himself with a happy family, whatever that meant.
It didn't feel right.
It was unnatural for someone who had known only hatred and indifference from the person who brought him into this world.
She had never asked his opinion, yet treated him as if she resented him for being born.
But he had never asked to exist.
He never—
Ding
His dark thoughts were instantly cut short when a chime rang — one he knew all too well.
That wasn't normal, he hadn't done anything to trigger it.
The two sisters also raised their heads, exchanging a look.
They had heard it too.
Something was about to happen.