Everything I Ever

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! I was a little worried there would be backlash for that last chapter. I know some people don't like unwarned character death, but there was really no way to warn for "character death" without spoiling the plot. That said, enjoy.

0-0-0

Epilogue

Moist sat bolt upright in bed, heart hammering in his chest, eyes sweeping around the dark room. He listened hard for any sound of movement, but there was nothing. Just his imagination.

He lay back down on his sweat-soaked sheets, his gaze drifting to the clock on his bedside table. One fifty-three. He had only managed to sleep for an hour and a half this time. The smallest noise was enough to wake him now.

Moist had intended to flee the city after helping Billy, heading home to pack the essentials immediately after leaving Billy's house. But just as he was about to leave, Hourglass showed up at his door and, without so much as an introduction, insisted that he stay in the city for a few more days. She would not tell him why, giving only a vague hint that he would regret leaving now. Every instinct Moist had screamed at him to leave, but he was not one to ignore the advice of a seer. So, he had stayed, holing up inside his apartment to avoid any run-ins with League members.

Now he was coming up on day three, and the only thing that had changed was his paranoia level. It was only a matter of time before Bad Horse sent someone after him. Whether that person would drag him to Bad Horse or just kill him on the spot, he could only guess. The more time went by, the more he started to suspect the latter.

Knowing he would not get back to sleep that night, Moist slipped out of bed, mopping his forehead with his already damp t-shirt. He pulled on a pair of socks to keep his feet from slipping on the floor and moved into the kitchen, peeking around corners to make sure nothing was lurking in the shadows. He did not dare turn on the lights. He did not want to give any indication to anyone who might be outside that he was home.

In the kitchen, he pulled a glass down from the cabinet and started toward the sink, but the glass slipped through his fingers halfway across the room, shattering on the floor. He swore, then froze in place, listening hard to the silence that followed.

After a few moments, he let out a sigh of relief. This was the last straw. Forget what Hourglass said. He could not live like this anymore. He turned toward his room. He was already packed. If he left now, he could be in the next county by dawn.

Muffled footsteps in the hallway outside the apartment made him freeze again. The steps got louder, then stopped. As Moist watched, a shadow moved across the crack between the door and the floor. An envelope slid under the door, coming to a rest a few inches inside. The footsteps resumed and faded away.

Moist approached the envelope with as much caution as he would approach a suspicious package. He did not see any distinguishing marks on the envelope and relaxed slightly. Bad Horse always used his seal on everything he sent out. The thought that this might just be a trick to lull him into a false sense of security did cross his mind, but he could not conceive of why Bad Horse would bother.

He picked up the envelope, turning it over in his hands. On closer inspection, it was not even sealed; the flap had just been folded in. He reached inside and pulled out the folded piece of paper. On it, he found a letter, scrawled in erratic, yet familiar, handwriting.

Moist,

I hope that this reaches you in time. I know you're probably thinking about skipping town, if you haven't already. I'd probably do the same thing if I was you.

I wanted to thank you for bringing Hourglass to me. You were right, she knew exactly what I had to do. It's funny, I think all that stuff she said about multiple paths was a big lie. She knew exactly what I was going to do with the information she gave me.

By the time you read this, I'll already be gone. I'd tell you where, but I won't in case this letter makes it into the hands of the wrong people. I just took a few things from the house and left everything else. The rent's paid up to the end of next month if you want to take over the lease after this is all over. You won't have to worry about the body, I already moved it.

Now that that's out of the way, I'm going to give you the same advice you gave me: Do whatever Bad Horse asks you to do. He has enough resources to track me down with or without you. There's no sense in turning both of us into fugitives. All I ask is that you give me a four-day head start. There's some unfinished business I need to take care of. I won't tell you what it is, but I'm sure you'll know soon enough.

Here, the handwriting became almost illegible.

My hand's starting to go, so I'll make this quick. I'm sure I'll see you again soon. After I finish what I need to do, I won't try to run. In case something happens before you find me though, I just want to say thank you for everything you've done.

Goodbye.

Billy

0-0-0

Five Days Later

A loud knocking sound jolted Jimmy Tanner out of a deep sleep. He groaned and turned over, blinking at his wife, Catherine. She lay still beside him, out cold from the sleeping pills her doctor had prescribed. Jimmy highly suspected that she was taking more than the proper dose, but he did not dare confront her about it.

The knocking resumed, more insistently. Groaning, Jimmy rolled out of bed and stepped into his slippers, hurrying to open the door. "What?"

Dietrich Foley, the head of his security team, stood on the other side, his hand raised to knock again. He was white as a sheet. "I'm sorry to wake you, sir," he said, "but there's something you need to see."

"What is it?" Jimmy asked, not bothering to cover his annoyance. He had fired the entirety of his old security team after the incident less than two weeks previous. Foley was new to the job, and so far, he had managed to raise false alarms on three separate occasions, once sending the entire security team down to the front gates for what turned out to be the garbage man.

"Please, sir," Foley said, "you need to see this."

Foley sighed. "Fine." He shut the door softly behind him and followed Foley down the hall, wondering what it was this time. Probably a stray cat tripped one of the alarms again.

But instead of leading him down to the grounds, Foley took him to the east wing and down the second-floor hall to the security camera room. Foley gave a quick nod to Will Bennett, a fellow security guard on the night shift. Bennett stood and stepped aside for them. He also seemed slightly shaky on his feet.

Jimmy looked at the screen, which currently displayed four separate, black-and-white images from cameras placed around the property. Three of the images showed various rooms of the house, all of which looked normal and empty. The fourth image was from the camera by the front gate intercom. A man in a hooded sweatshirt stood just outside the gate, looking over his shoulder. His right arm was draped across his body in a sling. Next to him stood a figure several inches shorter, also wearing a hooded sweatshirt that seemed a few sizes too big for it and clutched a blanket around its shoulders. This figure's face was hidden, and Jimmy could not tell if it was male or female.

"What is this?" Jimmy demanded. "I told you, no one gets in at night. Get rid of them."

"Sir, wait a minute." Foley pressed the button for the intercom at the front gate. "Sir, Mr. Tanner is here."

The man started at the voice and looked toward the intercom. He looked nervous. Without speaking, he tapped the other figure on the shoulder with his left hand. The figure stepped toward the intercom, reached up one hand, and lowered its hood.

The world fell in on Jimmy. He clutched the back of the security guard's chair to steady himself. This was impossible. The video quality on the cameras was bad. These people were just playing some horrible trick on him. That had to be it.

Anger swelled in Jimmy's chest. He turned on his heel and stormed out of the room, ignoring the guards' shouts for him to wait. These people thought they could turn his family's tragedy into a game? He would show them.

The chill, November wind hit Jimmy the moment he set foot outside the door, cutting right through the thin fabric of his nightclothes. The dew on the grass soaked through his slippers, but he hardly noticed. He marched toward the front gate.

Several feet away, he finally got a good look at the people standing on the other side: the tiny figure huddled under the blanket with the hood pulled up over her face again. The man, however, looked Jimmy right in the eye. The man's clothes were covered in dirt and, on closer inspection, the sling on his arm was made out of a torn sheet tied into a loop and slung across his chest. His right arm hung limply in it, and what Jimmy could see of the hand had a grayish-tinge to it.

Before Jimmy could open his mouth to start yelling, the man tapped the girl on the shoulder again, and she looked up.

"Daddy?"

Jimmy skidded to a halt, his rage evaporating, replaced with an odd sense of euphoria. "Julie?" he breathed.

She stood before him with a large maroon blanket wrapped around her shoulders, covering her entire body and dragging on the ground behind her. Her short brown hair stood almost on end, and her face was dirty and tired, but there was no mistaking that it was her.

Foley stepped up beside him. "Should I open the gate, sir?"

Jimmy realized his mouth was hanging open. He closed it and nodded once, not trusting himself to form words just yet. Foley stepped up to a number pad set into the wall surrounding the property and punched in a code. There was a buzz and the gate creaked open.

Julie let go of the blanket, which fell to the ground, revealing the blue dress Jimmy and Catherine had buried her in, a baggy gray sweatshirt pulled over it. She sprang forward, throwing herself at Jimmy.

He gasped as her skinny arms squeezed the air out of him. After a few moments, he hugged her back, pressing his lips to the top of her head, hot tears on his cheeks. This was impossible. He found the body himself. He sat through her funeral. He threw a handful of dirt on her coffin and put flowers on her grave.

Jimmy looked up at the man, who had not moved from his spot on the other side of the gate. "I don't understand," he said, his voice shaking. "How…"

The man shook his head. "It doesn't matter."

"Daddy?"

Jimmy glanced down to find her wide blue eyes staring up at him. She was real. She was really real. "What is it, sweetie?"

"Can we go inside? I'm cold."

Jimmy smiled, his eyes stinging. "You go on ahead. I'll be along in a minute." He forced himself to look away, addressing the security guards. "Will you take her inside?"

"Of course, sir," Foley said.

Julie slipped out of Jimmy's arms, and he felt his heart lurch as she did so. He watched her made her way up to the house, flanked by Foley and Bennett.

"Mr. Tanner." The man's voice jolted Jimmy out of his stupor. When he looked back, the man reached down and picked up a large silver briefcase that Jimmy had not noticed before. "Take this. There's some…medicine inside with instructions on how to administer it. She might not want to eat anything for a few days, but just give her time."

Jimmy accepted the briefcase, but his brow furrowed. "I don't understand."

"There's a letter inside explaining everything." The man adjusted his makeshift sling, wincing as his limp right arm shifted. The sleeve of his sweatshirt pulled back a little, and Jimmy caught a glimpse of blistered, purplish-black skin.

"Do you need to see a doctor?" Jimmy asked. "I'll pay for it. Whatever you need."

The man shook his head. "I can't stay. They'll be coming for me."

"Who? Is it the same ones who…attacked Julie?" He did not know if "killed" was the right word anymore. Regardless of whether it was or not, he still could not bring himself to say it, even seeing her back and holding her in his arms. He could not shake the fear that she would be snatched away from him again.

To his surprise, the man looked guilty. "Something like that." He gestured at the briefcase. "You'll find blueprints for a new security system in there too. It'll protect your family from further attacks. I meant to build it myself, but I'm running behind schedule." He looked over his shoulder again, his eye twitching as though from a nervous tic.

"Can you come in for a while at least?" Jimmy said. "The kitchen staff is off duty, but I can get you some tea or coffee."

The man shook his head. "They have ways to track me down. You're not safe as long as I'm here." He turned around and walked away, his one good hand in the pocket of his sweatshirt.

"Wait." Jimmy started when the man actually stopped and looked back. "Who are you?"

"It's better if you don't know." The man looked away and started forward again.

"But…why…" Jimmy trailed off, supposing the why of it did not matter. Julie was alive, and that was all that really mattered. "Thank you."

The man did not stop again, did not give any indication that he had even heard. He just kept walking, his head shoulders hunched, like a man making his final walk to the executioner's chair.

fin

0-0-0

Author's Note: Please review. I'm really interested to know what everyone's overall thoughts are. This is only the third chaptered fic I've ever finished and the first that wasn't Harry Potter. I can't say if/when I'll write fan fiction again, but I will post it on this site if I do. For the most part though, I think I've made the transition to writing just original stories.

To everyone who was wondering if Captain Hammer was going to come back, I actually did intend to bring him back in the original concept for this fic. But the story ended up moving faster than I thought it would, and with the addition of Johnny Snow as a major player, Captain Hammer's subplot got phased out.

I'd like to thank everyone who stuck with this from the beginning. You guys are awesome.