He pushed the sharp, short metal pikes through the belt's many holes, most of which Lee had added himself. Leather hurt when one was slapped with it. Leather and sharp metal teeth, however, just made it worse. Gritting his teeth, he raised it, bringing it back down on Julius's face. His voice had been run raw, and all that escaped was a pained, gasping wheeze. "Are you a man!?" Lee demanded. "Are you!?"

Breathing hard, Julius looked up. His right eye was bloody and swollen. "Yes!" He screamed, his voice cracking.

"NO!" Lee brought it down again, this time around his chest. "Men are respectable! Are you respectable? Are you? You'd better be right this time, Julius."

He shook his head quickly, something that made the chains rattle. "That's right." Lee huffed. "You're no man. You're lower than a dog. Lower than anything. Anything." He stepped forward, and put a knee on Julius's stomach. "You're a disgrace to humanity." He bore down, pressing the steel pikes into his forehead. Julius opened his mouth in a silent scream. At least it wouldn't disturb Squirrel. Lee stared into the one good eye he still had...

Squirrel kept himself awake, even though he was extremely tired. He wanted to wait for Lee to come back up, so he could tell him not to worry and that he had woken up from his blackout. His head was painfully throbbing still, and little bubbles of light kept popping around the room. He thought of the painkillers that the doctor had given Lee and wished for the man to hurry up. He didn't know where they had been put and he was also unsure about injecting it. He had seen the syringes and shuddered, remembering how Lee used them to knock people out.

Feeling weak and fragile, Squirrel slowly got out of the bed he had made on the couch and went to the kitchen. He opened the fridge and found some juice. He poured himself a glass of it and found some biscuits in the cupboard. He took the packet and glass and laid back on the couch. He had stopped watching cartoons now. On tv was some documentary about animals in Africa. He found it fascinating.

Lee stepped back up the basement stairs with a heavy sigh. Blood had decided to splatter his shirt, but it was black, so the spray patterns were difficult to see even if you were studying it hard. Going to the sink, he stole a glance over his shoulder as he washed his hands and arms. Squirrel was moving a bit. At least he was awake. Turning on the light in the kitchen, he went to the counter nearby and picked up the medication he'd been given by Denver. The man was a good doctor. Lee couldn't consider him an especially close friend, but a very good... colleague... he certainly was. Each held one another's secret, and dared not tell another soul.

Picking up the medication bottle and one of the syringes, he went over to Squirrel and sat on the short coffee table. "Hey, you need some of this?" He asked, holding the small bottle up. "It's good for two weeks since it's such a small dose, you don't need much." He kept the syringe capped. It looked just like the ones he used on his targets.

Squirrel nodded slowly, eyeing the needle. He had never feared needles, but then again he had never been in contact with one. He trusted Lee, knowing that the man wouldn't try and hurt him. He thought back when he was first found by Lee. He had been terrified of the man. Now he saw him as a father-figure. "My head hurts," he said simply, drinking the rest of his juice and sitting up properly. He swayed slightly, the pain making him feel dizzy. "Will that help the pain?" he questioned.

Lee nodded, uncapping the syringe and bringing it up to the bottle, drawing in the right dosage. It had been premarked with a light green indicator along the outside of the chamber. "It'll help the headache. Denver's a good doctor, he's helped me a lot in the past." Setting the bottle down, he ripped open the small square swab and brought Squirrel's arm out, palm-up. "It'll sting, I can tell you. But I'd never hurt you without a promise that it'll make the pain go away, okay?" He focused on the swab as he cleaned Squirrel's arm where the needle would go momentarily.

Lifting it up, he held Squirrel's wrist to keep his arm straight. "Just think of something else." He was normally not as careful, but most of the people he injected he was going to kill later. Then, he didn't care whether he broke a vein or gave them a bruise. With a steady hand, he poised the needle, and pressed it into the skin.

Squirrel gasped at the prick, unused to such a peculiar sensation. He watched the needle go into his skin, feeling it underneath. He imagined that the painkiller was now in his veins, swimming to the source of his pain. He smiled slightly. He knew Lee would never hurt him. The man had some sort of moral judgement, even if it was a bit extreme. As he took the needle away, Squirrel looked back up at the documentary. They were talking about lions now, showing the lioness killing a zebra and bringing it back to the pride.

"Lee, you should watch this with me. It's about lions and elephants," he said, taking a biscuit from the table next to them and eating it. He had never really thought about the world before, and what animals and people lived out there. He had seen many exotic animals in the local zoo, but that was all he knew about them. Thinking of the zoo, he grinned and looked up at Lee. "Can we go to the zoo one day? I've only been once with Skye. We only saw a few animals before we were kicked out." He giggled at the memory of breaking into the zoo late one night. The painkillers seemed to be working fast, soon the pain had almost subsided entirely. It did make him feel rather relaxed and giggly, however.

The liquid form of pain reliever seemed to work magnificently fast. He could almost see the moment it ebbed the headache away from Squirrel. He managed to smile, if a bit, and it surprised him that he even remembered how to, genuinely. "Sure." He said at last, capping the needle and going to the kitchen, throwing it away. "We can go next week, on Sunday. It's not quite as busy on Sunday." Returning to the living room, he sat on the end of the couch beside Squirrel. "And maybe in a couple days I can start teaching you, so you're a little more informed. TV can only do so much, you know."

Squirrel nodded, wondering why the man was bothering to teach him anything anyway. 'So when I go to Heaven I can impress Skye,' he thought with a smile. He hadn't felt this good for a long time. He suddenly felt pumped, like he could run a thousand miles. He supposed that it was a side-effect of the pain killers, but didn't mind it. It made him happy and not afraid of his imminent death.

"How's Julius going?" he asked, knowing that that was where Lee had come from. "I don't hear him screaming any more." He settled down on the couch again, picking up the pillow and placing it on Lee's lap. He wrapped the blanket around himself.

Lee ran a hand along the corner of the pillow he'd received. "Julius isn't going to survive another day." he said definitely. "He's losing blood fast, and infection's set in a few places along his legs. You'd be surprised what shattered bones and bad hygiene can do to someone." He almost laughed, but couldn't find the will. Instead, he sighed. The lioness on television had two young ones. They were decidedly pouncing and playing while their attentive mother watched for danger.

Squirrel smiled, feeling happy at the man's departure. He decided in his mind that he would try and not die until the man had gone, in case they ran into each other. He didn't want anything to do with Julius, even in death. "That's good," he said quietly, watching the TV. The show finished, the credits started to roll and Squirrel's eyes closed. He fell into a sleep, dreaming about his life with Lee. He saw when he had sneaked into the house, when he had hid under the couch, when the man had found him... He smiled in his sleep, snuggling into the pillow to get more comfortable.

He wished he could have lived longer with Lee. They would have come to know each other better, maybe even become more like father and son. At least he wouldn't die on the street by himself, never knowing kindness.

Lee glanced down after a moment and found Squirrel's eyes closed. As his heart seemed to stop, he calmed himself enough to feel for a pulse along his neck. There was one, relatively normal, and it eased Lee back out of the spiral he felt he'd soon be sucked into. Slightly shaking the sensation away, he maneuvered Squirrel enough so he could lift him up gently, and took him back to the cleaner of the beds. Going back for the blanket and pillow, he cast a glance at the other room... Dirty old thing... Dusty.

Setting Squirrel's head on the pillow and casting the cover over him, Lee closed the door, blocking out any sound from outside as he brought out the old bed, its box springs, and the frame slowly. Then he grabbed the old, dusty mirror and the chest of drawers, bringing them out too. He'd have to take them to the dump later. Then he brought a bucket of water and a few heavy rags, going to work on the windows, the walls, and the ceiling. It'd be clean before he killed Julius.

When Squirrel awoke the next day, he was thankful that he was still alive. His head wasn't hurting a lot like it had been recently either. Maybe it wasn't really that bad and the tumours had gone away. Maybe he would still live for a long time yet. He slowly got out of the bed Lee had placed him in. He seemed to fall asleep and wake up in a different place everyday now. It felt nice to know that someone was caring enough for him to put him in his own bed. He made his way through the house, deciding to have a shower and get dressed in clean clothes. He went to the room that had his clothes in it, startled to see that it was empty and very clean. He guessed Lee had cleaned it last night and smiled. He found his clothes and picked out a top, pants and underwear.

He went and had a shower, taking care to put his hat somewhere it wouldn't get wet. He looked down at his own body as he showered, happy to see he no longer looked skeletal and that his wounds were clearing up. He got out and dried himself, putting his clean clothes on and putting the dirty ones in the laundry. He placed his hat onto his head and went out to the living area, wondering where Lee had gotten to this time.

Roy had been a bloody corpse to clean up. But then again, Lee had killed him quickly, and didn't give it time to drain. Now, Lee inserted several surgical tubes into major veins, especially into the neck. It didn't take long for Julius to become pale, cold, and still.

It wasn't dirty work, but Lee always felt relatively dirty after bothering with these people. Dusting his hands, he walked back up the stairs to the main floor and looked around. It was still quite early in the morning, but he wasn't entirely surprised to see Squirrel awake. "Haven't made breakfast yet. You want anything in particular?" He went to the sink, washing the feeling of grime off his skin.

Squirrel thought about it for awhile, deciding on bacon and eggs. He had always heard about how good they were from his friend, Skye. He wanted to see what all the fuss was about. He brought a chair over from the table and knelt on it, so he was tall enough to watch Lee make them from over the bench. He wondered how Julius was doing now, but decided against asking. Today he wanted to have fun and feel normal.

"Can we go shopping today?" he asked, not really because he wanted to have money spent on him. He just wanted to spend time with Lee. He wanted to live his life at the fullest, before he died. His head started to hurt now, as he watched the man. "How often can I take the painkillers?" he wondered, hoping he could have one again.

Lee nodded at Squirrel's request and turned on one of the stove burners. Gathering eggs and a packet of bacon from the meat drawer in the refrigerator and set them aside, spraying the iron skillet to prevent sticking. "Sure we can." He said, cracking a few eggs into a bowl and whisking them quickly. "I put all the old things from the other room outside---taking those to the dump tonight, I think." Setting four strips of bacon into the pan first, he let the eggs wait as it fried.

"Denver said it'd be best to take it whenever you're in pain, but no more than every six hours." Lee went around the counter and picked up a new syringe and the bottle that didn't need to be refrigerated. "Put out your arm, kid, you'll get used to the syringe after a day or two." Bringing it up to the light, he filled the new one up to the marker.

Squirrel uncovered his arm and presented it to Lee, watching with morbid fascination as the needle penetrated his skin. Something told him that he wouldn't have time to get used to it, but he didn't tell Lee this. He didn't want the man to think he was giving up or that he was weak. The smell of the cooking bacon made his mouth water. It really was a shame that Squirrel couldn't stay with Lee that long. He was starting to like this life.

"Thank you," he said, thinking of everything Lee had done for him. 'For everything,' he added in his mind with a bitter sweet smile. He sat back on his knees, leaning on the back of the chair.

He smiled the way he usually could for Squirrel, a general look without anger, disdain, or that glare of insanity he had. Going back to his work, he flipped the bacon and watched it shrink a bit. He'd eaten all through the night, and now the prospect of breakfast was as appealing as the bone grinding session he had sooner rather than later.

Setting aside the bacon, Lee started on the eggs. Pouring them into the skillet, he looked out the window above the sink. He didn't want to accept the thoughts in his head. That he knew, absolutely knew Squirrel had one foot in the grave, and might not be around tomorrow. He wouldn't be able to put him beside Skye. But he could do just as well. Then he could keep his promise and visit. He pulled himself out of those thoughts. "How about to the furniture shop first?" Lee asked, glancing around to Squirrel as he turned off the stovetop and scooped the scrambled eggs onto the same plate as the bacon. "You can choose what you like to fill up the room since it's empty for anything." Going around, Lee put the plate on the table. "Anything to drink?" He added, going around to clean up the mess.

Squirrel took the plate and dragged it the chair back to the table, sitting down. "Juice please!" he called over his shoulder, stabbing a piece of bacon with his fork. He put it into his mouth and instantly could see why people loved to eat it so much. It was salty and meaty, distant flavour of pork. The way Lee had cooked it made it crispy and he crunched it as he chewed. "Mmmm," he commented, showing Lee that he liked it. The eggs were just as good as the bacon, and Squirrel had finished it in no time.

He sat quietly, staring at the juices left over from his meal. Furniture store... Squirrel really didn't know why Lee wanted to spend money on him like that. It wasn't even like he would be using the room for long. He decided not to complain, however. "And can we go get some movies out or something?" he asked, with a toothy grin.

Lee took what was left of the apple juice bottle out of its place and poured the rest into a glass. It was almost a good feeling, having someone around to cook for, even if it wasn't to be forever. It was as if he were now doing something others could smile at rather than shrink away from in fear or disgust. Setting the glass on the table, he looked toward the ceiling as if thinking.

"Oh, I suppose so." He said at last. "I mean, we could do with a few new movies, maybe some about animals, since you seem to like those so much. You're learning, you know. Learning about animals when you're watching those things." Maybe he'd be happy to take some things away from his time on Earth. It'd be nice, Lee thought, to have a little information. He never wanted to learn a terrible amount, but his absolute perception, his inability to... not notice. It forced everything to settle on his brain as if he were thinking back mere moments, when in fact he was going back years.

Squirrel nodded. He had just noticed that he had learnt a few things from watching the cartoons or those animal documentaries. He smiled, hoping that he could tell his friend all about it when he met him in Heaven. He could tell Lee was thinking about his death as well. He wondered how the man would deal with it. He hoped that he wouldn't boil his flesh and grind up his bones. He shivered slightly at the thought of it.

He finished his glass of juice, the painkillers kicking in fully by now. It had been a long time since his head felt painless and clear. It made him energised. He got off the chair and carried his plate and empty glass over to the sink, running some water to rinse them before placing them on the bench next to it. "I want to learn about Squirrels," he said. He had never seen one, and all he knew was that they were like rats and were brown.

"Squirrels." Lee nodded and stood, scooping up his keys. "I can find a book about squirrels at a bookstore for you. Something short, maybe. Nothing too detailed." He motioned for the kid to follow and went outside, pausing to stack the shelves back after they'd fallen when he took them out. "We'll get the book first, so while we're on our way you can read up on them." Unlocking the doors, he lifted himself in and put the key in the ignition. Before starting it, he paused and stared at his hand, gripped around the key. After a while, he'd probably never have another person in the cab with him. Well, no one that knew what---and who---he really was.

Squirrel followed him, feeling very energetic and happy. "But I can't read," he replied, feeling a little sad. Lee had promised to teach him, but now he had no time. He sat in the cab of the truck, no longer scared or anxious. He trusted Lee fully now. Besides, being in the truck was fun. It was taller than the other cars, so when Squirrel looked down on them he felt like he was a giant.

It seemed like they were going to do a lot of shopping today and Squirrel hoped that he could buy something for Lee. A small gift from him to thank the man for everything he had done for him.

Breathing in deeply, Lee started the truck and started off. "It's okay, kid. I'll find one only with pictures. The bookstores usually have movies too, so you can pick some out you find interesting in the meantime." Getting off the bumpy ground, he pulled onto the main road and pushed on, toward the city outskirts. "We'll get into the better shops this time, since we've got plenty of time." He added after a moment.

Looking out the window to his left, Lee focused on the landscape. It was empty, generally, on this side. All the other houses were on the right, or back behind them.

Squirrel went quiet as the two drove down the street. He watched the cars and people go passed, and the houses and buildings that they went by. A good shop. Meaning a shop that was expensive. Squirrel felt bad having the man spend money on him. "Does the shop have paper and colouring pencils as well? Or do you have some at home?" he asked, struck with a sudden thought. While the man was busy downstairs, Squirrel would draw him some pictures and make him a book. That way, if he died in his sleep, Lee would find it and know that Squirrel was saying goodbye.

As they pulled into a parking space, Squirrel stared at the shops around the pavement. He had walked passed these stores before, but never went inside. Shopkeepers didn't quite like dirty street kids in their store, in fear that they would be robbed.

Lee thought for a moment. "I have some at home. Used to color code specific tapes after recordings, but I don't do it anymore." He pulled the key from the ignition and hopped out of the cab. "Seeing as I can't draw worth a hell, anyway." He shook his head when he recalled his poor attempts at art. A few pale sketchings that didn't even look relatively... like anything. He'd given up and preferred his own mind. He could describe with words, not pictures. He didn't need to be able to paint his pictures with pigment.

"Come on to the bookstore." Lee waves his hand to motion Squirrel on. "I'll find a book about squirrels and you can go to the back and find a movie you like." Getting onto the breezeway that spared the storefronts from the sun, they moved along, passing a clothing store and a furniture store, the one they'd go to afterward, to a smaller bookstore. The air inside was cool and held the scent of age, old books, something Lee could admit to loving.