She wasn't feeling remorse for leaving the girl behind. In fact, Juniper wasn't feeling much at all. "It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine!" The world as she knew it was over. Everything belonged to them. What was the point of sticking around if her only option was to be raped, eaten, or both simultaneously? She would prefer to exit the world in a more graceful manner. Mouth, gun, insert here. Juniper was aware that Peter's mercy killing of Christopher could have been an influencing factor in her suicidal decision. Didn't matter. She was going to do it anyway.

As soon as Juniper stuck a few bullets in Peter's head, then she could rest. It was 45 miles to Peter's house, which normally would have taken an hour by car. On the partially clogged country roads, it took half a day. By nightfall, she had reached her destination.

Juniper parked one house away from Peter's to increase her chances of surprising him. All that she took with her from the car was her shotgun and handgun. After a moment's indecision, she left the keys in the center console. Taking them would mean that she intended to return to the car alive. But, that is exactly what Juniper did not intend.

During the ten minute walk to Peter's home, Juniper was vigilant. Though, vigilance was not easy in the pitch black of night. There were no street lights to guide her way, just the solitary flicker from the back window. Therefore, it was a tense walk. Juniper kept expecting a hand to fall on her shoulder, or to hear the swooping of wings from above. Neither of those scenarios came to pass. She made it to the backyard alive.

A wooden fence enclosed the back of the house. Juniper walked along the side, where she saw a dark opening. The basement window had been removed. She saw no glass shards, but the bent security bars and smears of blood were two indications it was not to be used as an entrance.

On she went to the front of the house. What she found there made her want to turn back, but she forced herself to move forward. Demons, (seemingly endless in their mutations) were staked on the front lawn. Row after row, amounting to at least one-hundred different monsters. None of them were squirming, though some had open eyes. They looked secure enough, and so Juniper went around them to get to the front door.

The front door was like the basement window had been, open. She couldn't see much inside. There wasn't a light in the entryway. Juniper held up the shotgun in her left hand, with the handgun out in her right hand.

Something had happened here, for good or ill. Peter could be gone, or dead. Juniper didn't know what to feel about either possibility. If she wanted to find out, she would have to go inside the dark house. Juniper was not afraid, because she could not sense anyone inside. Unless they were in the basement, or of the monster persuasion. Then she was in trouble.

Not intending to get caught off guard twice in the same day, Juniper entered the home quietly. At the threshold, she slipped off her shoes to creep onward with silent feet. The two front rooms were empty. Juniper could see a door that led invariably to the basement, but she didn't want to open it yet. Light from beyond the great room prompted her to investigate on the right side of the house. That led her to Peter's study, which she could see from the faint candlelight. Immediately, her powers heightened, filling the room with a buzz. A burning candle meant people. But she still did not feel anyone else in the house. There was the faintest flicker of 'hunger' and 'fear'. It was an animal broadcast that she recognized. The dog. The closer she got to the study, the louder the broadcast. 

The length of the candle was minimal, as was the light it was putting out. It must have been burning for some time, if the puddle of wax beneath it was any clue.

"Where are you, you son of a bitch?" Juniper murmured.

In a shadowed corner of the room, she heard the dog panting. The dog huddled in pad-locked in a cage much too small for it. Yay! Joy emitted strongly from the dog at seeing Juniper.

"Poor thing. I'll find something to get you out of there."

She looked around the room for a weapon. The shotgun wouldn't work because while the pellets would tear the pad-lock asunder, it would tear apart the dog as well.

Directly in front of her was a row of monitors. Their appearance made her forget about the dog's captivity. The monitors were each labeled. "Basement 1", "Basement 2", and "Outside". Out of habit, Juniper flicked the 'on' switch. The blank status of the monitors didn't change.

"No power, dummy." She told herself. "Might as well go down to the basement for a---,"

She stopped talking when she heard the electronic buzz that always accompanied a television turning on. Only one screen came on, and it was "Basement 1". On the screen, Juniper could see wooden beams, a stairway, and a cement floor. Peter lay face down on the floor, naked. She had seen him naked enough times to recognize his flat ass. A puddle of blood seeped underneath him.

Instead of vindication, Juniper felt anger. Someone had taken away her purpose, her glory. The bastard died and she hadn't even been allowed the satisfaction of seeing his aura light up bright green with fear before she had pulled the trigger. She wanted to go downstairs and kick his body over and over until she felt something, anything but emptiness.

There was a whirring noise, accompanied by a click. Juniper looked up from the floor to see that a tape had popped out from beneath the "Basement 1" screen.

"Well, well, well." She said.

It seemed as if she might get to see Peter's last dying breath after all. She pushed the tape back in and pressed rewind. A second later, the VCR stopped. The tape was ready. Juniper pressed play and watched.

~*~