"Dammit."

Tyler grit his teeth and whipped his head wildly around him, desperately looking for any witnesses.

"Dammit dammit dammit!"

He'd been here too long. This alley wasn't the most ideal spot, but Tyler couldn't take it anymore. He had to do it. Now, where to dispose of the-

"Hey, Mad Gear."

Tyler snapped his head over to the side, where one of his Clique members was standing in the shadows. Tyler didn't even remember what the guy's name was. Everyone back at headquarters had been fighting to go on the mission with Tyler, which annoyed him immensely. Instead of actually going on the mission, he was wasting his time listening to his own Clique fighting with each other. So he had chosen a random guy, just to get under everyone else's skin that wanted to go.

But this guy, whoever he was, was getting on Tyler's nerves. He was a terrible shot, terrible watch, terrible backup. Tyler was surprised he even passed initiation.

"What?!" Tyler barked, rolling his eyes.

"T-There's-"

"Spit it out!" Tyler snapped, gripping his knife tightly in his hand. Blood ran down the side of his face. It drenched his shirt, his pants, his shoes. He licked his lips, breathing heavily. His chest rose and fell, his bloody black shirt sticking to his chest.

Tyler loved this feeling. He reveled in the fact that he had the power to simply take something as beautiful and complex as life. Power. He was tempted by it. He was controlled by it.

"There's a kid," the Clique member hissed.

Tyler set his jaw and slowly turned toward the man. "What did you say?" he demanded, throwing his knife up in the air and catching it again.

The Clique member gulped, but still didn't show his fear. He knew what would happen if he did.

"There's a kid. A-A boy. A little younger than you," the man continued. "R-Right at the end of the alley. Near the car."

Tyler cocked his head to the side and looked his Clique member straight in the eye. Even in the darkness of night, Tyler could see sweat dripping down the side of the man's face. "Did he see us?" Tyler asked, mock sweetness dripping in his voice. He grinned wickedly, baring his slightly crooked teeth.

The Clique member took a step back and squared his shoulders. "Yes," he replied, his voice streaked with worry.

All at once, Tyler's knife was at the Clique member's throat.

"You had one job," Tyler mused, smiling as he pressed the metal against his throat. "And you didn't do that job. You know what the means?" he asked sweetly.

The Clique member sputtered to breathe against the knife. Despite Tyler's smaller frame, his technique was flawless. There was no way the Clique member was getting out of this alive.

"It means," Tyler sing-songed, "you disobeyed me. And that-" His eyes darkened, and in one swift motion he dragged the knife across the man's throat. "-deserves punishment."

The man crumbled to the cement with a haunting thud, eyes forever shut.

Tyler rolled his eyes and huffed like a spoiled child, not a notorious murderer. He kicked the body with the toe of his sneaker.

"Those were my favorite shoes, too," Tyler whined, frowning as he looked down at his blood covered sneakers. The once flower-print shoes were now covered with dark maroon splotches.

"I hate killing my own Clique," he muttered, cleaning his knife with the edge of his shirt. He held it up and watched it shine in the moonlight. "But sometimes," he sighed and put it back in his belt, "it just has to be done."

Tyler narrowed his eyes and peered into the darkness of the alley as he suddenly remembered why he killed him in the first place. "Now, where's that kid?" He murmured to himself.

He glanced behind him. The bodies, both the victim's and the Clique member's, were hidden enough, far away from the main road. The victim - one of the top members of another gang - was mutilated beyond the point of recognition. Tyler should have an hour or two, tops.

Tyler shrugged off his anxieties and casually strolled down the alleyway, humming a song quietly to himself.

"All my friends are heathens..." He suspiciously glanced at a shadow cowering behind a dumpster. An evil grin spread across his face. This was it. "Take it slow..."

As he crept closer to the figure, a familiar feeling rushed through Tyler. The feeling of anxious paranoia, the feeling that someone is right in front of you, ready to be caught, but you have to wait for just the right moment.

"Wait for them to ask you who you know..." His voice echoed in the small alley, but it was drowned out by the loud sounds of the city behind him. Cars and taxi cabs zoomed down the streets, but not a soul seemed to notice what was going on in the dark.

Tyler slowly reached for the handgun in his back pocket, his chocolate eyes sparking a bright blood red. His smile grew as soon as his hand wrapped around the cool handle.

"Please don't make any sudden moves..." He whistled, pulling the gun out and creeping closer to the figure. He dragged his tongue across his front teeth.

"You don't know the half of the abuse..." He sang, holding out his s like the hissing of a snake.

Tyler quickly rounded the corner and aimed the gun at the shadow sitting on the ground.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" He mused. "A little boy?"

No reply. Tyler's shoulders sagged and his smile was instantly replaced with annoyed scowl.

"Stand up," Tyler snapped.

When there was no movement, Tyler cleared his throat. "Maybe you didn't hear me," he continued, his grip on his gun getting tighter, "which isn't possible, as you're only two fucking feet away from me. Now. Stand. Up."

The shadow slowly rose to a standing position. The moon shined through the cracks of the roofs of the buildings on either side of the alley. A sliver of silver light illuminated half of the kid's face.

The kid.

In all honesty, Tyler was expecting a ten year old, not a twenty one year old with a tattoo and piercing and colored hair.

"That blind fucker," Tyler scoffed, suddenly angry at his (now dead) Clique member. "A kid. Yeah right!"

"D-Don't hurt me," a quiet voice stuttered.

Tyler laughed out loud and pounced on the boy, slamming him against the dumpster. He was at least expecting some sort of struggle, but the boy was completely submissive under his touch. He didn't even put up a fight. He aimed his gun at the boy's temple. "Yeah, that's gonna convince me not to kill you!"

"Please!" The boy started, gritting his teeth. He pressed his back up against the dumpster as far as he could. His mind screamed at him to run, to fight, to do something, but his body was paralyzed with fear. "I'll do something for you! Anything! I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean-"

A sudden, familiar sound (familiar to Tyler, at least) broke thorough the kid's words. Wailing sirens didn't even faze the boy, but it sparked anxiety inside of Tyler.

"Shut up!" Tyler hissed, whipping around to look down the alley behind him. He cocked his head to the side and silently waited, listened.

The kid tried to take this as a chance to escape, but Tyler still had his gun pressed to his body. "I'm sorry!" He continued desperately. "I-I won't tell anyone about what you did, I promise!"

"I said, shut up!" Tyler wasn't even paying attention to the boy anymore. He was more concerned about the police sirens becoming louder and louder.

"Fuck," he muttered. He turned and pressed his back against the dumpster, standing centimeters away from the kid. His heart rate increased and he peeked around the side, toward the beginning of the alley. Where the victim laid.

"W-What?" The boy whispered, wide-eyed. His heart beat faster along with Tyler's, their anxiety pounding in synch.

"Cops," Tyler replied, his breathing quickening when he saw a car pull up on the side of the road, red and blue lights flashing. Three daunting men in dark uniforms climbed out of the vehicle and slowly approached the two lifeless bodies lying on the cement.

"Shit," Tyler cursed, cocking his gun. He took one last look at the lives he took just a few moments ago. His eyes widened, but not in regret or sadness or even guilt. The only feeling coursing through his veins was anxiety.

"W-W-What are you doing?" The kid stuttered, daring to take a step toward Tyler.

Tyler hastily grabbed the boy's wrist and roughly yanked him over to him. A pair of misty, frightened hazel eyes shined back at him in the moonlight.

"Things are shaping up to be pretty odd," Tyler half-laughed. "You're coming with me."

Tyler cracked his neck and smirked before firing a shot through the dark.

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WELCOME TO MY NEW JOSHLER FIC!

Just a warning, this book is going to have strong language (obviously), violence (obviously), and some...mentions of sexual content.

This book is complete, but I'm not going to post it all at once like Mute and Trees.

I'll post a new chapter EVERY SINGLE DAY, so there will be daily updates.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy.

- Liz.