"Heaters?!" I yelled hysterically, "I have to break some fucking heaters?!" JJ nodded and allowed a smile to form on his face as he messed with his glinting lip ring.
"Is that it for task 1?!"
He nodded again as he pulled his beanie further over his ears and swept his hair from his blue crystal eyes. "Yeah...it does involve breaking into someone else's house but that's basically it."
"Really?!" I laughed as I pulled the blankets over my head and rolled around like a slug. "So you're telling me...." I continued as I sat back up and threw the blankets from my shoulders as if it was now a worthless cape. "You're telling me that all I need to do is break into a guys house and damage the heaters? Geez...I know you said that the tasks were 'out of the ordinary' but really?!"

It was morning and sunlight flickered into the room as I sat huddled in the cocoon of blankets with JJ sat cross-legged opposite me. It had been a few weeks since I'd first arrived, JJ removing a few of my stitches the week before and doing his best to look after me. Though I seemed to be watching the weight drop from me as I spent the weeks eating scraps of food, but at least we could both sit in silence and warm our hands on boiling cups of tea. With JJ's assistance I began to walk and soon enough I could limp along quite nicely.

"But be careful of the owner of the house...." JJ explained, "if they find you then...." He dragged his hand across his neck as if it were a knife.
"Really?" I stopped, my voice deadly serious now. "They'd kill me?"
"Uh...yep. So be careful Mikes."
"Why don't you come with me and do the tasks?" I asked, my voice gentle now and hopefully understanding.
"I would Mikes but I can't. I-I can barely walk outside and speak to someone who isn't you without having an anxiety attack or a breakdown. I mean, e-even going to a shop to buy you food makes me tremble for no reason. I'm sorry Mikes. I'm so sorry. I just prefer it in this place, it's much safer."
"Hey it's okay JJ." I replied shuffling forward and pulling him into a hug, "I understand."
"Thanks..." He smiled, "thank you for understanding..."
"It's okay. I could go get food if you like?"
"NO!" He yelled, "no-I'm sorry, you can't. I don't want you to leave, I'm scared you'll leave me."
"JJ...I wouldn't leave you, it might make you feel more comfortable not having to leave all the time."
"It's okay Mikes. I have to keep you as safe as I can, but I can't stop you from taking the seven tasks. Be careful though."
"I will do. So my train leaves in 1 hour, taxi is here in 5 minutes. I get off the train and walk to 9 Hampton court and wait until dark, break into this house, not get killed, break all the heaters and get back out again. Is that it?"
"Yes Mikes." He stood up and helped me to my feet, "don't disappoint me, stay safe and I'll see you later."
I walked to the creaking front door of the run down house, turned my back on JJ and headed on down the old beaten track to the road.

- .... . / ..-. .. .-. ... - / - .- ... -.-

Task one

The dark began to fall from the sky and wrap itself around me as an orange streetlight flickered above. I stood nervously outside 9 Hampton court where no lights beamed through the windows and no car stood guard on the driveway. It was just me...staring. Staring at a huge 3 story crystal white painted house with huge double doors welcoming you after a long walk up the gravel driveway. Neatly cut trees and hedges formed a barrier around the house with 7 foot high iron gates separating me and the driveway.
I walked around to the back of the house, glancing over my shoulder to make sure that nobody was watching me. No one so far, I thought.

The back of the house was equally as glamorous with a garden stretching far behind with its perfect scissor-mown lush grass and flowers climbing towards the sky. It was here that I saw a tree branch hanging perfectly over the hedges, if I could just.....I jumped into the air and grabbed a hold of the branch....perfect. I pulled my self up completely, walking precariously along the branch before jumping down onto the soft grass. I landed with a thud, looking back to the tree and almost thanking it for its help. Now it was time....not to kill anyone or complete an actual scary task or fight a 100 headed hydra....no...now it was time to break some fucking heaters!

Okay. Walk to the doors at the back of the house now Mikes. Yep, well done, you've left footprints all along the lawn now, well done idiot. But anyway, well done for getting to the main doors. How are we going to get in? Oh, yeah. Of course you brought a hairpin, how long is this going to take?

I pulled the pin from my back pocket, attacking the lock on the back door for a good 3 minutes before it finally swung open and I stepped inside onto the clinical white floor of the kitchen where a chandelier and a crystal clean kitchen glared back at me.

Okay. Mikes. Walk through the kitchen and yep, down this hallway. Stop tripping over shoes you douchebag! You're going to get us killed! Haha, no I'm joking, your mind is just joking with you Mikes. The stairs are there, okay. Now we're walking up the stairs. Geez, there's a lot of stairs, isn't their Mikes?

I reached the top floor of the house, walking gently down the soft carpeted hallway with a glinting hammer swinging from my right hand. At the end of the corridor two huge double doors waited for me, I knew that this was the place to start at. I sprinted down the hallway, almost crashing into the huge white wooden doors with diamond handles. Phew! That was close.

After stepping inside the room I walked calmly over to the far wall, ignoring the king size four poster bed with silken sheets hanging from it or the dressing table bigger than my future and potential combined. The room was empty. Eerie and silent. Only my breathing and the whirr of the light above could be heard. With hammer held in hand high above my head I stood looking down on the pipe that connected to the heater, letting my arm fall towards the eart---

A footstep.

Mikes! Get out! Get out! It's on the driveway! It's coming! It's coming to kill us Mikes!

My mind screamed at me to leave. But I couldn't. I was rooted to the spot, hands trembling violently, hammer laying at my side.

Mikey! You have to leave! They'll kill us! JJ said that if they found us then they'd kill us! We're dead meat now Mikes! Come on! Move! Don't just stand here!

I couldn't move. I could barely breathe. I just stared into nothingness.

Mikey! It's opened the fucking front door! Leave!

I heard the key in the lock as the owner of the footsteps shut the door behind them.

Mikey! It's walking up the stairs. It's walking towards us!

I heard footsteps grow closer to the room where I stood like a statue.

Mikes! It's at the fucking door!

A turned around to see a women stood in front of me. My eyes gawped at her as she stared back at me. A wild scream erupted from her lips as she backed away from the doorway with her hand now covering her mouth in shock.

"Who the ever living fuck are you?!" She screamed at me, "get out! Get out of our house now!"
"Um....sorry....I was um....just leaving..."

I barged past her and ran full pelt down the stairs, down the hallway and out of the back doors. I successfully climbed the tree and made it over the hedge. And then. I ran. I just ran. Ran for my fucking life. Heart beating, palms sweating, temperature rising, it was just me. Why am I always running? It was just me running for my fucking life. If I stopped I'd get caught, this all seems way too familiar.

Notes

Hello again! I have returned! With another chapter, another really weird chapter, after quite a long time. The tasks are going to be quite weird. I know, I'm sorry.
But...I got the new royal blood album (how did we get so dark?) and I've already listened to it 5 times and it's so good. But anyway, I hope you guys are doing okay and thank you so much for reading. :)
-Lou