I knew where the elevator was. Kind of. Take a left here, another left, a right, through the old labs corridor, left, straight, left, right, and… I hit a dead end. I was lost, in a place where all the halls look the same. I didn’t have enough time to wander around. I needed to get out. Now. I knew the way to one place. One place, where I could find a way to escape. My old room. The place where I spent countless nights without sleep, contemplating who I was and what my purpose here was. Would it have been better if I never knew? I jogged through the halls, just slow enough to avoid suspicion. Three minutes had definitely passed. Eliet was probably looking for me already. I needed to get out of the halls as fast as I could. I reached the metal door that led to my room. Pressing my hand against it, it slid open silently. I walked inside and shut the door. “Elias, is that you?” I heard someone ask. None of the lights were on, until a lamp by the bed turned on. A girl with spiky, black hair was sitting on the bed, holding a cup. “Hey, Jade,” I said, resting on the desk across from the bed. “What’re you doing here?” she asked, taking a sip from her cup and making a face. “Uhhh,” I stalled. “Um, I wanted to… to see my old room?” She nodded, eyes floating around the room. “What about you?” I asked her, crossing my arms. She sniffed. “I was, um, waiting for you. I knew you would eventually find your way back here, and I wanted to talk to you.” I dropped my shoulders, uncrossing my arms. “Oh. Okay. What did you want to talk about?” Jade stood and walked over to me. As she walked, the neckline of her shirt shifted slightly, revealing a single crow tattooed at the base of her neck. “A symbol of misfortune and death. Fitting for the ex-Teaper,” I commented, pointing to the tattoo. Her hand flew up, tugging at her shirt to cover the crow. “Look, is there any way we can go back to the way things were before I started my initiation?” she asked, resting against the desk next to me. I thought for a moment. Jade and I had been friends. Good friends. But then she joined the Elite, and I got sent into the field, and everything fell apart. I had been so mad at her. She was helping the people who destroyed me. I didn’t want anything to do with her. But maybe I could forgive her. She could come help Tribaum, and we could be friends again. We could escape from floor fifty together, and become good friends again.
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“Maybe there is, Jade. How do you propose I move past the fact that you are helping the people who turned me into Reaper?”
“Well, actually, I was talking to Eliet about you earlier, and-”
“Oh, so now you’re talking about me behind my back? Great. Just great. That makes me feel so much better. You are aware that the Elite ruined my life, and turned me into a monster, right? I hated Reaper. I still do. I never want to be like that again. And yeah, I’m willing to fight for that. I don’t want anyone else to die, but if lives are lost in the process, fine. I am never going to become Reaper again.”
“Elias, will you let me finish?” Jade shouted, slamming her cup down on the table, dark red liquid sloshing out. “I was talking to Eliet, and he said that your time in the field is over. Most Reapers last longer, but it just wasn’t working for you. He wanted to keep you safe from the rebels. So, he has agreed to think about offering you a spot among the Elite. You could be one of us, and help make Salef a better place, so more people don’t have to die. Join the Elite,” she said. “Then we can govern Salef together, as equals and protectors.” All the blood drained from my face. I could never do that. I could never turn my back on my family, and T.R.I.B.A.U.M.
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I shook my head. “I’m sorry, Jade. You know I can’t do that.”
“Elias, please. We need you here, I need you here. You… you’re my friend,” Jade said, her voice cracking. “Please,” she begged. “Jade,” I started. “I can’t. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I joined them. I’m sorry, but I need to say no.” I turned away. “I need to get going. I’ll see you later,” I said, knowing full well that was a lie. I took a few steps before Jade said, “You’re leaving, aren’t you?” I stopped, and nodded. “The rebels didn’t kidnap you, you wanted to go with them. You’re going back to them now. Tell me I’m wrong, Elias. I’m scared. Tell me. Please. People have been telling me for years to approach the things you’re scared of. I’m scared of the Elite, so I joined them. So should you.”
“And what if my fear is fear itself?” I asked. “Then become someone to be feared. Don’t leave us. Please. Don’t go running back to the rebels. Don’t leave me.” I turned to face her. A smile flickered across my face. “Goodbye, Jade. Be happy knowing that between our hello and goodbye, there was friendship. I won’t forget that easily.” I walked out the door and started running through floor fifty again.
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I found my way to a staircase without incident. I pulled open the heavy door, then heard a shout from behind me. “Elias!” I had the opportunity to escape right in front of me. Why wasn’t I already going down the stairs? Because the voice behind me belonged to a person who wasn’t able to stop until he had the last word. I released the door handle, and the door clanged closed. “How may I help you, Eliet?” I asked, turning to face him. He was a dozen metres away from me, standing with his feet shoulder width apart and his hands balled into fists at his sides. “I don’t know where you think you’re going. You aren’t leaving. I can’t let you. Believe me, I would love to see what would happen if you got back to the rebels and told them what happened here. What fight do you think would follow?” he asked. “A war. You would have a war. The Elite and their demons, versus T.R.I.B.A.U.M.,” I replied. “Isn’t that what you want? A war.” Eliet laughed and shook his head. “Oh, no. I don’t want war. You were right, earlier. I do want power. And I know that I have it. Anyone who tries to take it from me will find a fate similar to your father.” I furrowed my brow. How did Eliet know about my dad? “Your parents and I knew each other when we were young. We were inseparable. Jasmine, me, and Marcus, your father.”
“I know who my father was, idiot, and he would never associate with the likes of you,” I spat.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Elias. The three of us were good friends, until I joined the Elite. Your parents didn’t agree with what I was doing, and how I was helping our world, so they tried to stop me. And look where that got them. Your father was killed, and your mother went into hiding among the very people who killed her husband. I knew from the beginning who Letie was. I let her accumulate power among us, knowing that one day, she would leave. And if she didn’t, I always kept enough control so I could take the power back from her. If, and when, I needed to. So, you see, Elias, this is about power. Not war. I’ll do whatever is necessary for me to keep my position. Because this,” he said, gesturing around him. “-this is my life. This is all I have. If I wasn’t part of the Elite, if floor fifty was not my home, I would have nothing. And everyone needs something. Even killers like me. I need my power. I can’t function without it. I wouldn’t be Eliet, leader of the Elite and Salef, without it. I’m asking for you to have some compassion for me. Don’t leave. Stay, and help us here. I’m sure Jade told you about my offer. Accept it. Then you can have power to. It’s human nature, really, to want power. You crave it, and once you get just a little taste, you can’t stop until you have it all. It’s like a drug, and I’m addicted. Stay on floor fifty, Elias. You can have everything you’ve ever wanted.” I clenched my jaw. “Everything I want is on the other side of the city under a mountain! And I’m going to get back to them if it’s the last thing I do,” I said.
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Eliet laughed. “Well, not for long.” I ran forward, catching him off guard. I ran right into him, ploughing him to the ground. He laughed again, more like a wheeze as the air was knocked from his lungs. I knelt beside him as he tried to sit up. I placed a hand on his chest and forced him back to the ground. “See, I have a theory,” I said, putting more pressure on his chest. “I think that you only act the way you do because you get to hide behind a mask. No one knows who you truly are. I don’t get to hide. You know exactly who I am. So, let’s see what you look like behind the mask, shall we?” Using both hands, I pried the mask off of Eliet’s face. I threw it to the side, clattering onto the floor. Eliet stared up at me with dark eyes. His irises were dark grey, almost black. His pale skin was like snow, perfect but cold. His short hair was slicked back, shiny and black. There was a light scar trailing along his left cheekbone.
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“Are you happy now?” Eliet asked. “Did you get what you wanted?” I furrowed my brow. “I… what?”
“What was the point, Elias? Of everything that just was said between us? My mask is gone, I’m down, I can’t fight back. Did you get what you wanted?” he asked again. “Uh, yes?” I said. “Good. Then why don’t you just leave? The door is right there. I won’t try to get you to stop. Go ahead.” I stood, grabbing Eliet’s mask from the floor. “I’m going to keep this,” I said, turning it over in my hands. Eliet shrugged, climbing to his feet and straightening his suit. Taking a few steps backwards, I bumped into the door. I pushed it open and started down the stairs, hugging the mask to my chest. I was almost free.166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4MDRvKgA9L
