I let out a shaky breath, casting an anxious glance over at Maggie. She looked down, not meeting my gaze. I ran out of the elevator, to Mariah’s side. “What happened to her?” I asked, choking down tears. “It’s been like this for two months. When we first learned about Reaper, and in the fight that followed, Mariah was in the middle of it. She wanted to fight alongside T.R.I.B.A.U.M., but didn’t want to fight against you. When you ran away from the fence, after you had the demons break up our formation, she tried to follow you. Before she could catch up to you, a demon got to her. A few actually, all circled around her, like they were catching. And she just collapsed. She hasn’t woken up since then, except for a brief moment while we were bringing her here after the fight,” Melissa explained, rubbing Maggie’s shoulder. Maggie was crying quietly, covering her eyes with her hands. “While she was awake, she was in a state of hysteria. Saying things that made no sense. We recorded most of it, if you want to see it,” Melissa said, typing a few things on a keyboard and turning a screen to face me. I saw Mariah thrashing around on a stretcher, in an underground tunnel. How big was the network of tunnels? Mariah’s eyes closed, then opened wide. “We’re not alone. There’s… there’s someone else. They can help us. We need to get to them. But they’re outside. We need to get outside. He can… he can help us. We need his help to get outside,” Mariah said anxiously. None of the people wheeling the stretcher responded to Mariah’s panicked ramblings. “Listen to me!” she screamed, fighting to get up. Her face changed from wild to calm in an instant. She stopped fighting, and her eyes closed again.
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The video clicked off. “That was the last time she woke up. We don’t know if she’s ever going to wake up again. And if she does, we don’t know if it’s safe for her.”
“What did the demons do to her?” I seethed. Melissa typed a few more things, then turned the screen away. “We don’t know. We’ve had people running tests and scans to try and figure it out, but so far, everything comes to the same result: nothing. I’m sorry, Elias. I know how hard this must be for you,” Melissa said, reaching out to touch me. “No, you don’t know how hard this is!” I shouted at her. “You have no idea what this feels like. It’s like, it’s like I’m imploding. It is the worst feeling in the world. Now I can proudly say I’ve hurt both my siblings, and possibly ruined both of their lives. Thanks for that.” I turned to Sammy. “Are you happy now? Did you get what you wanted?” I shouted. He smirked, then shrugged. My eyes widened, and I clasped a hand over my mouth. What did I just say? I’d repeated exactly what Eliet had said to me. “I need to… go. I need to go,” I said, stumbling back. I disappeared back into the elevator, closing the doors behind me. I didn’t listen to Maggie, who was trying to call me back, or Sammy, who was jeering about how fake I was being.
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When the elevator stopped, I didn’t know where to go. I had no idea where my room was, or where anything was, actually. I just needed to go. Somewhere. I couldn’t stop. “Elias!” a small voice called. I stopped. Juliet and Jasmine were walking across the base, Juliet pulling on Jasmine’s hand to get to me. I wiped my eyes and took a deep breath before they reached me. Juliet hugged me, burying her little head into the folds of my shirt. “We got to go on a really cool rolly thingy,” Juliet said, looking up at me. “Did you, now?” I respond with a quiet laugh. “Yeah! It was a big, shiny, metal thing sitting on four wheels. There were two benches on it, on the sides. Ms. Jasmine and I sat next to each other. A person with a green hat was sitting at the front, holding a wheel. There was no top to the thing, we just sat on it. We could see the top of the tunnel the entire time. It made a weird noise, like a lion. Or like my belly when I’m hungry. Grrrr. Grummmmble. Rrrrumble.” Juliet let go and started running around me and Jasmine, still making whatever noise she’d heard. 174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPotCcnBaVj
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Jasmine and I let her keep puttering around. “Are you doing okay?” Jasmine asked. “You knew about her,” I said. “You knew, and you didn’t tell me. You and dad abandoned us, Mariah kept us safe, she’s hurt, you knew, and didn’t tell me. Isn’t that right?” She looked down. “Elias, you have to understand, I couldn’t do anyth-”
“No. No, I don’t,” I said quickly. “I don’t have to do anything. I’d really like to be alone for a little while. I’ll… I’ll see you later.” I started walking up the ramp. I didn’t know where I was going. The only thing I knew was that I needed to keep walking. “Wait, Elias!” Juliet called after me. I turned to face her. “Where’re you going?” she asked, playing with her hair. “I’m… going up. Just to get a bit higher for a little while. Someone very special once told me that it’s easier up high than being on the ground, because sometimes people need a break from everything on the ground. It’s quieter way up high. I need some quiet. Do you want to guess who that person was?” I said, crouching down in front of her. Juliet smiled. “It was you,” I told her, placing a hand behind her head. “I’ll come find you in a little while. Stay with Ms. Jasmine until then, okay?” She nodded, running back to Jasmine. I took a quick breath and started up the ramp again.
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I made it maybe 10 metres before someone else called my name. “Elias!” I looked up, fire in my eyes. “What?” I spat. It was Maggie, standing in the doorway to her room. “Come in,” she said calmly, walking backwards into her room. I sighed and followed her in. “How’d you get here first without me seeing you?” I asked, sitting on the couch. “Special leader privileges,” she said with a smile, showing me a circular door in her wall. “Do you want something to drink? Any food?” she offered. I shrugged. “No, thanks.” She smiled. “Suit yourself.” She grabbed a brownie bite out of a small box. “Wait, wait, wait. You never said you had brownies,” I said. Maggie laughed, bringing the box over to the couch.
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“Do you want to talk about Mariah?” she asked, handing me a brownie. I shrugged again, then shook my head, trying really hard to not cry. “Oh, it’s going to be okay,” she said, hugging me tightly. I could feel her arms on my ribs, my entire body tense. “Hey, Elias,” she said quietly, rubbing my back. “It’s okay. It’s all going to be okay.”I sniffed, my lip quivering. “How can any of this be okay?” I whispered. “Because, you didn't do anything wrong. Reaper did. And you’re not Reaper. Not anymore. None of this, not a single bit, is your fault. Mariah will be okay. She’ll wake up soon. She’s going to be okay.” I relaxed slightly. “Could we… not talk about her, please?” I asked, raising my gaze. “Sure. Do you want to do anything?”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzYJ68XjGPw
“Can we just sit for a bit, without talking?” Maggie nodded and pushed a few buttons on a remote that had been sitting on a coffee table. I needed to remind myself that it wasn’t going to do anything to me. It was just a remote. As I calmed down, I noticed the music playing through hidden speakers. I closed my eyes, relaxing as the notes washed over me. I quietly started humming along to the song. Maggie joined in. Before I knew it, we were both on our feet, dancing around. “What are you guys doing?” someone shouted over the music. Maggie fumbled for the remote, turning off the music.
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Sammy was standing in front of the special door. “Hi, Sammy. We were just dancing, having some fun,” Maggie explained. “Brownie bite?” Sammy shook his head. “That’s really messed up, you know. You’re in here, having the time of your life, while Mariah is upstairs struggling to stay alive. That’s messed up. For someone who seemed so upset a little while ago, you sire don’t seem to be showing any remorse for killing your sister,” Sammy said, pointing at me. “I didn’t kill her!” I yelled, running at Sammy. I knocked him against the wall, raising my fist. “I didn’t kill her,” I said again, quieter this time. “She’s not dead. All of this was Reaper, not me.” Sammy laughed. “What kind of stupidity have you been feeding him?” he asked Maggie, who was standing by the couch, arms crossed. “I told him what was true. None of this was his fault,” she said quietly. Sammy laughed again. “Sure, sure. You did everything wrong, Elias. Because you are Reaper, and all of this, every single bit, is your fault.” I punched him in the jaw.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4LEw9Qrogp
