A guard was facing the other way, looking down the ramp, when Logan and I walked into the base. The guard turned when he heard the door close. “What are you two doing? Let me see your ID.”
“Look,” I said to the guard. “I do not have an ID. Neither does my brother. But you’re going to let us through. I’m bringing him to Mariah.” The guard moved back, letting us through. “Go ahead, then.” I nodded and walked past. Logan stumbled along after me. “What was that? Where are we?” he asked. “Welcome to T.R.I.B.A.U.M. base, home of the rebels fighting for Salef,” I said. Logan looked around. “Huh. The Elite told us that it was completely different, inside Mount Antinder.”
“Well, I would hope so. That’s what I told them, so I’m glad it’s working.” We kept walking down the ramp. “Where’s Mariah?” Logan asked. “You said we were going to see her.” Oh, right. “I’ll show you. In the elevator, you’re going to want to hold on,” I warned.
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As we made our way to the bottom, I told Logan everything I knew about T.R.I.B.A.U.M. and the rebel organisation. He didn’t seem the least surprised when I told him that Mariah was one of the leaders for this whole thing. Thankfully, we didn’t pass any people that asked questions as we walked to the elevator. A doctor in a white coat was stepping out of the elevator as we approached it. “Hold the door,” I called. She did, waiting until Logan and I were inside before walking away. It was a good thing she did, because I didn’t have a key card that could open the elevator. The doors closed, and I remembered to grab onto the bars. The strange movements weren’t as shocking this time. When the elevator stopped, I looked to Logan. “This might be hard to see. It was really difficult for me, at least. But it is going to be okay. Are you ready?” Logan nodded stiffly, and I opened the door to Mariah’s room.
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No one else was in the room. Logan slowly walked forward, taking in the sight of his older sister in a coma. “How did this happen?” he asked, looking up at me with a pinched expression. “The demons,” I said quietly. Logan shook his head slowly, sitting on a plastic chair near her bed. We were both silent for another moment, the only noise was the beeping of the machines. Logan broke the silence by saying, “I remember. I was there.” I sat down on another chair, next to Logan. “Can you tell me?” I asked. He took a deep breath and nodded.
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“During the fight, when you started back to the Brick, I was still by the fence. I think I was with Juliet, Gabe, Rachel, and a few others.”
“Who’s Rachel?” I interrupted. Logan looked up. “Juliet’s mom. They’re both demons. It’s a genetic thing, being a demon. I guess when Juliet was born, she was born a demon because her mom already was one.” I nodded. “Got it. Continue.” Logan smiled sadly and refocused his gaze on the floor. “I couldn’t recognise anyone. I didn’t know it was Mariah who was trying to follow you. I just saw a person, who was a threat. And you, I mean, Reaper, had given the order to kill. I took Gabe and Rachel with me. We caught up to Mariah in seconds. Gabe tried to take out his dagger, but I stopped him. I didn’t know why at the time. I guess I was trying to take back some control. I don’t know. We crowded around her, and I took out this… this bottle. It was filled with some grey powder. It kind of looked like ash. I dumped some of the ash out onto the flat edge of one of my knives. I, um, pressed the blade against the back of her neck, and touched the ash against her skin. Then, she collapsed. We left her there, and continued fighting. At some point, she must have been brought back here.” Logan reached into the pocket of his sweatpants. He pulled out a slip of leather, with a metal handle sticking out of it. Tugging at the handle, he revealed a knife.
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“I used this. With Mariah.” His hand was trembling. “I, um, don’t know why I still have it. My weapons always disappear when I transform back. But for some reason, I still had this on me.” I took the knife from him, turning it over in my hands. “The Elite wouldn’t let anything happen if they don’t want it to happen. If I know anything about Eliet, he’s trying to send a message to you. It’s anyone’s guess as to what that message is, though,” I said, putting the knife away. “I think it means that I need to be careful. It’s a reminder of who I am, what I’ve done, and what I will continue to do unless I’m killed,” Logan said, taking the knife back from me. “Logan, come on. You can’t be serious. They probably just slipped up while monitoring your transformation. It probably means nothing,” I said, trying to dial back whatever I’d started. Logan looked up at me, his eyes puffy. “You can’t keep doing that,” he said quietly. “Doing what?” I asked with a quiet laugh. “Saying something, and then when it doesn’t get the response you wanted or anticipated, contradicting yourself to make someone else feel better. It’s really annoying, and doesn’t benefit anyone except yourself. So cut it out, okay?” he said, standing up. “Okay, I’m sorry,” I apologised. “I didn’t mean to make you upset.”
“Yet you still brought me here. You must have known how I would react to this. Mariah literally raised me after mom and dad died, and…” My expression made him stop talking. “What now?” he asked, on the verge of exploding. “About mom and dad…”, I started, scratching the back of my neck. “Elias. What did you do?” Logan asked sternly. “Nothing!” I said quickly. “There’s just someone I need to introduce you to.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9M8CuOpfr1
