As we ran, I filled Morri in on what had happened. When we reached Nico, he was completely gone, hidden under a shell of black goo. “What is that?” Morri asked in shock. “That is the mysterious murder goo,” I said. “Murder goo?” she asked. I smiled. “Mhm.” Morri shook her head and pulled a knife from her belt. “Nico, can you hear us?” There was a faint grunt. “I’m going to cut you out, okay? Stay very still.” Morri placed the blade of the knife against the shell, and pressed. Hard. I felt a stabbing pain in my left thigh. “Stop!” I exclaimed. Morri moved her knife away, the goo still intact. “What?” she demanded. “I need to get him out of there. Is there a problem?” I looked down. “No. Sorry.” She rolled her eyes and turned back to Nico. As she dug the knife into the shell, I clenched my jaw as pain coursed through my body. What was that stuff? There was a pop, and Morri removed the knife. Using her hands, she pulled back the shell, revealing Nico. Keep breathing, Elias, I thought. Breathe through the pain. This can’t be about you right now. “Are you okay?” I asked, taking a step towards Nico. He shrunk back. “I’m fine, no thanks to you. Stay away from me,” he said, crossing his arms. “What did I do wrong?” I questioned.
141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡehfbuWOTuO
“That stuff could have killed me. You could have killed me!” he shouted, pointing a finger at me. “Hey!” Morri said, stepping between us. “Nico, think about what you’re saying. Elias is not a fault here. He didn’t try to kill you. Right, Elias?” Before I could agree, Nico said, “He shouldn’t be here with us. He got to join the team because he used to be Reaper or whatever, because he’s oh so special, because Mariah’s his sister. None of us got that.” This was all directed towards Melissa. “We had to work for this, and he just showed up, with no training. Then, he tries to kill us! That shell he put on me could have made me suffocate. I have no doubt that he’s planning to kill Callie, Athimi, or you, while you’re asleep. You all should be watching your backs. There’s no telling what he’s going to do. He’s unstable. You should get rid of him now, Morri. Before it’s too late.”
141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg8sF7twIVg
I looked at Nico with fire in my eyes, knowing far too well that I couldn’t do anything. No matter what I did, it would only further his point. Morri looked between the two of us. She would defend Nico. She’d known him longer. And in truth, there might be part of what he said that was right. Morri couldn’t take my side. She couldn’t put herself up against her team. She was a leader. She wasn’t in a position to take a controversial stance on something like this. Morri turned to me. “Elias, is what Nico says true?” I shook my head. “I have no plans to kill anyone. I’m not a killer. Reaper was, but I am not Reaper. Not anymore. Nothing you or anyone else says can make me become that monster again. On the topic of the goo, I don’t know what it is, or where it came from. But, it seems to be a part of me that I can learn to control. I’m a part of this team because Melissa thought you guys could benefit from me, and I from you. Not because of Mariah or my past with Reaper. And I have training. Months of it. Tell me this, Nico, when it comes time for us to escape, do you think there will be fighting?” He nodded. “Do you think the Elite will just… let us leave?” He shook his head. “RIght. So, do you think that there will come a situation when you need to make a choice between killing someone and staying alive, not killing and possibly jeopardising the mission, or killing someone and still failing?” He hesitated, before nodding stiffly. “Exactly. When I was Reaper, I wasn’t given that choice. I killed mercilessly, because I couldn’t choose. The Elite took away my choice. I was forced to kill or be disposed of. Because that is what I was to them. Disposable, replaceable. One last thing. Do you think that if the opportunity presented itself, you would kill one of the people on this team in order for the mission to be a success?” A larger hesitation this time.
141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoz3dlmR0Xv
“No, because I am not a murderer. I’d give my life for anyone on this team, save for you. That is what I agreed to when I signed up. I would rather die without blood on my hands and have this mission fail than succeed as a killer.” He looked at Morri. I could read his face perfectly. He was hoping he’d said the right thing to get me out. “Morri, after that, I do agree with one thing. You should rethink who is on this team. Some of us seem to not be loyal to our mission,” I said, staring directly at Nico. “Enough!” Morri shouted. “Both of you. Take your packs and go back to base. Both of you are off the team. Melissa will be waiting for you. You will collect your things from headquarters, and follow her instructions until my team gets back. Then, I’ll deal with you two myself. Melissa may be one of the official leaders of Gold Team, but I have the authority when they are not present. Do you understand that? I will not have this kind of childish squabbling on my team when Salef is depending on us to get out.”
Nico stood up a little taller. “Yes, Captain Morrigan,” he said, grabbing his backpack and starting the walk back to base. “Get out of here, Elias, before I do something I’m going to regret,” she said through clenched teeth. “My, uh, my backpack is still halfway up the hill,” I said, pointing to it. “Then go get it!” she shouted. “Uh, yes, Captain Morrigan,” I said, copying Nico’s formality. I scrambled up the hill only to slide back down, holding onto the strap of my backpack. “For what’s it worth, I’m sorry,” I said, putting on my backpack once I was back in front of Morri. “It is worth very little right now, Elias. Go back to base, now. Melissa will be waiting for you.” I nodded, starting the hike back to T.R.I.B.A.U.M. base.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbk6jPBWoI8
