Author's Preface
Eve sat next to the bed with her arms barely on the edge. Her head rested on top as she snored. Blue's eyes opened slowly. He rubbed them as his vision went from blurry to clear. He looked around the room. He was in an infirmary room. He noticed Eve resting. He placed a hand on her head.
"Eve, your snoring brought me back to life."
Eve raised her head slowly. One eye opened as she peeked at Blue, who was smiling at her. She immediately jumped onto the bed and wrapped her arms around him. Blue chuckled and hugged her back as she began to cry uncontrollably. Blue rubbed her back as the reality of everything came crashing down. He didn't speak a word. What could be said about what happened that would ease anyone's pain?
Eve cried until Titus and Aaron walked into Blue's room. Titus cleared his throat. Eve sat up and wiped her nose and the tears off her face. She looked at Blue.
"I'll be back. I'm going to, uh, go get some coffee."
Blue smiled softly and nodded. Aaron and Titus took a seat, both of them sitting on one side of Blue's bed. Aaron crossed his legs and leaned back, sipping on coffee. Titus stared at Blue with a folder in his lap.
"What's up, fellas?"
Aaron shook his head and chuckled. Titus threw the folder onto Blue's lap. Pictures of the scene Blue had left behind the night before fell out.
"Are you fucking stupid?" Titus asked.
Blue grabbed the photos one by one and looked through them.
"You must be fucking stupid. It's the only explanation."
Blue placed the pictures back in the folder and threw it back at Titus. It bounced off his chest as the pictures scattered all over the floor.
"Seriously, what is your major malfunction? Were you trying to get yourself killed?"
"I'm alive, aren't I? What's the problem?" Blue crossed his arms.
Before another word could be said, Eve walked back in with two cups of coffee. She walked over and handed one to Blue. As she turned, she noticed the pictures on the ground. She bent down and picked a few up, staring at them. She turned and stared at Blue for a long moment. Blue stared at the sheets. He couldn't look her in the eye.
"This... this is what you did?"
Blue didn't answer.
Eve took a deep breath and let go of the pictures. They floated back onto the ground as she walked out.
The door to the room closed as Aaron sighed. "Phew, I thought I was going to have to save you for a minute there, buddy." Aaron threw his arms behind his head. "Good luck dealing with that."
Blue gave Aaron a half smile.
"So you really think what you did last night was okay?" Titus stood as he walked toward the window overlooking Columbus.
"They are dead, aren't they? Midnight and anyone associated with them. At least the ones dumb enough to still be in the city. They were all in the locations we thought they might actually be. What's the problem?"
Titus turned. "The problem? We still know nothing! Those corrupted humans could've been saved somehow. Now we have more questions than answers. Did you even notice the other bodies that weren't human while you were killing people who were clearly running away?"
"You mean the elf-looking things? Yeah, I noticed them." Blue took a sip of coffee. "And you know damn well we couldn't save those people. The corruption from Hatred runs deep and is unbreakable."
"How do you know that, huh?"
"How do you not? In the month after the attack, you fought them. You've seen them. You've even fucking interrogated them. Did you get anything from them, Titus? Did you cure them?"
"That's not the point, Blue, and you know it."
Blue stared at titus for quite some time. Tears began forming in his eye. His lips began to quiver. Finally he let it out. The reason behind it all. "THEY FUCKING KILLED CYNTHIA!"
Titus and Aaron both hung their heads.
"They killed her, man. While I was gone playing Champion." Blue started crying. "What the fuck was I supposed to do?"
Aaron cleared his throat and leaned forward on Blue's bed as Blue tried to hold back his tears and frustration.
"I know this probably isn't the best time, but we have some information I think you need to know about what happened."
Blue looked at Aaron. "It can't get any worse anyway, so may as well lay it on me." Blue sniffled.
"It's about Cynthia and who actually killed her."
"It was Yuki."
Titus looked stunned. "How did you know?"
"How could I not? She was chained up to a pillar and looked like Chris and Darrien, hell probably Samantha and Eve too, had beat her almost to death." Blue laid his head back on his pillow and sighed. "For the life of me, I just can't understand why."
"Well, that's more complicated. She was... well, is an agent of Midnight."
Blue turned his head toward Aaron. "You're kidding me?"
Aaron shook his head. "I am not. She was keeping track of you, and the attack on your guild was planned around you being gone."
Titus took a step closer to Blue and put a hand on his shoulder. "Midnight seems to be targeting you specifically. That means they must be tied to Hatred himself. It is the only reasonable explanation. And if that is true. This just got a lot bigger than any of us thought."
"Fuck, what happens now?" Blue asked.
"Well, honestly, I'm not sure, Blue." Titus brought a hand to his face. "I really don't know."
The door to the room flew open. All three men turned their heads as Grayson walked in with a smile on his face, carrying a box of donuts. Grayson reached into the box and threw a donut at Blue. Titus caught it.
"Now isn't the time, Grayson."
"On the contrary, I believe it is the perfect time." Grayson took another donut out as he sat next to Blue. "I hope you like glazed." He placed one in Blue's lap as Titus squeezed the one in his hand and threw it toward the trash can.
"Always so childish. Anyways, we got as much info as we could from Yuki. Blue, we will leave the decision for her punishment up to you."
Blue waved a hand in the air. "I don't care. Do what you will with her. I just don't want to see her ever again, or I'll kill her myself."
"Feisty. I understand. For now, though, the president has decided to place guards at your guild. Seeing as this terrorist group is targeting you, we will be protecting you until we can pinpoint who they are." Grayson clapped as two men walked through the door. "These two men will be with you at all times. Where you go, they go."
Blue looked at the men, then at Titus and Aaron. He finally turned to Grayson. "That's not necessary. I am a big boy who can take care of himself."
"And you have proven that with your commendable actions last night." Grayson stood and placed the box of donuts on Blue's legs. "Regardless, they will be your shadows. If you need anything else, let me know."
Grayson turned and walked out.
Titus looked at the two surly men standing by the door. "Can you two at least wait outside?"
The two men ignored Titus completely. Blue raised his hand and flicked it at the two men. They nodded and stepped outside the door.
"This is going to be annoying. How am I supposed to get anything done now?" Blue sat up.
Titus stared at the door. "I'm not sure about that either." He looked back at Blue. "But we will find that damned pendant one way or another. For now, rest. We have the cleanup at your guild handled."
Aaron stood and slapped his legs. "He's right, Blue. Just relax for now. We will handle the rest."
Aaron walked out of the room. Titus walked behind him and stopped at the threshold of the door.
"As for Cynthia's funeral, we will hold it in two days' time."
Titus curled his lips and nodded before walking out. Blue sat staring at the door for longer than he would've liked as the two guards stepped back into the room. Blue reached for the box of donuts and put one in his mouth. He grabbed two more and threw them at the guards.
"Here, have a donut and leave me alone."
Comments