UNMASKED

#28

I hope Ma doesn't kill Matthew, Eli thought as he watched the minutes on the timer tick away. He supposed Matthew would have to survive long enough to run into his mother first.

Eli certainly hoped he would. At least one of them had to survive the whole mess they were in or Eli was seriously going to have some complaints when he got to wherever it was people went when they finally kicked the bucket.

Maybe that wasn't the best thing to be thinking about when he was about twenty minutes away from dying, but it was honestly the least depressing thing Eli could come up with. At least it took his mind off of his impending doom. After all, there was no way Matthew was letting a bunch of people die just to save Eli. Not that Eli blamed him for that—especially since his friends were amongst those people.

He still wished that wasn't a choice Matthew had to make, despite how much of a non-choice it really was.

After all, Jack was right. Eli knew Matthew well enough to know that whatever he chose, it would be too much for Matthew. He was precisely the type of person who'd blame himself for something that was absolutely not his fault. Maybe the worst thing was, Eli wouldn't be around to tell him he didn't blame him.

Just as Eli was wondering if Michael or one of his friends would bother to tell Matthew to stop being stupid in his stead, the door to the room he was in opened. Eli wasn't surprised when it was just Jack. Granted, he hadn't expected him to look so displeased.

"You knew, didn't you?" he asked, glaring down at Eli.

"You're gonna have to be a bit more specific." Eli was expecting the hit. Not that it helped with the pain.

"Don't pretend. You knew that bitch disabled the explosives. It's why you've been so fucking relaxed."

It took a second for the words to register in Eli's mind. Partly because his poor brain was still settling after the latest hit, but also because Eli almost couldn't believe what Jack was saying. Laughing was still probably not the best response. Especially because Jack just punched him again. Eli just laughed through the pain.

"Oh, wow, now I really feel bad Adria's dead. Wish she could have laughed with me." He could feel something trickling down his nose, and tasted the familiar iron-like taste of blood. His face ached, his head was pounding, and despite it all Eli felt like cackling. Maybe it was the satisfaction on Eli's face, but Jack's glower managed to intensify to the point where Eli wondered if he'd stab him.

Then, Jack's expression shifted, a grin appearing on his face. The anger was still there, simmering beneath the twist of his lips, a glimmer of rage still burning in his gaze. It made the flash of teeth as he grinned seem all the more menacing. His hand shot out, gripping Eli's face tightly, pulling it forward with bruising force. Eli glared, even as his heart raced as he stared straight into Jack's eyes.

"Well that's just fine by me. We'll just see if you're still laughing when I kill him in front of you." Eli scowled as Jack released him. "He's on his way, so I guess we better welcome him properly."

With that, Jack turned and walked away. Eli glared up until the door shut behind him, then felt his anger slip away and worry take its place.

As relieved as he was to hear that his friends were safe, he wished Matthew weren't on his way to a very blatant trap. Not that Eli expected any different.

He'll be fine. He's fought Jack before, Eli told himself in an attempt to ease his anxiety. It didn't really work, probably because Matthew had fought Jack twice and one of those times he just barely managed to get away. Not the time to think about that, Eli's mind supplied.