Killing (And Other Games)

(Thirty Nine)

(Thirty Nine)

I go up to the stands just before the fight. I almost forgot the fight was tonight. I'm only remembering now that Gray doesn't know anything about this revelation I've had. Heading back to the house, I keep my eye out for him. He could be any one of the creeps hiding under jacket hoods. I glide through the now familiar door of light, speed walking down the pitch black corridor. How long has he been waiting for me? Oh god I hope he isn't mad. I can't deal with-

"Immy?" I jump ten metres in the air at the sound of my name being called. I look around frantically, pushing my back up against the wall.

"Who's there?"

"Me. Gray."

"Gray? I can't see you."

"No shit."

A hand falls on my shoulder and I grab it, pulling my way until I can feel Gray's face. It feels like his face. I can feel him smirking.

"Sorry, I'm paranoid. I'm sorry I wasn't there I got distracted and-"

"Yeah, whatever Immy, we've got to go. There's not much time." Gray starts dragging me along, his arm around my back and hand latched to my arm.

"Gray, stop," I command, throwing myself away from him. In the darkness I can feel him halting, I can imagine the frown on his structural face. "We can't tell anyone."

"What...what do you mean?" I feel him drawing away from me and I fear grows. I don't want him to leave me here. I think I've just remembered how dark the underworld really is.

"No one will support us. It can only end badly."

"You weren't saying that yesterday," Gray hisses. The air around me displaces; he's swinging his hands around he's so fired up.

"I know, I know, look I went and spoke to his sister-"

"Whose?"

"Zane's sister. I went and talked to her and she cleared things up for me. We can't tell anyone it'll just put everyone in a worse situation."

Gray stops talking and just breathes dramatically for what feels like forever. Eventually; "Zane's sister; the one who is in jail?"

"Yes," I mutter, my voice echoing despite the pitch.

"You took advice from a convicted murderer?"

"She explained it all to me. Piers is untouchable, above anything that we can say. He's only done this because he know he's completely free to do it. If we accuse him and it's revealed that he did set up Zane and have these innocent creatures killed then it could mean something much bigger than a few dead employees."

"That sounds rehearsed," Gray hisses. He sounds absolutely cut. "So what if this starts something bigger? Maybe the Underworld government needs to be cleaned up."

"You honestly think Piers would be on the losing side, Gray? It'll end up being more dead innocents not dead politicians. The human world and the Underworld aren't so dissimilar that I don't know that. I know this is hard to hear but-"

"So you're going to let them die?" The question echoes in my head, bouncing from one side to the other. So I'm going to let them die.

"The alternative is worse," I say as I fight a thousand million different emotions. "Piers could do much worse." I practically scream it to myself because the idea has to be indoctrinated into every fibre of my being.

"I can't believe this," Gray hisses and for the first time I sense that bratty arrogance in him that's so expected. I feel all the layers peeling away. "I can't believe you're doing this now."