The Symptoms

We All Fall Down

I knew that they were only Savages, but this felt...so wrong. Savages being pitted against other savages, by savages. They were even betting on them like some sort of dog fighting ring. It was morally wrong, horrible even, but I couldn't bring myself to look away.

When I looked over to him, Lucas's face was unreadable. I hated it when he did that. It felt like I was being left in the dark, yet I always trusted him anyway. Stupid? Sure. Is it going to get me hurt? Maybe. But there's nothing worse that he could do that won't already happen. Pulling me out of my thoughts, he takes us to a back corner of what looks like an old bar.

"Okay, we need to get our story in order because I don't know if you feel it, but there's no way we're getting out of this without running," He sighed grimly. I nodded in agreement, still a little stunned by the sudden amount of violence. Scowling, I closed my eyes to try and think of a way to not sound suspicious, but a silent voice echoes in my head.

Are you seriously going to let him make your decisions? You can't trust him!

That voice in my mind made a sudden bitter change in my mood, my scowl deepened as I pretended to think about anything else. Lucas gave me a curious look before reaching out his hand to-

"Don't touch me!" I snapped viciously. His hand halts above my shoulder as if he were startled, and when I looked up at him he looked taken aback. My eyebrows raise in surprise at my actions. I never meant to sound so cruel...why would it matter? It's not like he was trying to hurt me or something. His face shifted into another emotion unintentionally, and it looked like he was scared, or perhaps it was a look of dread. But it didn't look like he was scared of me, it looked like he was scared for me.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, it's fine, we don't have the time to worry about it right now. But I need you to stay here. No offense, but you look as pale as a sheet. You're also rasping, it sounds like you can hardly breathe. So please, sit down," He interrupts, pulling his hand away and pointing to a nearby barstool.

"But what about the plan?" I asked, a little hurt.

"I'll handle it, dormouse. I'll ask around, please just sit down," He sighed.

Was he mad at me? Disappointed in me that I couldn't help? I couldn't quite identify the emotion behind that sigh, but it didn't sound good to me. However, despite my wishes to participate, I dragged my feet over to the stool and plopped down, a downcast look on my face. Lucas helped to make sure I was situated, but his hand hovered hesitantly over my arm before he pulled it away. Without a word, he walks off into the crowd in search of answers.

Silently, I watched as he weaved himself through the crowd, slowly disappearing. I planned to remain silent, that was until a big figure sat next to me. The stool itself squeaked under the pressure of their weight. When I looked up, it was a very intense-looking man, who had a large scar that went across his face. Without breaking the silence, he slid me a tall drink, the froth spilling over ever so slightly while it swirled in the glass.

"Oh- uhm...thank you.." I mumbled hesitantly, glancing anywhere but in his direction. Of course, I didn't plan on drinking it, because the chances that it was tapped were pretty high. Yet, I swished it around like I was planning to take a drink, biding my time.

"You won't be safe here for long. I'm not ratting you out, but somebody else will, and I'm afraid I won't be able to help you," he said, his gruff voice rattling through me. I scrunched my nose involuntarily, scowling into the distance.

"I was told that this organization knows a cure for Phantom...Is this true?"

"To a certain extent,"

"And I assume you're not going to tell me?"