And Then The Murders Began

Chapter Sixteen: Green Green

I can't sleep all night, even pinned in my cell like they now have me. Everyone's worried, and I know that I'm keeping all of them up too, and I want to get out of here, fly away oh glory, but no, no, no I can't... I'll face my fate with a grin, yeah, that's what I'll do, maybe they'll think that I'm too nuts and they'll let me go... that has a shot, maybe, right? Right? Right?

As long as that shot isn't loaded with lead, I'll take what I can get.

"Electra, you need to go to bed," Jet says. "It's only gonna hurt more if you're tired and stressed..."

"Yeah, I know- but- gods, why? I didn't- I didn't do anything, and still-"

"Because life isn't fucking fair, alright?" the tiger grits out. "You know what, fine, they can't take all of us..."

What's that supposed to mean, I wonder.

Before I can ask, though, a chorus of 'yeah's echoes down the hallway, ringing through my ears, okay whoa ow, now I get it...

Fucking hell why did it take THAT for me to get it through my head?

Must be the lack of sleep talking, or something like that.... Feels like I'm gonna be making a deal with the devil...

"I don't even know some of you, and you're willing to go along with this?" I ask, getting another enthusiastic round of cheers in response, okay then!

"Electra, I know it's not something you're used to, but hey, we stick together..."

"Like a pack?" I hear Mom asks, and, well, I wasn't expecting as much desperation in her voice... shit, I've been so focused on myself, me me me me me me me, that I've, well, I-

Okay, stop- you had your own problems to deal with, but now that you're getting a handle on them- get out of your head!

Ha, if only it were that easy...

"Yeah, like a pack, mom," I say, forcing myself to smile... and isn't it nice to have one now? A rag-tag bunch of accused murderers, ain't that fun...

Hmm yeah that might be problematic eventually but let's- um yeah let's just ignore that for right now?

"So what did they even say, huh?" a voice comes from down the hallway, and then I realize where I know that voice from, and well, fucking hell, I thought for the longest time she was dead...

Amy, what the hell?

What's she doing here, what did she do?

Well... seeing as she's Jerenteka like me, I'm figuring the problem is that an angry bobcat trying to figure out what the hell's been going in- and even though she was worried when we first came in, it felt like more of a polite concern rather than scared interest. Now it's definitely scared interest, so Amy, what's going on?

"More people, gone, so many, so many, Fundy-," she stammers, eyes rolling back in her head, and she slumps onto the bed- I don't think it bounces, but either way she goes down hard and all I can do is watch in horror... holy shit we're falling apart here folks!

What happened, holy shit, again and Fundy, who?

"Who was it?" I ask, trying to contain my fear and excitement, and Amy's head slumps to her chest, ears thwacking against the back of her head.

Oh...

Oh...

Oh my.

That all just seems- off, like it's distorted truth that's had a little shining put on it so that someone who's not looking at all of it too carefully won't pick up on anything... if one's lucky and manages to get away with it, but shit, was it her?