Gifted | Sleepy Bois Inc

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Look, I don't know what's up between you and Smiley," I said with a sigh. "But to me, Smiley is a very big problem. I came to you looking for information on either him or the rest of his accomplices."

The necromancer Gifted shook his head, returning his attention to his sandwich. I looked back out gloomily at the kids. They screeched like sirens and jumped around the playground, moving with surprising agility.

To be young. I felt like a grandpa.

"The world's changing so fast," George said, almost as if he could hear my thoughts. "These people are technically the same generation as us, but they're so different from how we are. It's such a weird feeling, watching your life fly by like this."

"Time waits for no man," I said.

"No. So you have to take every opportunity you get and do whatever the hell you want, right?"

I gave him a sideways look. "Is helping Smiley what you want?"

He shook his head. "What I want is to save my friend. I don't condone killing, and I don't agree with what Smiley's doing. Honestly, following his code of 'I hate Gifted,' we shouldn't even be working together. My only job is to make sure that he's safe."

Wilbur's words echoed in my mind. "You'll be safe, right?"

I could tell that George really did care about Smiley, or whatever person it was that he saw beneath that killer mask. That put us on two different ends of the fight, and in all honesty, I didn't want to fight the man.

"Don't pull that skeletons trick again and I'll leave you alone," I said, standing up to go.

George scoffed. "I'm exhausted. I won't be doing it again. But if you ever come to see me again, it better be because you actually want to chat."

"We chatted."

"Not in the same sense. Go away."

I couldn't help but grin. "For someone who really wants social interaction, you sure seem eager to get rid of me right now."

He waved me away, looking annoyed. "I'm trying to eat my sandwich and get a break from everything. Seeing you right now is not helping my break. You better have an actual greeting prepared for the next time we meet."

***

I didn't want to head to the Tryxel building and see all the bodies again.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw blood splatters in the dark. Smiley's grin followed me everywhere. It was as if he was haunting me.

Not only that, but the voices were more constant as well. Before, they rarely popped up, and when they did, it never lasted for long. Now, they constantly demanded revenge.

And as for the other problem...

I turned around in annoyance and glowered at the glowing wisp following behind me. "Are you seriously going to do this forever?"

The bowling ball face stared back at me silently.

"Where are your friends? The rest of you guys? I know they're out there. Go hang out or something."

Still no reply.

"What even are you?"

I looked up. The wisp was still floating above my head, turning in lazy rotations. It didn't seem to have any intention of responding. Not that I expected it to anyway.

Actually, I was beginning to have an idea of what was happening to me. Fragments were starting to fit together, and even though it kind of made sense, I knew that I needed Phil to confirm things for me to really understand.