Blue

Doesn't Hold

The anger and discomfort leaking from every person in the bunker was so thick it was almost palpable. It was difficult for Adam to refrain from shifting in his seat. He had to maintain eye contact. He had to maintain the upper hand in the situation.

'Are you going to say anything?' Rose demanded suddenly. The Ensigns were gathered on their side of the bunker, at a large table in one of the rooms they used to find the frenzy. It was very clearly divided. Adam sat at one side of the table with Curtis next to him, and everyone else was gathered with Rose on the opposite side of the table. They were spread wide enough that they could see each other's hands, but there was a clear line between Adam and the others. The other Ensigns stared down at Adam, their faces either angry or confused.

Adam raised his hands to speak but could hardly begin to form a word before the other side of the table erupted. It was a wild flurry of hands and furious faces. They were all talking at the same time, their movements long and wild. Their symbols were aggressive and wide, like they were all brawling Adam with their words. He was having a difficult time determining which limbs belonged to which Ensign. Even Rose, who had been calm and collected, whose every movement had been incredibly precise since she had survived her Culling, even she had vaulted from her chair in order to yell at him. Her features were twisted the same way everyone else's were; her eyebrows and mouth were pulling down, her eyes alight. Everything about them was pinched and tight, except for their angry signing.

He knew, though, what they were saying. He was an Ensign. Technically, he was their leader, and he had not only stopped the battle and stopped them from attacking the sirens, but he had lead the sirens through the ocean right to the bunker. He had led the sirens right to their door. He hadn't known what else to do. Seeing Blue had shaken him. This was his childhood friend, not a monster. He knew they wouldn't see that. They had no ties to Blue. She was just another siren. He had instantly been transported back to Arnav's death, the way it had felt like watching Chase die in front of him, and he knew that he had to make the Ensigns understand that Blue was not to be touched, no matter the cost.

He rose slowly from his chair, lifting his hands into the space between them. He reached out to them wordlessly, his palms up. He was begging, pleading. One by one, their hands slowed to a stop.

'I know that I'm not making any sense right now,' he told them, 'but I need you to trust me. That siren... That's Blue. That is my best friend. I know her. She could never lure people to their death, not on purpose. I need to talk to her, I need to know what she has to say. I need to hear her out.'

'I don't think you need to hear that thing out,' Rose snapped. Her fingers flicked towards him like she was flipping him off. The Ensigns around her nodded in agreement.

'It's not your friend anymore!' Zahara snapped. She was a survivor of more than one battle. He knew that she, more than the newbies, was angry at the carnage that the frenzy brought.

'This is ridiculous. We shouldn't be hearing them out; they're not even human! All they do is kill and cause pain. Look at us! Do you see the scars? Have you even seen your own face in the mirror? How long has it been in the frenzy; how many of your scars have been the fault of that thing that used to be your friend?' It was Myles' turn to condemn. Adam shivered at that one. Blue had been dead long before Adam. How long had she been in the frenzy? Had he been missing her? Was she the one that took his finger? That gave Curtis his face scar? Had she killed Anton? Natsume? Fabayo?

'I don't know what you're playing at, what fantasy you think you're in, but you've brought our enemies to our doorstep. We need to rally. We need to use this to our advantage and we need to kill them all,' Rose said. The other Ensigns nodded grimly. They turned away from Adam, beginning to plan out the attack.