The Fence

Chapter 74: A War Within a War

"So," Grey grunts, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen over us. "How do you know each other?"

I glance at Jeremy, whose blue eyes remain fixed on the leafy floor below us. From his face, my eyes dart to the gun sitting in his belt. "Um," I begin, trying to distract myself from the deadly machine. "He was my escort when I went to visit my father."

"Really? So he was the one to take care of Furisu for you?" Grey inquires.

"You've talked about me, I see," Jeremy chuckles nervously. I don't miss the blush that flushes to his cheeks.

"So, why are you out here, Jeremy?" Grey asks, pressing for more information. "I mean, shouldn't you be protecting the city?"

Jeremy's eyes widen. "You haven't heard, sir?"

Grey glances down to me. "Heard what?"

"Yukos have taken over Gambos, sir. We managed to get most of the citizens to underground bunkers, and they still don't know where those are located. However, many people did get killed. We tried our best, but we were ordered to stand down and to get the hell out of there."

"And you listened?" Grey exclaims, his eyes piercing into Jeremy.

"Sir," Jeremy replies, his face showing confusion. "Was I supposed to disobey my captain's orders?"

"You shouldn't have let people die!" Grey hollers, his face red. "I've seen so much death, and you just let them kill people right in front of you?"

"With all due respect, it wasn't my choice. If we had stayed out there, out asses would've been killed too. And don't you dare say that I haven't seen my fair share of death."

"The important thing is that you're alive, right Jeremy?"

"You should've ignored your captain's orders," Grey mutters, his eyes fixed on the scene in front of us. "You should've stayed out there and helped them."

Jeremy scoffs. "Because that's what you would've done? Would you have stayed out there when the girl you love could be in trouble? News flash, I wasn't trained how you were. I wasn't trained to be brave or to stay out there and help. I wasn't trained with a 'living' weapon that I could rely on. I was trained to be selfish, to choose my life over anyone else's, to run, and to use a gun. That's it. I'm not like you."

"Guys-" I try to intervene again.

"Are you kidding?" Grey growls. "You're telling me that the Guard tells their soldiers to run? Now, there's a real good joke."

"How can you stand there and tell me to save people? You just killed 20 yukos! If I hadn't been there, you'd be dead!"

"I did it to protect her!" he hollers, aggressively pointing back to me.

"No, you did it to die!" Jeremy argues. "And where would she be if you had? Your weapon's forcefield would have broken, and she'd die too."

"Wai-"

"How dare you?" Grey hisses, lunging towards Jeremy and wrapping his hands around his neck. Jeremy, in turn, does the same, and the two wrestle around for a bit.

"Hey!" I scream, forcing myself in between them. "Stop! Do both of you wanna die, because that's what is going to happen if you keep strangling each other!" I glare at Grey, shoving him back. "What's wrong with you?"

Grey brings his hands up to his face, massaging the skin. "I don't know," he murmurs. Glancing at Jeremy, he mouths, "I'm sorry."

With that, Grey begins to walk off, keeping his distance from both Jeremy and me. I stand on my toes, examining Jeremy's neck where Grey had grabbed him. Jeremy peers down at me, brushing himself off. "I'm fine," he sighs. "That was scary though."