Dog Fights

Chapter 29; Who I Am

I keep finding myself looking back on Ezra's profile shot. It's him, but not at the same time. Whoever they are, they have the same angry expression, the same wild black hair, and the same pale gray skin. They have the same muscles on their shoulders, and the same intimidating way of eye contact. But it's not Ezra. The one in the picture is too empty. Too dead. Too hopeless, and too okay with the position they're in.

I had managed to get off the anonymous network and be normal for a few hours, but I got bored. The web on the surface seems plastic- some artificial sugar coating smoothing over any rough edges. It's hard to search through knowing that the other side exists, almost digging guilt into my stomach just because I know there's bigger stuff going on somewhere else, and I'm choosing to ignore it.

So I pull it up again. I search through my bookmarks and find Ezra's name, filling in the letters and numbers into the search bar to draw up the same website I showed him forever ago. It had been the first time he recognized his own face in years.

The page burns my eyes in the darkness of my room as it displays on the wide screen, even the burnt out colors proving to be too difficult for my head to handle. Pain drills into the backs of my eyes, threatening a migraine if I don't shut off the screen.

But the page is different this time. Instead of a list of fighters and their stats, I see a black screen with a single play button in the center. There's only one line of white text on the entire page, no matter how much I click and scroll.

To: Leon

From: Ezra <3

My heart sinks. He hasn't been reported as spotted.

I don't want to click on it. Something selfish inside of me tells me not to, and that if I don't I won't have to deal with whatever hell the underground is trying to drag me into. But if Ezra were to get something this suspicious with my name on it, he'd see what was wrong. He'd do anything for me.

I click the button and lean back, hugging my knees.

The audio opens and fills the screen with a black bar, making my headache flare as it flashes with light and bouncing waves are exposed. It's quiet and static filled.

I sit up slightly, hesitating as a voice picks up from somewhere away from the mic. The sound of footsteps makes the lines bounce and jump higher the louder they get.

"It's good to see you took such good care of my pet here, Leon," a man says, hissing out my name in a way that flips my stomach over a thousand times. I feel like I should know who they are.

"Well, I guess since you found this message you know your boyfriend has been, absent, for a few days."

I freeze, hesitating as the sound of rattling chains makes the lights flicker on the screen; each line is a different color and shows a different pitch. The neon green one vibrates as someone groans under the confident voice of the older man.

I lean forward suddenly, placing a foot on the ground. I've heard that voice before.

"Oh good- you're up! Say hello!"

If my heart could stop beating, it would. For once, his voice is the last thing I want to hear. I don't want to believe it; it can't be real.

"What- What did you do to me?"

"Ezra," I whisper, unable to open my mouth any further.

His voice is rough and tired, like he had been silent for a few hours and hadn't cleared his throat yet. I can hear the confusion and sudden panic as the chains rattle and pull, rustling filling the speaker as he starts pulling and trying to break free.