Queen of the Underworld

14

I wasn't exactly in the talking mood, so I decided I would listen to whatever they had to talk about and then go back to mope in my room.

Lorenzo, Giovanni and Jason were talking about something, I could tell it was important because they had expressions of worry and frustration throughout their whole conversation. They were going through something on Jason's computer, it looked to be a footage of some sort because Jason kept pointing at the screen and then typing the keyboard, like he was rewinding.

At some point I tuned out of everything. Every word they spoke sounded distant, like an echo. I was just silently gazing at the scene unfolding in front of me. The three men were running around the room like maniacs, their mouths moving rapidly, but no words registered in my brain. Everyone was listening intently, nodding and having a look of disbelief plastered all over their features. My mind wandered to all sorts of things. I went back to when I met all of them, and how in such little time I have gotten so attached to all of them. I thought about my friends back at Bravestone, how I use to tell myself that we would grow old and be friends that stay in touch forever. We would be aunts and uncles to each others kids and tell them stories about our life. Funny how it all changed so quick. I was so ready to have that life, to be that person. Clearly, my plans had changed.

"I think she's in a coma or something. I mean her eyes are open but she's clearly not present." Mateo was waving his hand in front of my face, looking amused.

I blinked a few times before snapping out of it.

"What the fu—"

"Oh and she's here!" Gabriel exclaimed, cutting me off before I spoke any profanities.

I looked around, everyone was staring at me. They were clearly waiting for me so they could get started with some sort of announcement.

"So, like I was saying," Jason continued, "the Mussolini's have a possible alliance. It used to be just a suspicion, now I know its for real."

Lorenzo was furiously running his hands through his face. I looked around, they all looked like Jason just said the world was ending. I furrowed my eyebrows, not knowing what the big deal was.

"So what?" I blurted out.

I realized that was a big mistake once they all turned to look at me like I had shit on my face.

"So what? Are you serious?" Nicolas said in a tone that made me feel stupid.

I shrugged. I had no idea what I was missing.

"Mussolini formed an alliance with the RS, also known as the Rattle Snakes. They are not in any way more powerful than the Jaguars, but they still have their strengths. Together with Mussolini makes everything more dangerous."

I was still a little bit lost, I had to admit.

"I mean, if you're not fighting alone, what makes you think Mussolini would?"

They looked at me like they genuinely hadn't thought about it. I didn't feel like the dumbest person in the room for a moment there.

"Mussolini always works alone. The fact that he is using help makes him that much more dangerous. Which also means that he is planning something big, and we have to be ready. Which brings me to the topic of you."

Lorenzo looked straight at me, which made me feel uneasy.

"The RS are a well-known gang. They have a tendency to have their members start out at a young age. They are also high in numbers around this area, which means there are most likely some members in your school."

Now that made a lot of sense. I get what the big deal was, it was me. When will I ever stop being a burden?

"Do they happen to have snake tattoos on their forearms?"