The Children of Erebus

XXIV

So help me, I will kill you! 

I had thought as Darling came in, striding as if he had no care in the world. All I could think about then was choking him to death or stabbing him a couple of dozen times, until I was satisfied. Hawk was the first to recover as he tossed a knife at Darling. Darling simply snatched it from the air and tossed it back reflexively, frowning.

"What's all this fuss about? Were you leaving somewhere?" I could see Sunshine's look of disbelief from the corner of my eyes, as he stared Darling up and down as if he was some phantom ghost. Darling's frown deepened as he pierced his lips in indecision, finally, he shrugged us off and walked to the kitchen stuffing his face full of cookies. My vocals finally returned as I rushed after him pinning him to the wall as he chewed on.

"Where the hell were you?!" I screeched which caused all of the others to take a step back.

"I-I was aut de clubps wuithse gurlsse..." He tried to talk around the mouthful of cookies, but I couldn't understand him. I tightened my hold.

"Forget that! How did you get out?" He kept on chewing appearing genuinely confused, but it was Darling. Faking and lying; deceiving was his area of expertise. I adjusted my hold on him so that I had him pinned by the scruff of his neck. He choked and I loosened my hold on him. My fatal mistake, he twisted and escaped my choke-hold putting a good 10 feet distance between us. He frowned at me again.

"What is this all about?" I scoffed as I jumped him again, but he was able to backflip on one of the chairs and scramble away using the chair as both his sword and shield. I twisted and lunged at him again and this time he hid behind Raven and Grace. "Whatever it is, it wasn't me!" He cried in alarm. I tackled him to the ground as he squirmed trying to get me off him, but it was hopeless. "Please! Don't kill me! I'm too young, too beautiful and too smart to die!" He exclaimed.

"Where were you?!" I kicked him in the side, not enough to inflict any real damage, but enough to sting.

"Out." He stated, feigning innocence.

"Don't you dare get smartass with me!" I exclaimed. His brows furrowed together as he frowned.

"You want me dumb?"

"Darling!" I exclaimed. "Where were you?" I asked again.

"Out!" He cried and just before I kicked him anew Nighthawk lifted me and tossed me aside.

"So help me, Hawk, you do that one more time and it's your funeral!" I warned. Sunshine proceed towards me slowly.

"Calm down." He started slowly making sure to proceed with caution. I scoffed at him. "Everything is fine now. You can go back to playing VR until further problems arise. As for Darling, he can't be helped, I'll lecture him, but I doubt he'd listen. Stupid teenagers."

"You are one!" We all exclaimed. All except for Sunshine anyway.

"Nah, I skipped that stage. It was from a child straight to an adult." I scoffed at him. He rolled his eyes at me. "Now go back to your room and behave yourself. The gala is..."

"There you go again. Gala, gala, gala, gala." I ridiculed under my breath. "Even you?" I threw myself back on the chair.

"Look we're all going, if you come along that's great and if you don't..." He trailed off his voice held an alien tone to it. He wanted me to go. I bet if I didn't, he wouldn't either. In fact, none of them had been attending the gala for the past seven years in the row, even though they really wanted too. 

You can't fix a wound by pretending that it isn't there... Skrymer's words replay in my head like a lost tune. Stop wallowing in that damn hole of yours and get the hell out! 

I wanted to get out, I had decided. 

Learn to smile through your pain, brother.

"I'll go."

"W-what?" Sunshine stuttered. It was something I've never seen him do before. I echoed my own words slowly that time with more convection: determination, while he gawked at me, his turquoise eyes open wide.

"I'll go with you guys, I don't think you can stay out of trouble long enough for you to leave the door without one of you getting hurt." Silence stretched between us anew. It was deafening, not even a rustle of fabric was to be heard and I'd feared they had stopped breathing all together.

"You s-sure?" It was Skrymer that time, her face twisted in a bizarre expression, somewhere between a scowl and grimace. She inched closer to me and pressed her forehead against mine. I hissed in warning.

"Shut up." She hissed back, but she didn't mean it. It was as if the words were an automatic response she didn't have control over. "You don't have a fever." She muttered; there was no mistaking the look she wore then it was definitely a grimace, and I knew exactly why. "Ya feelin' alright, boyo?" I scoffed at her and pushed her, gently, away: my anger mounting.

"What? You think I can't do this?!" She took a step back. I pressed on, unable to believe just how lowly they think me. "You think I can't be myself anymore?! Well, guess what! We're competing in this year's games, kicking some major asses and then we're all attending the gala and we're all gonna have fun! Actual fun! Myself included!" They exchanged worried scowls. I didn't blame them for that reaction in the least, I was acting quite strange even by our standards. Still, I needed to prove to them that it's not because of that that I refuse to go to the gala or participate in the damned games. They must've known me better.

"We'll see." Skrymer sounded doubtful, which sparked a juvenile urge in me to stick out my tongue at her, but I refrained, though I had no idea how I'd done so.

"I guess we will, won't we?" I muttered under my breath, already regretting my choice, but refusing to back down. 

I am the predator; not the prey; not the pawn. And I don't back away from my word.