RainCaster (edited)

Blood-Thirsty

I open my eyes to the smell of stale laundry.

It's the gag over my mouth, I'm guessing someone's white shirt. I look around.

Still in the basement. Still in the Hideout. How long has it been? I'm sitting in a chair with my hands tied behind the headrest and ankles bound to the wooden legs. There's a faint throbbing in the back of my head. I pull at the ropes but they're strapped tight. My thoughts immediately point to one culprit.

Raincaster is already here. That explains why I didn't find Nero.

My Captain can't be dead. He's too seasoned to die. But he's also retired. Even then, I should be the one to kill him.

I linger on that thought, then shake myself to snap me back to another concern.

Hailey....

There's no point in keeping her alive. What use for her does Raincaster have?

I hear footsteps.

I hear them coming down the stairs. Clicking against the stone. I turn my head to face the doorway. There's two of them, one set of footsteps softer than the other. Raincaster and the Amber Man, I'm guessing.

The figures appear at the doorway.

"Grey!" Hailey gasps and rushes forward, yanking the gag off.

I cough in surprise. "Captain!" She's alive, she's alive.

"What happened to you?" She stares at the ropes around my wrists and ankles. "Why are you like this?"

"I was ambushed," I say, suddenly alert. "They knocked me out cold. Hailey, it's not safe, they might still be here—"

"Knocked you out cold?" Hailey spins around to look at the second figure standing by the doorway. "Nero, could you please explain this?"

Nero?

I peek over Hailey's shoulder. There he is. Rounder than before but still the big, strong Captain of Squad 906.

The big, strong Captain who demoted me. And apparently knocked me out too.

We lock eyes with each other and, if this were a cartoon, anyone could see the lightning sparks clashing in the middle. My fingers twitch involuntarily, and one of the sofas in the room slides a good six feet in Nero's direction. Nero lifts his hand in alarm to counteract it, but I didn't plan on hitting him anyway. Merely a scare.

"Is this how you greet all your visitors?" I say, breaking the charged silence.

"Only the blood-thirsty ones." His voice is the same as I remember it.

Hailey unties the bindings and I stand, rubbing my red wrists. Nero and I never break eye contact as I take a step closer.

"I could beat your ass right now," I say. "You're in terrible shape. I could throttle you here and let Raincaster have what's left." I add, through gritted teeth, "It would finish the job."

Nero's eyes light up in fury and I feel a twinge of guilty satisfaction inside.

"But I won't." I raise my chin. "Because I'm not a sick, blood-thirsty Royal anymore." Although I'm having second thoughts.

The two of us glare at each other for one full minute. Hailey stands off to the side, looking back and forth, shuffling her feet uncomfortably. She probably already told Nero why we're here. That's okay. I can't imagine myself saving this man's tailbone anyhow.

"Hailey," says Nero, his eyes flickering just slightly to address her. "Could you give us some time alone please? The ground and second floors are open for you to explore. I believe Grey and I have some...catching up to do."

Hailey glances uncertainly between us. My eyes are fixed squarely on Nero but I give her an OK sign.

"Alright," she sighs. "But no fighting. If I even hear a single sound of something breaking and come back to find this place in savage civilization ruins, I will throttle both of you in your already-wasted-and-bruised states."

With no mercy either. The corners of my lips twitch.

Hailey trudges out of the room and neither of us move until we hear her footsteps fade up the stairs.

It's just you and me now, Nero.

Can't wait to face Hailey's beating.