TW ~ mentions of blood and injuries being inflicted ~ TW
George's POV
The walk back to the bunker was covered in a blanket of serene silence. Neither of us felt the need to say anything, we already knew how the other felt. Just the touch of our hands was enough. Within the bunker it was no different. It was okay for us not to talk, we felt comfortable with just the other's presence.
After a while just hanging around I decided to attend to Clay's mask with some white paint I found that was just begging me to use it. Clay is sitting opposite of me, watching me dab paint on the chipped edges to make it even, and trying to find a way to attach a string to it, so he can actually wear it again.
"Does any of The Hyenas know what you look like?" I ask him, concentrating on the mask in my hands. When I don't hear an answer I look up, and Clay's face is contorted into a frown, seemingly thinking of what to tell me.
"Some did, but.." he starts his sentence, pausing afterwards, ".. they're dead now." It seems to pain him to say it, but not in a grief kind of way. They were not his friends, I believe.
"What happened?"
"Remember why I wear that?" his glare is still focused on the mask as I handle it carefully.
"To protect your family?" I answer.
"I had to do some things, things I'm not particularly proud of, to survive, and if The Hyenas find out my true identity.."
".. they'll find your family too," I finish his sentence, and he nods at me. "What did you have to do?" Clay eyebrows nearly touch each other in his deep frown.
"I was out during a thunderstorm. I knew the risk, but I was out of food and couldn't afford to not eat, I needed to stay strong for any worst case scenarios," he starts telling me, "but it turned out this was a worst case scenario." He loses his posture while sitting on the floor, slumping his back, his face pensive. "A group of five Hyenas cornered me, and I had to defend myself." He bites his lip as the memory of that day seems to flow back to him. "Two of them ran away after I had killed the first, they were young still and not trained enough. The last two saw my face when they knocked my mask off. I killed them both. I took the lives of three people that day."
The bunker falls silent as I look at Clay's pained face. This is not a memory he likes to recall.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that," I say in a hushed tone, laying down the mask as I had attached the strings to it. Clay picks it up and studies it, flashing me a quick smile. His eyes aren't happy though.
"The two young ones told their, I guess superior, I'm not sure how the rankings work in the pack, but since then I'm on their 'most wanted' list," he continues. A worrying idea shoots through my mind.
"Do they know I'm with you?" I ask him hesitantly.
"That's what I'm afraid of," he says as he looks back up at me from the mask.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
The whistle of the kettle starts slowly filling the silence that's left after our conversation. Clay stands up to prepare us both a cup of tea, and I remain on the ground. Would there be any way for us not to be looked up? Can we erase ourselves from the database?
"How do they identify who's in the city?" I ask as Clay comes sitting across from me again.
"I'm guessing the scouts describe what they've seen to someone who can draw it out, maybe?" Clay answers as he holds his cup close to his chest, absorbing all its warmth.
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The Hyenas {Dreamnotfound AU}
قصص الهواةGeorge does the one thing he is not supposed to do: he crosses the Safe Border, knowing very well nobody has ever returned from leaving before. Did he have a choice though? No. It was the only way to find answers to his questions. He discovers a fri...
