In Case of Rejection

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Matthew was still thinking about it all while he was getting dressed. He stood in the back storage closet, a space that was so tiny that he couldn't help knocking his elbows and knees against the walls while he did so. He was careful not to catch his clothes on the back of his neck.

He knew how conspicuous this outfit would make him, but he figured, he wasn't the one who was looking to be stealthy. Not in the end, anyway. He was trying to rationalize it all out in his head. They would need a way to get Brick and Matthew alone, so that he could talk to him, try to convince him. He had to listen. He liked Matthew, he said so himself. He remembered the fear in Brick's eyes when the Blue started to turn back at Nerve Center... He had to listen. Matthew had the feeling that he would.

He thought of his mother again. He couldn't stop thinking about her. About how she must've been feeling -- scared, lonely, sad. That made him want to hurt Brick; hurt him for hurting everyone else in his family.

Matthew decided that if he wouldn't talk, he would make him.

But how?

Matthew ducked to fix the leg of his pants, and he hit his head against a shelf. Momentary pain.

His father was now officially missing. Half-dead, full killing machine. It was appalling.

Then Luke, who Matthew knew was gone forever. The boy he never got to watch grow up, pulled out of his life one day.

He tugged the Arcade uniform over his head, his neck seizing for a few seconds -- the vertically-striped red and yellow polo. So awful that it made Matthew giggle there in the dark.

He thought about the stakes involved. They could be killed or taken themselves, or imprisoned for life. But if they succeeded...

Matthew emerged from the closet with a new sense of self, fueled by this novel purpose to his life. He was doing what his father would've done. He was doing the right thing. Amongst all of this chaos, Matthew wanted to be able to reason with him, for his people.

His mind was already working around the edges of a plan. Rough, but coming into shape in his mind. Brick would be talking at the auditorium, where all presentations were held. And now that he knew the way into the wings...

Matthew stepped out onto the main floor of the Arcade, unused to the atmosphere. The place was alight orange from the outside, but the world inside was full of shadows and silhouettes. It made Matthew nervous, like he was stuck inside a horror movie. Olive looked up at him and immediately grinned at his arrival. Her cheeks blew up with a stifled laugh.

"Nice threads!" She laughed, and Dusty sputtered at her side at the sight of him, bringing a clenched fist up to his mouth. Matthew didn't know how ridiculous he looked, but he wasn't ready to talk about it.

"Yeah, yeah, go on and laugh," he groaned, stepping out towards his friends reluctantly. He stepped past Jason and Meng, seated at a booth of their own, and he pulled his collar up around his neck hurriedly, in an attempt at hiding. It wasn't soon enough for Jason, all the same.

"Woah, woah, what the hell is that?" Jason asked, Matthew could hear his hurried footsteps as he jumped out onto the main floor. His breathing hastened, and Matthew turned quickly to face him, readily steadying himself for confrontation.

Jason was pointing directly at him, face stricken with fear.

"What's what?" Matthew asked. Jason pointed, his long, white arm extending towards Matthew in an accusatory way.

"On your neck! He's one of them!" Jason shouted, taking a long step back and slipping off the step. Matthew stayed in his place, raising each of his hands in submission.

"Calm down, Jason. I'm not one of them," Matthew said, emphasizing the last words with a calculated amount of snark.

"Jason, relax," Meng said, reaching out to her boyfriend with her small hands. Jason kept backing up, so much so that he almost ran into the two quiet boys, still standing and staring at the other side of the room. They moved out of his way, and he continually retreated. Matthew's mind was drawing a blank, but he had a feeling something bad was going to happen. The muscles in his stomach tightened, and he felt his hands twitch, like they wanted to turn into fists.

Jason backed into the front counter with a thud, both hands falling behind it in an attempt at catching himself. Then the sound of clashing, things hitting each other as he moved his hands out of Matthew's view. He was digging around for something behind he could use, and Matthew's pulse quickened. Jason's hand shot up quickly, and something small and sharp glinted in his left hand. A small, pointed knife colored red by the air outside.

"Jason!" Meng shouted, taking a step back herself as Jason took his turn to step forward. He faced Matthew, eyes deadset on the boy. Jason's pale face flushed bright red and he took another long step forward.

"Jason, I can explain everything, if you just put down the knife," Matthew said, reaching out to Jason with open hands, an invitation for Jason to hand it over.

But Jason's grip only tightened, and he bared his teeth, blue eyes wide with disgust.

"I've never trusted you, Matthew," Jason started, and Matthew held his breath. He had the strangest feeling that Jason was going to expose him for something, but he didn't have the faintest idea what.

"I've always known you were just like them. What with your Dad working up there. We all know you get letters from him, Olive told us," Jason said. Matthew closed his eyes, and Olive's voice came through.

"I didn't. Jason, put it down," she said, all at once. Matthew opened his eyes again, and Jason was a beat closer.

Matthew held his ground all the same, knowing he could take Jason if he wanted to. He was an inch shorter, but stronger. Faster. More experienced. Jason was all bark and no bite. Though Matthew knew better than to think that when Jason had a knife.

"You're just like him now, working for the enemy," Jason spat, looking Matthew up and down with spite in his eyes. He grimaced, taking a sharp step forward that made Matthew and Dusty stumble back in unison.

"Not so strong now, is he Meng?" Jason asked, but Meng just stamped her foot into the ground. She grunted through her teeth.

"Jason, you're being so stupid!" She yelled, tears breaking through her voice. Jason looked back suddenly to face her, turning sharply to the right.

Dusty stepped forward from Matthew's right in his defense, coming forward in a rush of movement. Matthew's heart flushed with pride again, mixed with fear for Dusty's well-being. Still, Dusty was tall and strong. He imagined that Jason was powerless against him. His mind started to relax, and he felt suddenly guilty for the plan he was making up in his mind. Throwing his friends into the line of fire like that. He decided he would think of a way to keep them out of it.

His mind flitted back to the situation unraveling before him with the sound of Dusty's voice.

"Think for a minute, Jason," Dusty said, his voice the lowest and most menacing out of all of them. His muscles tensed as clenched his fists, and Matthew felt the back of his neck singe with the stress.

Matthew looked up just in time. He watched in horror as Jason drew his arm back suddenly. Matthew yelled, something unintelligible, as he ran for Dusty's back... But Jason had already lunged, slashing Dusty with his knife.