The Emperor

02

My head is spinning.
Spinning.
Spinning.
Spinning.

My palms are sweating and my forearm is red from how bad I scratch it. I still haven't stopped. I keep scratching it through the black sleeves and I wouldn't be surprised if it starts to bleed again.

To say I'm nervous is an understatement. I'm more anxious than I have ever been, more than I was on Sundays before church. At least, there God would protect me. Here, I'm all alone facing the devil.

I follow Kaiser outside, the fresh air of Redbriar — the small city a couple of hours from Chicago we live in—brushes against my skin and another shiver jerks my spine upright.

He doesn't say anything. Doesn't utter a word. I'm not ever sure he breathes.

Is it all a part of his act? Is he doing it on purpose to bring me on edge?

I didn't miss Dawn's worried stare when I walked behind Kaiser, I gave her a tight smile and shrugged. I'm sure he's going to ask me about the tutoring issue so it's fine.

He wouldn't harm me in front of so many people. Which is why he's leading me behind the house near the woods where no one went.

Wait, what?

I analyze my surroundings, my heartbeats are unsteady and I'm shaking from ears to toes. A couple of naked trees stand tall and huge in the backyard but they still seem breakable next to Kaiser.

It's just he and I.

The music is so loud no one would hear me if I scream, no one would know if he does something to me. Crap.

I know better than to listen to rumors and the she-says he-says, but how can I ignore them when they revolve around the very same man I'm standing in front of?
Kaiser beats people up.
Kaiser kills people.
Kaiser is The Emperor.
Kaiser is violent.
Kaiser is bloodthirsty.
Kaiser is a psychopath.
Kaiser this.
Kaiser that.

He's a beast shaped like a ruler, he rules over the chaos he orchestrates.
And everyone is a pawn in his perfect chaos. Me included.
I don't think anyone has a word to say in this, most of us don't even know we're a part of his game until it's too late. Now, is the moment I understand.

Kaiser wears black pants and a black shirt, his leather jacket he seems to never take off is on his shoulders and follows his every move. He's the definition of intimidating.

Scaredy-cat. I'm a scaredy-cat. She would've mocked me for being so anxious about a man's presence, she would've told me that men are toys waiting to be played with and crushed in our bare hands, she would've said that as long as she's here nobody could hurt me. But she isn't here anymore.
I only have myself.
I only have myself to blame for that.

"Line! Watch!" Nobody calls me Line, only she does. She says it makes her believe our bond is special, like no one else's. And it is. We share a connection no one else has.

My head snaps to her, she's dangerously standing near the cliff and even if there's water in here the only time Mare and I were under water was when we were baptized.

We don't know how to swim.

If she falls, she'll hit her head against a rock or drown. She'll die either way.

My brows furrow as I take a careful step towards her.

"Get over here you'll hurt yourself!" I yell back to bring some sense into her. My best friend laughs and lifts a shoulder, her black hair flying around her face, her gaze immediately meets mine.