Fever Dream Red

51

"You're alive." I smiled through the tears I had hardly noticed running down my cheeks.
"...Yeah!" Danny laughed heartily, overcome with joy at the sight of us.

"See? He's fine." Nick yelled at us from the top of the hallway.

He walked down, his arm in a sling.

"You lied to us." I yelled back at him, making sure he knew that he was not a good guy just because he didn't kill Danny.

Nick stopped and his eyes widened. He was caught in a lie and hopelesy thinking of an excuse. But what excuse is there for lying?

"It's for your own good." He muttered, his gaze clinging to the floor and its fluorescent mood.

Inez rolled her eyes.

"How." I asked without asking. My question was flat and I didn't expect a reply.

To my surprise, he did reply.

"He was a bad influence on you both." Nick replied with a sour tone on his tongue.
I scoffed. "That still didn't stop me going."
"I know that, Pheonix." Nick sneered as he walked towards me. He grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled me towards him. Even with the one hand he had he was still immensely powerful. It made me wonder how Skye had truly managed to beat him to the ground without him putting up protest.

We were centimeters apart and I could smell the odd emulsion of his expensive cologne with the dark stench of sweat. I also thought I could smell the spice of blood, but I could have been wrong.

"I'm not stupid. You know that, don't you? I'm a clever man who remembers. I think that's important, don't you? Really, being smart is just remembering. I remember everything, Pheonix. I'll remember this, and I'll remember your sister's gun, and I'll remember Skye's bat, too. I'm not an idiot, Pheonix. So don't treat me like one."

My cheeks flushed in embarrassment, though I wasn't really sure why. The adrenaline pulsed through my body as I reconsidered what had been said.

Nick thought all the power was for him to take. But was it?

People had taken hits at him, and people had managed to escape. They had even been an apparent murder.

How could he say he had control? How could he act like he ran the place anymore?

"Can I be let out now?" Danny asked with a painfully childish expression. He had stood and watched the events unfold with an alarming level of calmness and serenity.

Maybe he was just adjusting to the lights.

Nick stared at him for a moment and nodded, flashing a winning smile to Danny.

"Sure, kid."

Danny smiled properly and truly and the men relent and let the three of us meet.

The result is a group hug in which I am sandwiched in between a red lace bodice and a stinky stained tee. The stenched mixed much like Nick's, creating a tangy concoction which nearly made me sneeze.

I didn't feel intimidated by it. If anything, it felt comforting to me. I was back where I belonged, at long last.

We started walking back down the hallway, Danny infusing about getting something to eat since he was, quite literally, starving. I could have done with some food, too. I couldn't remember the last time I had eaten.

Nick called after us, and a slight shiver ran down my spine.

"Be careful. Don't do anything...rash." he said to us, focusing his glare at me whilst his mouth upturned to an evil smile.

We walked to the cafeteria in nearly hushed silence.

When we get there, we find the place mostly deserted.

Danny grabbed a burger and I happily returned to my beloved ceasar salad.

When we all sat down, Inez began filling Danny and me in on what had happened whilst we had been...away.

She told Danny how things had sort of blown up after he had gone. Inez misses out the bit about the note, and Danny hides his confusion well, but I was pretty sure I saw a hint of it somewhere in the curves of his face.

I had never told Inez of the note. I had never wanted her to worry or stop me from going.

Inez neatly finished with Aggie dying and me, Doug, Sunny, Skye and Alfie escaping.

Inez motioned for me to continue.

I told Danny how we had escaped to the city. I described with rigour how Skye had knocked Nick out, much to the delight of Inez. I then partly explained the house hopping, lthough I left out Alfie and Doug's PDA and me shooting a corpse.

I then explained the situation at the diner and Skye's foot. Danny's teeth nearly started grinding. He always hated Eli.

I then explained Doug and Alfie's decision to come back.

I then motioned for Inez to spill the guts on what had happened at The Base.

"It was kind of wild after you had left, Finny. Lily went absolutely ballistic. She accused everyone under the sun and then cried herself half to death. She was sick from grief. Poor Fae didn't know what to do with herself."

"Mimi and Eli tried setting up their own investigation, but they were pretty rubbish. Mimi told me it's harder in real life than it is in the movies."
"And...?"
"And what?"
"What did you do?"
"I bargained with Nick day and night to try to get him to spill where you two where. I thought he might have taken you both. At least I was right about one of you." Inez smiled coyly at Danny.
"Who killed her then?" Danny asked.
"Don't know. No one does." Inez shrugged.
"It was probably Nick or one of his men. He probably covered it up." I muttered.
"Why would he? He could easily use the murder as a threat against us. Proof he wasn't bluffing." Danny argued.

Just then a thought sprang into his head. You could see it's light in his face.

"What if it was one of your lot?"