The Tales of Flesh and Blood

What's One More Problem?

I supposed the last thing I should've done was to get in the same car as the man who was best buds to the guy holding a life-sentence of supposed slavery over my head, but, well, here I was. Staring out the same window where a bullet had flown past my eyes not too long ago. A part of me wanted to call Hadi, to let her know that I was alive. However, I wanted to see what the school would say, first, or if they would even call her. Miss Harbery said that the principal did not even know of what went down in the bathroom last Friday. If she tried putting in a word about me now, all I needed to do was to ask him to pull the cameras. Sure, I was a student - and not a very good one, at that. Eventually, though, the police would want evidence, and no matter how they try to explain it, there was no getting out of the fact that a couple of boys had followed me into said bathroom . . . and with the camera being right in the middle of the hall, whoever had recorded us would no doubt be caught on there, too.

Or so, that was what Frenice had explained. It was too much for my simple head, but anything to keep me out of the hands of the authorities was good enough for me.

Damn, imagine that. Getting drugged by the school's counselor and nurse. If only they hadn't mentioned giants. From the way Miss Harbery had said it, it sounded as if it was a play-on-words, as if she knew something I didn't and that made it all the better.

A soft groan parted from my lips as I turned to rest my face in my hands. My head was pounding worse than my shoulder. I could feel Frenice's curious gaze rest on me, though he opted not to say anything for a few moments longer. I wondered what he thought of me; I had slipped my hoodie on after he came to pick me up down the street from the school, and I refused to put the sling back on, but I hadn't bothered to try hiding my neck and my knuckles were swollen, bruised, and (courtesy of Nurse Donway's face) bleeding. The scabs on my left hand had broken under the pressure. It did not take a high school pep girl to point out that I looked like shit.

"Sleep is important," he said casually. "Vital for your health."

I laughed; a bleak, dead sound that was anything but humorous.

"Yes, well, it's hard to sleep when you suddenly have every damn influential figure shoving threats down your throat."

"You should have called me sooner. I could have helped."

I faced him, an eyebrow raised. I really couldn't help the heavy dose of sarcasm in my voice. I doubt anyone could, given the situation.

"Really? Because none of this shit started happening until after you showed up."

"Things are happening, that is true," he agreed. I stared at him for a bit, then sighed. I might as well ask him. If he was part of everything, then the least I could do for myself was try to get some answers. Figure out why everyone was suddenly interested in complicating my life with all this absurd talk about giants. I was still having a hard time figuring out what that meant; did they mean Port, and every other crime lord in all of Gallin? Locman? The wealthy residents living in the nice neighborhoods uptown?

"It makes no fucking sense," I spat, not really meaning to say so out loud. Oh well. At Frenice's bemused look, I continued. "If they wanted me that badly, they had opportunities to do it before. Assuming they're the same people that took my neighbor, they could have done it last night. They could have done it years ago! So why now? I haven't done anything to grab anyone's attention. I'll be eighteen in a few months, free of Locman's deal - is that what this is? The deal is about to be off, so you squeeze every last dollar from me before shutting me up completely?"

"Locman gains no pleasure from torture," Frenice said at least, this time keeping his eyes fixed firmly on the road. "He does what he needs to do. Nothing more."