The Tales of Flesh and Blood

Stepping On Thin Lines

"What just happened?" I asked, unable to move.

Jaxon winced, scratching the back of his neck.

"Sorry, I forgot to tell you about him. He doesn't do well with getting startled."

"What happened to his face?"

Okay, that came out a little harsher than I intended.

"What do you think?" Jaxon replied flatly. I raised my hands to massage my temples, leaning over to take a seat. Seeing the boy did nothing to ease my stomach, but I couldn't force myself to move much more.

"He's one of the listed?"

"He was in their lair."

Their lair. The boy that had no eyes. The woman that was scared out of her mind as she was getting prepped to have the same thing happen to her. This new boy had been there?

"B-but, how did he escape?" I stuttered.

Jaxon shook his head.

"I found him lying in a cardboard box on the side of the street about two weeks back. He won't talk about what happened. The only thing I've managed to get out of him is that he's damned scared about losing his eyes."

We shared a knowing look, and he moved to take a seat next to me. I buried my face in my hands.

"This is all so fucking messed up," I groaned. "The gas-station robbery, the giants, Frenice, Landon, the counselor - and these children, what the hell is going on? What . . ." Oh, yeesh, here we go. My throat tightened, and I stopped to give myself ample time to breathe. "And what is even all this? What are you, some sort of spy-vigilante teenager?"

I looked up when Jaxon did not reply. He was scratching the back of his neck - again.

"Ah, I'll have to explain all of this," he gestured around himself, "later. Yoshe and Quil are not . . . ah, pleased that I've brought you here."

"Your friends."

"Mmhmm."

"Your father doesn't know about any of this, does he? You just told me and Hadi that little bit to get us to comply."

A faint smile curled at his lips.

"He would certainly shoot me himself if he found out, yes," he admitted. "He knows that people on Locman's list are being targeted, but . . . it's . . . a sensitive topic. This must be dealt with carefully."

I grunted.

"I'm sure that boy would agree right now."

"Tria, why do you think we're down here?"

Something in his voice made me meet his eyes. He was being serious, all jokes aside.

"Over the past couple of weeks, we've been trying to get potential targets and shelter them here before we can figure out how to get them out of town."

"We? Please tell me this is more than just you and your friends." Then, when he didn't reply, I leaned forward with my arms crossed over my chest. "You mean to tell me that a bunch of high school guys got the brilliant idea to take in refugees from a seriously deranged sadistic cult and scrounge up enough funds to send these kids out of town?"

He didn't even blink when he said simply,

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean to tell you."

Okay, so there's something more going on here, and I wasn't exactly thrilled at the idea of finding out. I mean, how do they even know what they're doing? Why would they put their necks out on the line like that without so much as seeking help from their fathers or the authorities? Hell, I would have rather gone to someone who was paid to do shit like that instead of taking it into my own hands. I was perfectly capable of defending myself, but once you brought in politics and other peoples' lives . . . Well, that was how people like me got killed.