Red {Wolf Rebellion I}

Chapter 26~Crooked Smiles~

And with the black banners raised,
As the crooked smiles fade,
Former heroes who quit too late,
Who just wanna fill up the trophy case again.

-Fall Out Boy, "The Kids Aren't Alright"

Chapter 26~Crooked Smiles~

I woke up to Kat shaking me, "C'mon Ruby. Your team is starting to wake up."

I sat up as Kat drew back, momentarily disoriented. I glanced at the clock, my body begging me to lay back down and go back to unconsciousness. Five twenty-three a.m. If anything, those three hours of sleep had seemed to exhaust me even more. I could've swore my pillow was talking to me in that moment.

Kat's words were like a shot of caffeine straight to my bloodstream, and I threw the blankets off my body. Stifling a yawn, I started towards the door. "Let's go," I told Kat.

The closer we came to the war room, the more my heart rate increased. I could feel the heavy thud of my pulse in my throat.

"Have they said anything yet?" I glanced at Kat as we walked, distracting myself from the overwhelming urge to sprint down the hallway.

"Not yet. They weren't fully coherent," she answered. "The dark-haired one-Adam-was starting to come around when I left to get you. I'd been talking with Cas about some of the newer system codes that Claret put into effect. I'll be with him until you need us."

I nodded, only half listening. I was suddenly torn between wanting to see my team, and running back to my room. What were they going to think when they were finally conscious?

We reached the war room and I exhaled slowly. Time to get your team back. Bracing myself, I pushed open the door. My eyes immediately landed on one very pissed off Adam.

My feet were frozen to the ground as I watched him struggle with his bonds, cursing out Carmine as he did so. I noticed Ginger's fingers twitching as she came out of her sleep, and Phoenix was groaning as his eyes fluttered a few times.

Cas and Shani were nowhere to be seen, and I figured that that was probably best for now until we could explain everything. I made my way over to Adam, who was so caught up in his predicament, that he didn't notice me until I was nearly beside him. Seeing my best friend so confused and frustrated tore at me

"Adam," I dropped to my knees in front of him. "It's okay, I'll explain everyth-"

Adam's eyes jerked up to mine, scorching me with his anger. "How could you!? We trusted you, how could you side with them?" His eyes landed on Carmine as he struggled. *Whats wrong with your eyes?

"Adam! Everything Claret has told you has been a lie," I tried again as Carmine came up beside me.

Adam focused on him, wild fury in his eyes. "You-you did this to her! I'll kill you!"

I shoved Carmine back a step, giving him a look to stay away until I could calm him down. I turned back to Adam.

"They're going to kill you, Ruby, can't you see that?" his eyes softened as he pleaded uselessly with me. "And if they don't, Claret has almost every nonessential agent Hunting you. Why would you do this to yourself? To us?"

I leaned forward, putting a hand over his and he flinched away like I'd burned him. I yanked my hand back, deciding not to baby him like I'd intended. "Claret had my parents killed."

I stood up, backing away as I felt him watch me. "No, she didn't, wolves killed you parents. Claret found you."

I couldn't comprehend the steady flow of words coming from his mouth. I'd never told him anything about my past, as much as I regretted it. Even if part of it wasn't real, it had still been real to me.