V & V - Rageous Rageon Redemption.

No Trust

Rollie POV:

Rollie: "W... where's Orchid?"

Kid Ritz: "She's in the tunnel. She's with Dixie... and Johnny."

Fred tightens his grip on me, pulling me closer while angling his body in front of me.

Fred: "Why... why are you covered in blood, Ritz? What do you mean Orchid's in the tunnel with Dixie... and Johnny? Why would you leave them alone with him? What's going on?"

Kid Ritz says nothing for a minute, blinking like he's not fully here with us.

Kid Ritz: "I left Orchid to hide under the desk in the office, and I ran down the tunnel and found a locker room. I hid inside, and Johnny hunted me. Orchid must have found Dixie in the hallway because she had called my name. Johnny left the locker room, I followed him into the hallway... where I found Dixie and Orchid frozen. I heard Johnny coming back, so I hid back in the locker room with Jewels."

He hesitates, his eyes meeting mine, then Fred's. They're wide, and look panicked from the glow of the monitors behind him.

Kid Ritz: "Johnny had ripped the door off of a locker trying to find me, and I initially tripped and hurt myself really bad with it. Then... Johnny tripped. While he was down... I grabbed the door... and."

He stops, his eyes glazing over, like he's reliving the moment.

Fred: "What Kid Ritz. And. What."

Kid Ritz: "And... I bashed his head in. I hit him, and hit him, and hit him... I did it over and over until he stopped making noise. Then... I hit him more. He called me a coward, that I wouldn't do it to him. He said because I was a coward... is why my dad left. That was his mistake... calling me a coward. I'm not a coward."

Kid Ritz's voice comes out cold as he licks his lips slightly, his eyes flicking from mine to Fred's. I'm stunned, completely unable to say anything. Looking past his shoulder to Jewels sitting on the chair, I can see her fur is matted with glittery blood.

Fred pushes me completely behind him, holding me with one arm behind his back.

Kid Ritz: "Why are you hiding him?"

Fred shakes his head, walking us back until I'm pressed up against the door.

Fred: "You need to show me where Orchid, Dixie, and Johnny are."

Kid Ritz: "Why?"

Fred: "So I know you're telling the truth."

Kid Ritz: "You don't believe me?"

Fred's hand shakes against me, so I grab it, holding him tight. Kid Ritz's eyes flick to our hands, then back to Fred's gaze.

Kid Ritz: "What's that? You two got something going on? What do you think I'm going to do? Hurt you guys? I did what I needed to do to survive."

Fred: "We don't have anything 'going on.' I just need to make sure he's safe."

Kid Ritz: "Safe? Safe from who? Me? I killed Johnny, the monster. You should be thanking me."

Fred: "Do you hear yourself? You killed someone! That was not a choice you should have made for someone! You ended their life!"

Kid Ritz's face flashes hurt, then anger. Brushing his hair out his face, he pushes his beanie down on his head.

Kid Ritz: "You know what, fuck you! I did what I had to do, and if you can't see that, I'm sorry. I'm not going to let that guy call me a coward and win over me like my dad. No one can do that to me, not anymore."