.wonderful error.

Chapter 4

Grey propped himself up on his elbows and watched as Nero drifted out of the training hall. He wanted to talk to him about the mission, but figured Nero was doing something important if he walked away from Garnet. He wasn't feeling quite right and had trouble sleeping last night. Though not sure why, the last words Skye said to them stuck in his head and refused to leave him be.

"You just pushed the world one step closer to destruction".

That sentence kept repeating over and over in his brain. Why would she say that? Nothing made sense to him—Prometheus targeting one Esper, sending out a small army to take her. And for what? It didn't make sense, though nothing made much sense since Zero Day.

Grey could still remember with vivid detail everything that happened that day. The memories never really left. He dreamt about it often, waking up in cold sweats, screaming himself out of nightmares. He tried not to think about it.

Pushing off the floor, Grey dragged his feet over to where Garnet was sitting. She didn't make any sign that she noticed his presence. Typing furiously away at her computer, Grey almost felt bad for interrupting her deep focus. Almost.

"Garnet, can I ask you something?" Grey asked.

"What is it, Boo-Bear?" Garnet didn't look up.

"Have you ever second-guessed joining?"

Garnet finally stopped what she was doing and glanced up. Her bright green eyes looked inhuman against her dark skin. He knew it was a side effect of the Infection. Her, Nero, and more than three quarters of the Espers on base had experienced changes to their appearance—hair, eyes, skin, teeth, and more—but not him. Grey still had the same brown hair and eyes that he grew up with. The only thing that changed about him was the marks running along his right arm. Thinking about them, he moved to roll down his sleeves, remembering he wasn't wearing his hoodie. Fingers scratched at his forearm, suddenly painfully aware of how visible the tattoo was.

"Why? Are you?" Garnet actually set her laptop aside.

"I don't know," Grey admitted. "Maybe..."

"Boo-Bear, what happened?" Garnet asked.

Taking a deep breath, Grey sat down on the bleachers beside her and started on the story. He told her every detail of the mission he went on with Nero—from the large group of Prometheus members to what Skye had said. He left nothing out. Slumping back against the bleachers, he waited patiently for a response from Garnet.

"You think she's telling the truth?" she finally asked. "That the Golden Ring is doing some shady crap behind the scenes?"

"I don't know, that's what I'm trying to figure out," Grey sighed, rubbing his neck. "I mean... she knew my name... my real name. And why would we lock her in holding and keep that thing on her head? She said the Faction was going to use her to hurt people, why would she just say those things?"

Garnet fell silent. She stared off into the distance, her mouth moving rapidly as she muttered quietly to herself in Spanish. He could tell she was working through something in her mind. Nero always said that the two of them had that in common. Both Garnet and Grey often stared off in the distance when trying to figure things out.

"Garnet?" Grey finally said after a long while.

"Hmmm? What?" Garnet looked at him. "Oh, sorry. I'm not sure, Boo-Bear. Maybe she was only messing with your head. We don't know anything about her. She could be dangerous for all we know. Don't let it bother you too much."

"That doesn't explain how she knew my name."

"I don't know, hun."

Garnet picked her laptop back up and started typing away once more. Grey watched her for a moment and was positive she hadn't meant what she said, but he wasn't going to push her. Letting out an exasperated breath, Grey snatched his hoodie up from the bleachers and dragged himself out of the training hall. He realized he wasn't going to get help from anyone there—or at least, not anyone who worked there.