Mafia Mystery

Dancer (Chapter 8)

~Aaei~

The sun rose the next day, just like it always had.  I supposed that it was nice to see, considering the events as of late- each sunrise could be the last one I saw.  However, I was still exhausted; I had stayed up dancing for much longer than I had intended.  I thought it had been the key to my role, the talent that would unlock it, and I still held fast to that belief.  Sighing, I dragged myself out of bed and headed outside.  Most of the town was there already, which brightened me up a little; my brother, Mekhi, and my girlfriend, Shayton, were both already outside, which meant that they were still alive.

"Morning, Mekhi.  Morning, Shayton."  I greeted them, walking over to stand with them and Cerin before the town meeting began.  "Morning, Cerin."

"Morning."  The three of them greeted me in response.

"So, you guys got your roles yet?"  Cerin asked.  The other two shook their heads, as did I.  "That sucks.  But hey, we'll get there eventually."

"Yeah."  I agreed.  "I could've sworn I was close last night... Shayton, do you wanna work on a routine with me tonight?"

"A routine."  Cerin winked, earning him a slap from Shayton.  He only laughed at her reaction.  Shayton was fiery, to say the least, but I liked that about her.

"Alright, people!"  Mekhi called out suddenly.  I glanced around- I hadn't even realized that everyone was outside now.  Then again, that was what Mekhi was for.  "Does anyone have anything?"  There was silence for a moment.

"Well, whoever Grace guarded, they lived."  Amari replied.  "Nobody's dead.  We can't gather much from today."

"I actually used my bulletproof vest on myself."  Grace replied.  "I was just resurrected.  I figured I would be a target, and I was right.  I got attacked.  It'd be nice if we had a Lookout right about now to tell us who visited me."  There was no response.  "Or not.  Okay."  There was more silence.  The town members glanced at each other, nobody quite knowing anything other than speculation and guesswork, if even.  Eventually, we all retired to our homes.

I visited Shayton that night to work on a routine.  I was good at making things up on the fly, so I ended up leading, for the most part.  After we were finished, an odd feeling overcame me.  I reached into my pocket, pulling out a card.  Written on it was the word Escort.

"Escort?"  Shayton grinned at me.  "Maybe you'd like to be my escort, then?"

"I suppose I can afford it, for now."  I replied.  "I don't have anybody else to dance for."