REBEL CLOTHES ✓

HEAVY, DIRTY

It started off as just another training session.

Usually, Tyler and Josh would make out, fight, make out some more, and then fight again to finish the session. Afterwards, when they were done, they'd head to the rest of the Banditos and pack their things, then move east.

The first thing Tyler noticed was how wary everyone was of him. What started as something normal- Tyler was the first rescue they'd had in while- revolved into an unspoken, heavy discomfort hanging over the camp.

It wasn't just strangers, but the friends he'd made as well. Debby would send him off, sideways glances as she dressed his wounds. Jenna, who Tyler was most fond of, didn't look him in the eyes anymore. Jason stopped teasing him, and Rose didn't call for him at all that day.

But it was Josh that hurt the most. He didn't linger on Tyler's lips as long, his wandering hands leaving Tyler's body quicker than either of them would've liked. It made his heart ache, like a string was being frayed between them. Tyler couldn't put his finger on as to why.

That is, until he looked at his reflection.

Debby had been put on the task to collect clean water from the stream, so they carried carts of bottles to fill. Neither of them say a word the whole time, which in and of itself was awkward enough. Then, Tyler decided to speak.

"So, uh, what's going on?" He asked. "Why is everyone acting scared of me?"

She looked up, her lips parted in surprise. "You really don't know?"

Tyler shook his head, dunking one of the plastic containers beneath the surface of the icy water. "If I did, would I be asking you?"

It was another excruciating minute before she spoke again. "Spooks has been having visions of an attack on the camp. There's smoke and fire and so much blood. We're in the promised land, and the Bishops are killing us all. Clancy's dead, Rose is dying, Jason is nowhere to be found, and Josh is fighting you. It's not really you, but it looks like you, and Josh can't kill you, so you kill him. The Bishops win. We all die."

"You think..." A lump formed in Tyler's throat. "Do you think this is going to happen?"

Debby stared at the bottle in her hand. "I don't know. Spooks' visions are future paths, not all of them happen the way he sees them. All he can see is what can happen, not what will."

"So, that's why everyone is avoiding me. They think I'm their downfall."

"Yes. But I think the opposite." She flashed him a toothy grin. "I think you're what's going to save us."

Tyler looked down in the water, feeling better, but then startled at his reflection. A man's face stared back, much older and blurry than his own. Blood red eyes replaced his, blackened teeth shown through thin, ghost white lips. His skin was almost translucent, except for his neck, which was stained with soot. Tyler's brown hair was now white and only a crown, the top of his head bald.

The man's lips moved in silent words, but Tyler somehow understood what he was saying.

Kill them. All of them. Lead us.

He screamed and jerked back, knocking over one of their pitchers. Debby grabbed him, trying to steady him, but then let go, also screaming.

"Oh my god, what was that?" She yelped, shaking her hands as if trying to get rid of dirt.

"You saw it too?" Tyler asked, his whole body shaking.

"When I touched you. I saw- I saw your memories. What did you do?"

They sat there, staring at each other in horror. Tyler was still shaking, his vision fading in and out. He blinked, and he was no longer at the river with Debby, but in a meadow with Josh lying on top of him, talking without Tyler hearing.

"-and then when Jason showed up again, Spooks nearly killed him," Josh wheezed, laughing so hard he almost fell off of Tyler. "He was pulling flower petals out of everywhere for months."

"Josh?"

Josh hummed, craning his head to look at Tyler's face. "What's wrong, love? Are you okay?"

"How did we get here?" He asked, standing up. Josh followed him, not letting go of his hand.

"What do you mean? We walked."

"No, I mean-" Tyler looked around, confusion melting into panic. "I was talking with Debby at the river, and now I'm here. What happened in between then and now?"

Concern crossed Josh's face, and he put the back of his hand on Tyler's forehead. "Tyler... that happened days ago. Are you feeling alright?"

"What's today?" Tyler asked.

"Sunday. Remember? It's our training session. Do you really not remember anything?"

He shook his head, about to ask what he'd done over the course of the last couple days, but then Josh took a step back, a flash of fear in his eyes.

"Fourteen," he whispered. "Fourteen times since you got back that your eyes have turned red."

Tyler opened his mouth, closed it, then looked down at his mud caked feet. "I don't think I'm in control of myself anymore. I think the Bishops did something to me when I was missing."

"Okay." Josh brushed a tear from Tyler's cheek. He was unaware that he was crying. "Okay. We'll figure something out. I'm not losing you again."