The Hunt

[31] Broken Introductions And Integrity

"Now that we're kinda getting along," Brandon said, gesturing to the three of us, "I think it's only right I explain." He exhaled, puffing out his cheeks.

I smiled at him as he pulled one of the chairs standing in front of his desk and aligned it with the other one opposite of it. He grabbed his office chair next and placed it in front of the other two by a good distance.

I didn't know what was about to come, but I definitely knew that I was as ready as I'll ever be.

"Okay, Flake, sit there." He pointed at his office chair. "While Amelia and I will sit here," he informed, falling back into one of the empty chairs ahead of me as I sat down, resting my elbows on both of my knees.

Amelia followed his actions and spoke first, noticing how nervous Brandon actually was. "It's hard to start-"

"Amy," I interrupted her, rolling my eyes; I always hated introductions. They make me uncomfortable and I just can't help but get more and more scared. Like, is it so bad that you have to explain yourself with an introduction?

"Okay okay." She raised her hands in surrender. "Brandon speak."

Brandon's eyes widened and he promptly turned in his chair to look at her.

I realized we weren't really going to get anywhere with their constant blame-game sort of thing so I started.

"Okay, I'll start," I said, grabbing both of their attention. "When we were fighting," I told Brandon, "before Hector walked in on us, you said it was his fault." He nodded so I continued, "what did you mean by that?"

"Felicity, the day we were told about those kids... uh..." He sighed, "Hector noticed your discomfort... and he didn't like it. I saw it. His face... literally... just contorted into one that reflected... Hate? Anger? I don't know," he struggled, shaking his head repeatedly.

"I wasn't completely with the idea either," Amelia spoke, "but... because I was standing next to Brandon that day... he... he quickly told me to act like I was fond of what Hector just told us."

Oookay... That's... puzzling.

"We were going to... fight back. Like, we thought about telling him we weren't in on whatever he was trying to do with those kids but... it wasn't going to end well. We just knew it," she said, frowning.

"So we had to act as if... we were with him. We had to convince him that we were by his side... entirely by his side." Brandon's eyes held mine, totally catching the questions that ran through them seeing how he kept on explaining.

"He came over to us the next day, asked if we saw how you reacted. We tried to shift the conversation into something else but he told us how uneasy he felt and how he thought you'd betray us at any moment."

"Don't get us wrong," Amelia chimed in, "Hector was skeptical of us in the very beginning and it took a lot of effort for us to convince him that we weren't revolted... but... you just didn't... fit," she whispered the last word, making my eyebrows draw together.

"What do you mean I didn't fit?" I asked, cringing at how horrible they're making him sound. If it's true__which isn't unlikely__then holy hell did that man hate me!

"You failed his trust," Brandon answered. "And he decided to send you to the arena so that when you get your memories back, you would turn against the eminents."

"Wait wait wait," I shook my head, "so you're telling me that it was all planned?"

"From scratch... the moment you protested."

"But... but... what about our argument? You were the one who injected me with Pantovax when I told you to send me to the arena too."

"It was all part of the plan," he replied, scowling.

"What plan?" I shouted. At this point, I was freaked out. I wasn't yelling at him... or at Amelia either. I was just expressing my confusion.

They're saying that all along, everything had been a part of a plan? A plan Hector put so he could affirm his suspicions? Or was it a plan he made to turn me against them? I don't understand!

"It consisted of us helping him," Amelia finally began to elaborate. "He wanted to see how far you could go in that arena before you realized your mistake."

"He told me to speak to you right after we got the tattoo-"

"Why after the tattoo?" I interrupted Brandon, perplexed at his very precise and odd timing

"That tattoo was embroidered to our skins for a reason, Felicity," he said. "We got ours as an indication of our participation while you got yours as a constant reminder of who you should truly be with." He paused for a while. "That's why he ordered me to do it right after... to see if you would change your mind or... or go."

"Both ways, he asked me to inject you with Pantovax. Why else would you think I had the syringe ready in my drawer? I'm not some kind of idiot to keep something like that in my office."

Amelia stood up. "If you decided to stay he would've sent you there anyway. But you went against us... well, him. Which made things easier for his magical plan." She rolled her eyes.

"I still don't get why you guys didn't tell me the second you noticed his expression..." I trailed off, glaring at the floor in bewilderment.

I could've acted like them. I could've at least tried to hide my revulsion if they had brought this situation to my attention.

"We thought about it," Brandon was quick to respond. "We wanted to tell you but when he let us in on his stupid plan, we decided it was best for us to stay out of it because..." His gaze fell to the ground, him fiddling with his fingers while Amelia glanced between the two of us.

"Excuse me? You didn't warn me because of what?" I leaned forward in my chair, ignoring the throbbing pain in my head.

"I took the time to think about it, Flake. It wasn't going to be an easy decision but... we ended up talking it out." He looked up at Amelia for help. Immediately, she was defending him.

"We were going to try and talk Hector out of it but he was determined... and we couldn't risk being sent there too-"

"Why? Because you were scared you'd die or what?" I mocked.

"No," she quickly objected. "Because then, our only chance of helping you would've been crushed... shattered into millions and millions of pieces."

"What do you mean?"

"We stayed here because here, gave us an opportunity to help you. It gave us an opportunity to save you and the eminents."

I was tired of all the messed up and confusing explanations. My headache started to grow on me, making me grimace as I urged them to finish so I could finally understand. So I could put the puzzle pieces back in place. So I could get my plan into action with them on my side.

"Our decision was a piece of cake," Brandon started, causing my mind to flood with relief, realizing that with one last minute, I'll fully comprehend. "We just had to pretend we were the villains while behind his back, we sent you Gizmo and Oryn... or so you called him."

The world seemed to stop the second the last word passed his lips. Everything around me turned into slow motion while my mind ever so lingeringly placed the story together.

My eyes widened in cognition, knowing damn well I held the now vivid mystery in between my grasp. And I'm never letting go.

A/N if you put it together then, congrats, you have my respect and if you didn't, then wait till next chapter ;)

Stay peaceful guys❤✌