Three Degrees Of Danger (2019)

|| TWELVE ||

"How did you find me?" Lex glowers with anger. The harsh lights by the ceiling give his face a fierce look as he draws away from me. I glance away, trying to hide the flash of hurt that I'm certain is splayed along my face.

"I hacked Klara." I mutter quietly.

"Hacking your own AI?" Despite his previous note of annoyance, Lex sounds slightly amused.

"Don't sound so impressed. I needed to talk to you." I find myself looking up at Lex even as shame creeps through my veins.

He's watching me, his face blank of emotion but thick with a careful, thoughtful look.

"You shouldn't be here," Lex says finally.

A ball of regret is lodged in my throat as I summon the courage to say the words building up inside my chest.

"I know you said to cut off all ties and that I shouldn't come looking for you, but I jsut couldn't stop myself. I couldn't stop thinking about you and all that you said. It was going to drive me insane if I didn't do anything." The words rush out in a frenzy of panic and I look to where my fists tremble furiously by my sides.

"I went to my void and I figured out the hypothesis your team came up with. I started thinking about why you suddenly wanted me out of your plan and it hit me that I can't be what you want. But I also realised that I am what you need." I'm leaning so close, I can see the flecks of grey in Lex's dark eyes.

"You didn't want someone corrupted with the idea of death and murder to be part of what could stop the very same concept, did you? It was like what we discussed earlier about you excercising the Greater Good theory. People have to die for people to be saved?" Lex seems to be swaying on the spot but I dismiss it, thinking that the lughts must be malfunctioning, creating a flickering slide show to trick me eyes.

Lex doesn't say anything so I keep talking. I keep finding words to make up for the silence, to compensate for the frail blinking lights.

"Use me, Lex. Take what you need to destroy this tradition, this acceptance of a concept that murder is the norm." I'm begging him now. I'm choking back angry sobs because I don't understand why I'm doing this, but I'm doing it anyway.

Why isn't he saying anything?

I swipe at my teary eyes and blink up at Lex and he seems stunned into silence.

"Say something," I plead shakily.

Lex shakes his head at me, the motion slow and forced. "I'm sorry, Vic."

What?

The word bubbles up my throat, tasting bitter in my mouth.

"What are you sorry for?" I manage weakly.

Lex hides his face in the shadows for a fraction of a second before turning his gaze back to me. When I see his eyes, I'm repelled by the sorrow that burns in them, bonfires blazing in the dark.

"I'm sorry for everything I did, and for everything I'm about to do." Without further explanation, Lex raises his fist- which I now realise has a wrench clenched in it-  over my head and drives it downwards.

Everything turns black.

<>

"Why?"

I don't wait to croak the words. Lex's face is a blurred petal, but I don't bother letting it focus before the word leaves my mouth.

My hands are behind my back, restrained with thick, scratchy ropes. My legs are tied and pinned to the legs of the chair I'm bound to. The material bites against my flesh and I wince, hissing at the pain that flares across my arms.

The only light comes from a candle that Lex guides gracefully. Under the fire's light, his face is a wicked shadow, twisted with spite.

The words roll off his tongue like a beautiful symphony and despite the hatred that tunnels through my veins, I find myself finding his voice strangely calming.

"I gave you a chance, Vic." His tone is playful but his eyes burn with a displeasure that taints the childlike wonder that dyes his words.

"What do you mean?" My voice is hoarse and my lips are parched. I eye the fire, attempting to stare down the blue-hued flame.

"You should have just seized the opportunity I dropped in your lap, you know?"

I stare at Lex blankly.

He sighs and gently settles the candle on the floor, swiping his hands on his jeans. "Do you know why I told you that we would be done?"

He doesn't wait for my reply to continue,"It was when you killed Cooper, I found out that you were right. There was something strangely beautiful about you killing him. The killing, specifically. I was so charmed by that moment, I wanted to let you go. I wanted to watch you as you rose to the top, as you murdered more people."

"B-but you hate Danger. You against everything it stands for." My voice is a shaky whimper.

"I hated it, past tense."

"So... everything else that you told me was a lie? About working for a team that was trying to reverse the effects of Danger? About the others?"

In the darkness, I can't see the emotions playing out on Lex's face but the shifting of his feet indicates an uneasiness that spreads across. "I didn't lie, all I did was tell you facts of the past. You should know how I work by now."

I don't say a word.

"Don't you think it's fascinating that one can change the way he views the world in just a moment? Something as insignificant as the way blood is splattered across a body, as intriguing as how vines resemble a rope, which can in turn form a noose, begs for one to question everything." Lex's words are slow, almost rehearsed.

"You are insane. Let me go."

"I'm insane? What about you? You're the one who showed me how beautiful murder can be, how poetic a killing spree is."

I begin to tremble.

"Why am I here?" I beg, trying to blink back frantic tears even though I know Lex can't see me.

"Good question, Vic. Now that reversing Danger is no longer something I aim to achieve, I have other plans that involve you."

"What does that include?" I can barely hear my voice, even through the silence of the room.

"Well, we're about to find out together." I let the tears leave as Lex plucks the candle from the ground, and with a joyous laugh, blows a kiss to to flame.

The lights go out. 

Word Count: 1116

THE END