Rulekeeper (CPN)

45.

"What happened?"

My younger brother was less than
welcoming when I returned.

"Calm down, I'm sure
she can explain,"

my older brother was a little
less hostile about the situation.

"The fucking police
might show up! You're not
telling me to be calm!"

"They're not going to be here,
nothing happened and we all
know that! Have some faith!"

I jolted,
my brothers putting a rough hand
on my shoulders
as they eyed me
sternly.

One eyed me with desperation,
the other, disappointment.

I had nothing to respond with.

Only the tingling acid in my fingers
and the haunted look on Sandy's face
as I inevitably
ruined
her entire life.

I didn't do anything wrong.
She started it. 

But neither of us wanted to actually
ruin our real life situations.

Her face?

That's not any better than what
Dream-Eater is doing, isn't it?

Sandy can't
work anymore.

She's a model, after all.

This is legal enough to sue
if anyone even understood
that I had done it.

She's not wrong in what she did,
she gave me information, even.

Sandy wasn't wrong.

But I'm not at fault either,
I'm just protecting myself.

I didn't mean to press the button.
I didn't think that would happen.

But Sandy struck first.

But I made the worse impact.

Why did this have to happen?

Just because I pressed
a dumb button
and played
a dumb game?

This was
unreasonable.

Why did this have to happen?

"They're after our lives,"
Exterminator had said,
and I remembered.

"If you want this all to end
you have to be the last one standing."

Ah,

It made sense now.

There really is 

an order
to everything
in this world,

isn't there?