Genesis

Justice

     He's dead.

     That single moment of conscious realization had trapped me in an infinite loop of thought.

     He's dead.

     That there would never again be a moment in my life where I couldn't say that fact.

     He's dead.

     And there would never again be a moment in my life where I could see him again.

     He's dead.

     Or reach out and touch his face.

     He's dead.

     Or taste his dark chocolate hair with my fingertips.

     He's dead. He's really, actually, dead.

     For a moment, I thought I heard Lucius speaking.

     "Colt Levins," he began, "I'm placing you under arrest for the murder of Dorian Franklin."

     The murder of Dorian Franklin. The murder of Dorian Reed. Lucius placing Colt Levins under arrest for the murder of Dorian Franklin-Reed.

     "Lucius! This is bullshit!" I thought I heard Colt shout, "You know I didn't do this!

     In the back of my mind, there was the image of Colt being dragged away, one arm hoisted by Blaine, the other by Emerson. And there was Colt, struggling against their grasp.

     "Take him to the tree!" Lucius' bark echoed inside my skull, as I somehow registered the fact that he began following the boys, not far behind.

     And then there was me, standing in the middle of the crowd without so much as a sound, trying to remember how it felt to see him, to touch his skin and his hair.

     I was shocked back to life when I felt a zap on my skin, turning to see that Xander had tapped my shoulder in the hopes of breaking my trance.

     "Quinn," he said my name, an expression of sorrow inescapably entering my gaze. I looked around myself, realizing that half of the crowd had already dissipated and that I could no longer see the boys entering the forest.

     Before I knew what I was doing, I found myself storming to the treeline, hurtling myself towards the sound of shouting deeper into the tall, dark pines. It wasn't long before I spotted Colt, his arms tied up on a tree's strong branches, Lucius' fist landing onto his ribcage 

     "STOP!" I shouted, running up to Lucius and grabbing his arm, pulling him towards me.

     "You can't just do this!" I exclaimed in panic.

     "AND WHY THE HELL CAN'T I?! He killed Dorian!" he yelled, pulling my arm towards him in anger.

     I pushed him away, "Did you see him do it?!"

     "Well, no, but--."

     "Then release him!" I shouted, pointing at the guy with the jet-black hair and the bloodied up face as Lucius seized my arm once more, pushing me against a different tree as he drew his face closer to mine.

     "He killed Dorian," he stated again in calmer anger, "I found his knife in Dorian's chest."

     For a few moments, I was knocked right back into irreality again. I wasn't sure whose eyes were staring into mine or whose heavy breaths I could hear. I was snapped back to the present when Lucius drew away from me, after what seemed like an eternity, and approached Colt with a stride of blazing fury, pulling his white and black blade from his pocket and holding it dangerously close to Colt's throat.