Elysium's Love Triangle (14 page)

We begin walking to the meeting.  S
he asks me if Greg was the one who brought me to Rejon.

I admit to her that he was.  There is no use in denying the truth after all.

You can see the devastation on her face.  She has been utterly betrayed, just as much as I have.

She tells me that she’s fine.   

I know
that
she isn’t, despite the smile she fakes now.

She has lost another person she loves to this evil creep.  Another person she trusted has just completely let her down.

I promise myself that I won’t ever become one of those people.

Rejon shall never have my allegiance.

Nate convenes the meeting once we are
all
inside.

He tells us all that he has some
‘
bad news
’
and some ‘even worse than bad’ news.

The bad news is that we still have no idea who Rejon is.

The
‘
even worse
than bad
news
’ is that we have no idea how to kill him.  Today Nate was
talking to people ‘who are in the cr
eature hunting business’.  They all told him that Rejon is un
killable.  T
hey have used every conceivable weapon against him, including all types of guns, swords and knives.

Rejon
has always walked away without a scratch.

Word on the street is that ‘D
eath himself’ is afraid of Rejon
.

I sigh. 

Some good news would be nice.

Nate looks at us cautiously before carrying on, “Due to the dire situation we have found ourselves in I have brought in
some
help.  Now, I’m not sure about the credentials of these guys but I’ve heard . . . well. . . just see for yourself.  Andrew, Wendy, get in here.”

Two teenagers walk into the room, they both look just a tiny bit nervous.

The one named ‘Andrew’ has white hair.  He also has piercings on his lips
and ears
.  I r
ecognise him from school.   His appearance is rather distinctive.

Wendy is skinny, with auburn hair and pale skin.

They don’t have our eyes.  They are mimickers.

Nate introduces them further, “These two are kind of experts in the field of ‘bad-guys-in-general’.  They’ve worked miracles before.  I think we need one now.”

Th
e two look at each other and smile
.

Andrew speaks first, “Okay so, you guys, you are under attack.  The bad guy in question is no easy customer.  So we’ll start with the basics, things everyone knows.  Step One, to catching any villain, is to attain knowledge.”

Wendy interrupts, “We don’t have a lot of this on Rejon.  He is good at keeping his secrets from his enemies, right down to his identity.  This means, obviously, that we look for little clues in his behaviour
,
and
in the
specifics of his very character
,
to identify him.”

Andrew surveys the room, stopping at me briefly, before carrying on, “He has given us
some interesting
clues,
through his very behaviour,
believe it or not.  Now, admittedly, we have only been able to find out a few tiny things.”

He begins listing these ‘few tiny things’ that are ‘pretty obvious’.

Rejon doesn’t just feed on
fear.
  He truly revels in it.
 

The way he treats his victims makes this obvious. 

His letter to us was purely to
incite our panic. 

Chances are he won’t kill us off fast.  He will enjoy our fear first.

Power is something that is important to him.

He co
uld hunt
humans on his own.

He doesn’t. 
Instead h
e has followers.

This tells us that he
‘
needs
’
recognition. 

There is no doubt that he has an ego.

The likelihood is
that he does not form attachments to his f
ollowers.  They are only there
so
that
he has someone to ‘perceive’ how brilliant he is.

He is charismatic and persuasive.  This is how he has built up his fan-base.

This is why they are so loyal to him.

They aren’t afraid of him as we are.  They are completely enchanted with him.

The letter to us, as well as the message to Daniel, tells us a few things.

He never cared about us before.  Something has triggered this sudden interest in our group.  This something would’ve taken place within the last few days.

We should all think hard on it.

In the end my head is left spinning.

It is a lot to take in.

Wendy asks whether any of us have any more relevant information.

Daniel speaks, “Yeah, the creep kind
of kidnapped my girlfriend while
y’all were hiding away in your spider form today . . .”

A few of them look guilty at this.

Andrew seems sad
.  He tells Daniel that he is sorry for his loss.

“I’m his girlfriend,” I say.  “I’m alive.”

Now I get a whole load of questions.

Most are from Wendy.  Every little thing I can tell them is of use, she urges.

Andrew seems thoughtful.  He asks me, straight-out, why Rejon didn’t kill me.

I tell him that Rejon didn’t want to
kill me
.  He wanted me as a
follower
.

Daniel looks
at me now, shocked.  I never told him about Rejon’s plans for me.  It completely slipped my mind.

There are interested faces all around me
now
.  Some of them are also suspicious.

I suppose they have reason.  Most people who get taken by Rejon probably don’t live to tell the tale.  For all they know I am a Cezer now.

I tell them that Daniel saved me before Rejon got to make his pitch.

A lot of them still look unsure about trusting me.

Luckily a distraction walks straight in the door at this point.

I can barely believe it when I see him.

Everyone goes silent.

Bold as brass he just walks right into the middle of us.

Greg
Harshaw
.

“Hi,” he says.  “Now before you guys lynch mob me I wish to make an announcement.  I’
ve been kicked out of the Cezer
s, quite ironically, for ‘bad behaviour’.  I am making a formal plea to join your group, mostly for protection reasons.  I realise that some of you may have a problem with this proposal.  I realise that some of you may not trust me, and with good reason too.  To those of you who fall into this category I say ‘who among you have never made a mistake’.  So, how about it?  Will you guys pardon a prodigal son of sorts?”

There is complete uproar.

I try to argue that he helped save my life earlier.  No one hears me among
the mass of voices now baying
for his blood.

Angelica is completely silent.  She looks distant.

Greg tries again, “I would like to stress, again, that I come in peace.  N
ow I noticed some of you suggesting
that I should be tortured until I tell you who Rejon is.  Your torture would be pointless.  I don’t know who he is.  He has only ever communicat
ed with me by phone.  Only his most trusted
disciples have seen him in person
.  I haven’t worked for him
long enough to earn that ‘honour.’  He never liked me, I don’t think.  He had his disciples cut off my arms when he realised that I
’d
let a prisoner escape today.”

This confuses me.

“Greg, you still have you arms,” I say.

He says it like it’s the most obviously thing in the world, “They grew back.”

This seems to make sense to everyone else.  I guess this is another thing Arac
hne
s can do.

Greg’s stare fixes on
me for a moment.  I can tell he
is glad that I’m safe.

Unfortunately, some people still want
him
dead.

Greg addresses them, “I wouldn’t kill me if I were you guys.  I’d let me join your group.”

“Why?”  Nate demands, “Why would we ever let an ex-Cezer join us?”

Greg smiles, just a little bit more confident now, “I have something you don’t have.  I have Information.  I will share this information with you
upon being granted membership to your group.”

Andrew seems intrigued.  I can tell he’s just dying to interview Greg about every moment he’s spent as a Cezer.

Greg has said t
he right thing.  I know when I look
around me.
  People seem to be warming to the idea of letting him in.

Everyone knows we need information.  Everyone knows that Greg could be an invaluable source of it. 

I think he may be our only hope.

Nate still seems unconvinced.  He asks Greg to elaborate on this ‘information’ of his.

This is when Greg says the words that gain him membership to our group, “I am the only person, ladies and gentlemen, who knows how Rejon can be killed.”

I am sitting in
Principal Sheeran
’s
office. 

It is likely that
I am in a lot of trouble.

I am not sure yet because he hasn’t said a word.

He is looking at a ‘file’ he has on me while swinging in his leather chair. 

I am slightly dazzled by the brightness in here.  Everything seems to be polished to the point of shining.

The clock says that it is four in the afternoon
.  I am still tired from getting no sleep last night.

Greg told us, last night, about a weapon.  It’s called the ‘Necroslon’.  It is the only thing that can kill Rejon. 

The only trouble is that we don’t know
where
it is.  Rejon has hidden it somewhere and ordered a host of fierce mythical creatures to guard it.

He is clever, our Rejon.  I am beginning to fear that he is always two steps ahead of us.

The Principal speaks at last.

He lists out everything I’ve done wrong.

I have missed class.

I have fallen asleep during class.

I didn’t hand in any homework today.

Last night I was found sneaking around outside.

He is awfully disappointed in me. 

It is very frustrating.  I can’t exactly explain that I was kidnapped yesterday and therefore couldn’t complete my assignments. 

He
says he
shall have to ring my mother.

It
is a shame, he thinks.  The Dark
woods always did so well here.  He went to school with my father.  One thing he can tell me, for sure, is that my Dad always handed in his assignments.  A brilliant student if he remembers correctly.

My Uncle Riley too.  Yes, that guy was on every extracurricular committee that was ever set up in the school.  Heck, he started half of them up
himself
.  An absolutely outstanding addition to the school,
he was. 

Sheeran
goes quiet as he remembers my Uncle
’
s apparent ‘awesomeness’ in general.

I
sit and wait.  I don’t like the fact that Sheeran
just brought up my Dad.  It makes me feel really guilty that I haven’t been doing better here.

I suddenly feel like I’m letting my father down somehow.

The feeling is horrible.

I decide to distract myself
by checking what Sheeran
’s fears are. 

He fears that his wife will find out about his obsession with cheerleaders.

He is afraid that the police will find the photos on his computer; the one’s
of
the girls in their cheerleading uniforms.  Most of them are only sixteen.

I am rather shocked. 

Sheeran
talks to me again.  This school has a reputation to uphold, he says.  He can’t let my kind of behaviour go unpunished.

A suspension is called for at least, he thinks.  He is going to call my Mom this very instant.

I begin to panic.  She was always such a worrier.