Page 30 of Fragile Facade
11
REVEAL FOR TRUST?
RIOT
I’ve knownthe Reaper Corp threat is real, but it didn’t fully click in until last night. They’re coming for our town, and we still don’t know exactly why or when, but last night won’t be the only attack. It was a sacrificial offering, a way for them to infiltrate Moros and watch how we reacted to the ambush. It was an information gathering mission, and it fucks with my head to know they have that many skilled members that they felt thirty of them were disposable. Because it was a suicide mission, and they knew it before they ever sent them here.
“What kind of fucked-up organization sends that many people to die?” Glitch asks, hunched over against the wall, nursing a few broken ribs. “And what kind of members are eager to do it?”
“Brainwashed ones,” Axel says from the head of the room. He’s got three Reaper Corp patients now, taken from Misfit Hall last night, and the way his eyelid flutters in excitement isn’t right. “Ones born and raised for a purpose. A cause.”
Kyd smiles at his doctor, chin resting in the palms of his hands, elbows on the tabletop, and hearts in his crazy eyes.
“What cause?” Seven asks. “The fuck do they even want here?”
The stone and brick room in the asylum Axel has turned into his new lab is chilly, making my sensitive skin prickle. Exhaustion tries to drag me under, but I won’t leave this damn building until I see Menace and Ghost standing on their own two feet again. Director couldn’t keep us away from the medical ward, so he brought the meeting here to Axel’s headquarters, putting us all at ease.
“Our people,” Ransom says.
“Our location,” Krypt adds.
“Hello,” Facts says, sinking into a chair next to Kyd. “Our DNA. In all our research on Reaper Corp, we’ve found their bloodlines to be… diminishing. They’re breeding within their ranks, and over time, that leads to a few too many crossovers between bloodlines. They’re looking for new DNA, and Moros offers a gene pool of power and?—”
“Fucked-up minds,” Seven cuts in, giving Facts an apologetic look because he hates being interrupted. “Sorry, Facts. We’re all a little messed up though, which makes me wonder why they want us. Why the hell do they want the kind of darkness we breed here?”
I’ve never seen it on him before, but Axel almost looks nervous. “Their goals are changing,” he says. “They have power. They have control over so many industries. The medical and pharmaceutical industries are ruled by their companies. They hold sway with a lot of governments and military operations. Now they’re looking for something to give them another edge. A… wanted evil, if you will. People with no morals. People who will do despicable things without losing sleep over it. Mix Moros with Reaper Corp, and that’s exactly what you’ll get.”
I watch Axel study his unconscious patients, thinking that over. But why? None of it makes sense. If they already have all this power, what more do they want? And why do they need to take over our town in order to achieve it? Surely there are smarter, more infernal people somewhere else. I’m not the thinker of the group. Facts, Glitch, Seven, and Ransom are the smart ones, and everything is still so new and unknown that they’re only speculating.
When Monster walks up beside Axel, getting a look at the Reaper Corp members along the front of the room, Kyd’s teeth snap, but he’s still smiling. “Don’t make me bite you for getting too close to my intended, Monster.”
Monster doesn’t say anything, but he gives Kyd a challenging look. Kyd’s teeth chomp again. They’re the two youngest Vile Boys, and they have an odd friendship because of it. It comes with a lot of bickering, but I know Monster loves Kyd because Kyd teaches him things in a way he can accept.
“I certainly have not been intended for someone so young,” Axel tells Kyd.
Kyd stands, pink baggy crop top lifting to show his abs as his arms go wide. “I’m out of my teens!”
“Barely.”
“I will mature,” Kyd declares. “For you.”
I smile to myself. Kyd became a member of the ten younger than anyone else in Vile House. Even younger than the age Ransom became one of the ten. He’s just turned twenty, we think—he picked his own birthday based on a tarot card reading—and Axel is the first love interest he’s taken. Up until now, he’s been all about friends, pets, hobbies, and himself. He’s fucked a bunch, but I don’t think he does it for sexual reasons. He just likes to perform and try everything he possibly can. Kyd is someone who takes joy in literally everything he does. Whether it be going to the zoo, murdering someone, getting his hair done, or eating breakfast, he does it all with such happiness that it baffles me. Somewhere around the age of eleven, his mind snapped. Director found him in the psych ward, and whatever caused him to snap away from himself, this is the perfection it left him as.
Crazy and happy about it.
I wish I could be as happy as he is.
“Alright everyone, listen up,” Director says, calling the meeting. “We have plans to make.”
As we all sit around the lab, the door bangs open. Menace walks in shirtless, tattooed torso wrapped in gauze and a pugnacious look on his face, ready to argue if anyone questions his presence. He walks a bit funny, obviously in pain, but when Ghost walks in behind him, he refuses to show weakness. He has multiple wounds all over his body, but he lifts his chin, moves as silently as he always does, and refuses to limp. Anger and frustration permeate from him, and his blue eyes are fierce as fuck. When he looks at me, I can’t even muster a grin because… fuck. Look at him. So broken and defiant about it. So strong while feeling weak. So sexy while wounded.
“My hero!” Kyd bounces up, running circles around Ghost. “We cosplayed so good last night. I was the warrior fae, and you were the dark prince who defended the castle he’s secretly hated to live in all his life. Wait until I write our ending. It’s gonna be a cliffhanger because I wanna do a book two. No, a game two. This is more like a video game vibe. Maybe a graphic novel. I’ve got a buddy in the asylum art class who can draw for us.” Kyd wraps his arm around Ghost’s shoulder, leaning in to stage-whisper, “Wait until you find out who your smutty love interest is.” His wink is so exaggerated his whole body gets involved in the action.
Ghost looks at me again, and now, I grin.
“You two are supposed to be resting!” Director barks at both of them.
“Sitting in a room listening to you drone on during a meeting is about as close to resting as I can get,” Menace says with a smirk. “Put me to sleep, Director.” His black hat is on, like it always is, turned backwards with his dark hair poking out.
