Page 7 of The Magic of Revenge
"Baggie? You want him to maul your ass?" Kai whispered, as though the big cat was lurking in the shadows of the room.
"I didn't call him that B word," I gasped. "You think I wanna die?"
I'd called him Baggie one time, back when we were like fifteen, and I'd gotten my ass served up to me on a panther platter.
"Dude. You definitely called him that," Sloane chipped in.
There's no way I'd make that mistake again. Especially just doing it without even realizing it.
"My chest also has this aching. It's gonna sound stupid, but it feels like... heartbreak. Like I'm missing something that makes me who I am," Kai explained, his face looking pained.
"That's probably just Bagheera you're missing," Sloane reasoned.
"I don't know. It just doesn't feel normal," Kai sighed, shaking his head. "I'm going to take a shower and grab a nap before this shit tonight."
He disappeared into the other room, leaving Sloane and I alone.
"How are you doing with everything?" I asked, concerned for my friend.
"I was two seconds away from going off the deep end, but now I'm not so sure that he's really gone. As ridiculous as it sounds, I feel like if he were dead I would know. I'd fucking feel that loss, ya know? Intuition or some shit," he explained, flopping back on the bed.
"Yeah, I know. I feel the same. There's no way that it wouldn't feel like a cataclysmic event," I agreed.
"I'm scared to hope, but it's better than the alternative right now. I can't let myself go down that path, Cam." Sloane threw his arm over his eyes, probably to dry up any wetness that might be accumulating there.
"I got you, man. Alright, I'm gonna follow K's lead. I'm exhausted. Are you gonna keep the scary King room?"
Sloane hopped up.
"Fuck no. This is all you," he smirked, backing out of the room with a wink.
I flipped him the bird, earning a deep chuckle as he disappeared through the door.
Where are you, Fischer? What the fuck happened to us?
Everything was dark, shades of gray and black swirling in front of my eyes. Where was I?
‘Hello?’I hesitantly called out.
No response came.I guess I'm here alone.
Fog swirled up from the ground, creating an eerie-looking scene. A flash of black in my peripheral vision startled me and I froze in place.Something is here with me.
Movement caught my attention and a pair of glowing yellow eyes suddenly lit up the dark.
‘Baggie?’I choked out, hopeful that those were his eyes I was seeing.
Then I was nearly knocked on my ass as the big cat launched himself at me, purring loud enough to wake the dead.
‘Oh my gods, Baggie. What are you doing here?’I asked as I sank my fingers through his silky smooth coat.
Tears sprang to my eyes and it took me a moment to realize. To remember.
‘No,’I sobbed. Fischer was... Oh gods. And the others were missing.
‘Cub,’ Baggie soothed, nuzzling me.
‘Where’s Kai? Where are my men?’I pulled back so I could look into his eyes.
