Page 137 of Beyond The Maples
"Oh, my friend's death is a joke to you, is it?Fucking hilarious." I hate the crack that sounds in my voice, the obvious pain there.
Tane turns slowly, lifting his hands in the air in a show of submission, and I let him. The gun slides along his head, without losing contact, until the barrel sits between his brows. Our eyes meet, and I'm surprised by the empathy written across his features.
"Nothing is funny about that, Berkley was a good man."
My nose pinches, momentarily pained by the softness in his voice, before I hold my grip firm again. This is the man who willingly does the Council's bidding, who hasto know of their corruption, and yet participates, who's content to live in a world like that. I hold onto the anger, the agonizing rage that sits festering near the surface now.
"I'm going to ask you one more time, before I start firing—why are you here?" I snarl at him. Vera inches closer, but she doesn't pull out her weapon.
"Maple, why don't you put the gun down, and we'll explain everything," Lachlan offers, but I can't rip my eyes away from Tane.
"We're here to help," Tane says, and I catch movement from behind Vera right before Tarius and Deacon leap over a partially disintegrated concrete wall.
Vera, being the predator that she is senses them, and turns faster than my eyes can register—quickly pulling her gun from her hip, and pointing it directly at Deacon's face. There's a scuffle to my left as Tarius is flipped over, his arms behind his back now held firmly by Lachlan.
"Enough! Put your weapons away," a woman yells, stalking out from the shadows. We all turn as she steps into the moonlight. I'm stunned as I see a familiar figure standing before me.
"Hollis?"
For reasons I can't comprehend, everyone listens to her. Lachlan steps away from Tarius, who stands up sulking, rubbing his arms. Vera straightens, lowering her weapon from a bewildered Deacon, and my arm sags, the gun along with it.
"What is going on?" I demand, baffled.
She looks the same, and yet somehow infinitely different. She's still beautiful with her chestnut hair slicked back in a bun. But her delicate features seem sharper, her blue eyes sparkling with something I never noticed at the diner. She wears combat clothing, no apron in sight.
She completely ignores me, walking straight towards Deacon; and for a moment it seems she's going to embrace him, kiss him even.
"I've been wanting to do this for a very long time," she mumbles, before cocking her arm back, and punching him in the face.
Deacon staggers backwards, clutching his jaw.
"What the fuck?!" I scream, abandoning Tane and running towards them, my feet stumbling over the broken concrete scattered.
Vera has a satisfied smirk on her face as Hollis shakes out her hand. Deacon meets my eyes, confusion written on his face as he retreats from Hollis.
"Someone better explain to me what is going on right now! Why are you here? Why are any of you here?!" I'm yelling, waving around my arm with the gun, like a maniac.
"I followed your sister and brother out here," Hollis mutters, and then she lunges towards Deacon again; like she'd love nothing more than to rip him apart. I stand in front of him protectively, as Vera wraps her arm around Hollis' middle, pulling her backwards. Veranuzzlesinto Hollis' neck, placing a chaste kiss there, and whispering something before turning back to me.
My eyebrows nearly fly into my hairline, and Vera chuckles.
"Hollis....? How do you...?" I stammer, my brain misfiring.
Hollis sighs, and straightens herself.
"She's my girlfriend," she answers, throwing a casual thumb in Vera's direction, "and I'm one of the legion."
She points back at Tane, who gripes something like, "Told you I wasn't Vera's type," under his breath, his arms folded now as he leans against the concrete building. Content to let Hollis tell her story.
"I was placed in Strayton to keep defectors in check, and keepto an eye on... well,you."
I shake my head. "No, that can't be true. We... grew up together." As I say it—I question myself—my memories of her untangling from themselves.
"Did we? When did we meet Maple?" she asks, a knowing look on her face. "I came when you were barely going to school anymore, but we never actually went together. I looked young enough, and everyone's memory was so foggy, no one questioned my arrival. People were still coming and going frequently at that point so it didn't raise suspicion."
She's right, I realize, I don't actually have memories of her in our classes as a child. She was just there suddenly, and I was either too distracted or hazy to notice.
"I was placed in Strayton to keep you safe. Which was near impossible, because you refused to get close to anyone," she sneers at Deacon now with malice. "Mostly because that cockroach kept you like a pet."
