Page 80 of Fallen Thorns
I shrugged; unfazed for once.
“Anyway, now you’re awake, I think Rani and Carmen were wanting you to test them again. Well, that’s what I overheard them saying over breakfast… which you missed. Everyone was there, talking Christmas decorations and favourite festive drinks — all that jazz.” Mars trailed off on one of their tangents, expressive with their arms as usual. However, their energetic glow faded out as I pinched the bridge of my nose and took a deep breath. I didn’t intend for it to come across asrude,but I swiftly realised it was impossible to do that in the company of others andnotseem the slightest bit ignorant.
“Last night really took it out of you, huh?” Their eyes squinted, assessing me.
I only managed to nod.
“You’ll probably not be too fond of the fact that Marianne wants you to go back out again tonight then.” They clenched their teeth and stared at me awkwardly, awaiting my reaction.
I looked back up at them, a flash of leaves and foaming water shooting to the front of my mind.
The patrol… that’s right.
“She thinks it’s helping,” Mars added, still not budging from their spot in the centre of the room, their duffle looking a size too big.
“Right.” I heaved myself off the bed and headed over to my wardrobe, conscious of Mars’ following eyes.
“A little privacy?” I turned back to them.
Mars’ eyes widened. “Right, yeah, sorry.” They spun around on the spot with their arms out, landing firm-footed like a figure skater preparing for their next move.
I haphazardly jumped into yesterday's cords and chucked on one of my many short-sleeved shirts. I liked them better that way, despite the weather. Long sleeves get all itchy and weird…
“Done,” I announced, not giving them a chance to analyse my outfit before heading out of the door, a destination still calculating in my head.
“So,” Mars started, skipping to catch up with my strides. “The creature was a no-show last night but…” they prolonged their pause, enough for me to look at them to continue, “two other patrollers caught another Turned and we’ve held them for questioning. They didn’t seem as confident as the other two so Marianne might actually be able to get some useful information this time.”
Good, that’s good.
They sighed at my non-verbal response. “I told you that last night, but you were completely zonked out.”
My nose scrunched. I couldn’t remember.
“You can tell me if it’s getting too much you know, I can talk to Marianne if you think it’s getting in the way of your studies, I know how important that is to you and how hard working you are. You are, after all, meant to be living your life as normally as possible. We did promise that…”
“No, no. It’s okay. I’m okay, Mars. Promise.” I flashed a bright smile to reassure them, but it didn’t work.
Mars’ tone shifted, growing even more solemn. “Look, I’m just going to say it. It’s been reeling through my mind all morning. I feel like something happened during the hour I was gone and you’re not telling me.”
I genuinely could not recall what they were talking about. I wracked my brain, scrambling around for something, anything.
“Arlo?”
“No, no.”Think of something.“Everything was fine. Like you said, I’m just not used to beingnocturnal.”
They sighed again as we turned a corner, descending the narrow steps to the main hall. “You promised to stop pretending everything is fine, yet now you're acting exactly like you were weeks ago. It’s called denial.”
Their harsh accusation made me stop in my tracks.
“What do you mean?” I snapped.
Clearly, they were surprised by my abruptness, and to be truthful, so was I.
“Arlo, you know exactly what I mean. The blood, the hiding, losing control… we said we could help you, but it takes all of us to cooperate in this. You clearly don’t seem to even want to try. I know I sound like a stuck record but please, I’m still young, as Marianne always reminds me, but I’m not stupid. I didn’t push last night because you were too tired, but I’m pretty good at reading people,especiallyfriends. So please, I’m begging you, tell me what happened.”
“I can’t remember!” I shouted, my throat spewing the words out right from my gut. Someone startled ahead, staring over in both concern and annoyance.
Mars stopped talking and spun to face me, and I faced them. My confession brought with it a tear.I don’t remember a thing.
