"Don't forget under the fingernails!" I called from outside the closed bathroom door. "Get all of the dirt and make sure to wash that hair!" I snickered as I removed a pair of short, metallic scissors from my pocket and snipped at the air. I'd spooted them in one of the dressers while I was searching for something for him to wear. "Found 'em by the way!" I couldn't make out his grumbling response through the door. "What was that?" I snapped. A long silence ensued before he finally answered.
"Nothing." The door knob began to turn and slowly creaked open. There stood Charon, sopping wet, water glistening off his bare chest. All that covered him was a beige colored towel wrapped tightly around his waist.
I spun dramatically away from him, covering my reddening face with my hands. "Charon!" I hissed. "Where are your clothes?!"
His answer came slow, like he had no idea what could possibly be wrong with me. "I thought you wanted me to wear what you found." I turned back to him, though my hands were still slapped over my eyes.
"I could of brought them to you! You didn't have to come out here all naked!" It may have been embarrassing to admit, but I had never seen a member of the opposite sex even partly nude. I lived in a Vault for goodness sake! Not only was my selection very, VERY limited, but if you so much as sneezed, the entire vault would hear about it eventually. It was almost like moving to a new planet up here, the way things were done.
"I am not naked," he retorted in a stern tone, then he paused before asking wryly, "Are you blushing?"
"No!" I denied.
"Yes you are." He laughed. Laughing; that was new. If I hadn't been in the middle of being completely mortified, I may have chalked that up as a small victory for myself.
"Laugh it up!" I warned. "We'll see whose laughing in a moment." I removed my hands from my eyes, though I still avoided looking at Charon directly, and yanked over one of the white chairs that sat in front of a circular metal table. "Sit." I demanded as sternly as I could, forcing my eyes back upon him. He shrugged and did as I said, sliding into the seat. I moved behind him to examine the mess of his reddish-brown hair. Though it wasn't very thick, and there were discernible patches here and there, I was at least half sure I could work with it. "I hope I don't ruin it." I commented nervously, brushing through the hairs with my fingers. He started at my touch. "Oh, sorry. Is it tender?"
He shook his head. "No. It's just...I'm fine." He replied. I wasn't sure if I'd really hurt him or not, so I continued to detangle his locks slowly and as carefully as I could. As I did so, my eyes drifted over him; his neck, shoulders, and bare back. The skin was rough looking, damaged and discolored; giving it the appearance of hundreds of different colored bruises all over its surface. I wondered if it ever brought him pain. I caught myself reaching out to touch him and jerked my hand away quickly before I came in contact. "Its okay." He encouraged, mistaking my delay for hesitation over his haircut. "You cant make me look any worse than I do now."
"Huh?" I broke away from my trance, a bit irritated by his self-deprecating words. "Oh, don't be that way!" I scolded. "I'm going to make you look marvelous!" I declared, snapping my fingers.
I'd never cut any ones hair before, in fact, I couldn't even remember the last time I had my own hair cut but really, how hard could it be? Besides, Charon just needed a bit of rearranging more than anything so I wouldn't have to cut off too much. The hair was a bit too long for my own taste; maybe one or two inches off would do. I began to snip away carefully, doing my best to remain consistent with the length of the cut. What remained was overall quite short in length. I managed to work the hair around to cover what small patches there were, giving him the appearance of having a full head of hair. Then, I circled around to the front of him, touching up the hairs that rested on his forehead. I took a step back to examine my quick work and he waited expectantly.
"Finished already?" He asked.
I pressed a finger to my lips. "There wasn't much that needed done with it really, but I have to say, it made quite a difference!" It was true, his hair did look a lot better now. Though, in my opinion, it hadn't looked bad to start with. "But we can't be sure till you get dressed too!" I'd found a large pair of black pants and a red flannel shirt in one of the many dressers in the room, I could only hope he'd be able to fit in them. I retrieved the articles from the bed and handed the bundle over to him. He eyed the garments distastefully. "Well," I began. "It's either this or you go out there half-naked in a towel!" When I said it, I couldn't help but rove my eyes over his body once again.
He caught my glance and seemed to actually consider that option for a brief moment, then he looked at me oddly, quirking an eyebrow. "Which is your preference?" I could feel that all-too-familiar burning return to my cheeks. I turned my gaze from him. He was just toying with me at this point. The only body I'd ever seen was my own! So, yea, I couldn't help myself from staring at his broad chest and his corded muscles. I mean, they don't teach you proper etiquette of these kind of situations where I come from! He chuckled, seeing my discomfort. "Sorry, I'm making a joke at your expense again." He said, taking the clothing from my hands and moving into the bathroom. I watched him move away from me, my eyes still glued to his bare flesh. "I appreciate your help, Lily." Then he closed the door. My entire body tingled at the way he'd said my name. A strange sensation, one I'd never felt before and wouldn't mind feeling once more. Was that wrong? Charon was a ghoul and I was human. Humans did NOT find ghouls appealing in any way. As Charon might say: it didn't make sense. If I were to say that part of me was in no way attracted to him, then I would be lying. Charon was right: I never was any good at making sense, was I? I needed to get a hold of myself before I said or did something stupid and ruined mine and his relationship. There was a knock at the door.
Since Charon was still in the bathroom, I answered it. There was no one to be seen in the empty hall but on the floor was a folded sheet of paper. I snatched it up and took one last look around before shutting the door. It was a letter from Mr. Tenpenny himself, expressing his sincerest apologies about the delay in our meeting, yadda yadda yadda. Then there were a bunch of words that pretty much told me to make myself at home in the tower. "Don't mind if I do." I muttered, tossing the letter on one of the dressers. That had been the plan anyway; cozy up to the residents, make everyone all chummy with the ghoul crowd. It shouldn't be too hard. I was, after all, very persuasive. Charon reappeared from the bathroom then, his discomfort apparent. True, the shirt was a bit tight on him and the pants were a tad too short, but his boots would cover up that fact and the shirt extenuated his muscle. I didn't say that out loud, of course. All in all, he looked rather handsome. "Perfect!" I said cheerily, more than satisfied with my work.
He chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of his neck. "Yea, well. Try to avoid making any zombie jokes down there or all your hard work will probably be for nothing."
Of course, I thought, the human-eating jokes would have to wait until after the residents agreed to letting ghouls into the tower. With his makeover complete, Charon and I headed out of the suite and into the elevator to the ground floor. I watched the slow-moving dial above the door creep towards the number one and inexplicably became rather nervous. "Maybe I should have changed, or brushed my hair or something, you're showing me up man!" I ran my fingers through my thick hair, trying to comb out the abundant tangles.
"You look fine." Charon reassured me. Fine, is that all I get is a fine? I recall being more than that to him earlier this day! I scrutinized him, then my bravado fell significantly when his eyes met mine. I glanced away and twirled a lock of my hair nervously.
"Earlier today, you said I was 'pretty', or, you gave a basic description of me and you used the word pretty..." I stumbled over my words like a baby learning to take its first steps. My face turned scarlet, a sensation I was getting used to.
"Lily," he said softly, interrupting my ramblings and making me feel like I was about to melt like butter. "You are pretty, a ghoul is the last person you need telling you that." A ghoul was the only one to ever tell me that, actually. Besides my dad and, of course, the occasional pervert. Out all of them though, Charon saying it meant so much more to me and I didn't understand why. The dinging of the elevator and its opening door saved me from having to let Charon see my still burning cheeks and stupid grin that had spread over my face. He thought I was 'pretty' and that mattered! For some reason, it mattered a lot.
"Let's start with one of the shop owners, maybe they sell food. I'm starving." Then a wry smile came to my lips. "And if none have food to sell, we'll eat the tastier looking one."
"This is going to go well." He replied, his mouth forming into a line. I rolled my eyes and smiled. I just couldn't help myself sometimes. Maybe I liked seeing that super serious face he made. As we moved away from the elevator, half a dozen nervous eyes followed us from around the room.
"No scowling." I reminded him as we turned down a small hallway. A sign hung on the right side of a doorway at the hallway's end. It read 'New Urban Apparel'. Obviously, there wasn't going to be any food in that place. I examined Charon carefully before heading in anyway. "Remember to turn that charm on!" I commanded, placing a dazzling smile on my face.
"Charm?" He asked as we entered the shop. The room was scanty decorated with mannequins dressed in fancy suits and dresses. I examined my own garb in comparison, trying to imagine myself in one of those frilly white numbers. I'd have a heck of a time being stealthy in that thing. I couldn't help but wonder if Charon would like the way I looked in one better than my jumpsuits. I swatted the thought away as if it were an annoying gnat. "No one's here." Charon stated, bringing me back to reality. He was right, the place was empty.
"Guess we missed him?" I replied.
"So, it's true," A slow, sultry voice said. I turned quickly to see a woman standing in the entrance. She wore a bright pink dress that cut off at her knees and white flats laced with black ribbons. Tousling her short, blonde hair around her head, not even sparing me a glance but instead, staring hard at Charon. "They actually let a ghoul in here." Then she looked at me. "And a little girl." I ignored her snide comment. Imagining myself snipping away at that pretty blonde hair, I smiled serenely at her. Killing with kindness was always my first approach.
"You're one of the locals here?" I asked.
She looked amused as she replied, crossing her arms. "Susan Lancaster. And who are you supposed to be?"
"I'm Minx, and this," I pointed to the ghoul at my side, "is Charon."
"Nice..to meet you." Charon added, offering his hand to her. Oh, nice touch, I thought. Susan made no move to shake it, however.
"Ghouls aren't allowed in here." She accused, giving me a withering glare. If all the residents were as charmless as her, I could see why Roy didn't care for them. She didn't even know me and already, she was acting like she had some sort of personal problem with me.
"Actually, I am hoping to change that. You know there's a group of ghouls that would really like to live here. I've met one, he's a nice guy." Did I really think Roy was a nice guy? Not really, he was kind of a dick, but that didn't really mean he wasn't nice deep down. In my eyes, Besides, maybe the other ghouls made up for Roy's short comings. I thought what I'd said was thought-provoking, that it would elicit some sort of opening for negotiation.
"Not happening." Susan stated matter-of-factually. Evidently, I had thought wrong. "You should get your pet out of here before things get ugly." My mouth flattened into a thin line. Charon caught my attention from the corner of my eye, I could see his almost imperceptible shake of his head. 'Don't', he was trying to say, but it was too late. First, she calls me a little girl, which already puts her on my bad side. We were obviously close to the same age so it was meant as an insult of a sort. Now she was just being flat out rude to Charon, I couldn't abide by that. Especially after he'd been so nice, he didn't even try to shoot her!
"Things cant get much uglier from where I'm standing." I retorted and Charon winced.
"You calling me ugly?" Her ensuing laugh sounded like the chiming of bells. "I got a bag full of bottle caps that says otherwise." She actually looked proud of the declaration. "The only way you'll ever be successful like me is to get rid of all those ghouls once and for all instead of playing buddy-buddy with them. But you won't, because you're just a scared little girl." She mocked. I rolled my eyes at her attempt to get a rise out of me. Prostitutes didn't intimidate me. I had a fine time at making caps without removing my clothes, and ghouls had nothing to do with it.
"Hey, ghouls aren't so bad and Charon's my friend. I'd choose him over a dozen humans." Charon looked pleased by that. Susan sneered, her disapproval practically radiating from her. I doubted that she'd ever agree to letting ghouls in the tower. I suppose I really needed to work on my manners, I was getting nowhere fast with this one.
"Hello? Are you forgetting, you're human too? Ugh." She made a disgusted face as she looked me up and down. "I don't even want to think about what you and that 'thing' do together." Oh, nothing too strange, I thought. Play dress up, get assaulted by rapists, the same thing as everyone else I supposed, but I understood what she meant by that. I didn't have time to be embarrassed about it. "Then again," she brought a finger to her pink lips, "with looks like those, it's no wonder only a ghoul wants you." What? That was two people in the span of 48 hours that had called me ugly! If this kept up I'd have no choice but to believe it. Then again, who could take the words of a rapist and a slut seriously?
I was about to reply with my own insult but Charon spoke up first. "The only men that want you are the ones desperate enough to have to pay." He pointed out.
Ouch, I was feeling the residual burn from that one, but if it had offended Susan, she hid it well. "They can't help but pay, any man would." She tittered, using the palm of her hand to gesture down her slim figure.
I blew out a huff of air. "We're getting a little off topic here," I said impatiently. I was ready to be rid of her. She was beginning to make me physically ill. "We just wanted to inform you that you'll have some ghoul neighbors moving in soon. I brought Charon so you could all get used to them and see that they aren't dangerous." I know it wasn't a guaranteed thing until I talked to Tenpenny, but maybe if it sounded like a done deal, she would have no choice but to be more open to it.
She wrinkled her nose. "Yea, right. I'm friendly with every guard in this building, sweetie." She said the word like I was, in fact, the furthest thing from sweet. I personally don't think I'd be bragging about sleeping with every guard in the building, but that was just me. "If I say I don't want any dirty ghouls here, there won't be any." I glanced at Charon, and his fresh clothes and his neatly brushed hair. What was so dirty about him? "So I guess you and your creepy boyfriend will have to find somewhere else to live." She burst into laughter, tossing her blonde hair aside and strutting away. That effectively ended all discussion. My face reddened, boyfriend?
"Is that really how it seems?" I asked Charon, mortified.
He was staring down at the floor where Susan had been standing as he replied. "I thought I gave off more of a threatening vibe, but creepy?" He shrugged and walked over to where he'd been looking. I blew out a long sigh. Always so stubborn, this one.
"Not what I meant and you know it!" I followed his movement with my eyes. He bent down to retrieve a folded sheet of paper that had fallen on the ground and began to read it.
His brows rose as he went on scanning. "Interesting," he mused, refolding the mysterious paper then gazing at me. "I do know. I'm wondering why you care what that woman says."
"I don't!" I argued defensively. "Just wanted to know what you thought about it." I explained, my eyes drifting down to that paper he held. Had Susan dropped it by mistake? I wondered what could be written on it. Obviously, it wasn't a list of how many men she had slept with for caps, it wasn't big enough to fit all those names. I snickered to myself. I'd have to remember that one for later if the opportunity arose to use it.
"You already know what I think of it." Charon said, staring at me meaningfully. My heart accelerated in my chest. So loud, I was certain he could hear it too and the thought only caused my cheeks to flush. I knew already, what was that supposed to mean? I had no idea what he was thinking, I wasn't a damn mind reader! I mean, he had told me I was pretty, did that have something to do with it? Man, I was bad at this.
"I-I don't know, you said nothing about it." I stammered. His head fell to one side and then he stepped closer to me. My eyes began to widen as he drew near. About a foot away from me, he stopped, lifting a brow, he responded.
"Exactly, and that's what I think about it. Nothing." My heart deflated.
"Oh." I replied with a frown.
He looked confused. "Well." He continued, scratching the back of his head, "I think that you should read this." Maybe I was a little disappointed in his response. I wasn't sure what I'd been hoping for, exactly. It was apparent that I'd developed a bit of a crush on him, but he had saved my life! Pretty sure that warranted me to have a few feelings for the guy, right? I took the paper he offered me, not really interested in its contents anymore. That is, until I started to read the letter itself:
'My Dearest Susan, I can't believe I'm really doing this, but I can't deny it any longer. You are all that I can think about, even when I'm with Millicent. God, I am in love with you both, I truly am! I can't wait to see you again tonight, for this time it will be different. This time you'll know my feelings. You'll know that I love you! I need you, now! Yours forever, EW.'
I made a gagging sound. "Uck! What a pig! E.W. huh? Millicent is his wife, I bet. How charming!" I said sarcastically and Charon nodded.
"We could use this. How we do it is up to you though." Use it? I had planned on handing it over to this guy's wife and enjoy watching her using her fists to pummel his face. Then again, when I considered what Charon had said, I saw the potential. He always did have better ideas.
"Blackmail?" I asked, grinning wickedly.
"Just a thought." He shrugged.
"A clever one." I replied. I doubted Susan would care much if this love affair was exposed. She seemed to readily spout off her other sexual encounters without any provocation. Mr. EW; however, could prove to be a rather different story. Our next stop would be his room. The second floor of Tenpenny Tower was where the majority of the suites were located as well as our own, so it should be easy enough to find. We headed that way immediately. Lush, red carpets ran down the length of the halls of the second floor, and paintings of pre-war landscape covered the walls. Each door which led to a suite had a small, metal mailbox in a planter filled with dirt placed in front of it. The room numbers were all written above the doors, but a number didn't really help. We stopped a guard to ask for some kind of direction, then headed to the door he pointed us to. I had explained to Charon on our way up that I wanted him to wait out of sight until I had a chance to introduce him this time. I didn't think I could handle another incident like Susan. Charon hated the idea, but agreed to go along with it under one condition.
"Do NOT do anything with that letter until I'm there with you." He commanded.
I laughed. "What? It's not like they'll kill me over it."
Charon didn't smile. "Maybe this is a bad idea."
"Shush, Ill be fine," I insisted, slapping his forearm. "Ill call you when I'm ready for you...or dying. Ill call you if I'm dying too." I teased, though I didn't give him a chance to object. Pushing him behind a corner so he was out of sight, I approach the door and knocked. I could hear the sound of the latch undoing, then the door opened to reveal a pretty, middle-aged woman with wavy brown hair. "Hello there," I said, bowing my head in greeting. "Are you.." I glanced around her, but I could see no one else in the room. Well she wasn't who I had been expecting to speak with. "Millicent?" She smiled at me then nodded.
"I am, but you can refer to me as madam or, my lady Wellington." What, was she the queen of Tenpenny Tower or something? Was I also expected to kneel before her and kiss her royal hand? I had to remind myself that I was trying to get on her good side. I mean, her husband was cheating on her, after all. I should be feeling some sort of sympathy for her. So, I swallowed my pride and bowed my head to her once again.
"Pleased...to meet you, my lady Wellington." I forced out the words. She looked utterly delighted, like I was her pet, performing her given task without fail.
"Wonderful!" She beamed. "It's so nice to see that being a wasteland mutt hasn't spoiled your manners dearest!" My mouth fell open. Wasteland mutt; is that what she had called me? After I had called HER my lady Wellington? No wonder her husband was cheating on her, she was obviously full of herself.
I forced a laugh. "Right. Anyways, I wanted to talk to you about these ghouls that want to move into the tower."
Mrs Wellington's face lit up with dreadful excitement. "It's just awful! Those horrid creatures just wont leave us alone!" Oh, not again, I thought. There were likely at least a few residents who weren't against ghouls, right? Why couldn't I run into them instead of lady Wellington?
"Well," I said slowly, "these ghouls aren't so bad. I talked to one of them and also, my friend-" She cut me off, her face horror stricken.
"You SPOKE to one of them? My dear, they are monsters! They need to be gotten rid of, not reasoned with!" I listened to her rant, my mouth pressed in a thin line. "My husband, Edgar Wellington, introduced me to all the finer things life has to offer and there are no ghouls in that life." She raised her head regally, as if even the idea of this conversation continuing was beneath her. Why did I ever think I could be nice? Maybe from now on I should try a rude approach and see where that gets me.
"Oh, I get it," I muttered, "so your husband made you the pretentious bitch you are today."
Her eyes widened in shock. "Excuse me?" Really, was everyone in this tower a jerk? Why was she acting so shocked at my hostility, it had obviously been provoked by her demeaning words. As if dealing with all these people wasn't enough, a new dilemma seized me.
"Look, lady full-of-herself. Lets keep this short, ghouls are moving in, its gonna happening so do everyone a favor and get used to it! Also, can you point me to the nearest restroom?!" I had to pee. It was an emergency. We hadn't eaten anything on our way to the tower and I'd been drinking more than my fair share of the water. The feeling was rather sudden and I don't think Mrs. Wellington understood that because she stared at me like I was insane, her mouth falling open. "Hello? If you don't tell me, I'm sorry, but I'll have to use this flower pot, which I really don't want to do."
"You disgusting brute!" She shrieked, not answering my question at all! Instead, she slammed the door in my face.
"Ugh, Charon!" I shouted and he appeared at my side as if by magic. His assault rifle was ready in his hands. "Put that thing away! We've got bigger problems than her."
He looked perplexed, but obeyed my command. "What's wrong?" He asked.
I crossed my legs together tightly. "Find a bathroom, will you?" I sounded desperate, I WAS desperate.
Charon furrowed his brow. "That's your big problem?" Then he chuckled and shook his head. I glared daggers at him. I wondered how funny he would think it was when he had to travel around with a companion that smelled like pee. "Come on then, it's back on the first floor. I saw one after we left that store." I thought I'd been in horrible situations before, but nothing could beat the misery I felt going down that painfully slow elevator with a bladder that was ready to burst and a mountain of a ghoul chuckling to himself the entire way down.
"Yea, yea." I muttered, "laugh it up." When the dinging of the elevator finally sounded and the doors opened wide, I latched on to Charon's arm and ran to my salvation. We reached the pair of doors that stood just to the right of the hall in which the clothing store was located. Each door held a rectangular sign with bold, black text. One read 'men's' the other, 'women's'. I, of course, headed for the door marked as the women's restroom. However, the distinct sound of heavy foot-falls behind me made me pause. I turned to see Charon right on my heels, ready to accompany me. "What are you doing?" I asked, perplexed. "You can't come in here, it's the ladies room!" I eyed him from head to toe. "And you're no lady!"
He grimaced. "I cant leave you alone for five seconds without you getting into trouble." Though that point may have been valid, I waved him away.
"Oh please, its a restroom. I promise I won't fall in." I didn't wait for him to reply, I didn't think I'd be able to hold it that much longer. The washroom was comprised of three stalls, three sinks straight across from them, and a small window close to the ceiling. I dashed in to the first stall to quickly relieve myself then moved to the sink to wash my hands.
So far, things hadn't been going the way I'd planned. It didn't seem like anyone was going to like Charon, regardless of how made up he was. It was a bit of a disappointment to me, I had hoped for someone to see the good in him. After all, I could see it. Something I 'COULDN'T see was my own reflection. The mirror that hung on the wall in front of me was so grimy I could not see a thing in it. Thick, greenish-grey goo covered its surface. "Ugh, sick." I muttered to myself, grabbing one of the white towels that sat on the sinks edge to wipe away the muck. "What is this stuff?!" Whatever it was, it didn't want to come off easily. I scrubbed as hard as I could, the slick muck just smudging around more than anything. The quiet squeak of an opening stall sounded in my ear and I stalled my scrubbing, quietly setting down the towel. Enough of the grime had been removed for me to see a distinct figure coming out of one of the stalls. Slight of build and average height, it was obviously not Charon. I felt my heart rate increase in my chest. I wouldn't have found it so strange if the room hadn't been utterly silent when I entered. That, and the way they slowly approached me, thinking I hadn't noticed them. I pretended to wipe my hands clean with another one of the hand towels as I watched the figure's approach through half closed eyes. The stranger was holding something shiny that glittered in the mirror from the reflection of the sun through the window; a blade. Why did Charon always have to be right?
Suddenly, the figure lunged towards me. I gasped, then dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the slicing blade as my attacker crashed into the sink. I spun around to face a man dressed in all black. He'd also recovered and was facing me, the knife in his hands pointed at me. "Cant you read?" I demanded. "This is the women's restroom!" He didn't respond. Instead, he began his assault again, slashing the knife horizontally at my stomach. I shuffled back quickly to dodge the blow. My heel must've caught on something on the floor, sending me falling to the ground. I landed hard on my tail bone, a grunt escaping my throat. The man stood over me, a crooked smile playing on thin, pale lips.
"Talon Company would like to send its regards." I screwed up my face in confusion; who the heck was Talon Company? I swung around, my leg extended and smacking hard into him, sending him to the ground as well. The knife flew from his hand and skittered across the floor, stopping in front of the stalls. The both of us stumbled to our feet. I was a second faster than him, which was all I needed. I hurled my fist into the side of his head, sending him back to the ground. My hand throbbed with the pain of the impact. I shook it vigorously as I stepped over to the fallen dagger on the floor and retrieved it. My attacker was still on the ground, holding on to the side of his face.
"Alright," I began, a little breathlessly, one hand on the hilt of my sword. "Now that all of that is out of the way. Care to tell me what the hell your problem is?" He laughed bitterly as he rolled back to his feet then his hand slipped behind his back and a pistol appeared, the barrel aimed at me. My blood chilled in my veins. My limbs would no longer respond to my commands, my entire body freezing on the spot. There was no way I could disarm him faster than he could pull that trigger. "Charon!" I screamed, the only thing I could do. The name must have caught the man off-guard, for he paused, looking at me in confusion just long enough for Charon to burst through the door, gun in hand. The distinct look of recognition on his face sent a wave of apprehension rolling down my spine. The two stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Charon's face twisted with rage, then he fired on the man. I shrieked and covered my eyes as he let out one final shout of protest. After the firing ceased, I still couldn't bring myself to remove my hands from my face. There had been so much death these past few days. Was this ever going to stop? When I finally did open my eyes, Charon was at my side.
"Are you okay?" He asked, checking me over for any sign of injury.
"I'm okay." I said slowly, gazing up at the man who'd saved me yet again.
"There could be more of them. We need to move." More of them? How could he know that? He glanced over one of his shoulders. "I'm not letting you out of my sight again." He was hiding something from me, or at least, it really seemed that way. Then again, he'd just saved my life a third time, I had to be able to trust him more than anyone else, at least. I reached out to wrap my arms around his waist. The act must have surprised him, for I could feel him start at my closeness.
"Thank you. You really are my savior." I whispered. There was a feeling of dread within me. If he hadn't been here, I'd be dead. More than that, this Talon Company had sent someone to murder me, why? Was I really so important? My questions were only leading me to more questions. Charon was the only thing I could count on.
He sighed heavily. "Lily." He began but I stopped him.
"Don't tell me you're not a hero again."
"I'm not." I was beginning to get a little frustrated with his denials.
"Why are you fighting me so hard on this?" I asked, my voice raising.
"Because." He replied, avoiding my gaze. I grabbed the sides of his head and forced him to look at me. Enough evasions, I wanted to know what he was hiding.
"Because? Because why, Charon?"
"Because I'm the reason you're in danger in the first place!" He spat, the anger in his voice was unlike anything I'd heard before. My hands fell from his face. My irritation replace by confusion.
"What? What are saying?"
His expression softened. His hand rose slowly, brushing away the stray hair that had fallen in front of my face. "Back in the tunnels...where we first met. I was sent down there to kill you."
