The Ghost and the Darkness Volume 2 (The Fallocaust Series) (2 page)

Then he turned to me and I froze like a block of ice. His eyes moved back and forth as if analysing my face.

“Reno,” he whispered, like he had just realized who I was.

I nodded, my eyes burning as he made eye contact with me. “Yeah, I’m here, baby.”

He stared at me. “We need to have sex, right now. I need you to fuck me. Now. Now...”

I stared back at him; my mind blanking over his strange words and the odd... desperate tone he said them.

Reaver got up, the bloody water dripping off of his naked body. He stepped out and grabbed a towel. “Now, Reno. Now. You have to do it, now.”

My mouth opened, like my brain was commanding me to respond but all I did was stutter. “W-wha... no, baby...”

Reaver whirled around, his eyes desperate. “I need you to do this for me, Reno.”

“Baby... no. I can’t. That’s... that’s – that can’t happen,” I whispered to him. I put my hands on his shoulders and led him out of the bedroom. He let me, which surprised the fuck out of me, and I directed him towards his bedroom.

Then Elish was there. He looked at Reaver with his usual cold and emotionless gaze, taking in my friend’s bloodied, raw body before his purple eyes found Reaver’s face. “Well, you’re in a much different state than the last time you resurrected in here. Perhaps –”

Reaver clutched his towel to him and walked up to Elish. To my shock he grabbed the forearm of Elish’s robe and started trying to pull him to the door.

“Where... are we going?” Elish blinked.

“We’re having sex.”

This was serious, dear god, I knew this was serious. I knew my friend was in mental agony, and I knew he had been through hell...

But the perplexed and confounded look Elish gave Reaver almost made me burst out laughing. I hated myself for feeling that way, I really did but... it was what it was.

Ice Man put his hand on Reaver’s and gave it an awkward pat. “That will not be necessary. It looks like you have already cleaned yourself... to excess. Now you can sit down with some food. I have questions you must answer.”

Reaver looked down at Elish’s hand, then back up at him, then over to me.

And he started laughing... hard.

Tears sprung to my eyes. I made a move to comfort him but Elish raised a hand to stop me. “Reno... leave the room.”

“What!” I exclaimed. I stared at Elish in shock. “I’m not leaving... what are you... why?”

Reaver was still laughing, clutching the towel that was wrapped around him even tighter. His shoulders hunched and his head turned down.

“Do not go near him. Do not make eye contact with him. Slowly leave this room and get the leather briefcase resting beside the coffee table.” Elish’s voice was steady and calm, but held a stern tone to it that rubbed me the wrong way.

“I’ve known him since he was two, he’s not –” Just as I was outstretching my hand to pull Reaver away from Elish, my best friend snapped.

Elish grabbed Reaver as my friend lunged at me, his arms outstretched like he was going to gouge out my eyes. Reaver thrashed and tried to claw his way out of Elish’s arms, his legs rising off of the ground as he kicked and screamed.

“Briefcase, NOW!” Elish snapped at me. Even with his chimera strength he was having trouble holding Reaver. I immediately bolted and ran into the living room, hearing them scuffle as I grabbed the suitcase.

When I came back Reaver’s arms were being held behind his back, crushed against Elish’s chest as he held him in a death grip. Though Reaver wasn’t thrashing anymore, he was breathing heavily, his dark, glassy eyes wide and staring. I could hear a growl in his throat, and the corner of his eye twitching.

“What do you want me to get?” I asked anxiously. I cracked the briefcase open and started rooting through things.

“Amber liquid... hurry, he’s about to go into his psychosis again,” Elish commanded. He tightened his hold on Reaver and, sure enough, Reaver suddenly let out a bellowing yell before kicking his legs and desperately clawing Elish’s arms.

I got the needle full of amber liquid. “Does it need a vein?”

“No, put it into his neck.”

I inhaled a deep breath and positioned the needle. Elish grabbed Reaver’s head and yanked it back. I sunk the syringe into his neck and pushed down on the plunger.

“Shhh...” I shushed him. As Elish held his teeth far away from my hand I stroked his neck. Knowing I was probably stressing him out even more, but I think I needed it more than he didn’t.

In a matter of seconds Reaver’s muscles started to relax. Elish loosened his grip until Reaver’s breath started to slow to a normal level.

“Are you back?” Elish asked calmly.

“Yeah,” Reaver said breathlessly. I could see faint hints of Reaver start to come back to his face.

Then he made eye contact with me and nodded his head. “I’m... I’m okay, I think.”

Elish let him go and Reaver, now naked with his towel forgotten on the floor, sat down on the bed. He stared at his arms before once again looking at me. “Where am I?”

“The greyrifts apartment again. You’re safe and have been here for several days. Nero will not find you here,” Elish said. I noticed Reaver tensing when Nero’s name was mentioned.

My friend pushed past the reminder though and rose. “I want drugs... heroin. I’ll be okay, I just need something.”

Ice Man seemed to believe him. He picked up his briefcase and handed him a small white baggy. “Caligula was able to retrieve your pants they are on the dresser. Your shirt was destroyed in the gunfire but Jade has many shirts you can wear. Do the drugs you need and join me in the living room as soon as possible.”

“I need to talk to Killian,” Reaver replied as he started to put on his cargo pants.

An awkward silence crept into the room. Or at least it was awkward for me. I watched Elish and saw his jaw lock.

“Come... join me in the living room.” Elish walked past Reaver and left the bedroom without another word.

Reaver belted up his pants and ran a hand along his skin; though he didn’t comment on the swollen, red chafe marks that I knew must be hurting him. Then, without a word, he dumped a pile of the china white onto the top of his fist and snorted all of it in two inhales.

After dressing himself Reaver joined us in the living room. He looked around and I knew he was looking for Killian, wondering why his boyfriend wasn’t with us.

I knew my friend’s mind was shot. I knew the gears weren’t working properly because he was still looking around for Killian when Elish handed him a cup of tea. The Reaver who had his mind entirely there would have clued in just from the way we were acting.

My poor Reaver. I didn’t want to know the details of what went on when he was with Nero, but I knew it had done damage to him. He was just... he felt like an open wound, for lack of a better word, a wire frayed at the edges, still holding an electric current. Reaver had never gone through anything like that. He had never been dominated in that way.

I didn’t know how someone like him, so full of pride and control, would handle it.

With me and Killian... we had both been raped but we were the more... submissive types. We were Reaver’s best friends, so we were used to being the sidekicks, the subs, or well... the bottoms.

But him...

He was made out of marble, and Killian and I more like rubber. He was stronger than us but we could bend and adjust... Reaver was strong but when he cracked...

... he cracked.

Fuck. My eyes closed and I took a deep breath. Anyone but him. Not Reaver.

Reaver isn’t strong enough to handle this; he’s strong in so many ways but he isn’t strong when it comes to him being controlled.

Because no one dominates him. How could he build up a defense against something he never fathomed would happen? Someone taking that from him, taking that control, it goes against the very fabric of his nature. I was almost surprised the world hadn’t imploded all around us. That another Fallocaust hadn’t started just from the vile and heinous act that had happened in that mansion. I knew Reaver’s personality, and I knew the opened wound he was now, was soon going to start to rot.

I watched Reaver, staring into the tea mug, and for the first time in our friendship...

I feared for him.

Elish seemed to understand him and I suppose someone like Elish had been around chimeras similar to Reaver. He must have dealt with this thing before with his brothers.

I watched Elish take a sip of his tea before lightly clasping the mug with both hands.

“Reaver... where were you four heading? Why did you leave the outskirts of Krieg?” Elish asked calmly.

Then... it dawned on him. Reaver’s eyes widened and he looked at Elish. “You... you don’t have Killian?”

Elish slowly shook his head. “I do not know where you were heading, or why. We rescued you from the mansion several miles from Cardinalhall. That is all we know. No one else was with you.”

Reaver stared at him for a moment. “We were... Jade was able to see something in Perish, unlocked something inside of his brain, I think. Falkland was its name. The Legion were swarming and we had to get out of there. A slaver offered us merc work to help them pass the mountains. We took it thinking it would make us blend in. They should be... they’re near the town by now. I think –”

Elish held up a hand, but I saw a hardness come to his eyes. “Jade was able to infiltrate Perish’s brain? Falkland is where the O.L.S is located?”

Reaver nodded. “We left after you told Jade that Jack was coming.”

Reaver paused and tried to think. “In an abandoned town we met a slaver named Hopper. He said he was heading to a town close to Falkland, or Falkvalley as it is called now. I saw it as a good opportunity to not only get far away from the Legion, but blend in with the greywastes.”

“Falkvalley?” Elish repeated. “I know that town. The slavers were heading to Melchai I am to assume?”

Reaver nodded. “He was bringing slaves there to sell.”

Elish took this in, his brain seeming to mull the information over. I assumed to figure out how safe his pet and husband was at that moment.

“How long after you fled from Jack and the Legion did you join up with this slaver?”

“Pretty much right away. A day after maybe?” Reaver replied.

“So, the boys have been... on this road and with those slaves for over a month and a half?”

Reaver nodded again. “Hopper seemed alright though. The boys will hate us for quite a while but... they’re fine. When are we going to get them?”

“As soon as I can get my plane.” Elish rose and reached into his pocket. He brought the remote phone up to his ear and left the room.

When he was gone I reached over and poked my friend in the face. “You okay, baby?”

Reaver batted my hand away and nodded, still staring into his tea mug. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be? I’m... good.”

Why wouldn’t you be? Well, I guess this was normal for him, a normal reaction anyways. He would never let me under his armor now, he wouldn’t let anyone. Now he was going to steel himself up, erect his barriers and bandage the wound so it could rot out of sight.

I had done the same thing... and it hadn’t worked out too well for me.

My tooth found my lower lip but I pushed down the tendrils of fear that were weaving their way up my throat. I wonder if he knew that I had seen first-hand what Nero had been doing to him.

But he knew I knew... though perhaps that was as far as it would ever go.

“I love you, man,” I said quietly. “I missed you.”

Reaver’s face didn’t change; he just stared into his tea mug. I wonder if he was looking at his own reflection. I know I couldn’t stand to look at myself in the mirror for months.

My friend nodded and proceeded to do more drugs. Nothing else was said until Elish came into the room. After a quick mention that the plane was on its way, we all got ready to leave.

“Are... are you sure you’re okay, buddy? You kinda...” I began as we walked down the hall towards the plane.

Reaver tensed a bit, a duffle bag full of food and supplies now on his back. “I’m fine,” he replied in a dangerous tone. I decided to leave it at that, though I knew he wasn’t. How could he be?

But I let it go, because I knew as sure as I knew the breath in my lungs that pushing him would do no good. I guess we all had our own bad memories we wanted to shove down. My memories of the Crimstones and Trig had been barred off and welded shut.

I smiled at Nico and Caligula as they jumped off the plane, but it quickly faded when I saw Caligula’s eyes shoot to Reaver.

Immediately a dark mood pressed down on us. Reaver’s eyes, fixed on Caligula, watched the soldier chimera shift his gaze away and start loading in our supplies.

“I killed Tim.”

Those words brought such an ice to the hanger that it seemed time stood still. I stared at Reaver in shock wondering if I was going to have to unhinge his jaw from Caligula’s neck or vise versa.

I looked to Elish to interject but he only watched as Caligula slowly turned around.

“Yeah, and it was me who ambushed Lycos. If you want to spend the rest of our eternal lives ripping each other to shreds over it, fine. But I would rather forget the past and move on fresh. There are more important things at stake,” Caligula replied coldly. “We would make better allies than we would enemies, brother.”