Mystical Reader

           I don’t understand why she doesn’t trust me. Isn’t it enough that I keep saving her ass all the time? She does have fight though, but she’s not a killer. I watched her rinse her wounds in the bathroom back in the meeting room. The sink turned pink as it washed away her blood.  My eyes drifted over her exposed back and I hated how her scars are starting to add up. I remembered how innocent she seemed the first day she arrived in the Shadow Lands; still, it makes me wonder why a girl like her was sent to the same hell I was in.

 

          That cut on her neck was nasty, it has to be cleaned right or it will get infected. I tossed her a towel, which she glanced at suspiciously and then lifted an eyebrow.

 

          “Don’t worry it's mine. I washed it yesterday.” I smirked and winked at her, “You know I don’t mind you rubbing your sweet self against it.” She snorted a laugh and then shook her head as she dried off.

 

          “Yeah whatever Marcus…” she responded with a light sigh and I tried my best not to show how it added to my concern. If I had been a few seconds later she would have been killed.

 

          “Hey Marc…won’t Boss get upset that you killed Martinez?” her voice was timid, and I couldn’t help but push back the desire to wrap my arms around her to comfort her.

 

          “After I explain to him what he did, he won’t care much. You know how he is about loyalty. It applies to everyone in our group. We don’t attack our own.” I stood up and handed her the sweater she had been wearing. She accepted it but didn’t return my gaze.

 

          “Zoe,” I said sternly and I watched as her shoulders tensed midway as she slipped the sweater over her head. It was only for a brief moment until she continued the motion and pulled it down to cover herself up once more, “I’ve been patient with you, month after month I take care of you and you won’t even tell me why you were sent here?” I couldn’t hide my annoyance.

 

          She side glanced at me and I met her eyes, but I felt the muscles in my jaw tighten when she responded, “Neither have you.”

 

          I couldn’t help but exhale the built-up breath that I was holding in my chest, counting down from five before I looked back up at her, “You want to play that game?” She turned to face me and crossed her arms as she leaned against the sink.

 

          “I killed my sister by accident. Some guys gave me a target to take out during my final stage in my initiation into the gang.” I felt my throat dry up but I needed to make my point that communication and trust was needed, “It was late, she was wearing a hoody and I grabbed her shoulder, turned her, and stabbed her in the stomach.” I could almost see her face, her wide eyes looking at me with shock and confusion. I remember the instant regret, and the powerful desire to take back what I had just done. She was all I had… I had done it for her, to offer her a better future. She was just starting college and there wasn’t enough money for everything she needed, but I knew if I couldn’t get out of the slums, I sure as hell was going to make sure she would.

 

          There were rumors going around that the local gang was looking for members. Everyone knew that if you worked for them, there would be tons of money if you joined their gang. I hopped on the chance and found the right people to talk to. First, it was a few low profile jobs like tagging up streets or stealing things from a car. I did everything I was told to stay on their good side. The money was great. I managed to get her through her first semester without loans or worries. I told her the money was clean, from my day job as a bouncer, but I think she knew it wasn’t all clean. Then one day they told me there was a mark, some guy's girlfriend was caught cheating and had to be taught a lesson. Scare her a bit. I just never thought it would be...well, it’s too late for regrets now. “By the time I registered her face, I had already torn through her vital organs and she bled out before the ambulance arrived. I turned myself in and now I’m here, 7 years later.” By the time I finished my chest felt like I had just been hit by an eighteen-wheeler.

         

           I met Zoe’s gaze and I saw what I expected; pity, and understanding. She pursed her lips as if determining to believe me or not, but then she looked down. She always struggled with eye contact, though I haven’t figured out yet if it’s because she was shy, or always lying.

 

          “I hacked into a few big-name donors that keep the N.E.P. running and attempted to leak out the information about their profits to the public, but the NSA tracked me down before I had finished loading it up on the internet. To keep it quiet, they sent me here.” She said simply, but I knew her form of speaking enough to know the steadiness of it meant she was telling me the truth.

 

          So she was a good guy after all; no wonder I liked her. She grabbed her jacket and scarf and said hesitantly, “I guess we should return, Boss will be back any minute and we still have to talk to the guys about what we should do. Do you think we should kill off half of our population or just move on to another group?”

 

          “Honestly I don’t care. I do what I’m told because it’s the best way to stay alive in this place. He gives us options but you know we really don’t have a say. Parker probably already has his mindset on what he will do next. He’s too power-hungry to just control this little town. He most likely has his sight set on Boston. There’s a lot of supplies left behind by the people that used to live there.” I answered. I lifted the shiv I took from Jason and wiped it on my jeans. When I looked back at her she was fully dressed and wrapped her scarf around her chest and neck, concealing her wounds. Her face was straight; it made me want to play poker with her, strip poker.

 

          There was just something about Zoe that made me feel protective of her, or maybe it was more possessive. There’s a reason there aren’t any women in the inner circle, it’s not safe. Even the toughest of the Valkyries would feel outmatched in this group. It’s by some miracle that Zoe has survived, and I’m sure it’s because I’ve claimed her as my paramour. It was just to explain why I moved her in with me almost as soon as she arrived here, but it was also the best way to keep her safe. Nobody would question me, much less risk adding themselves onto my shit list. Not to mention, I wouldn’t mind if she would ever actually take me up on our status and just spend a freaking night in my bed. She always acts like it’s gonna kill her or something. Or maybe she thinks I would?

 

          She opens the door, snapping me out of my mental rant and I followed her back to the meeting room. Before we knew it, Parker came back and lo and behold, I was right after all. He declared that we would infiltrate and claim the surrounding territories around Boston to corral and conquer it once we got those communities to join and follow him. Anyone that didn’t follow would be killed. Man or woman, it didn’t matter. Nobody that was sent to the N.E.P. was innocent anyway. I had to admit, it was a little… extreme. There should be about 200k people in Boston. How could a colony of a little under 4k handle that? This wasn’t an overnight operation…  Not even close.