Page 37 of Remnants: Disruption
Not trying to choke me out this time.
“Why?” she asks, voice soft, but demanding an answer.
“Why shouldn’t I just—” I begin to draw the knife across my throat, but something stops me. Not her, and not the shadows either.
The shadows aren’t fighting for me, this time. They’re not trying to save me.
“Please give me the knife.”
The moment of hesitation turns into two, then three. And, finally, I let it clatter to the ground.
A hand runs through my unbound hair; trimmed fingernails massage at my scalp.
"Why?" I whisper, staring into the beautiful orange irises.
“Because we need you,” she inhales sharply. “I need you.”
Soft lips press to my forehead and my senses darken into nothingness.
Chapter 20
GOD
Eight A.M., October 24th, 1030 A.D.
The Guild of Defenders was founded in the early 950s as a Remnant response team. After the Affliction War, DAEMON invested in the project in an attempt to curtail any further conflict over Affliction resources.
A Beginners Guide to the G.O.D., 1000 A.D.
My eyes are crusted with shed tears as I slowly open them to the overcast light from the pulled blinds. Bedding presses softly to my back, the sheets covering me nearly to my chin.
“The fuck?” I whisper, blinking my eyes to take in the room.
My bedroom.
I sit up slowly, no longer feeling the stabbing pain from the night previous. My skin feels smooth when I reach behind to palpate along where I know there had been bandages. Hell, I’m even dressed down in a white sports bra and—
And just underwear.
My heart starts to thrum again as I pat at my neck to find no evidence of where the knife had pierced my skin.
Mind racing, I try to recall last night. The voices had been so damned loud. They’d been so insistent. And they’d been so right, too.
Why hadn’t I done it?
I push back the covers and swing my legs over the edge. The floorboards feel cool as I pad back into the kitchen.
Except there’s no glass. No evidence of my malpractice. Nothing to suggest that I’d lost control.
There aren’t any knives in the block.
The couch looks unruffled. The trash holds no bloodied bandages, nothing to even remotely show that last night had been anything but a fevered dream.
My phone lights up on the kitchen table and I cross the kitchen to grab it. The first thing I notice is that the battery is fully charged, despite the device being nowhere near my charger. The second is the notification at the top of the screen.
A summons. One I’d been desperately hoping would never show up again.
Nothing from Percy. Not even a single noticeable sign that she’d even been here last night—that she now knew everything. Though why would she? If last night had actually happened,then it’s more than likely she’ll turn me in. Hell, it’s a wonder the NCPD isn't busting down my door as I stand here dumbfounded in my kitchen.
