“My kind? Your kind spits out the air from their lungs if they have to share it with us for too long with us. Don’t accuse my kind of being the ones to cause friction between our species.”
“Our kind only clings to what little bit of power we have left, and soon you’ll do the same. Let me know how you feel when that time arrives. Tell me if you can be so cavalier and smug then,” he mumbles.
“What does that mean?”
“It means, I pity anyone who dares to cross anyone the way we did. It’s all going to go to hell. You’ll see,” his whispered voice continues, and then I hear the snap of the cuffs before the crushing blades slice into his wrists.
Blood spews free as he drops to the ground, his knees pounding the concrete first before his body collapses in a fold. There’s no way he can survive this, not in his already weakened state. His lifeless corpse jerks lightly as his nerves react. My gaping eyes can’t move away from the ghastly sight I never expected to see. Why wait until now to kill himself? Why survive that attack out there to kill himself in here? It makes no sense.
As if in slow motion, bodies pour into the small room. My eyes fall on the steel table splattered in blood. The shiny surface offers me a bit of blurry insight to my own red speckled state. I very, very carefully wipe the blood away from my lips. If he’s not dead, that could cause some serious problems. I sure as hell don’t want to blood fuck him.
Hale and Brazen both squat to examine the full blood that has just intentionally killed himself while the medics rush in with cold bags of blood to revive our once viable suspect/witness.
“It’s too late. With the high levels uranium still in his veins, the blood he just lost is too much. Fuck,” Hale huffs, and he stands up to walk back over to me.
“Did you understand any of what he was saying?”
He shakes his head in response to my question, and Brazen grips the back of his head as his elbows rise to the air.
“I’m about sick of the riddles and bullshit. It’s as if we’re being played no matter what circle we step into,” Brazen growls.
Hale’s lips purse as he stares at the man encircled by his own pool of blood.
“I’m sick of it too,” I mumble, and Hale’s hand takes mine in his as Clay joins us with agitation etched into every piece of his expression.
“Damn. He was a talker too,” he gripes while stooping to inspect the scene.
“I know. He was so close to giving me everything since he had just lost it all. He was dying to tell me more. I should have let a full blood come in here instead of me when I saw how ripe he was. I let my damn pride ruin this investigation,” I guiltily grouse while plopping into a cold, steel chair.
“This investigation is already over. The Rising is no longer a threat, so you didn’t ruin it,” Hale soothes.
“It would have been nice to understand why they acted so wild.”
“Not everything is meant to be found out. This will just have to irk us.”
“Can we please get the hell out of here now?” Brazen mumbles while tossing his gloves into the trash.
“I think that’s a great idea,” Clay sighs, and they lead the way out of the messy box full of the man’s spilled life.
“Araya? Hale? Wow. I never thought I’d see the two of you back together after the most infamous breakup of all time,” Melody - the human gossip queen - scoffs in disbelief.
“Melody,” Hale says in acknowledgement through tight lips.
“I can’t believe the two of you made amends, but here you are in Selma again, while holding hands.”
I roll my eyes, and then I see several of our old hybrid friends coming over to gush in disbelief.
So close. We were so fucking close to avoiding this.
“Are you two engaged?” Hank asks.
“Are you two married?” Elaine asks.
“Are you two-”
“Stop. We’re just dating,” I huff in interruption of the incessant line of questions they plan to continue.
“I’m a fool for letting her go, and we’re about to head back to Seminole now. I’m the captain there, and Araya is about to become the lead interrogator.”
