| Chapter 15

I always reminded myself I wasn't athletic. I wasn't a fighter. It was cool to learn from my uncle that my dad was a boxer, even if it was illegal. Just the idea of it was awesome, something new; something I'd never amount to be.

The image I had of my father was set high on a pedestal, glimmering with gold lights. Only made sense because the last time I'd seen him I was ten. Back then, he was just a hero to me. And after what my mother told me, he was a hero today.

But I had to admit to myself, sometimes I saw him as a ghost. A figment of my imagination. His memory was a shadow in my head, meant to bring me peace and solace.

That's not what I'm feeling right now. I'm not a hero like him. I failed.

Warm hands touched my face. Small bursts of electricity hit my skin. I groaned, a part of me wanting to run from the feeling. But the rest of me moved towards it. Following fingertips as they hastily stroked my face.

I'm a dependent, but not dependable.

"Gus," Vera's voice echoed in my ears. "Gus, please, wake up."

I wanted to wake up. Just open my eyes. But that was too much effort.

"Please, please." Vera had touched me. Her hands pushed into my hair. Her fingers ignited flames across my skull. I hissed, drawing in a deep breath. My eyes fluttered open.

She gasped, "Gus!"

She may have pulled me into her arms, but I didn't hold back. My arms were limp at my side. My head, still groggy, pounded uncomfortably. I tried to look at the room around us, only it wasn't a room at all.

There were bars surrounding us. Metal poles were pushed into the floor, tall enough to reach the ceiling. My eyes followed them up to their very tip where dim lights barely lit the space around us.

We're in a cell? Jail?

I tried to look outside of our cage, but there weren't lights there. Or movement.

"I was worried about you," Vera whispered near my ear. "You didn't move, you weren't really breathing. I don't know what he did to you but," she moved away just enough to cup my face, "you're okay."

"I'm... okay," I repeated what she'd said but I wasn't sure if I could agree. All Holmes had done was punch me in the face. So, why did I feel so defeated, as though a truck slammed right into me.

"Yeah," Vera tried to laugh, "yeah..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." A second voice echoed around us. Holmes. I knew the pitch, the sound of his laughter. Funny how someone could have such a negative effect on me.

We didn't do anything to deserve this.

I looked past Vera again and, in the shadows, approaching our cell, was indeed Holmes. His suit jacket was gone, leaving him in just a white top. The front of it had drops of blood. Parts were pink, as though he tried to clean it and failed.

We're innocent.

"Good to see you're awake. I thought keeping you both in here would be good, considering the plans I have going on tonight, I can't let you get in the way."

"Plans?" I put one arm around Vera and pulled her close to my side. "What plans? Holmes, I don't know what's going on, but you need to listen to me—"

"No." Holmes stood in front of our cell. He looked down at us, dark eyes picking up the little light we had. "You need to listen to me. And listen well. All of this should be over by tonight."

When his hands touched one of the bars, Vera whimpered and pressed her face against my shoulder. Those tears brimming her eyes fell, dampening my shirt. The fact that she was this scared around him made me think he'd done more when I was out.

Rubbing my face, I opened my mouth and cracked my jaw. What did he punch me with?

"Are you listening, Gus?" Holmes grinned maliciously. "It's but a small story. I do need all eyes on me, now."

My jaw cracked when I closed my mouth. Nodding, I said, "I'm listening."

"Good." Holmes pushed off the bars but didn't move far. He knew he needed to stand close. "I know you came to tell me about the ship falling. It'll crash. I need that to happen."

Vera looked up.

I shook my head. "What?" It hurt to move, but I did it. I needed to stand. It took everything to move towards the cell's bars. "But why? Aren't you in charge of this city? You're supposed to protect everyone."

"I am. Well, half in charge, but still, you're right." Holmes lifted his eyebrows up high as he pushed one hand into the pocket of his pants. "You see, the Pylons have slowly been leaving us for over a hundred years. One by one, they—" With his other hand, he opened his fingers wide, as though they exploded. "—poof, gone. And while I personally don't care about them or their existence, it is what they possess that matters."

My fingers slowly wrapped around one of the bars. "What do they have that you need?"

Holmes smiled and looked over at Vera. "Sapphire," he said. "You see, I've been waiting to receive their Rosepon seeds so I could grow our own stock here on Earth. If we were able to care for the plants by ourselves, then we wouldn't need them. We're all aware of how much we need the ether as humans. Sapphire is our livelihood."

"So, you crash their ship? What's crashing their ship supposed to do?"

"Leverage." With one finger, Holmes dabbed at the corner of his mouth. "You see, the ship's captain and this child's father—" He pointed at Vera. "—refused to share the seeds. And since they were threatening to leave I... I thought the fair would be a good idea to make them stay. What better way than to remain on Earth after having a whole event depicting their love of humans."

Slowly, he approached the bars. And sighed. "Considering all of the people they've killed so far..."

"We didn't do that!" Vera cried behind me. "Our ether is pure extract, taken directly from our rosepon plants."

"Oh, I know." Holmes smiled at her. "And we're aware that not everyone reacts as they should to the ether, but lately Sapphire has had so many casualties." He sighed again, but I felt as though the reaction was forced.

Lifting his eyes, he continued, "So, I'm pulling at my last thread. Unfortunately, sacrificing parts of the city will be for the greater good. A few people dead to save millions. It's the way it is sometimes."

"I don't understand." I grabbed the bars in front of me with both of my hands. "You sabotaged the ship to get them to crash? So, you can get some fuckin' seeds?"

Holmes only smiled at me. "Chicago is just a wonderful place in society. I wouldn't be a good leader if I just let them leave with the items that grant us power here on Earth."

I squeezed my eyes shut. "It's just... it's just a city..."

With a chuckle, Holmes pressed his lips out as he shook his head, then sucked his teeth. "Oh, you poor country boy, you wouldn't understand—"

Why is he calling me that?

"—Like your father didn't. He was a good man, I know it. And I see him in you, too." He pushed his hand between the bar and poked my chest. "I knew it the moment you told me your name. You look like him, too. He had the same look in his eyes when he and his friends told me my plan was worthless. To just stick to selling Sapphire, not tweaking it."

My dad sold Sapphire. Is that how he got it for my mom?

His hand closed into a fist as he yanked me against the bars. The metal hit my face, sending a surging pain through the back of my skull.

"And I'll tell you like I told him." Holmes brought his face in closer. His breath hit my lips as he laughed. "I didn't want to sell more products and make them look good. I wanted to make sure whatever it was I put in peoples hand destroyed the Pylon's reputation, just like he'd done to me."

He? Who?

"What?" I pulled myself out from Holmes' grasp and fell back. Vera crawled over to me. When she placed her hands on my face, I couldn't look at her.

I looked at Holmes. "You built a cage to lock us up. You—"

"Oh, this old thing?" Holmes cocked a brow and laughed. "You should've seen what an old family member would've done with this."

"But you," I bit my lip, "you're killing people."

"No." Both corners of Holmes' lips lifted into a sinister grin. "I killed just one. The others, those deaths are on the hands of my dealers. The blood on mine?" He looked down at his fingers. "Why, I wonder if you're the same type, hm?"

What he said echoed in the air for a moment. It moved. It danced. Like smoke, it left his lips and drifted towards me, suffocating me until my heart could nearly burst from my chest.

Anger pushed me to my feet. Emotions gave me the strength to move forward. Both of my arms slid straight between the bars that separated me from him and I clawed at the air. I swiped at him. I knew what he meant.

"What did you do to my father!" I shouted, tears welling up in my eyes. "What did you do to my family!"

"Oh." Holmes pretended to be hurt, his hand flat on his chest. "You were just a boy, weren't you? I'm sure there's a statutory limit on apologies, hm? I don't think I owe you one."

"No, no, no!"

Holmes turned around as I swiped at the air; it was all my hands could grab.

I screamed again, "No!" Louder than before. "NO!"

Vera's hand touched my arms. "Gus... I..."

I fought against the bars until I couldn't move. I tugged at them. Kicked them. I even slammed my head against the metal until blood trickled down my face.

When there wasn't an ounce of energy left in me, I fell. I dropped to my knees. And my tears poured out of me.

"Gus."

I shook my head, nothing to say. Without any strength left, I couldn't search for words either. I could only listen to the frozen cold settling within my mind. But like the dead, I was numb to the pain.