Why ?

An Unexpected Collaboration

A/N : Sorry for the delay, I got back yesterday from holiday and unpacked, etc... Anyway, you know. Already thanks for your support and some messages about the extra chapter posted by my friend (you're awesome by the way), it made me relax a bit more.

Today's chapter may seem a bit rushed but I didn't know how else to write it but it was a necessary part to continue the story.

This chapter follows on from chapter 9, The Deal

Gray POV

"Where am I?" I whispered as I looked around, but I couldn't see anything. It was like I was in the dark. Getting up slowly, I look for the light switch and eventually find it in a wall at the back. A green light dazzled me and once my eyes got used to it, I saw a red coat at my feet, covered with blood. Carmen's coat... I scream in panic.

"No ! No, no, no, no." I pick up the cloth and blood settles on my hands. No, it's not possible, she can't be dead, I have to find her. I exit via a door and run, clutching the coat to me like a child clinging to a priceless stuffed animal. All the corridors look the same, I feel like I'm running in circles but after a while I hear a cry of pain in the distance. The shrill voice is full of desperation and calls for help. I recognize it immediately as Carmen's. I run in that direction and arrive in the Faculty room. The professors form a semicircle with Carmen curled up in a ball in the center, covered in blood with open wounds. She begs them to stop, that she has learned her lesson. As I was about to run to her, Brunt notices me and warns me.

"Stay where you are Crackle, or your precious Carmen will pay the price." She kicks her in the abdomen as I nod. The Cleaners come up behind me and each hold an arm. The Faculty return their attention to Carmen and take turns kicking her again.

"Stop it ! Take me instead but let her. She's had enough. You are going to kill her !" They look at me and stop.

"Why don't we ask her opinion ?" sneers Maelstrom as he wipes the blood from his hands.

Brunt grabs her neck and pulls her to her feet before whispering something in Carmen's ear. She walks over to me as if none of these wounds exist and then... laughs. A cold, cruel laugh that doesn't sound right coming from her.

"What were you thinking coming here ? Did you think you were coming to save me from the bad guys like a helpful knight ?" She chuckles with a laugh that would be closer to Cleo's than hers. "Since when do you care about me. After all, these injuries are your fault. You abandoned me, willingly condemned me to this fate. I hate you Gray."

I am paralyzed by his behavior. These words hurt as if daggers were cutting into me from all sides. Her eyes are filled with hatred and contempt, her voice is icy, inhuman. The professors behind are all wearing smug, proud smiles as she walks back to them without ever leaving my sight.

"Carmen please. They manipulated you, you're not thinking clearly. I didn't want to hurt you and I feel bad about it. I'm sorry for Casa Blanca, for Poitier, for the Himalayas. I'm sorry for everything you had to go through because of me. Sorry for choosing VILE over you. Sorry for being an idiot, a jerk to you when you were only trying to save me. Sorry for complicating your life. You may hate me, but I love you." I say in a loud voice, then lower my head not wanting to see her contempt in her beautiful gray eyes. I whisper in a desperate tone. "I love you..."

"On the contrary, I've never had such a 'clear' mind as you say, and I know that love is only a weakness. You have been my weakness for too long. Faculty has allowed me to move past it to become a better version of myself. There is only power and those who are too weak to seek it." (A/N: small gift ref. Who found it ?)