His Only Hope

The Enemy

"Diego, calm down!" you shouted, walking over as quickly as you could. "Too far. We're not threatening anyone." When Diego ignored you, you scoffed, stepping forward and wrenching the knife from his grip before turning to Sloane. Diego protested loudly and quickly reached for another knife, but you formed a shield around him even though it hurt. "Listen, I'm sorry about all this," you told her, raising your hands and dropping the knife to show you meant her no harm. "I'm sorry about your siblings, but that wasn't us, and it definitely wasn't Luther, okay? Our families are both screwed up, but I don't think you want to hurt anyone." Sloane stared at you, her bottom lip quivering. You felt a rush of pity for her, and she must have seen the sincerity in your eyes, because she dropped Luther.

Maybe a little harder than necessary, but she did nonetheless.

You released the shield around Diego, more out of exhaustion that anything, and he grabbed Sloane again.

"It's okay, Diego, you can let her go now," Luther gasped, trying to catch his breath.

"What, let her go?" Diego asked incredulously. "She's the enemy."

He pressed the point of a dagger into Sloane's neck, and your pulse jumped into your throat. He was too close to her for you to make a shield, and his grip on the dagger was tighter this time.

"If you hurt her, I will bury you," Luther growled, advancing on him.

"You gonna bury me too, Luther?" Allison burst, marching in. The atmosphere turned tense and awkward, and your eyes shifted between everyone in the room nervously.

"Just..." Luther paused, breathing heavily as he looked around. "Just let me talk to her, okay? Please."

"Trust me," Allison said as Sloane sobbed quietly, her eyes wide with terror. "She's gonna talk."

"It's okay," Luther said softly, but your mouth pressed into a firm line.

"Allison, isn't this-"

"Quiet, Eight," she snapped, turning to face you. "This isn't your decision. You're too weak to make the important choices."

"I'm not weak!"

Allison strode over so that she towered above you, her face hovering inches from yours. You stared back at her defiantly, locking your jaw.

"Then prove it," she said, smiling sarcastically. "If you can't handle a little interrogation, you can leave."

You let out an angry huff of breath, but looked at the ground until she walked away. Diego, by now, had sat on the edge of the bath, eyeing you with his brows furrowed. Sloane was leaning against the wall, cornered by your siblings. You felt disgusting. Diego began tossing his knife in the air languidly.

"I heard a rumor," Allison began, and Luther's head snapped to her.

"Whoa, whoa, Allison, hey!" 

"That you told the truth."

"Let her do her thing, man," Diego said, and you chewed on your bottom lip, shifting on your feet uncomfortably. If somebody did this to one of your siblings...

No. Just no.

Sloane's eyes turned the pale white of those under Allison's control, and Allison leaned closer to her.

"Where's the briefcase?"

Sloane whimpered, quivering, as she struggled. When a tear rolled down her face, you shook your head.

"Allison, enough."

"Tell me," Allison growled, ignoring you. "Where is it?"

Sloane whimpered some more, her mouth opening slightly as though she were about to speak before she clamped it shut again.

"Where the fuck is it?" Allison asked, getting in her face and raising her voice.

"I don't know!" Sloane finally burst, her eyes widening.

"Allison!" Luther shouted.

"We left it in your house, and it is our only way out of this!" Allison yelled desperately, and you shut your eyes briefly. She had to be hurting, but... this was too far. "Where is it?!"

Her power filtered into Sloane, and her eyes somehow turned even paler as she gasped for air. When her nose began bleeding, you used a force field to sweep Allison to the side as Luther dove to catch Sloane before she fell.

"You should ask yourself which side you're on, guys," Diego said, sliding his dagger back into his belt.

"Just get the hell out," Luther said loudly, and you backed away before hurrying into the hallway.

"Don't tell me what to do," you heard Diego growl, approaching Luther, before Allison screamed at everyone to leave. Diego followed you, and you shoved his chest angrily once he was in the hallway.

"What the hell, Diego?" you whisper-yelled, glaring up at him. "What happened to you being a vigilante? A hero?"

"She's the enemy," he said, pointing back at the bathroom without breaking eye contact. "We're the good guys, okay, Eight? I get that that might be a hard concept for you to grasp, but-"

"I'm not fucking stupid!" you shouted, before pressing your fingers to your temples when Diego raised his eyebrows. "I'm not stupid. I'm not a kid. I have my own opinions and I know things and - Sloane is not a bad person just because she's on the wrong side. And no matter what, whether they're good or evil, it's not okay to torture people."

Diego looked away, shaking his head, and you scoffed.

"You don't even listen. I'm out of here."

"Wait, Eight-"

You ignored him, storming to your room and flopping into your bed. It had never felt better to just relax, to just get some rest...

You woke up to a rustling sound in your room. You sat up immediately, gasping when you saw a figure that definitely wasn't any of your siblings. You yanked your blanket up to cover yourself even though you were in your normal clothes before realizing it was Harlan.

"What are you doing?" you asked suspiciously. He had been looking at the newspaper clippings of your mothers, and his face twisted with rage when he saw you. He stumbled out of the room, and you took a moment just to calm yourself, your heart still racing.

When you managed to stagger into the hallway, your legs still half asleep, you only caught the end of what Viktor was saying to Harlan.

"It was you. You killed our mothers."

Your mouth dropped open, and you quickly slapped your hand over it, eyes widening.

"What the hell?" you gasped, and the two turned to face you, shock registered on Viktor's face as well. "What the hell, Viktor? What does that mean?"