The Terror Gaze: Book 2 of The Mortal Guard Series

Chapter 38 - Richard and Tyler: The Blame Game

Chapter 38 - THE SHIFTING HOUSE ARC PART 6 - Richard and Tyler: "The Blame Game"

4 hours later . . .

Richard rubbed his face, sitting against the wall on the floor of one of the bedrooms, eating a granola bar. His light was shining forward into the pitch-black darkness as he stared forward, chewing and swallowing hungrily. The raccoon was on high alert after Nick had called him and told him the group wasn't alone in the house—there was a killer robot on the loose.

There was some shuffling beside him as Tyler sat down, sliding down the wall and sighing. "Holy shit, Richard."

"Yes?"

"Do you think that thing can open doors?" the German shepherd worried, pulling his legs up to his chest. "I shut it, but I'm anxious."

"There's a very real possibility," Richard answered. "I think it would break down the door anyway if it knew we were in here."

"That's reassuring."

The room they were in was one of the bedrooms. Based on the layout they had seen before, it wasn't the master bedroom. There were two beds separated from one another and two dressers on either side of the room. It was clearly the kids' rooms. There were clothes and toys strewn about the floor, and Richard got the feeling that this whole fiasco started before any of the family knew it was coming.

Tyler rubbed his hands together. "So, we're just sitting ducks? Nick said we can't even shoot it!"

Richard placed a hand on his arm. "Calm down, Tyler. We'll be alright as long as we remain vigilant. We're not staying in this room, anyway."

"We're not?"

"Of course not. We need to get to work searching the house for that piece of tech."

Tyler huffed. "What about the robot?"

"We don't have any other choice," said Richard. "The sooner we find it, the sooner we're out, understand?"

"I get it."

Richard took his hand back, taking the last bite of his granola bar. "We're only taking a break right now."

"Yeah."

"I've been wondering about something for a while." Richard may have been alone with Tyler, but at least knew him. He wasn't prepared for when he would be alone with someone like Dmitri or even Adrian, animals whom he didn't know that well. Pierce had a relaxing and fun energy that calmed him, so he didn't think he would have any issue talking to them.

Tyler looked at him, then remembered the light on his head. "What is it?"

"What was Boris like before . . . all of this?" The raccoon crumpled up his trash and blinked, wondering where to throw it away. He got up, searching for a trash bin.

Tyler leaned his head back against the wall, his light sliding onto the ceiling. "So different, but the same, in a way. Before we began hanging out, he was always stressed and worried about something. I remember being so mad at how he always made the world seem like a horrible place when I felt like he didn't know the half of it."

"Do you think the world is a horrible place?" Richard questioned, sticking his legs out.

"Do you? The worst stuff has happened to you."

Richard rubbed his face, sighing as he found a small white plastic trash can and tossed his granola bar wrapper in. "The world can be cruel, yes. But everything bad eventually ends, Tyler."

"Does it?"

"That's what I have to tell myself," Richard told him, taking a seat on the edge of the bed and staring at the floor with his light. "I just think about how I actually feel happiness these days. I mean, I never thought about romance but now I have a boyfriend I'm dedicated to."