Don't Ever Trust the Devil

Chapter 22

Andy's POV

Days have gone by. All of the Runaway groups have arrived in the IRH.

Today there's a special announcement from the Angel herself.

"Greetings. I am Caroline." She speaks, black wings shadowing over everyone. She's wearing the same light dress she wore on the Prisoners of War music video. That video was meant to show people our story, and it was all Caroline's idea. "I am to you what Johnny is to the Raven and his Scarecrows."

Crystal walks up beside me.

"It is a great honor to have all ten thousand Runaways finally together and united." She smiles. Her wings flap, causing the air to lightly sway. "Unfortunately, I must make my way back upstairs, no sooner than sunset. Before I leave, I'd like to thank every Guardian for being there for their Pods. The leaders for being there for their Runaways. And especially, a big thank you to all Runaways. Together we will fight, and we will defeat the Raven."

Somebody shouts in the crowd. "What about Johnny?"

"Johnny shall be delt with later. But for now our first target is the Raven and his army." She folds her hands together. "You will train until you cannot train anymore, you will be the strongest you could ever be." She pauses. "You will listen and follow the instructions that are given by your leaders. And, of course, have a great time at the IRH." Everyone cheers as she pumps her giant black wings and floats above us all.

I turn to see Crystal's eyes lit up in amazement. "She's beautiful." She says.

"Very. Let's go get some dinner." I smile and wrap my arm around her shoulders.

"What if we're attacked here? What if all of the Runaways are destroyed? We're all together now." She says.

I sigh. "I was thinking the same. But our walls are built high, our security is strong. Runaways are much smarter, faster and stronger than Scarecrows will ever be."

We walk over to the cafeteria. I order myself a small beer as I watch Crystal devour her meal.

"Are you not hungry?" She asks, face stuffed with food.

I laugh. "Not really."

"We could leave if you'd like."

"It's okay. Finish, I'll wait for you."

Brandon walks over. "Yo."

"Yo." I reply.

"I've been thinking..." He hesitates. "I-I want to..." He shakes his head. "This is hard."

"It's okay, Brandon. We're here for you." I say, patting his back.

He takes a deep breath in. "I want t-to ask C-Caroline if I can become a g-guardian again." He sighs. "I want to get p-passed Johnny. I need to sh-show him that I'm n-not afraid, and a new p-pod might help."

"Oh my gosh." I stand up and smile. "Yes! Yes, Brandon!" I hug him. "A new pod would be amazing. It's been a long while, I think its time."

Brandon smiles back. "You really think I should?

"Of course. Moving on is the best thing to do. With Johnny close you can prove to him that you're stronger without him."

Brandons eyes light up. "I'll go tell C-Caroline." He then scurries off.

I sit back down, a goofy grin on my face.

Crystal laughs, her mouth filled with food. She swallows. "What was that?"

"Brandon wants to move on from Johnny. This is amazing, he hasn't had a pod for years now."

"Pod?"

"Yeah, you're my pod. I'm your guardian."

It takes her a moment. Her eyebrows raise. "Oh!" She nearly jumps out of her seat. "This is fantastic, Brandon will be so happy!"

We chat about it, waiting for Brandon to come back with news, but he doesn't.

"Hey, I'm gonna go back to the room." I say to Crys.

"Alright. I'm gonna hang with Meghan." She waves to me as I head back.

I go up the elevator, clicking the fourth button.

As I walk down the hall, Benn stops me.

"Hey, Andy."

"Oh, hey Benn. What's up?"

"Could you come over to my room for a minute?"

I nod and we walk over. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah... I just, there's something wrong about my room."

He opens the door and there I see it, his room is pitch black even though it's still the evening. The window is painted black. In the center is a handprint, the only spot that there's light.

"What the fuck?" I run to the window. I touch it, but the paint is coming from outside.

"I don't know, man." Benn sighs. I can hear the worry in his voice.

"What do you think happened?"

"Honestly, I think it was Johnny."

There was silence.

I sit on his bed. "You can't let Brandon see this. You can't."

"I know. He told me about finding a new pod. I don't know what I'm gonna do."

I think for a few minutes. "Switch rooms with Crys and I." I stand up. "And hurry."

He doesn't question it. He grabs everything and takes my keys as I take his.

I'm just praying that Brandon doesn't see any of it.

~~~~~

Thanks so much for 500 views! :)
I've been on break and I've had a tiny bit of time to write, so I'll leave this here. Also, Merry late Christmas and Happy late New Year!!
-E