Chronicles of the Fall- #1- Empty Night

Chapter 17: All Hell Breaks Loose

Hampton clicks the safety off his gun, shoving his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. He doesn't take his hand off his weapon, for he knows that there is a good chance that conflict will occur. The thought of a fight makes his stomach twist and churn.

    'Why did it have to come to this?' he thinks grimly. 'There has to be another way...'

    There isn't, though. He knows that his thoughts are pipe dreams, and that the only way they'll get through the problem at hand is through the grace of God and sheer willpower. And spilled blood...

    "What if this heads south?" asks Laken, her eyes betraying worry and fear.

    "We fight tooth and claw and bullets. We won't give in, no matter what," DJ replies. The safety on her gun is also off, and fitted in between her waistband and her stomach for easy retrieval. Both sets of brass knuckles are on her hands, and she makes no effort to conceal them.

    'Now or never,' thinks DJ as the original commons area comes into sight.

All the members of the Council look up, and upon the sight of the Elites walking towards them, they rise. Tripp takes a couple steps forward, and then stands still, his thick arms crossed smugly across his chest. There's a victorious smirk on his features.

The Elites hang spread out in a semicircle behind DJ as she breaks away from them. Her mind is racing, her heartbeat beginning to speed up. She fears what the next few minutes will bring.

Faith crosses herself, praying under her breath. She is the most fearful one here; she can sense Tripp's hostility, his open smugness at the entire situation. Faith knows that Tripp will do whatever he can to get his way, just like Satan tried to do when he was an angel, trying to win God's favour over the humans...

"Well, Queen Bee," Tripp says, raising his eyebrows. "What do you say?"

Silence hangs heavy about the divided group. Puffs of vapour drift from everybody's mouth, their breaths frosting in the cold air around their faces. The dark, brooding needles of the evergreens droop low, as if even they are interested in the exchange. The sun is dipping behind the immense form of Grant Mountain, staining the sky red, perhaps to signal the coming bloodshed.

"No."

Tripp's eyes narrow. He didn't expect her to refuse. "No? No?! What do you mean, 'No'?!"

DJ's fists clench slightly, ready for action, "We won't join the Council. Not with somebody like you in charge." She watches Tripp's actions, reading him, watching for the slightest indication that he's going to attack.

"You idiot!" snarls Tripp. "You ignorant, stubborn, naive little bitch! Can't you see what I'm trying to build here? I'm trying to build something great, something that will work. That will keep us alive! I could have just killed you all because you didn't support me! But I'm not like that! No. I let you live, and I'm even willing to let you in on a system that will keep you and your little minions' sorry asses alive! I-"

"You shut your mouth, prick!" DJ hisses, taking a step towards Tripp. A vein snakes up the boy's neck, his eyes blazing with an icy fury. He opens his mouth, but DJ doesn't give him time to speak.

"See how you just said 'I', in every single sentence that just came out of your mouth? I'm sure the rest of the 'Council' is wondering why that is. Well here's why: Tripp doesn't want any of your opinions. He doesn't want all of us to help m0ake decisions. He doesn't want to 'protect the weak'. All he wants to do is have all that power, which you all have just given to him, to himself. And that's exactly what's happening," DJ explains, the venom in her words making her voice resonate loud and sharp, echoing around the zoo.