thanatophobia // joshler [✓]

kill and tell

as patrick helped me pack gear for the trip i couldn't help but remember what pete said just a few minutes prior. although it was cute, it put pressure on me.

i can just about take care of myself, how am i supposed to keep patrick safe too?

these thoughts were lingering in my head for a while but a familiar voice snapped me out of my thoughts. it was dallon standing at the doorway.

"hey josh, can we talk for a minute?" his tone was rather calm, so i didn't suspect the worse yet.

i walked towards him and we stepped out of patricks room to talk. i couldn't help but stare at the bruise on his cheek, and i felt guilty whenever i did.

he noticed that i was eyeing his wound, "oh, this?"
he motioned towards it, "it's nothing, don't worry about it."

i nodded, still not believing him, but i wasn't doing to argue that he was wrong. the less he blamed me, the better.

"so you're going on that pretty tough mission, huh?" he gave me a half smile.
"uh-- yeah... why?" i didn't know what he was getting at.

"oh it's nothing," he shrugged but he a smirk that he couldn't hide crept onto his face, "i want you to do me a little favor."

i heavily exhaled, "what's the favor?"

"so i know you feel bad about what tyler did to me, but you don't have to... if you could 'take care' of ryan for me." he exaggerated the words 'take care'.

"you want me to protect him don't you?" i sighed, knowing the drill after pete's request.

"protect him?" dallons face changes from determined to disgusted, "i don't need your protect him, i'm asking the opposite."

"y-you don't want me to protect him?" i squinted my eyes in confusion.

"i want you to make sure he doesn't come back." he said in a low growl.

my eyes widened and my blood went cold. i knew these guys were insane, but this, this wasn't what i imagined. i thought they were a fucked up group of individuals that don't care for anything except each other.

but they're actually fucked up individuals who want each other dead.

"wh--wha--"
"don't act dumb, i didn't kill you for a reason. i've done you too many favors and now it's your time to return one. make sure ryan ross never comes back, and make sure he suffers too."

"why do you want him gone?" i asked, in a scared tone.
"i have my reasons. but for your virgin minds sake let's just say he's been a little too close to brendon. i need him dead." he spat.

"why me? why do i have to do it?" i was now getting anxious hearing his seriousness and dark tone. with every word he spoke i felt chills of terror run up and down my body.

"you're new here, nobody would suspect you--"
"they'll know i did it. patrick doesn't have a mean bone in his body." i interrupted him, now in a surge of confusion, fear, and frustration.

dallon looked over his shoulder and looked behind me before saying in a quiet tone,

"we'll blame it on tyler."

i was silent for a minute, it was all too much to take in. he was willing to let ryan die, and then blame it on tyler. this wasn't right.

"leave tyler out of this--"

"leave him out of it?! the man deserves to die. he's killed dozens of people without blinking. doing this will turn the group against him, then he'll get killed for what he did, and i'll be the leader of the skeleton clique." he said all this with a smirk, looking me right in the eye.

now my silence was out of fear. he had all of this planned out. and i was his pawn in this game of chess.

the winner leads the pact,
the loser dies.

"so what dy'a say josh?" dallon awaited my answer.

the pressure was on. if i said yes, i'd now he associated with a psychotic killer. if i say no, i might end up dead and ryan and tyler might get killed regardless.

so what now?