Cataclysm

1.4

After Anna was finished with Braken, she attempted to help Leo, but he wouldn't let her touch him, so instead, she turned to me. "Your turn," she said.

I blinked in surprise and backed up against the sink, bumping one of my gashes. I jerked forward with a yelp and she grabbed my wrist, pulling me over to the table. "Anna, what -"

She just pushed me down into a chair and said, "Take your shirt off. I know there's something there."

I started to argue, but she gave me a look and I quickly obeyed, taking my jacket off and pulling my shirt over my head. She turned me around and had me sit in the chair backwards, so I could lean against the back rest while she cleaned me up. I didn't think I was all that bad. Sure, it burned like fire, especially when someone touched them, but I'd been so dulled by adrenaline that I hadn't noticed.

"Alright, Joel," she said forcefully, pressing a wet cloth against my shoulder. "Tell me what's going on."

I let out a shriek and nearly tipped the chair over, but she held me still as she gently washed my wounds with the rag. It burned like fire and stung like a nest of hornets, but no matter how much noise I made, no matter how I twitched away from her, she continued her service and cleaned me up.

I told her, in between shrieks, what had happened, how I'd been caught, how these three Unnaturals needed help, and she listened silently. Finally, once she was satisfied with her work, she began to wrap the bandages around me, getting closer to me than we'd been in a while. "You're playing hero, then, aren't you?" she murmured. "That's not like you."

"We have -" I cut off with a yelp. "- to do something. They can't be treated like this anymore. It's not okay."

"So, you fought in the games?" Gus asked. I'd almost forgotten he was in the room.

"Yeah," I said, glancing at the Unnaturals. Varien had laid down on the floor and was snoring softly, and Leo was sitting next to Braken on the couch, his head ducked and his hands folded neatly in his lap.

Gus stared at me, watching me in a way that made me feel slightly threatened. "Okay. How was it? What was it like?"

"Horrible." I shivered just thinking about it, and Anna had to hold me still again. "I killed another person, and I haven't quite gotten over it yet. He ... the kid I killed haunts my dreams. He was your age, maybe a little older - how old are you?"

"Fifteen," he said.

"What are you doing here?" I asked in surprise. "This is no place for a kid."

"I'm not a kid," he said hotly, crossing his arms and shaking his head to clear his long curly hair out of his eyes. "And something came up. None of your business. Plus, I could beat you in a fight in a heartbeat."

"Sorry I asked," I grumbled, sensing his hostility.

Someone knocked on the door, and Eoin poked his head in. "Hey, Gus. We're up in ten."

"Okay. Be down in a sec." Gus turned back to us and pointed at a box sitting on top of a shelf. "The place is yours, except for that box. Don't touch it or else. See you around." With that comforting remark, he left the room.

Anna knotted the bandage and I yelped again. "I guess that means I'm out, too. Be good." She smiled at me, but I stopped her.

"Anna, why is he really here? This is no place for kids like him!" I hissed.

She brushed me away. "Look, you know the rules. You win, you get paid. The only thing he told me was that he sends most of his money to his family. I don't know where they are, or how he got here, but that's it. The rest he pays to me, for letting him live here. Rent money."