Our minds were so scattered, we hadn’t recognized Ajax’s voice, and it was only until he marched closer, Rain and Marigold not far behind him, did the events of tonight catch up to me, and the ground rose to meet my weak and relieved limbs as the damp forest floor pressed against my trousers, the cold seeping into my knees.
He had a wide smile on his face as he regarded our slumped bodies. “This is why you don’t insult 'brainless brutes'."
I huffed out a breath of relief, Wolf and August along with me. “I don’t think you realize how much I mean this: it is so good to see you, Ajax.”
I could tell the enervating anxiety was still there, but the light rush of adrenaline coursing in my veins helped keep me alert.
August laughed sluggishly. “I would go a step further and say that I could kiss you right now.”
Ajax held up his hands. “Whoa, so all we needed was a life-or-death situation to finally become true friends? Looks like Thaddeus was wrong–those dinners were useless.”
Wolf was on his knees, hands against his waist, as he tried to catch his breath, and shook his head. “I love you, Ajax.”
Rain strode closer, her expression still serious, but a hint of relief and amusement glinted in her eyes. "Alright, enough talking–more working. We’re losing night-time.”
Marigold leaned against a tree, the blood stains splattered against her clothes stark, but we all pointedly ignored them. “We had the same idea. The pigs are taking care of Scott as we speak.”
With three more people, it was much easier to get King’s body across the fence and into the pig pen.
It was a large pen with mud overflowing out of it and onto the freshly mowed grass. The pigs were wide awake, seemingly pleased by the early breakfast. The owner of the property must have been dragged down into the deepest depths of sleep to not notice us on his land, and I was grateful for it.
For a moment, we all watched as the pigs ate and ate and ate until there was nothing left of King and Scott Kensington, as if they never existed.
It was a shuddering thought–a sobering one. That if things did ever lead back to us tomorrow or any day afterward, the board would likely find a similar way to vanish the world of our existence.
“What now?” August asked.
“Now, we check in with Paris before going back to our dorms and going to sleep. We wake up tomorrow as if nothing had happened. We don’t know anything, we never saw anything. The pigs will eat or at least chew on the carpet until it isn’t much under all that mud. Our tracks should be covered. We meet for breakfast andremain alert.The tides could always shift.” I answered.
Slowly, one by one, we followed the path back to The Quarters. The party seemed to remain in full swing when we hustled to Paris’s dorm, because the grounds were devoid of any other presence.
Still, we hoped nobody came out and spotted our blood-ridden clothes and the mud-filled shoes we pulled off outside and carried up.
We hadn’t expected so many flaws in our plan, nor did we expect to return to our dorms relatively different people than when we’d left.
In many different ways than just physical.
Paris opened the door a crack and swung it wide when she spotted us, ushering us inside before sticking her head out to make sure no eyes or ears were privy.
“What happened? Is it done?” Paris spoke once she shut and locked her door.
“Done,” Rain answered solemnly.
“All of it?”
“All of it,” Ajax replied. He was in brighter spirits than the rest, as he was missing from all the action when everything went to hell.
He hadn’t heard the pleading of an innocent boy, nor did the crack of an innocent soul's skull echo in his mind. I’d never killed anyone who didn’t deserve it, but what I was more afraid of, was that my mind wouldn’t know how to make the difference.
“Is it done on your end?” I asked, curious to know how it went.
Paris nodded quickly. “Yes. You were right, he tried to leave a letter. It was all paranoid scratches on paper, but I burned it and left one of my own. The Kensington brothers are on their way into hiding. I took some of their clothes and belongings to make it more believable. We’ll burn them when the coast is clear. For now, Iburied them in the woods behind The Quarters, where X marks the spot.”
I nodded, relieved.
We all were, I could tell. The collective breath of air we released said as much.
Looking back, I didn’t remember how I’d gotten back to my dorm, but I remembered my last words before leaving Paris’ dorm, to Ajax, “Congratulations on your promotion, President of The Fenlon Society.”
