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Invidia NINE
Sneaking up on Hendrickson was easier than they'd intended, and Cameron knew it had to be a trap. It was too easy. "This is a trap," Justin was voicing his thoughts. "This is definitely a trap.""I'm sure it is, but we don't really have a choice, do we?" Cameron pointed out."I guess not," he admittedly sadly.Eli was in the lead. He had an idea for the distraction, but he wouldn't tell either of them what it was. He just said, "It's going to be distracting, trust me."The basement was exactly how Cameron pictured it--a basement. It had concrete walls, nicks in the concrete, beige all around with storage boxes lying scattered throughout. The conference room, on the other hand, was magnificent. It had very high ceilings, Romanesque golden pillars that spindled into the clouds, with the men around the table being just as fascinating. They were all various races, arranged in a U around the table, with his stepfather sitting at what was clearly the head of the table.Eli smiled evilly, a
Invidia TEN
The door opened and the accumulation of years' worth of dust smacked the boys straight in the face. "Oh, God!" Eli choked and the other two were spitting the dust out."Well, let's see where this goes," Cameron said when he finally finished coughing. The hallway immediately turned to the right, and as soon as they'd passed the sooted up bricks, it was flawless. The bricks looked brand new, and the tile floor was spotless. "This is new," Cameron observed. "These tiles are new. The bricks are new. Hell, even the ceiling is new," he finished with a glance up."They're either new or someone wanted them to look that way," Justin thought."That's also a possibility," he noted. They walked down the bland but spotless hallway in silence, and with each step, Cameron's anxiety grew. His gut was telling him to turn back, but he couldn't do that until he'd found and saved Madison. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling. It was ever-present, similar to the fear of his stepfather.
Invidia ELEVEN
He didn't know which to save: Madison or Justin. He knew he needed to save both, but he had to pick a side, and he hated it. If he didn't, he'd lose both of them. Justin's been my best friend since we were, like, eight. But Madison's been a very friend to me, lately, and I can't lose her either. He glanced back and forth between the two of them, Madison swinging her katana down on Justin; Justin ducking out of the way, swearing up a storm. He didn't know what to do other than involve himself. He darted into the middle of the fight, shouting, "STOP!" at both of them, but they were both gone. They were lost in the ensemble, and there was no way to know how to get them out. He'd never been more scared in his life. "Seriously, stop!" He put his arm up to Madison's katana, trying to knock it out of his hand, but he miscalculated. She took his arm off. "Oh, shit!" He yelled as a geyser of blood erupted from the wound, soaking all three of them. Cameron's bloody stub of an arm fell to the g
Invidia TWELVE
"Fuck!" Justin shouted when Cameron collapsed, dropping Madison a little more harshly than he should have. She thumped to the ground about six feet from the brother she'd murdered earlier that day. "Cameron!" He didn't want to leave Madison there too, but he had no choice. Cameron lost too much blood, and Justin had to carry him himself. He picked him up and carried him the last few feet. Despite both boys still being shirtless in an attempt to staunch the blood, Justin was kept warm by the free-flowing blood from Cameron's wound. Cameron, on the contrary, was growing colder. "Shit!" Justin didn't even know how to react right now. He was angry at Madison, the girl Cameron hadn't yet realized he's completely in love with, because she killed the one boy Justin had finally realized he had feelings for. But now, he had to put that anger aside to save Cameron. Vengeance can wait.He opened the door, which was so simple that it felt too easy, a simple button. And it was too easy because He
Invidia THIRTEEN
"Hey, man," Justin said when he saw Cameron's eyes fluttering awake."Hey," Cameron whispered with a tired smile. He looked completely delirious."I see they fixed you up," Justin pointed to the cast around his arm. They'd managed to reconnect his arm, but of course, it was still bandaged. "It looks good."Cameron stretched his arms up a little bit, as best as he could, "Mmm, thanks. Is everything okay? You look bothered."Justin sat on the edge of the bed, "I just hate seeing you like this is all.""Eh," Cameron shrugged. "Don't worry about me. I'm a strong little buckaroo." He giggled and looked away.Justin giggled and shoved his hands in his pockets, "God, you're so high."Cameron smiled at him blankly, "Hehe, yeah. Just a tad." He held his fingers about an inch apart.Justin chuckled, "Wow. I'm glad you're feeling okay, man. I should let you get some rest." He could tell Cameron was falling asleep just as they were speaking. He needed to go find out what happened to Madison anywa
Invidia FOURTEEN
"Cameron?" Shane poked his head in the door."Shane?" Cameron sat his bed up. He was still groggy and thought he was dreaming. "W-what are you doing here?""I was just checking on you," he stepped into the room."Oh, uh," Cameron said awkwardly, "I'm okay, I guess. They've got me sedated and on pain meds.""That's good," Shane clearly felt awkward too. His shoulders were hunched, and he wouldn't look Cameron in the eyes. "I'm glad you're okay." Several tense long minutes passed. Both of them kept glancing at each other with their lips pressed together in strained smiles. "But, uh," Shane broke the silence, "did you find the thing you were looking for?""Yeah, we did," Cameron looked into Shane's eyes this time. "Thank you, by the way. What we found wasn't in the state we expected, clearly," he gestured to his wound, "but we found it nonetheless. So thank you."Shane shrugged, "Don't mention it. I'm sorry it wasn't what you were expecting." Cameron's brow crinkled with confusion. He co
Invidia FIFTEEN
Shane really couldn't stand Cameron. What made that dumbass orphan think he could order him around? All he ever did was whine about how horrible his life was. But if he hated living there so much, why didn't he just leave? These were all things Shane thought to himself as he looked for Madison.Cameron told him that Madison was last seen in this hidden room behind his dad's office. He didn't really believe it, but Cameron wasn't generally a liar. Especially when he was high. So, Shane figured he should just as soon amuse the kid. What could it hurt? Except for the fact that Cameron is literally laying in a hospital bed right now with his arm cut off. That should be all the proof he needed, but to a skeptic like Shane, it wasn't. He needed to see things with his own eyes.He'd finally gotten up to his dad's office. He knocked quietly at the door and said, "Hey, dad.""Come in, my boy," his dad stood up and smiled at him. "Is Cameron okay?""Don't act like you care," Shane didn't mean t
Invidia SIXTEEN
Cameron opened his eyes. He was finally cognizant. He wasn't sure how long he'd been hospitalized, but he was ready to be out of there. He glanced down at his arm. It was covered in a thick layer of gauze, but he could see his fingers sticking out the end. He flexed them, and they moved. Thank God, he thought. He wasn't ready to live with just one arm yet."How are you feeling?" Someone was sitting in the chair opposite the bed that he hadn't noticed yet. It was his stepfather."I'm okay," he said groggily and stretched what little he could in the bed. "What are you doing here?""I'm just checking on you," his stepfather said. He was sat down in the leather chair with a leg propped up on his lap."Why?" Cameron sat up a little straighter in bed. "You've never cared before."His stepfather sat on the edge of his seat and looked straight into Cameron's eyes with a piercing stare, "I have always cared. Whether or not you were of it, I care.""Funny way of showing it," Cameron muttered to