Chapter 48
BECKHAM
With Sage spending the night at home with her grandmother, Kai takes the opportunity to call a Hallows Boys meeting.
We’re nearing the new year, which means we’ll have to induct the next generation soon, then teach them everything we know about the Games.
I’m sick to my stomach, though, especially after receiving Sage’s message.
Do whatever you have to do to end the Hallows Games.
It makes me wonder what she learned tonight. Did her grandmother have information that she shared with her that we don’t know about? Maybe she started looking through her family albums again and started hating everything about the Games.
I’m worried, sure, but most of all, I’m more inclined to end this shit.
Even though I’ve been sitting here in Kai’s garage and listening to him and Vinny flip through social media profiles, I haven’t said anything yet.
I don’t want to involve Sage in this. I don’t want Vinny and Kai to get pissed off at her for feeling like this, because they are dedicated to the Hallows Games and the tradition it holds. I don’t know how either of them will react.
I’m toying with a loose thread on the edge of my T-shirt when Kai pulls my attention. “Becks, what do you think about these three?”
He’s holding his phone out to me, showing me a photo of the three guys he wants to induct into this sick tradition, and my heart thumps harder.
His eyebrows pull down when I don’t answer, and he snaps his fingers. “Hello? Earth to Becks? Care to fucking participate?”
“Not really,” I say, and both Kai and Vinny’s expressions turn confused.
“What do you mean, B?” Vinny asks, crossing his arms over his chest. “We need to get this done. It’s almost January.”
I feel the words burning in the back of my throat like vomit, and when I open my mouth, they come flying out.
“We don’t have to fucking do this, you know.” I sit up a little straighter. “We could just not bring anyone else into this shit.”
“What?” Kai asks. “What are you talking about?”
“Did that thought ever cross your minds?” I spit, my voice getting angrier. “Just not creating another generation, letting the Games die with us? We don’t have to keep this fucking tradition going!”
“Becks, of course we do. Those are the rules. We don’t get to just decide not to finish our job,” Vinny says, his emerald eyes filling with curiosity.
“The founders are gone!” I yell. “Who’s going to know if we don’t?”
When Kaiden starts cracking each knuckle slowly, I know I’m pissing him off. His voice is calm when he finally speaks again. “Beckham, we’re going to pick another generation, and the Hallows Games will continue past us, so get on board or get the fuck out.”
I scoff, shaking my head as I stand up and clap my hands together once. “I’ll get the fuck out, then.”
“Becks,” Vinny says, standing.
“Let him.” Kai rolls his eyes and looks back at his phone like the careless bastard he is. “He’ll be back. He’s nothing without the Hallows Games.”
I laugh, half hoping Vinny leaves with me. He doesn’t, though, he just looks at me like a confused little boy, trying to pick between his two favorite toys.
Shaking my head in disbelief, I storm out of the garage, one place on my mind.
It’s around two in the morning when I get to the cemetery, the air freezing cold and dry.
The darkness is so thick that I’m almost frightened, or I would be if I wasn’t so angry and dedicated to my plan.
My sneakers crunch against the leaves as I walk through the graveyard, careful not to spill any of the gasoline that’s in the cans I have in either hand.
I didn’t bother putting on a coat, instead just wearing a thin T-shirt that hugs my chest. I want to feel the cold tonight.
I want to feel everything as I move through my favorite place—our favorite place—and I destroy it.
Do whatever you have to do to end the Hallows Games, Sage said, and I don’t know any other way besides this.
Destroy the crypts, all the evidence. The journals and the names on the walls and the rules and all of it. Then the Games won’t exist anymore.
When I reach the crypt, I put down the gas cans and step back to look at the structure.
I take a moment to say a silent goodbye to the Games, to my memories, and to the boy who used to love this Game.
He’s dead now, gone from someone who thrived in the darkness to someone who’s afraid of going to sleep because of nightmares.
I spit on the crypt, saliva landing against the concrete, then I fish out my wallet to get the key for the crypts. When I slide my finger into the slot I keep it in, though, it’s empty.
Not wanting to waste time going home to see if the key fell out somewhere, I decide to just douse the outside and hope the structures come crumbling down.
I grab the first can and start drenching the walls, the steps that lead to the door, the whole area around it, then I grab the second can and do the same thing to the other crypt.
Throwing the empty can at the edge of the crypt, I put my hand in my pocket and pull out a lighter.
As I ignite the lighter, then throw it onto the gasoline covered cement, I feel the anger in my veins dissipating a little. As the first crypt goes up in flames, I watch as the fire travels to the second, igniting that fire as well.
And just like that…the Hallows Games die before my eyes, alongside all the anger I’ve been carrying in my chest.