36. Mangling Your Face
Chapter 36
Mangling Your Face
The Game Warden
One Year – Six Months Ago
“ S he’s been asking for you,” Felix griped from behind him.
The Game Warden’s eyes flickered up in the mirror to the man before shoving a needle into his nose. The Game Warden didn’t flinch as he removed it, replacing it with his own makeshift piercing.
“Why do you keep mangling your face?” Felix leaned against the doorframe, cocking an eyebrow.
Felix was currently in long sleeves and sweatpants, but The Game Warden knew how inked his skin was below.
“That’s rich, isn’t it? You only needed the one tattoo for your bird boys, what are the others for?” The Game Warden focused back on the task at hand. Using an alcohol wipe, he cleaned the area around the piercing.
Felix hummed his disapproval. “Stop dodging my question. Sparrow has been asking about you. You haven’t seen her in months. The girl is getting older. She needs a familial connection. Someone to tie her emotions to. Nightingale left me to be her guard, but you were to be her uncle.”
“I can’t be around her before the games.” The Game Warden meticulously cleaned his piercing needle before putting it and all his supplies away in a box below the sink.
“The Host has been making more and more excuses to visit her wing.”
The Game Warden stiffened, turning to Felix. “What does he want with her?” He gestured for the man to enter the bathroom.
Felix didn’t answer until the door was shut. The two men took up the majority of the open space but The Game Warden knew this to be the one place they could speak freely.
“Look, I don’t know the full extent of it. But I know The Host isn’t from our country. He’s from theirs .”
The Game Warden eyed Felix warily. “Why don’t their women ever get thrown into this, like ours do?”
Felix’s face whitened, his pupils dilating. “Nightingale didn’t tell you why their women aren’t in these games ? Fuck. No, I am not going to be the one. You need to figure that out for yourself. As for The Host, she left me in the dark too. But you still need to visit Sparrow. She’s safe for now, but we can’t let The Host near her alone, I know that much for certain.”
“I will. After this game. Keep Player 5 on her until then. If The Host does anything that is suspicious. Let me know.”
“He’s not Player 5 any longer. His name is Miko, he is my friend. ”
“No,” The Game Warden countered. “He is a Guard. He used to be your friend. Don’t let your previous feelings cloud your judgment.”
“True,” Felix heaved a sigh before punching him lightly on the shoulder. “You’re an asshole, but I’m glad you’re here.”
He paused, his other hand going to his pocket, before tugging something out.
“Here.” Felix threw the item at The Game Warden.
The Game Warden examined it. A block. “What’s this? Something to beat you over the head with?”
Felix quirked his lips. “It’s a camera. Old miss Nightingale said to give it to you when The Host started acting up. Said you would know what it was for.”
Swiping his thumbs across the block, sure enough it lit up, a red light blinking on the top.
The Game Warden leaned back against the sink, examining the device in a new light. “Do you ever feel like we are just puppets on strings? That she and everyone else are pulling us in every direction they can?”
Felix’s eyes darkened, his jaw clenching. “I hate her, too, you know? She brought my brother into the Brutality Faction. They rounded both my brother and me up for it and forced us both into the first year’s game. Made us go against each other in the second round.” He clenched his fists. “We promised each other we would give it our all. And he was a big guy, I shouldn’t have won, but he misstepped.” Felix shuddered, clenching his jaw. The pain was evident in his voice as he continued on. “At least that’s what he made it look like. But in actuality, he sacrificed himself for a chance. A chance I would live. And so, no matter how many times my strings are pulled, no matter where they take me, I will allow it, as long as it keeps me alive. I owe my brother at least that much. Even if I am nothing but a puppet. ”
The Game Warden examined Felix in a new light. “I’ll go visit Sparrow right after this next game.” Standing to his full height, he side-stepped the man. “Come on, let’s get out of here. I have the files in my drawers with the new players. There’s a few I think you might be interested in.”
Felix didn’t say anything for a few moments until he mumbled under his breath, “Patient. We just have to be patient.”
For the longest time, The Game Warden thought Felix had escaped mostly unscathed. That he had won the first year’s game with his sanity and soul still intact.
The Game Warden was beginning to realize that wasn’t the case at all. Felix–The Guard, the winner of their country’s first game–was just as fucked up as he was.