RANK
DIRECTOR
My temples have been throbbing for months, a low-grade headache pounding with all the stress I’m under. Reaper Corp coming to take over Moros is second in the stress line to having Ghost and Riot finally combust. I’m still not convinced they won’t kill one another in some lover’s quarrel or a sex game neither of them will be willing to lose, but the boys are on it. The rest of them know to keep an eye out.
“Trust them,” Ransom says to me outside the con room. Everyone else is already inside, waiting for me to start the meeting. “They’re sick and twisted, but they’re smart, too. You brought them into Vile House for a reason.”
He has a point…
“Plus, you should have been more worried about Krypt accidentally killing Remi instead.”
“Remi is rational.”
Ransom snorts. “Is he?”
I hate it when he has two points in a row. “Get in there so we can start this meeting.” But before he does, I touch his elbow to stop him. “How’s Monster?”
Ransom and Monster are my two child experiences. They both came to me young, too young to know what Vile House was or what it meant to grow up in this house. Ransom has lived here since he was an infant, and Monster came when he was eight, which meant they were the only two young people around and spent a lot of time together growing up, despite their age difference. I thought they’d have a brotherly bond, and they do, but I’m also more in the know about their odd relationship than any of the other Vile Boys.
“Just going through it right now,” Ransom answers.
“Anything set him off?”
Ransom glances into the room, watching Monster sit with Kyd at the table. Monster listens while Kyd rambles, barely reacting, but I know the two of them have a good relationship, too. Kyd has done a lot to teach Monster how to enjoy things, be a person, and understand the world he doesn’t otherwise understand.
“Nightmares.”
“You let me know if there’s anything we can do.”
“I’ve got him.”
“I know you do, but I’m here for you. I know he won’t accept help, but if you need it, let me know.”
Ransom purses his lips, but he nods and heads into the room.
I’ve got nothing but bad news for the boys today, so I wait, listening to them laugh and bicker and banter. Most of them are goading Ghost and Riot into spilling who the top and bottom are, or if they flip fuck, whatever that is, but it’s lighthearted and fun. There won’t be much fun around here for a while, and I want to grant them this moment. This breath of time to enjoy the new relationship and their bond as a family. Most of them don’t understand the concept of family, but whatever Vile House and the other members have become to them, it’s what they consider familial bonds to be, and I’d like to think I had a part in encouraging that.
“Director.” I turn, seeing Media coming my way. “Bad news got worse.” She shows me the tablet and as soon as I see who the video message is from, my blood runs cold.
“Thanks. Keep it quiet for a few more minutes. I want to assess how they’re all doing before I show them this.”
She hands me the tablet and gives a weak smile. “I’ll let you do it. Good luck.”
Sighing, I pinch the bridge of my nose and feel defeated, but I still morph into the Director role as soon as I step through the door. “Rank! Line up!”
It’s still strange for me to see Ransom so close to the end of the line, but I try to ignore it as they line up. Ghost and Riot shove each other, fighting over the second to last position, and Kyd is still rambling uselessly about something Monster doesn’t give a shit about as they get into rank.
In my opinion, rank is so stupid. It means nothing, but when this group of ten formed and became a unit, I couldn’t figure out how to get them to cooperate unless they were challenging one another.
Seven might be the most responsible with the initiates, but he absolutely does not deserve to be at the head of the line. He’s more of a shit disturber than half of them, but he’s not the bragging type, so he gets away with a lot more. Still, I step up in front of him, a brow raised and the sternest expression I can muster on my face.
“How’d the meeting end last night?”
He looks down the line at the rest of the Vile Boys, shaking his head. “Town’s all fucked up. Manhunt for Ghost. Well, Soren. Ransom calmed them down a bit, but…”
“Everything we did to bring all the besties together has gone to shit, Director!” Kyd shouts. “Locky has to defend Ghost, The Misfits are getting all the extra hate, and soon, I’ll have to drop out of the asylum theatre program.” He huffs. “Everything was so fun and now it’s not so fun.” His hands go to his hips, he shakes his pink hair, and he huffs again.
I need to tell them it’s going to get even worse. Instead, I look at Ghost and Riot. “But at least these two are finally on the same team.” I smile at them.
“End of the line butt buddies,” Menace goads. “How’s it feel to be at the bottom… Riot?”
Riot simply grins, shrugging. “Wouldn’t you know?”
“Not yet,” Menace answers honestly. “Top dog around here, baby.” He winks. I make a mental note to keep tabs on Cain Carson because I don’t think the boy knows he’s caught the attention of a killer.
Krypt scoffs at Menace, or maybe at his brother and best friend. It’s hard to tell with Krypt since he usually dislikes everything and everyone. Me, a lot of the time. “Are we here to talk about?—”
“Oh, fuck off, Krypt,” Soren snaps, bending forward to look down the line at his best friend. “We all had to hear about you and my brother. Had to take a fucking vote on it, for shit’s sake.”
“Oh!” Kyd shoots out of line. “If we’re voting again, I vote that Ghost moves into Riot’s room and we do a tradesy! I want Ghost’s room.”
“You have the most rooms out of all of us,” Glitch weighs in. “One at Vile House, one in the long-term patient ward, and one in our ward of the asylum.”
“And the floor in Axel’s lab,” Seven adds with a laugh. “Like a little puppy following his owner around.”
“No denials because this puppy bites,” Kyd says, waving them off. “But Ghost’s room has the best floorspace for my theatre practice, and Facts has been teaching me how to ballroom dance. Please, Ghosty!”
While they bicker about rooms, I watch them fondly. I enjoy seeing my boys like this, brotherly and giving each other a hard time for fun reasons rather than dire ones. They’re all so harsh and intense that it always brings a smile to my face when they remember to have fun. Kyd might have the darkest, most deranged side out of all of them, but half the reason I brought him into the ten was because he’s lighthearted and reminds the others to work together and enjoy the little things.
I don’t know how the debate ends, but somehow, Kyd is smiling and Monster even smirks a little.
“Sit down, boys. We’ve got a shitstorm coming.” The fatigue and stress creep into my voice, and they all stop laughing as they sit down.
“Because of me?” Ghost asks. “Because I’m the town traitor who brought Reaper Corp into Moros?” He slumps back, and Riot must touch him under the table because, with a heated scowl, he looks at his new… boyfriend?
“More than that,” I tell him, sitting at the head. “I’ve got bad news and worse news. Which do you want first?”
No one says anything, but their attention is focused.
“They still haven’t figured out what we stole from Reaper City, which means they’re putting new codes and protection on everything. All their data is being encrypted, and Axel is having a harder time trying to crack the prisoners we have.” I look at Glitch, letting him take over.
“I’m trying to hack as fast as they’re switching everything out, but… I wouldn’t be surprised if they block me out entirely. Really soon. I’m only one guy, and they have whole teams on it.”
“Which means we’re switching tactics,” I say. “Back to Axel’s original plan.”
“Capture. Brainwash. Release back to Reaper City,” Kyd says.
“Hello.” Facts raises his hand. “We also verified two rats in The Misfits. Lockan Tate is aware, and he’s awaiting a meeting with us to sort out the best method of dealing with them.”
“Like, use them or kill them?” Ransom asks.
“Exactly,” Facts answers.
“We also just received this.” I cast my tablet to the screen. “It’s not an idle threat.” I press play.
As the video threat from Reaper Corp plays, I pay attention to their reactions. Anger, vengeance, god complexes, rage and protectiveness, and under it all, fear.
“You may have poisoned our city,” the modulated voice behind the shadow person on the video says, “but we’ve been poisoning your town for years. We’re coming for you, Moros, and we’ve been slowly taking you out right under your noses.”
Fists clench and snarls resound, but before the video even ends, the con room door bangs open.
“The town has gone mad,” Axel says, breathless like he ran here from the asylum, his eyelid fluttering like crazy. “Come look.”
“Masks on!” I remind them all as we rush out of the room to look through the front windows of Vile House.
Town citizens are on the lawn, down the street, and banging on the front door, shouting aggressively. Business owners and cult members, even some of The Misfits, an angry mob of everyone we’ve been trying to protect. Glitch’s parents are out there, faces skeptical. And right there, in the middle of all of them, with wide sad eyes and an innocence about him that’s going to get him killed, is the boy whose dead dad is still cooling in my morgue.
“The fuck are they doing?” Ransom asks. “Are they after Ghost?”
I look to see where Ghost is, but he’s gone. Vanished into thin air.
“Vile House! Unmask and show us who you are!” someone shouts.
“How do we know they aren’t Reaper Corp members?” someone else yells.
“Reaper Corp killed the Vile Boys and now they’re parading around in their masks!”
“Fuck,” Facts gasps. “Why didn’t I see this coming? I should have fucking predicted this!” Before he can beat himself up too hard, he gasps again, and when he whispers, “No,” it’s a word full of dread. I follow his gaze to one of the Moros firefighters, not understanding his reaction.
The knot of dread in my stomach worsens, tightening and twisting as rocks and bottles and eggs hit the house. Never in Moros history has Vile House been doubted. I look at my boys in their masks, watching the hysteria unfold and reacting to it in different ways.
They’ve thrived as hunters. Now we see if they’ll thrive as prey.
“We’re unmasking you, Vile House!” someone declares outside.
And the town cheers.
The End.