The Straight Agenda

The Straight Agenda 5

Chapter 5

Things go black from when I see Seth. I spas out. I lose it. I don't remember what happens to me.

It's Laura who comes and sees me in my room.

"What happened?" I asked her.

She looks at me. She's emotionless. It's almost as though she doesn't have anything behind her eyes, "You attacked."

It's a short way to say things. I attacked. It's as though I'm some sort of animal. Even now I can still feel all this anger.

"What do you mean I attacked?"

"You attacked Seth."

"Good."

"And Rhett as well."

My heart sinks at that moment. I don't remember attacking Rhett. Still I understand why I did it. Rhett knew Seth was around. He never told me. I don't know why I felt like he should have more loyalty to me. He didn't. Rhett only cared about the Agenda.

"All I feel is anger," I state shaking my head, "You don't know what I went through in those camps. All because of Seth."

"Tell me."

"They used to strap electric straps to our dicks. If we got hard while watching gay porn they'd turn it on. I still have the burn marks."

She nods.

"I understand."

"How could you? How could you really?"

Laura pauses at me. She doesn't look me dead in my face. She has that same indifferent look she's always had.

"When you are hurt only three things can happen. You can be a victim, ball yourself up or cry. You can be angry like you are and lash out at everyone in sight. Or the third thing."

"What's the third thing?"

Laura gets up. She lifts up her skirt. Underneath her skirt she reveals her dick too me. She still has one. I can see the burn marks on her dick. They are piercing and bright. They are clear as day. My heart skips a beat seeing them.

It's become clear that Laura was a victim of the A&E as well. She had been in the camps just like me. She did understand. She knew.

"The third thing that can happen is indifference," Laura states, "So I envy you. I envy your anger. At least you still feel something. You can use that anger. Or not. It makes no difference to me. I'm nothing more than indifferent at this point."

I feel bad for her. Laura is a ghost in a shell. I want to fight for her but I can't. Not with Seth. There is no way in hell I can fight with Seth on my team.

"I need to go home."

~

They take me to my sister's house in a little van. Rhett is the one who drives me. He tries to say goodbye when they drop me off but I ignore him completely.

When my sister opens the door I realize things have changed in her life. She isn't alone. She has two kids with her. At first I'm not sure what her expression is saying when she sees me walk through the door.

"Caden..."

Melissa lets me in after giving me a hug. I expect it to be a lot longer. It's been so long since we've seen each other.

"I know it's a shock that I'm here..."

Melissa stops me. She interrupts me, "No you're home now. Things have changed. I'm so happy to see you."

"How's Mom and Dad? How's Elijah?"

There is a pause. It's cold. It's long.

"Elijah didn't make it," she tells me.

I'm not surprised. They must have found out he was gay. The way she is saying he didn't make it makes me feel like Elijah is no longer alive. Knowing my brother I doubt they took him alive. I wonder if Seth gave him away too. I want to feel bad for him but right now I just feel so much anger towards Storm and the straight people.

I sit at the dinner table. I look to my right and see my nephew. He's playing with something with my niece. I find it weird that my sister doesn't introduce me to them.

"Things have changed," she tells me, "Abdel Ali has perfected GAYDAR. They are using them on babies now. Do you believe that? They are using them on babies."

She picks up her son. I notice what he has in his hands. It's a doll.

"This world is sick."

"I agree. All about the SHIV virus. You know what's crazy too?" she tells me, "I've never seen someone with the SHIV virus the entire time I've been working at the hospital."

My sister was a nurse. Her saying this about the SHIV virus was strange to say the least. What was she getting at?

"What do you mean?"

She shakes her head, "Listen...how about you go get cleaned up. I know you've been through a lot. I can tell. How about a warm meal? How about a warm bed? You're home now. You're home."

~

I go upstairs at that moment. I shower. I wash my face. I left all the clothes the Gay Agenda gave me in their underground suite. I don't want anything to do with it.

I have so many regrets but one I have to admit is attacking Rhett along with Seth. I understand why I was mad when I blacked out but I had to do a number for him. I remember seeing his face in a van. Oh yes. I had done a number. But the thing was he wasn't even mad. He was looking at me. He was almost smiling.

Why the fuck am I thinking about Rhett right now?

I'd never see him again.

I couldn't work with Seth. There was no way in hell.

I hear a knock on the door.

"I'm almost ready," I tell my sister.

The knock happens again.

I walk to the door and it's almost like I see a ghost. I look outside and I see Rhett. He's standing in my sister's house.

"What the----" I start out.

"I snuck through the window...'

"Why would you?"

"Shh...listen," Rhett tells me.

All of a sudden I hear the sound of sirens. The sirens are all around us. They get louder and louder. I begin to head towards the window to see what was causing all this noise. Soon it becomes very clear what it is. There were cops pulling around. they were coming from everywhere. My heart skips a beat.

What the fuck was going on?

"Melissa..." my mouth goes dry.

Rhett tries to stop me but I run down the steps as quickly as possible. I find Melissa huddled in with her kids.

She gave me away.

"Why would you do this!"

My sister is acting as though she doesn't know how to speak all of a sudden. Her face goes red. I'm so emotional that I'm shaking. The anger is coming back again. It's building up and I just have this feeling of betrayal that is getting underneath my skin.

Rhett looks over at me, "Calm down."

I'm so angry that if Rhett isn't there to calm me down I don't know what I would do. The worst part about it is that my sister isn't even attempting to look me in my eyes. She gathers her kids to the further side of the dining room and huddles up in the corner as though I'm going to hurt them or something. This is my own flesh and blood.

"I would never hurt you," I whisper.

This time I'm calmer. I just want an explanation. I want to know why she would sell me out knowing damn well that I went to those labor camps and I suffered for years. Why would someone give away their own flesh and blood like that?

Me talking calmly must help because all of a sudden she lifts up her head.

"I can't risk it. I can't risk them getting suspicious that I would help you and end up taking my son," she explains, "I'm sorry. Things have changed. Things have changed.'

She repeats it a few times. By the fourth time, tears are running down her eyes. I'm angry still but I pity her more than anything. I watch how she looks at my nephew. My sister knows that her son is probably effeminate. She knows that he had a chance of becoming gay and she's feeling like selling me out is the best option to take suspicion away from her own home.

I stop talking. I'm too hurt and too shocked to say anything else at this point.

Luckily Rhett takes charge.

"You should take your kids upstairs," Rhett responds, "This is going to get dangerous."

Rhett has a gun in his hand. He has this serious look on his face when my sister and her kids run up the steps. My sister doesn't turn around to make sure I'm OK. Her only concern is her kids. I made a mistake coming here. I made a mistake thinking that the bond we had growing up would last. My sister wasn't homophobic. Back then she had so many gay friends. Maybe that's what spooked her. Maybe seeing all her gay friends taken away or murdered in front of her eyes is what terrified her. Maybe that's what caused her to sell out.

"I'm not going back there," I let Rhett know.

I mean it. I can see the camp now. I can imagine what it would be like. It would be worse if they take me back. I couldn't survive another day in there.

I'd rather die.

I'm surprised when Rhett seems to understand, "I won't let them take you back."

He then walks over and grabs my hand. It isn't because I need a hand holding. He seems to be letting me know that he's serious about what he means. If he has to shoot me here today I would prefer that then to be taken back to that camp.

I can hear the vehicles pulling up. I can see the sounds of sirens. My heart is racing. I know we are surrounded. I know that we don't have much time. I am aware that things are going to go bad.

I see Rhett slowly to go the window and peer outside.

"We're surrounded aren't we?""

He doesn't answer immediately. Maybe he wants to save me the trouble of knowing just how bad our situation is.

"Stay away from the window," he tells me.

"Why'd you do it?"

I watch as he starts closing the blinds and turns on the television in the living room. He blasts it all the way to the top for some reason. I stay up against the wall. I watch as Rhett gets on his phone and is struggling to text at that moment. I'm not sure who he is texting and what he is saying but he seems a lot calmer than I could imagine someone being in this situation.

I'm so nervous about me that I haven't even thought about him. Why was he in this situation?

"Why are you here?" I ask.

"What?"

"Why'd you come back for me?"

Rhett turns to me. He glares a little bit and smiles. His teeth are flashing pearly white. He nods and then shakes a little bit, "I guess I got a little crush on you..."

"Rhett, I'm serious."

He laughs a little bit. I don't get it. There was a fucking massive army outside ready to arrest us for being gay and he finds this funny. He goes right back into his phone. I slide down on the wall and sit. My heart is beating so fast. I'm sweating. It feels like my whole life is ending and right now I'm in a room with a guy who thinks this is some sort of joke.

"Stop panicking. You're going to be fine."

"Just save a bullet for me."

"You won't need one," he tells me.

What was up with the smiles? What was up with him being so calm?

"Do you see how many people are out there?" I ask Rhett, "You shouldn't have come back for me. I don't need your blood on my hands."

"Is that what you're worried about?" Rhett asks me, "You worried about me dying. So you do like me after all?"

"I don't like anyone."

"You weren't saying that the other day when I was blowing your back out," Rhett laughs.

I can't believe this. We are in a life threatening situation and Rhett had the time to make jokes. I look at this guy with his bright eyes and all his hope in them. He has that thing that I don't have. He has a belief that this world isn't as fucked up as I know it is. He hasn't been to the camps. He hasn't seen what I had seen. I'd seen my friends die right in front of my eyes. Every day I thought I would be next. I used to be so afraid, but then I started hoping. I started hoping I would be next. There was nothing left to smile about in this world. It was a fucked up place and there was nothing left inside me but anger.

I grit my teeth, "I needed a release. You were nothing more than a warm body."

I want to be mean. I want to be evil. I want him to regret coming to save me. Instead of even being angry or upset, Rhett's smile just gets wider.

"At the time I was. Who knows what the future holds."

I was getting more and more annoyed.

"What future. We die today. We die NOW!"

"You have no hope do you?"

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Rhett gives me a smile.

"What about this?" Rhett asks at that moment, "I get us out of this and you go on a date with me. No sex. No, me blowing your back out again. Not yet at least."

He is serious.

I want to roll my eyes at him. I want to be annoyed. Rhett was so clean. He was so nourished and his body looked so good. He didn't understand what I had gone through. Sure, he has lost his father. That had given him reason to take up the mantle and fight back, but he hadn't been on ground zero. He hadn't seen what it was to suffer the way I had.

I am barely thinking when I close my eyes and say, "Whatever."

"It's a yes or no," Rhett tells me.

"Fine."

I just want him to leave me alone. I'm not really thinking. The guy was crazy. He was hopeful to a fault and that fault was going to get us killed. You should have stayed away from me, but that was impossible for a guy like Rhett. He got in his head that I was some savior and nothing was going to influence him otherwise.

He was so fucking stubborn.

I start thinking about my life. I start thinking about when I was happy with Seth. I thought back then he would marry me. I thought back then we would be happy. I was wrong. I was so fucking wrong.

Just then there is an explosion.

I jerk up.

"What the fuck was that?"

Rhett goes to the window. There is another explosion and another.

"So we've been working on something. A robot if you will. We call them androids. We don't have the numbers that the President Storm has but we have one thing that he doesn't have. We have the ability to hope against all odds," Rhett explains to me.

I don't know what he was getting at.

"Rhett, what's going on out there?"

Rhett ignores me, "We were able to build something. If you don't win this presidency we will use these new weapons. We will take this country into our own hands. We will take it by force if necessary."

There is a sound in Rhett's voice. It's full of a glaring hope.

"What's coming, Rhett?" I ask him, "What's coming?"

"Hope."

Just at that moment, something kicks down the door. I am about to scream when a puff of smoke walks through the door. Someone walks in, but I'm wrong when I think it's someone. That's not what it is. It's some sort of robot in the shape of a human. It's made almost completely of metal. I take a look at this robotic figure. It has a mask on. It is completely covered and concealed under a black helmet.

I'm not sure what it is? Is it a robot? Is it human? Is it something different all together?

All I knew was at that moment gay people were no longer victims. At that moment seeing what the Gay Agenda was able to build it became clear that gay people would no longer lay down and fight back.

We were fighting back and we had a new weapon that we would use for it.

"You guys created androids," I state.

I look past the android. He has a gun in his hand and behind him there are flipped over cars, debris and a trail of devastation. It was very clear that the android had caused all of this destruction.

My heart grows in my chest. This sense of pride takes over.

Yes. Oh yes. We weren't these helpless victims. Not anymore.

Rhett gives me a confident smile, "I'll let you know when we are going on that date."

~

Being back in the underground is awkward, to say the least but it becomes more clear now that I don't have a place to go. My room hasn't changed. The clothes are still there. It's almost as though Rhett and the others expected me to come back. It's almost as though they knew I was going to go anywhere. They let me rest for a day as though to recuperate but the next day they call me into the room with the members of the counsel.

They all have this look on their face. Mr. Collins is the worst of them. It's this cocky look. It's this look that tells me they knew I wouldn't go anywhere. I wonder if Mr. Collins knew that Rhett would go after me. Next to Mr. Collins is Michael and Laura. I turn and see Seth. He is avoiding me. He's the only one. He looks down at his paper as though the most interesting story is written on the blank sheet of paper. I wonder what he's thinking. I'm glad that he's staying quiet. It's rare for him. Seth always had something to say back when we were dating. I guess someone must have told him to shut up. Maybe that is why he is avoiding me.

"We're glad you're back safe," Michael tells me.

I hate that the guy is so damn nice and that the guy he is in love with has been taking every chance to flirt with me. I would have much rather Michael have had a personality like Rhett.

"It cost us way too much to deploy the android," Mr. Collins states with a grim, annoyed attitude, "Next time you want to leave, save us the money and get killed by the Straights."

His attitude is disgusting. The others must notice it because Rhett immediately clears his throat and tries to change the mood.

"The android was cool weren't they?" Rhett asks.

I remember seeing the disaster the android had left behind. I remember seeing how one android had come and wrecked havoc on all of those Silver Helmets.

"How?" I ask.

It's a simple question but it's the most important one.

Michael seems to swoon at that moment looking over at Rhett, "It was all Rhett. So many people were outraged when his father was killed on television. They reached out to him. They gave him technology. Technology on how to build a super soldier. Rhett was able to get that technology started. The straights may have their GAYDAR technology but we have our androids."

"How many are there."

"Not enough but every day we gain the technology to make more soldiers like this," Rhett explains, "But we have to protect the information. We never deployed a soldier until today. The last thing we want is for President Storm to know we aren't just victims waiting around to be rounded up by him."

"Why today?" I ask.

Rhett looks over at me and smiles, "You're special. You're worth it."

He's flirting. It's very clear. I notice how Michael shifts in his chair when Rhett continues to look at me. It's as though Rhett forgot that his ex-boyfriend is in the room. The weird thing is that Rhett isn't the only one with an ex in the room. I look over and see Seth. I watch how he lifts his head and looks over at Rhett. I had known that stare before. I'd seen it a million times.

Could it really be possible that it was the same stare?

Could it really be possible that Seth was jealous?

Mr. Collins seems annoyed, "He hasn't even agreed to be our candidate. We can't keep wasting all this money protecting someone who doesn't want to commit."

"How could I run for president?" I asked shaking my head, "If I can't even walk the streets in public."

"You see the kind of power we have," Rhett states, "I can protect you."

Rhett glares at me. He said it back in the house. I didn't believe him then but now I do believe him. That hope in his eyes is a determination that I admire in him. I have to admit everyday I'm liking the guy more.

Michael doesn't seem to like it though.

He grunts a little bit correcting Rhett, "We can protect you. All of us. If you do decide to run. Even if we have to deploy all the androids we have to protect you."

It still wasn't guaranteed. My life was in danger. Doing this would make me enemy number one. Doing this would make me a face for Gay America. We all knew what happened to Rhett's father when he tried to go up against the hatred. He got a bullet in his head. He had guards with him when they shot him too. That didn't help much.

I'm still hesitant, "If you have that kind of power then why make me run for president? Why not take the presidency...like Storm did?"

"Who said we wouldn't?" Rhett responds.

I raise an eyebrow. I have to admit that it sounds good to me.

It's Seth that stops him, "The last thing we want is war. If there is anything we can do to avoid it then I believe that we should do it."

Rhett looks annoyed by Seth's suggestion, "They killed my father."

"This is bigger than your father."

"MY FATHER STARTED THIS!"

Rhett bangs on the table hard. I can see all this passion in his eyes. He wanted justice. I knew the feeling. He wanted to make things right. Alexandros Storm killed his father. Alexandros Storm imprisoned me. Alexandros Storm killed my friends. I wanted justice as well. I can understand the passion. I can taste it.

They look like they are going to get into it. Looking at Seth I wonder if this only had to do with the campaign or if he'd caught on to the fact that Rhett may or may not have been interested in me. I knew Seth. He was protective when we were together. If he still felt half the same way as he used to then it would kill him knowing someone who looks like Rhett was interested in me.

"I'll do it," I state, "I'll run."

Seth looks over at me, "You sure you want to run, Caden? It'll be dangerous. You will be enemy number 1 to the A&E Caucus."

Looking at Seth pretend like he's so fucking worried about my safety now is sickening. I turn away and ignore him. He was the same one who got me locked up all that time ago. I was never going to forgive him no matter how he was trying to portray himself now. He had given me away. Who cared if he was on the right side now. Three years wouldn't erase itself. I suffered because of Seth.

Rhett interrupts. Maybe he feels the tension that Seth is bringing or maybe it is just his determination for the future.

"You can't talk him out of it," Rhett announces looking over at me, "This is the new face of the Gay Agenda. I've seen it. I see him... I always have."

Rhett glares at me with all this hope. It makes the others stare. I wonder if they are trying to see what Rhett sees in me. Hell...I am trying to see what Rhett sees in me at this point.

~

A few weeks pass. I spend most of the time with Laura who is desperately attempting to get my image to something maintainable. I have to admit she's doing a good job. I spend a lot of time in the gym. I spend even more time eating in order to gain weight the right way. Soon I'm starting to look like myself and I notice the same people in our underground bunker who looked at me like they wanted to feed me were now looking at me in another way.

"I have an entire new wardrobe picked out for you," Laura is telling me.

We are sitting at a table in the underground bunker having lunch. The food down here is good for people living underground. I'd have to say that much. I wondered how long we would have to hide out here though like sewer rats. I wondered how long we would have to keep being lower than the Straights above us.

Laura and I usually have lunch here together. She refuses to let the campaign start until I look the part. She is a serious girl so no one struggles with her. Her voice is a little high-pitched. You would think she was excited about this if you didn't know her.

"I don't need new clothes."

"Yes, you do. We want to dress you in bright colors. We want to dress you flamboyant."

"Flamboyant?"

I didn't know how I felt about that. I was never a flamboyant kind of guy. I was a man's, man. The fact that she wanted to do this just seemed a little comical to me. I was running for president. I wasn't running for a circus clown.

Laura isn't taking no for an answer.

"Absolutely. Labels everywhere. We want to make sure that they know this is the first gay president. I want to take our proverbial dicks out of our pants and slap them with it. I'm talking suits with trains and ostrich feathers. We need to go out."

"How much longer with the working out and manicuring?" I ask, "I'm feeling cramped up down here. I want to get on the road."

"That's exactly what I was thinking," a voice states.

I turn and see Seth. I haven't seen him for a while. I haven't seen him since that meeting where I agreed to be the candidate. I am not complaining that I didn't see him though. When he walks up to the table that Laura and I are sitting at, I notice he has several people with him. They look like his assistants or something like that. They all look really serious.

Seth has a portfolio in his hand. He looks like he's ready for business.

"Where have you been?" Laura asks him.

I am afraid to talk to him. I am afraid to look him in his eyes. It's not that I'm afraid of him. I'm afraid of myself. I'm afraid of what kind of reaction I would have to him. I don't want to attack him again. Even worse I don't want to break down and start crying pleading for an explanation on why he did what he did all those years ago.

So I just stay quiet. If he wanted to ignore the past then I was going to do the same thing.

"I've been getting the campaign ready," Seth responds, "You know? The important stuff..."

Seth is rubbing people the wrong way. It's clearly a dig at Laura.

"Appearance is the most important thing," Laura responds to him, "Of course you should know that, first hand. Weren't you attempting to "appear" like a straight man for years?"

Laura's response makes me like her even more. Down here the idea of closeted guys was probably the worst thing you can do. There is a bit of laughter coming from a few people who are close enough to hear. I have to admit that I break out into laughing as well. It's not even that funny to me but I just want to embarrass the fuck out of Seth. I want him to feel like shit and it works. Or at least it seems to piss him off. His whole facial expression changes.

Seth gives me a look, "Can I talk to you?"

"Is it campaign related?" I ask.

"No...it's..." he pauses looking around, "Personal."

"Nah. Not a good time."

"What the hell could you possibly be doing? Playing dress up?" Seth asks looking over at Laura in a moment of annoyance.

"Actually I have a date."

"With who?"

I get up. I don't answer him. I walk away. I can see Seth staring at me. I can feel his eyes glaring at my back. It might of not have been true but honestly I know it's killing him. That's why I said it. I want to kill him but I can't. He's my campaign manager so I'll do the next best thing. I was going to make his life a living hell.

~

I'm sitting there in my room happy with myself for being shady to Seth. Truth is I don't want to talk to him. I want to avoid him for as long as possible. I don't want to hear his lame ass excuses for why he played me. That was the last thing I wanted. I wanted to be completely free of him. I expect to hide out in my room until Laura came back around but when I get a knock on the door I'm really still want to be left alone.

It's not Laura at the door. It happens to be Rhett.

"So about that date?"

Rhett is dressed up nicely. He isn't wearing his usual all black. He has his hair out in a curly way. It falls in beautiful curls over his shoulders. He has a sparkle in his eyes. He has on a clean white shirt and some fitted straight jeans. He hands me something. At first, I'm not sure what it is but then I see it's a flower. It's been so long since I've seen a rose.

I've almost forgotten how beautiful they were.

"You were serious?"

"Weren't you?" he asks.

"Not really..."

"So why go around telling everyone that you had a date?" Rhett asks, "Your ex-boyfriend has literally questioned everyone in the GA Headquarters. He's on a manhunt."

I pause. Sounds like Seth. That's what happens when you treat someone like shit and all of a sudden realize that you missed them. He wanted me back. I had no doubt about that. I knew Seth. I knew that he missed what we had. I had missed for three years.

"Does he know it's you?"

"No."

"Thank God."

I wanted Seth to be mad but the more I thought about it he was my campaign manager. If I could make his life a living hell then he could definitely make mine a living hell too. I wondered if it was worth it. For so many years I hated Seth. I couldn't stand him. Now that I was out, I had so much resentment but here was this handsome guy in front of my face that looked at me like I was worth a million dollars. Did I really want to continue any sort of drama with Seth?

Rhett seems to be willing to though.

"How about we confirm these rumors of us going on a date by actually going on one?" Rhett asks me.

I think about it. I look at Rhett. He's so handsome. He's beyond handsome. He gives me this beautiful smile and I smile back. My heart is beaming when I look at him. Why the fuck is this guy making me smile? I shouldn't have been smiling. I should have been pissed. I should have been beyond pissed.

"Fine."

"Fine?"

"Fine," I respond.

I'm surprised when Rhett damn near pumps his fist in the air. His cheeks smile from ear to ear. I've never seen someone who was so handsome be so uncool. It was so fucking obvious that he was excited. If it was anyone else I would have been turned off, but there was something about Rhett. It wasn't just the fact that he looked like some Hawaiian Demi-God. It was also the fact that he was so clearly truthful.

He didn't seem like the type who would lie or scheme or cheat. He just seemed honest. He just seemed real.

"You made my day," He lets me know, "So what do you want to do. What restaurant?"

"Wait...we are going above ground?"

"Of course."

"Does Mr. Collins know I'm going back above ground?"

"Hell no. He'd kill me for taking you above ground."

I laugh at the thought. I can see negative ass, Mr. Collins, now. I can hear his annoying voice going in on us.

"You're going to do it anyway aren't you?"

"Hell yeah. Besides I have the android."

I notice the android outside of the room. It's just standing there. I walk out and take a closer look. There was something so familiar about the android. He had a helmet on but he just seemed so fucking familiar.

What was it about the android?

"Why do I feel like I...know this person?"

I stare at the person.

I get closer. Closer. The android doesn't move. I look at the body. There are so many metal pieces. But when I get closer I can swear I see a part of his arm that is flesh.

Metal and flesh. How weird.

"You should keep your distance," Rhett states, "It's a weapon. Nothing to toy with."

"Rhett there's something familiar about him."

I don't know what it is. There is this feeling.

I get close. I put my hand on the helmet. The android doesn't move. It stays completely still not reacting to me.

"Don't," Rhett states.

Rhett grabs my hand.

"What are you trying to hide Rhett?"

"Nothing?"

"Rhett don't play with me."

Rhett gives me a hard stare. He looks terrified. He is scared of what I may discover. He looks so fucking upset.

I pull away from him. I grab the helmet off and I'm shocked by what is underneath. I'm shocked by who is underneath.

"How could you?" I ask Rhett, "How could you do this to him?"

The person underneath is clear. The person looks out. It barely looks at me. Half the face is gone and replaced by metal.

I recognize the other half of the face though. I recognize the person immediately.

It's the straight A&E officer who rescued me. It's Shad.

To read the next chapter in advance go to www.crushedcrown.com