What a big, fat lie. That's the biggest lie I've ever heard.

"Lying won't save you," I growl. He steps backwards until his back is pressed against the wall. I stand over him with my sword against his throat.

"P-please."

"Nor will cowering."

"I swear I'm not lying. Guthrie Harper is dead. Please, Hawk."

"You killed Rex."

"I'm really sorry."

"Is sorry going to bring Rex back? What about all the others who have died at the hand of Guthrie Harper and you? Is it gonna bring them back to life?" I press my sword a little harder against his skin.

"Guthrie Harper is dead. Let me try to make things right."

"You're a lying snake. You just wanna get away."

"I swear I don't. Please." He's trembling like a leaf in the wind.

"Hawk, I think he's saying the truth. Guthrie Harper might really be dead," Callie says.

"I promise I'm not lying. I swear it on my life."

"Like that's worth anything." I snort. Twig flinches ever so slightly but doesn't react any more than that.

"Look at my eye. The left one. The light isn't blinking any more. I felt it when Guthrie Harper died. I felt his control go away. I swear on my life that Guthrie Harper is dead." Sure enough, the blinking, red light is gone.

"If it's true that Guthrie Harper is dead, then take me to his body."

"I don't know where Guthrie Harper is."

"Then where did you go when you had to report back to him?" I raise an eyebrow.

"I would tell one of the head Wasteland guards, and they would go tell Guthrie Harper. I swear I have no idea where Guthrie Harper is! You have to believe me! Please, Hawk." Twig's eyes are wide with fright.

I take my sword off his throat and hold it at my side. He'll live, but not for long. Twig draws in several deep breaths. There's a faint red line on his throat where my sword was. "So if he's dead, what are you going to do? No one will trust you after everything you've done."

"I wouldn't expect anyone to. I just want to get a house somewhere and live the rest of my life peacefully. Having Guthrie Harper in my mind all the time..." Twig shudders.

"Let's go find the others. We need to let them know."

"I bet they already know. All of the Wasteland guards felt it when Guthrie Harper died. We all could be controlled by Guthrie Harper."

"Why didn't all of you have the blinking, red light?" I ask.

"Guthrie Harper. Guthrie Harper got... Got lazy, I guess. I'm not entirely sure." Twig scratches the back of his neck.

"Wait. So Guthrie Harper is dead, right?" Mia juts in.

"Yeah. Guthrie Harper is dead." Twig nods.

"How did he die? We didn't kill him."

"I don't know. I doubt anyone killed Guthrie Harper, though. It could've just been something uncontrollable, like a heart attack or something like that." Twig shrugs.

"Let's go find Vladimir and the others. They need to know that Guthrie Harper is dead," Jay says as he waves us into motion.

"Supposedly dead," I mutter.

"They need to know that Guthrie Harper is supposedly dead."

"I'm almost certain that they already know," Twig adds.

"Come on."

We arrive at the doors to Capital City a few minutes later, and Jay doesn't slow as he races through them. There's an eerie silence hanging over the battlefield. T-LOOT-Dians, Raydownians, and Wasteland guards alike wander across it. Blood stains the grass, and Clicks lay still on the ground, their blood orange eyes having gone dim. "Stop! Please. I won't hurt you." A Wasteland guard holds their hands in front of them, much like Twig did with me.

"You were trying to kill me just a few short minutes ago." A Raydownian is advancing on the Wasteland guard.

"I'm sorry. I was under Guthrie Harper's control, but I'm not any more."

"How come?"

"Guthrie Harper's dead."

"Stop saying that. You're lying!"

"Stop! I don't think he is!" Jay sprints towards them in a blur, taking the Raydownian's sword from their hand as he comes to a stop between them.

"How do you know that?" The Raydownian asks.

"What happened with the Clicks?" Jay gestures to one laying motionless nearby.

"They dropped to the ground."

"Look at their eyes; they're not blood orange anymore. They've stopped moving. The Wasteland guard next to Hawk said he felt Guthrie Harper's control go away. I don't know for sure, but Guthrie Harper might actually be dead."

"Believe him," The Wasteland guard says. "Guthrie Harper is dead. I know I've done a bunch of bad stuff, but I want to make it right. I can help you with getting the Gladiators back to a normal life."

"We all want to right the wrongs we did. We never wanted to do what we did, but Guthrie Harper forced us to." A different Wasteland guard speaks this time, and the other Wasteland guards nod in agreement.

"How did Guthrie Harper force you to do what he wanted?" I ask.

"You know how Gladiators are sometimes turned berserk?" Twig starts.

"Yeah."

"Guthrie Harper would do that in a way by keeping us in just enough pain to the point where we wouldn't be thinking quite straight and then influencing our decisions so we would do what Guthrie Harper wanted. We would think we had done it on our own, but when Guthrie Harper let the control go a bit and we could think fully for ourselves, we would realize what we had done. The guilt was almost eating me alive, and I think it's that way for a lot of us. I know I'll never to be able to make up for everything I've done to you all, but please let me at least try to do something. I can't begin to fathom what we and Guthrie Harper have done to you all. I'll never be able to say how sorry I am." Twig meets the gaze of each and every one of the T-LOOT-Dians and Raydownians. His fingers drum against his legs. The field is silent after several other Wasteland guards voice their agreement with Twig in that they want to try to make things right. No one talks for a few minutes.

Do we accept their offer? Do we forgive them in some way by letting them help? What do we do? No. I can't accept. They killed Rex. Regardless of whether or not they were under Guthrie Harper's control, he died at their hand. Rex died at Mars's hand, not the Wasteland guard's hand. They could've stopped him. They had the ability to stop Mars, and they didn't. Rex is dead, and they could've done something. But they didn't, and now Rex is dead. He should be here. Rex should be standing next to me, alive and breathing. But he's not. Twig killed him. Minotaur killed him. Blade killed him. Mars killed him. Guthrie Harper killed him. Every single one of the Wasteland guards killed Rex. He's dead because of him. I will never forgive them. I will never forgive those who killed half of me.

We don't have to forgive them, but we could give them some form of a small chance. No. Never. The Wasteland guards were under the control of Guthrie Harper; they didn't have control of their actions. They killed Rex. They couldn't control what they were doing. It was Guthrie Harper. Guthrie Harper killed Rex, not the Wasteland guards or Mars or the Click 2.0s. It was Guthrie Harper, and only Guthrie Harper. Guthrie Harper killed Rex through the bodies of Mars and the Wasteland guards.

I'm never giving them a chance. They killed Rex whether they were under Guthrie Harper's control or not. Fine. Don't give them a chance, but let others give them a chance to try to make things right. Don't interfere. I ponder that for a moment. Fine.

"Alright. One chance. You set one toe out of line, and you're dead. Deal?" Vladimir steps forwards from where he was kneeling beside an injured Raydownian.

"Deal," Twig replies immediately.

"Deal."

"Deal."

"Deal." One by one the Wasteland guards agree to Vladimir's terms.

"When do we start?" Twig asks.

"We're heading back to Raydowne. Meet us at the open-air marketplace tomorrow at six in the morning."

"We'll be there. Thank you so much. I did-."

"Cut it. I don't need you to get all sappy," I grumble.

"Head back to the vehicle you arrived in!" Vladimir cups his hands around his mouth to shout the words.

"What about the bodies?" Someone replies.

"We will bury them when we return."

"Has anyone seen Lily and Remy?" Jay asks.

"I thought I saw them heading into Capital City, but that was maybe ten minutes ago give or take."

"I'm coming with you, Jay," I say when my brother takes off.

The tires of the dirt bike are still spinning when we find it about ten minutes later. Lily is trapped beneath the dirt bike, and Remy sits slouched against the nearby wall, his head hanging over one shoulder. Blood flows through the gash that cuts through his neck and chest. His gaze fixates sightlessly on his hands. "Lily!" Jay whimpers as he pushes the dirt bike off of her. Her right leg is twisted at an unnatural angle, and a bloody, gaping wound tears across her back. "Wake up! Come on, Lily! Wake up!" He pats her cheek. No, no, no, no. She can't be dead too. "Y-you. You better wake up! You'd better wake up right now. Please, Lily." It's just like when Rex died... What do I say?

"Jay... Lily's not waking up." Jay doesn't respond as he picks a few leaves and twigs from Lily's hair. I stand behind him and fiddle with my fingers. The tires of the dirt bike stop spinning. We stay there, not talking, for a few long minutes before Jay breaks the silence. "First Arrow and now Lily. Guthrie Harper killed them both. All the deaths are horrible, but I think that one's among the worst."

"Let's go," Jay adds on a minute later. "We need to get back to Raydowne. Can you get Remy?"

"Sure. Are we leaving the dirt bike?"

"Yeah." Jay picks up Lily, and I follow him with Remy in my arms.

xxxx

The streets of Raydowne are silent and devoid of people, but as soon as we reach the town, they come to life. Doors are thrown open as those who stayed behind stream onto the sidewalks. "Move it! Move it! We've got injured who need medical attention! Move it! We'll get the injured to the doctors, and then a few of us will meet you at the open-air market!" Vladimir rolls down his window and leans out of it, shouting for people to make way for the cars. The crowd does as they're told, and they part to let the cars pass. "How can we find those who went to fight?"
"We need to get to the base. I'll send someone to tell you the answer once we've gotten those who need urgent medical attention the help they need."

Jay leans against the window with his chin resting on his fist. He let Callie drive back and Mia take shotgun, so he sits across from me in the back seat. He hasn't spoken since I asked him if we were leaving the dirt bike behind. "We're here," I murmur when we come to a stop beside the sidewalk in front of the base. Jay nods as he robotically unbuckles his seatbelt and climbs out of the Slash.

"Alright! Karla is waiting inside with all the help she could get. We're going to help those who need medical attention the most first. If you have any medical training, please help out as much as you can. I need a few volunteers to come with me to the open-air market. Who wants to come with me?" Vladimir jumps onto the hood of the Slash as he addresses everyone.

"Hawk, you want to go?" Jay murmurs. His gaze stares blankly at his feet.

"Not unless you want to."

"You can go if you want to."

"I'll stay with you. It looks like Vladimir found a few people."

"Thanks."

Thank you so much for reading Blend the Light! There's only one more chapter, which will be posted very soon! Please check out my next book, The King's Remorse, which I will be starting after I finish this one.

I don't have questions like I did for previous chapters, but what did you think?

Do you have any suggestions?

What do you think will happen in the final chapter? (So this one is kinda like the questions in previous chapters, but I'm curious)

-Werewolf14-