Ray sat in his school cafeteria while staring at Marcus from across the room. People passed between them but his eyes never left Marcus.
Marcus, on the other hand, was drenched in sweat and seemed to flinch at every loud noise like he was expecting something.
He clearly did his best to avoid Ray's eyes and the latter somewhat found it amusing. 'He is scared. Did he actually see something?'
Before Ray could ponder further, a couple of students passed by, with daily gossip on their lips. Normally, Ray would have ignored them but this time, the topic directly concerned him.
"Did you hear?" One of the two girls whispered to the other. The other shook her head, prompting the first to resume, "I can't believe that Dave is now hospitalized. Apparently, he's hollow and displaying similar signs to core destruction."
Ray's eyebrows furrowed and he turned to look at them, 'So his name is Dave? And what's this about core destruction?'
The other girl gasped, "You're kidding! Which hospital?"
Ray put the thought into the back of his mind and turned his focus back on Marcus but found that somehow, he had slipped away unnoticed. 'Shit!'
The rest of the cafeteria moved on without realizing that something was brewing beneath the surface.
Ray stood up and left the cafeteria. He turned down numerous corridors but didn't catch a glimpse of Marcus. 'Come on, I need to find him!'
Somehow he had to find him. "Why so worried?" Onyx asked as he appeared, smiling.
"Because he is scared and scared people do foolish things." He turned another corner and saw Marcus approaching a teacher from behind.
Ray cursed, "Or do something smart like telling someone!"
His mind raced and he settled for the least practical option, "HEY MARCUS! MY MAN!!"
Both Marcus and the teacher turned around but the former paled and froze while the latter rolled his eyes and walked away.
Ray walked toward Marcus, keeping his pace casual. He tucked his palms into his pockets and tried to walk casually, resulting in the most awkward walk to ever exist.
Onyx drifted alongside him, grinning.
"Smooth. Really. 'My man.' He'll never suspect a thing."
"Shut up."
Marcus didn't move as Ray approached. His eyes were wide, his breath shallow.
Ray stopped a few feet away. Close enough to be threatening. Far enough to seem casual.
"Hey. We need to talk."
Marcus shook his head. "I didn't see anything. I swear. I don't know what happened to Dave."
Ray blinked, 'He's already denying it. Before I even asked.'
Onyx chuckled. "He's practically confessing that he knows something."
Ray ignored him. "Marcus. Look at me."
Marcus looked. His eyes were wet.
"What did you see?"
Marcus's lip trembled.
"I saw... I saw you..." He couldn't finish.
Ray's heart stopped.
'He saw.'
Ray stepped closer. Marcus flinched but didn't run.
"Tell me exactly what you saw."
Marcus's voice cracked. "The park. After you ran. I came back to find Dave and—" He swallowed. "Your eyes. They were black. And there were... things. Coming out of you."
Ray's blood ran cold.
Marcus kept going, his voice gaining strength. "Dave couldn't move. You just... held him. And then he went limp. When I blinked, you were unconscious and Dave was just... hollow."
Tears ran down Marcus's face.
"What did you do to him?"
Ray had no answer.
Onyx whispered, "Now's the part where you decide if he's a witness or a victim. Or as you once said, 'Who says that they are mutually exclusive?'. Why not kill him now?"
Ray's hand trembled and he swallowed a lump in his throat but he ignored Onyx. Deep down, he knew that he had done something wrong but— but since when was what they did to him right?
A deep frown fell on Ray's face and he glared at Marcus, "Oh, you have guts, don't you?"
Unbeknownst to him, his voice had slightly shifted, sounding more like a cacophony of angry voices grating against one another.
Marcus tried to take a step back but Ray reached out far faster than he should have been able to.
He tightened his grip against Marcus' hand, "I think you're right. Let me answer before you provide me with an answer to my question. I survived him."
A sheer look of panic flashed across Marcus' face and he looked about ready to scream but something about Ray's face told him that if he tried, he'd face a fate far worse than Dave's.
Ray continued, "Both of you had me restrained and planned to torture me yet you act all decent and innocent?"
Marcus froze yet Ray wasn't done, "Which in turn brings me full circle to my question. You have guts, don't you?"
"I'm sorry," Marcus whispered, bowing his head. "Please just let me go, I promise that I won't talk or tell anyone what I saw."
Ray loosened his grip slightly, "Are you sure?" His voice was normal again.
Marcus nodded frantically and Ray let him go.
He ran down the hall and away from Ray. Onyx scoffed, "Mercy? Really? You do know that he's eventually going to tell someone, right?"
Ray ran a shaky hand through his hair and tried to fake composure, 'I know, goddammit!' But he turned to Onyx and smiled, "Call me crazy but it almost seems like you're worried about me? Do you care for me?"
Onyx scoffed, "You're crazy. After all, you are the one talking to yourself in an empty hallway."
Reality dawned on Ray and he stifled a curse after noticing students watching him from afar. He walked away from the scene as subtly as possible, somehow even drawing more attention.
Despite the odd looks he got here and there, his mind was somewhere else. 'I need to find a way to end the matter with Marcus. It's a loose end.'