Page 71 of Drop His Mask

The camera fell to the ground next to them as his body slammed the man into the ground. His hands secured the man’s wrists above them and the knife clattered across the floor.

“You?! Leave here and I won’t have you killed.” The Host’s face was turning red as he tried to shove The Game Warden off of him, but he was no match.

The Game Warden wouldn’t budge as he used all of his strength, his experience as a fighter, to hold The Host in place.

“Unkie Julie?” Sparrow’s terrified voice broke through The Game Warden’s unhinged rampage.

“Go Sparrow! Go find Felix, tell him to keep you safe.”

“But…” she sobbed.

The Game Warden didn’t turn his head, focusing on The Host below him. On how his face had turned ashen and white. He kept his focus as he reached for the knife he kept on his person.

“Uncle? She’s a natural child? Born from a mother?” The Host uttered, terrified.

For the first time since The Game Warden had met the man, he sounded contrite, nearly remorseful.

“Oh god, I didn’t know. Let me go, and I promise to never return.” The Host’s eyes turned into swirling masses of chaos. His pupils darted in nearly all directions. “Now. We need to leave,now!”

Confusion swept through The Game Warden.

Why does Sparrow’s birth matter?

The small taps of retreating feet allowed The Game Warden’s resolve to solidify. He loosened his grip on The Host. His mind was made up.

“Good man. Now we leave and never speak of this again. All will be alright. Who would believe a Violencia—” The Host gurgled around the knife that now impaled his throat. The Game Warden removed it, tossing it away and allowing the crimson to escape freely. For it to drain from The Host below him. Killing him quickly.

The Game Warden had a moment of satisfaction as The Host’s life drained from him, before Sparrow’s soft sniffle tore him away.

“Ju—Julie?”

The Game Warden jumped to his feet, twisting around to find that Sparrow had not left as he had thought. Instead, she was standing at the doorway, tears dripping down her face.

“It’s okay.” The Game Warden put his hands up placatingly.

But it was the wrong move, sticky blood coated his palms, specks of it had made its way across his clothes.

Even in all black it was noticeable. He was coated in his crime, forced to come to terms that he had just murdered a man in front of a small child.

“Sparrow, I need you to go get Felix.Please. Everything is okay now, I promise.”

Stomping from down the hall drew The Game Warden’s attention. He wanted to run to Sparrow, to wrap her in his arms, and keep her safe. But he was frozen in place.

Slow clapping came from around the doorway.

“What have we here?” a deep baritone vibrated from the hallway. “What are you doing out here, child?”

Sparrow’s face went white as she backed into the room, all the way to the nearest corner. “I’m sorry.”

The Game Warden still couldn’t see who she was talking to until a moment later when a man and woman walked through the doorway. They were both masked. They were older and elegant with masks adorned in jewels and intricate designs. The decorations were different from those of us who needed to only hide our identities.

“What have we here?” The man raised a gun at The Game Warden. He cocked his head and dark grey hair fell over the mask. “You’re the one Ana told us about.”

Ana?

The Game Warden finally found the ability to speak. “The Host came to kill her.”

The woman next to the man scoffed haughtily. Her blonde hair fell around her mask and she swept some of it back. “Oh, dear, don’t you remember this boy from before? The fighter. John…no wait, Julian.” The woman walked brusquely into the room, heels clicking as she went. She eyed the corpse warily before stopping next to the man. Arms crossing over her chest. “I told you, we should have left him in the bottom level with the patrol guards.”

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