Page 99 of Drop His Mask

Maverick rose. “You knew.” He accused Levi. “You knew this was going to happen.”

On the screen, Raven was lying on her back in the place they had played one of their games. The one with the large glass dome, the camera appeared to come from beside her.

She wasn’t the only one there.

“Is that?” Enzo moved closer to the screen.

“Nightingale,” Levi repeated. “Are you both dressed and ready?”

“Yes fuck we’re god damn dressed and ready. Now tell us what is going on?” Maverick stepped menacingly towards Levi. “What have you done?”

“Mommy?”

The word was a beacon that drew all of their attention. Enzo’s eyebrows shot up as a mini version of Raven ran towards her. As the child wrapped into her arms, as Raven wept.

“Her daughter? Nightingale has her daughter? How is that remotely possible?” Maverick was practically yelling in Levi’s face. “How could you do this to her? How could you keep this from her?”

Levi reached back, punching Maverick in the shoulder and Enzo finally moved to break them apart.

“I just found out! There isn’t anything else I could do. Raven thought her daughter was dead, why would she believe me if I told her otherwise?” Levi panted. “Don’t ever second-guess my intentions. I love Raven, more than either of you could ever know. You both used her and tossed her aside, but that isn’t how I feel. I will do everything in my power to always keep her safe.”

“I love her too,” Maverick snapped back. “But that doesn’t fucking mean anything! She is an enigma, a beautiful curiosity, but love causes us to turn stupid. It breaks us apart!”

Enzo’s heart beat rapidly in his chest. He loved Raven too, at least he thought he did, but he certainly didn’t deserve her. She was everything good in the world, everything he pretended to be. There wasn’t a possibility in which he deserved her.

Before they could fight anymore, the door to their room clicked open.

“We have to go!” Levi snapped. “We don’t have much more time!” He didn’t wait for their response as he ran out of their room.

Enzo turned to his brother, trying to communicate to him with his eyes.

“I know you’re sorry. We have to go, we can fight about this later.” Maverick followed Levi out the door and Enzo cast one last room around theirhome.

They had been here for over a month, creating some of the worst and best memories in this game; he was terrified, in many ways, to leave.

Because once they did, they would all have to face the realities of what they had done. Of who they had killed. Of how they had all ended up here in the first place.

Enzo shook his head, clearing his thoughts as he sprinted after Levi and his brother.

They were down the hallway, Levi holding the door open to a stairwell when a loud explosion sounded around them. The ceiling shook and dust fell, but nothing else came down.

“That is the first one, we have to be upstairs before the other two go off,” Levi yelled.

It was oddly empty as the three men made their way up the stairs. It wasn’t until they were four floors up that evidence of the explosion proved difficult to continue further.

“Come on, this way!” Levi shouted, leading them into the hallway.

Where before it had been empty, this floor was doused in chaos. Players running amok, guards on the ground bloodied and dead.

Levi shoved a player to the ground and continued marching a path. “Follow us if you want to live!” he bellowed.

A presence at his back had Enzo shifting to fight, but it was 197 and 195.

“Where is Raven?” he barked over the loud chaos of screams and crashing.

197’s quirked his lips. “She will be safely delivered to our transportation off this island, we must meet her there. Where is the man? Where is Jayce?”

Enzo wanted to interrogate him, but new guards entered the floor, brandishing weapons. Before panic could take hold, they turned their weapons to the remaining guards attempting to fight back or flee.

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