The two communicated briefly, a word from Snag, Love Lost tapping the backs of her hands together twice, the metal there clinking.

As they had that exchange, Tattletale looked around idly, her eyes turning skyward.

Her eyes locked on the camera, looking directly at us.

“Love Lost says—”

“Cradle’s arrived.”

“Yes. He’ll wait for the crowd to thin out before deploying. And you—”

“We’ll deliver,” she said. “You’ll get your fourth, I get each of you for three years.”

“That’s fine,” Snag said.

“Just don’t tell me whatever you end up doing to him, and we’re golden,” she said.

Shadow Interlude 5d

It’s my night. No control over what happens.

Rain’s senses were flooded with a turpentine-alcohol taste, filling his mouth, then his nose. People laughed and cheered, and flesh strained around his face.

He pulled free of the headlock as the fluid hit his eyes, and leaned over, sputtering, trying to blink the alcohol out of his eyes. The cheers became more laughter.

Rain groaned, facing the ground, and it was a primal sound. “Are you trying to kill or blind me?”

“Ew, you’ve got some fucked up snot,” Nell said.

He brought a hand to his nose, and realized the ‘fucked up snot’ was a tendril of snot that was extending from his nose, made more liquid by the caustic, homebrewed alcohol.

He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, caught the snot, and threw it into the fire before leaning back.

“Here,” Jay said. “Drink.”

He pushed the glass jug at Rain. The inside looked almost moldy with the way the pulp clung to the exterior and caught the light. The contents sloshed within.

“If I drink more I’ll be useless tomorrow,” Rain said.

“You’re going to be useless no matter what happens,” Allie said, to laughter.

“Fuck you,” Rain said. He felt his face stretch into a smile.

“Drink, Rain man,” Jay said, more forcefully.

Rain looked up at the guy. A year older, Jay was tall, his hair shoulder length and blond. His light facial hair and the smoke of the fire behind him caught the light of the bonfire, but the same light didn’t catch most of his other features. His eyes weren’t visible.

No choice. Rain took the jug. He tipped it back, and the taste of it made him cough more.

The other teenagers around the fire cheered.

“You’re going to be a soldier,” Jay said. His tone was such that none cheered. Some knew what it meant to be a soldier, some didn’t, but all respected Jay as the leader of their age group and they knew this exchange was between Jay and Rain.

Rain nodded. His vision shifted slightly as the alcohol made itself felt. He looked up at Jay, and his eye settled momentarily on the long hair.