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“It’s okay, she didn’t mean it.” Beta listened to Olivia comfort the girl in the living room. He remembered seeing Alice crying in her room, the regret in her eyes. Beta could never forget that he had caused that pain. He stood in the hallway, but didn’t move. The endless wait for a noise signaling Olivia was going to attack tread on, but when Beta realized she wouldn’t, he decided to go for it anyway. Beta walked into the room with a purpose and stopped when he saw the two girls sitting on the couch. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were in here,” he lied, still waiting for the girl to react. Alice and Olivia just stared at him, looking annoyed, Olivia a little more than Alice. “Um, Ingrid wants you back at the dinner table…both of you.”

“You just said you didn’t know we were in here,” Olivia piped up, narrowing her eyes at him. “So, which is it? Were you looking for us or did you just happen to find us?”

“Looking for you,” Beta said back, his voice surprisingly even. “You should probably go before Ingrid gets mad.” His eyes never wondered to Alice, but stayed on Olivia as they both got up and walked toward him. Alice slipped by him without a second thought. Olivia, on the other hand, glared at him a little longer before knocking him in the shoulder as she walked by. A smirk couldn’t help but make itself known, a sense of satisfaction weighing.

“Hey Dani,” Olivia said from behind Beta as she left the area, and then all things went to a standstill. Beta didn’t turn around right away, because he didn’t realize right away that Dani was the other brunette.

He didn’t get the chance to turn around before a frying pan knocked into the back of his head and his legs gave out under him. Beta laid on the carpeted floor; it was surprisingly comfortable. Dani thought he was out cold. She dropped the pan and took a deep breath, reaching down to drag Beta up the stairwell placed in the back of the house.

To her surprise, Beta was more aware than she had assumed. He swept his feet across the floor, tripping Dani and causing her to fall on top of him. He pushed her off and pinned her down. She pleaded but Beta wouldn’t listen to her, although he did hesitate. Suddenly Elias’ words popped into his head.

Show no mercy…you show mercy and they see fear.

“Your fear is showing,” Beta uttered, pulling out his knife and sticking it through her forehead with a force he didn’t know he had. She whined for a few seconds, but eventually, her body stopped trying and she gave into death. Beta sighed in relief, but mostly shock. All he could think about was the greater hell she was about to endure. Knowing what came after made it all the more terrifying.

…Is this what Hershey felt when he killed those men? Those humans? he wondered, but it was short-lived.

Beta’s face contorted with anger again, and he took the knife out and put it in her chest, ripping it out again and thrusting it in again, and again, and again until he felt better.

Show no mercy. Show no mercy. Show no mercy, Beta thought, all his rage coming to life in that blade.

He stopped when he heard clapping, looking up and seeing no one. He stood abruptly, preparing for another fight. That’s when he saw Olivia, smiling and clapping her hands…

…mouth stained red.

Beta’s jaw clenched, pulling his knife closer to his body. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he muttered. Olivia laughed as she came closer.

“I don’t get it! They all say you’re so important, such heroes,” she sneered. Beta’s eyes drifted down to not just Dani, but now Alice lying dead a few feet away. “Heroes don’t kill innocent girls, now do they?”

Matrix wouldn’t stop fidgeting. Beta left about three minutes ago and Matrix was already on the edge of his seat. He wanted to go and help but Ingrid and Derek wouldn’t let him leave. He was on the verge of raising some attention. Matrix continually glanced over at Hershey, but Hershey refused to glance back.

Hershey wasn’t sure what he could do anyway. He was significantly weaker and if Matrix couldn’t make these people change their minds, then neither could he. But seeing Matrix so on edge made Hershey fear for the lives of the people near him. He knew Matrix wasn’t erratic, but when he got hungry…

Hershey gripped the cloth on the table tightly and let his eyes roll back in his head, leaving his mouth agape. He scooted just to the end of his chair and let gravity do the rest as he slid off the cushion, bringing his food, glass, and some other glasses down with him. Everyone stood up, rushing to see if he was okay, as did Matrix.

But Matrix stopped, thinking the situation and the irony over. He smiled, realizing that Hershey took a hit for him. He silently thanked his stubborn friend and ran toward the living room area.

Meanwhile, Beta was facing his own problems. The girl kept coming at him, swinging left and right. He just continued to back away, swinging his knife at her in the process.

“I heard you had a voice in your head Beta? How’s that working out for you?” Olivia taunted.

Beta got heated; he swung his knife across her chest, tearing the fabric of her shirt, but not enough skin to be damaging. She stumbled backward and he swung at her again yelling, “It’s none of your business! Why do people keep asking? It’s my head, my problem!”

She gasped as the blade hit her arm and laughed the pain away as she bled. “You’re just Elias’ pet! It doesn’t treat you like it should! Elias knows pretty much everything, but it didn’t bother to tell you that it wasn’t Dani!? That it was me!? That I set you up!? But, oh well. I guess that’s what friends are for!” she spat. Beta cracked and he rammed her into the window in the living room. Olivia fell with a thud along with the curtain rod above her.

Beta looked down on her, his eyes piercing hers. “He’s not my friend,” he breathed out. Beta flipped the knife around in his hand and held it down to stab into her neck, but before he could do so Olivia sprung her hand out to grab the broken rod beside her. She got ahold of it and turned to lie on her back. She hit Beta with the pole on the side of his head. He stumbled backward, dropping the knife in the process. Before he could defend himself, Olivia stood up and stabbed the rigid part of the rod all the way through Beta’s stomach.

Everything seemed to freeze.

Matrix had just run into the room, but when he saw what happened, he slowed. Emotions built up inside of him, emotions he hoped he’d never have to feel again. There was a sudden skip in his heartbeat when it happened and his stomach tightened. He couldn’t tell what his face looked like, but he couldn’t imagine it was pretty. Remorse, Matrix could argue, was one of the worst feelings. He never thought it would end this way…

Fortunately, it didn’t.

Beta stared into Olivia’s blood-lusting eyes. No emotion, no anything. She frowned, confused why he wasn’t on the ground dying already. Beta kept staring into her eyes, his own eyes seeming dead already. Blood seeped out of his mouth and dribbled on the floor. But he wasn’t dying. Beta took a few seconds to swallow all the blood in his mouth before taking a few deep breaths, lips now stained with the sweet red substance. “Sorry, but that doesn’t work on me.”

Olivia backed away, but as she did so, two hands were placed on her. One under her chin, pulling her head up, and the other with a knife in it, placed at her throat as it was slit. If it weren’t for her eyes rolling back in her head and falling like dead weight, many would assume Olivia was just gargling water from the sound that came out of her.

As she fell, Beta saw that it was Matrix standing behind her. He ran to Beta and caught him before he fell as well. Matrix looked at the rod and pondered the fact that there was no blood seeping from the wound. “How the hell are you still alive?” his friend asked.

“If I knew, I would tell you.” Beta tried to smile. “Just another perk of being killed by a Sync, if we can call being in agonizing pain and still not dying a ‘perk’—” Beta started coughing, triggering Matrix to act. He pulled on the rod.

“Dude, it’s stuck.”

“Well then pull harder!” Beta strained his voice, spitting on the ground. Matrix took a deep breath and gripped the rod tightly. Beta prepared himself for the worst. Matrix tugged on the rod and blood began to gush out. Beta grunted and Matrix had to cover his mouth, feeling a scream coming on. “Hold on just a little longer,” Matrix whispered. Beta squeezed his eyes shut and nodded.

Matrix pulled again and more blood spilled. He got the rod all the way out, allowing Beta to gasp like he had been holding his breath the duration of it. The blood dripped for a few more seconds before the gaping wound collapsed on itself and shut. Matrix lifted up Beta’s shirt as he panted. There wasn’t even a scar. “Thanks,” Beta whispered, sitting up.

Matrix glared at him. “Elias knew, didn’t it?” Beta glanced at Matrix, then looked back down.

“Knew what?”

“That it wasn’t the other girl, that it was Olivia,” Matrix iterated, even though he knew Beta knew exactly what he was talking about.

Beta shrugged. “I don’t know, alright? Olivia…said it did but—”

“Wait wait wait Olivia knew them?” Matrix asked, anger rising in his voice.

Beta sighed and looked Matrix directly into his dark eyes. “Yes. She knew of Elias but—”

“So the thing helps out the first time, and the second time it just throws you to the wolves like what? Some cosmic test?”

“It is not like that,” Beta argued, although he wasn’t even sure if he was convincing himself.

“Then what is it like?” Matrix argued back. He felt this new fire in his heart, this new drive that he had only gotten once before when Elias had taken over Beta’s body. He thought, ever since then, that maybe all of those feelings he had brought was him doing his job, trying to get closer to finding Elias. But he knew now that it was so much more than that. He wasn’t just pretending, he was actually pissed. He was pissed that Beta just let this thing ride around inside of him and never stopped to question why. He was pissed that he had let it slide until now. He was pissed that it took seven dead bodies before anyone stopped and pondered what was really going on inside Beta’s head.

Elias was a parasite, and they all knew it.

“What’s it like to have someone in your head who you can’t even trust? Why are we even taking orders from them? What happened to you Beta? Ever since you let that thing inside you, it’s like you’re not even you anymore.”

“And how do you know who I am or who I was!” Beta argued, even though he knew he shouldn’t be. “I have been through hell you can only dream of. I have suffered, I have fallen, and I have given myself up for the sake of surviving, so pardon me if I want to bloody trust someone in my life for once!” Beta took a pause, not expecting a response, but a reaction. “Matrix you don’t know me.”

Matrix’s nostril flared, but he kept his anger in. “Maybe not…but I swear I know you better than Elias does. Elias didn’t follow you down here, Elias hasn’t stuck with you no matter how messed up things have gotten, and Elias sure as hell didn’t feel anything when you almost died a second ago!” Now that it was out, Matrix didn’t regret saying it, and Beta definitely didn’t regret hearing it. The Perna let his head fall as it sunk in.

Matrix was right. He couldn’t trust Elias, not as well as he thought he should. Then again, he wasn’t sure what made him trust it in the first place.

Matrix scoffed. “I mean, come on. You even told Olivia that it wasn’t your friend.”

Beta sighed, rubbing his eyes. “He.”

Matrix raised his eyebrow. “What?”

Beta took a deep breath. “It’s not an ‘it.’ It’s a ‘he.’”

Matrix rolled his eyes, on the verge of another breakdown. He wanted to ask when Beta had found this out, but he decided it really didn’t matter. Matrix stood up, shaking his head in disappointment. “I’m your friend Beta. I might not always admit it, but I am. All he does is send you to do his dirty work. He’s not your friend Beta…he’s just a voice in your head.” Matrix turned and walked away from Beta, leaving him feeling torn. Matrix signaled to Hershey that it was all clear and he ‘woke up’ once again, telling everyone—including the newly arrived paramedics—that he was fine. When Beta and Matrix volunteered to help Hershey back to their room, they snuck out the back door and disappeared.

Walking back to their own hotel, the group of dead stopped at a gas station to gather food for the trip. While Matrix went in the store, Hershey and Beta went to the bathroom around back.

“May I go first?” Beta asked, and Hershey, although suspicious, allowed him. As soon as Beta had locked the door to the bathroom, Elias in mother form appeared.

“You did well Beta.”

Beta slammed his phone down on the sink counter and sneered at him. “I don’t care.”

“What’s wrong?”

“You didn’t warn me, you should’ve warned me.”

“Who says I knew?”

“I know you knew. And if you knew, that means you could’ve handled it yourself,” Beta spat.

Elias walked closer. “I didn’t ‘handle it’ as you say because I’m not supposed to lead. You are.”

Beta lost it, pointing angrily at him. “That’s bullshit and you know it!”

“What?”

“You don’t care about leading, or anything at all for that matter! You’re just too scared to show your face, you coward!” Beta yelled, feeling as though calling him a coward would even remotely damage his ever-growing ego.

“Beta, calm down.”

“Don’t tell me what to do! I’m so sick of you telling me what to do and I can’t take it anymore! Matrix was right! They were all right! You’re nothing but an egotistical, bitchy, commanding, annoying, order giving, sushi buying, douche bag! And I’m done with it, all of it! I don’t care how long it takes, I will find you. And when I do, I promise you it won’t be pretty.”

And then, it came. The ringing. Beta watched as his phone buzzed on the sink counter. He snatched it up and unlocked it.

His eyes furrowed as he opened the messages app, seeing an unknown number.

Heard you were looking for Elias. I think I can help. Meet me at this address and we’ll talk.

Elias’ eyebrows furrowed. “What? What is it?” he asked, and that’s when Beta’s head snapped up to look at him. Beta stopped himself from looking at the address, realizing what was happening all at once.

“You mean…you don’t already know?”

“I can only see what you see, if you don’t look at the address—”

“God, you really don’t know.”

“Beta this could be a trap.”

“Bloody hell,” he breathed out. A smile edged onto Beta’s face and he barked out a laugh. Beta dangled the phone in front of Elias’ imaginary face. “If there’s anything in this world worth keeping from your mangy hands, it is definitely this.”

Elias called out to him again and again, but Beta ignored him as he exited the gas station bathroom yelling, “Guys! I’ve got something.”