23 Reek

When I got back to the sewers, I don't know exactly how I felt. It felt good to be back, but I felt like I had been punched in the stomach nonetheless. Luke was a fucking Hornet. I knew he did business with them, but joining them? I wouldn't have seen it coming. I didn't like it. I can't say that I knew the Hornets better than him because I didn't. We've been around to see the same shit. We both know that the Hornets have done some messed up shit, so why did he join?

He says he had no choice, but he's been in situations like that before, but he always found a different option. Was he tired? Was he scared of being alone? Hell, why weren't we the ones to pick him off the street. Why wasn't it us who recruited him. It would be him here instead of in the fucking Hive.

Miro must've seen me and how stressed I look or he wouldn't have stopped by and sat down next to my pile of trash where I slept. "Is something wrong?"

I sighed. There was no harm in telling him. I knew Miro. He was my friend and my leader. Somebody I could trust. That was becoming more and more rare recently.

"I found Luke."

"But you don't seem happy about it."

"I don't"

"Mind if I ask why?"

"He joined the Hornets."

He didn't seem shocked about it. In his mind, if he wasn't here in our hideout with us, he was probably dead or with the other side.

"Lately, there's less and less people independent on the streets. They're being forced to pick a side out of fear of being left behind when all goes to hell. We've been getting more and more people looking for us. Looking for a group to help them. They want somebody strong, but somebody that won't kill them for looking at them the wrong way. Luke, I doubt he was given much of a choice. If the information he had was as important as you say, the Hornets were either willing to recruit him or kill him. He did what he needed to do to survive, just like all of us."

"But he's being selfish. He was too scared of what they would do if he didn't become their lapdog."

"Maybe, but sometimes, other options become blurred, and you have to think on your feet to live."

"But that's not what you do. You help people other than your followers and yourself. You give people a chance to survive on their own. You save people."

Maybe he was flattered. Hell, maybe he was blushing, but it was too dark to see. His face seemed to remain unchanged. That was probably the truth of it.

"Go to sleep, Reek. This city is sinking and we'll need all of our energy to stay afloat."