Chapter 44.5: My Body's on the Line (Short)

//Day three after the explosion topside//

"If you don't give names before the trial this evening, the Council will order your transfer to Dredge Prison instead," Greyson said, sitting alone beside Orion who was laid out in the dimly lit cell.

The doctors had just left after changing Orion's bandages and applying fresh ointments and antiseptics.

Orion's breaths came short and raspy, struggling to stay awake. He was receiving food, but it was nowhere near the quantity or quality to restore his energy for healing- let alone being given the time to heal.

While drifting in and out of consciousness previously, he desperately wanted to heal himself but knew questions would arise if he did. The only thing Orion could do was grit his teeth and endure the pain.

"Why don't you ask Vander instead?" Orion croaked.

Greyson blinked, staring at him for a moment. "He told you?"

"We've talked." Orion curtly replied.

A frown formed before she shook her head, letting it pass. "Regardless, the Council knows you're connected to those kids. I spoke to Vander already, and the result was the same."

"Orion, please. Think about Caitlyn; she wouldn't want this." Greyson pleaded, trying various tactics to convince him. "I know you had no part in this, and so do many others. Don't throw your life away over this. A few names will reduce your sentence from ten years to five and in better conditions."

Her eyes drifted to Orion's hands as they clenched into fists. Anger stirred within him as he forcibly turned his head to lock gazes with Greyson. "The Council knows but doesn't care?"

"They care, but for different reasons," Greyson carefully spoke, realizing she had just errored.

"The Council needs their pound of flesh. They have to make the feel people safe," Orion bitterly mocked, groaning as his wounds flared in pain. "I know what I am to them- a political pawn. I'm screwed no matter what."

Silence lingered between them. Greyson's expression softened as she spoke again, lamenting to Orion, "Your mind truly is bright, Orion. If only you weren't so heavily involved in the undercity's criminal acts, you could've been at the academy alongside Jayce and the others."

After another pause, Orion finally gave a firm response. "No."

Greyson couldn't help but turn her head away in anguish, standing up. "If you change your mind, tell the guards standing outside," Greyson whispered and left without saying another word.

Orion wanted to heal and escape now. The thought of spending a lifetime in prison being tortured and working as a slave in the mines was unbearable.

If he recalled correctly, that would be the prison Urgot would eventually appear- if he wasn't already there.

He felt like he had had enough.

'If I tell her, I condemn the others, and I've sacrificed too much at this point.' Orion thought, frustration and anger simmering within him. 'But I won't throw my life away for the Council's benefit.'

'It's been, what? Two or three days since the explosion? Silco will make his move soon, and they won't transport me while lockdown is in effect.'

Orion clutched the rough bedding, gritting his teeth. "Jail or banishment- or both. Damn it."

Even if Orion healed himself now, he wouldn't have the energy to escape. The best he could hope for would be to break out and live as a fugitive.

Helplessness and depression seeped in as he lay there for hours.

Eventually, the sound of shuffling feet and a small commotion reached his ears from outside the cell.

The jail cell opened, and he heard footsteps approaching.

"This is it, huh? I failed." Orion muttered, sighing as he closed his eyes. It was time to accept the future as a fugitive, forever on the run.

An ominous tone crept into his ears, however, sending chills down his spine. It was low and taunting. "I warned you, boy. But you never listen, do you?"