Chapter 13

"Thirty items...up his ass? Eddie always was a few bullets short of a clip. But, you talking to his ghost this whole time, how did he die?"

"He said he tried to break out the Lowlands and into Titan. Got caught at the Medical Ward. He's probably in the mashed potatoes. How the fuck should I know?"

With a wave of Puck's hand, two Vipers stood up and walked away, leaving me and Tomorrow upside-down buckets to sit on. A full plate of barbequed Meskle with sprinkles of garlic cloves on top and mashed potatoes was placed before Tomorrow. The tablespace in front of me remained empty.

"Food is only for the champions. I'm sure you've heard that before, killer. We'll provide you with a satchel of water though. It's going to be hot in the flatland today, and getting to Wren can seem like a winding road. Let me take a look at that coin real quick."

When I took it out my pocket, he snatched it from my hand. Between his index and thumb, he plucked it, watching it spin.

"Like what you saw down there? We call that the Serpent's Den. And unless you get the direct order from me, you don't wanna go into the Serpent's

Den."

Hunger created desperation in me, and dehydration buried a headache deep near my temple. I knew if I wanted to eat, I'd have to portray myself as a member of the gang. One of them, a Baby Viper. I met his eyes and drank the intensity of the stare. Searching for the human inside him. Unfortunately, all I peeked into was a hollowed soul, as if beyond his flesh he was solely a husk of darkness.

"I seen worse in the war," I responded with false bravado and a casual shrug. It made Tomorrow raise his eyebrows.

"WOOOO, Goddamn I knew it was something special about you, killer!" Puck cheered, slamming his fist on the table, so hard all the cups bounced in the air. "You been killing for years huh?" Within the wideness of his eyes, I saw a sparkle of life. A falling star inside a black hole. A falsehood trembled from my lips, but I maintained unwavering eye contact to communicate that it was true.

"Yea," I lied, omitting the fact that I only shot one person in the back...and that person couldn't have been no older than eight years old.

"I was there after the Wreckage ya know. At Gerson. I saw bodies melded into the ring. They looked like ornaments for a job well done. My dumb ass Colonel, Cotter Pery, I'll never forget his name. He thought the impact was going to shatter the ground and we'd all fall into space if we stepped foot in there. He kept saying 'Now don't fall through and burn up in space.' Stupid shit didn't even realize that if we did fall through, we'd freeze. I was 104th Celestial

Brigade. Two tours."

"I was 110th Lunar Battalion, one tour was enough," I finally spoke the truth, and Tomorrow nodded his head in approval.

"You know what, killer. Here."

Puck slid me his plate of food that he didn't finish. Half ate Meskle, vicious teeth marks all around, next to a tiny mound of mashed potatoes. The golden coin slid towards me right after. I pocketed the coin and dug my hands into the food. As I ate it, I experienced an intimate bond with Puck.

I felt that he hated me just a little bit less. And though I'd lied about killing, the ends still justified the means. It was the first time I ate since arriving at Titan, over twenty-four hours ago. It was a little bit wet on account of Puck's saliva, but the Meskle tasted oddly enough like seafood. I left the mound of mashed potatoes untouched for apparent reasons. The sound of the burp came first before the smell, and Tomorrow stood up, belly full. He placed that familiar touch on my neck.

"When you finish eating meet me outside."

I watched him exit the dining area, and could sense Puck looking at me. I took it as the sign I searched for when staring into the sun.

"So, what really happened to Leif? I don't remember killing him."

That accustomed emptiness washed across his face. Puck cracked a sinister smile.

"Don't ruin a good thing with dumb questions."

My instincts told me to ease off. I made some progress, that's enough. No need to push further. A slither of sunlight pierced my eyes when I exited the large cave. For a moment, the sky looked like an inverse silhouette, white space, and black stars. As Titan came into focus, I saw the small pockets of chanters about a mile deep. Tomorrow's gigantic shadow crept upon me.

"What's your real name?" he asked.

"Lex."

"How can I believe you, when everything you said in there was a lie?"

"I don't have any other name."

"And you haven't killed anybody either."

"If you know that, then why did you go along with this narrative that I murdered Leif. He said you helped me. Strung him up with the twine."

"Is that what you believe?"

"I don't know...I don't think I'm capable of..."

"...murder? But you're a killer right?"

"Yea...I'm a killer," the words leaked out like a whisper, even I didn't believe my own lie.

"...you're going to travel southwest for about ten miles. Wren is a massive Fold Mountain, taller and bigger than Hornet. You'll know when you're there, and if you run into trouble, show them the gold coin. If you try to fight anyone, you will be killed. There's a compass inside the bag."