Eyes

"I don't get why the boss likes to play with his food."

Ethan said casually as Soren and Avery disappeared down the hall. The four mercenaries turned to look at Ethan and he could not stop the smirk that appeared. They took the bait.

"That's right, you guys don't know. Ignorance must be bliss when you sleep right through shit. Since you didn't get the memo, I'll be nice enough to tell you. The boss isn't human. You saw that mutated? He's something similar, all of us are."

Ethan felt weird talking about humans as a separate species. It was not that long ago that he had been human. He was drawing on the things he had heard Soren and Jordan say when they were talking. His plan was to mess with the four and make them regret saying shit to Avery. I owe him that much.

"The mutated are like zombies. Now, what do you think someone that's like a zombie would enjoy eating? What do you think really happened to your other people? Boss ate the one called Cruz, right in front of Avery. That's why he decided to keep him around.

"Like I said, I just don't understand. Seems to me it would just be easier to just kill him. I guess that's why he's the boss and not me."

Ethan shrugged. Just then the timer went out and he guided them to the hall to take turns in the bathroom. Ethan had to fight himself to not laugh at the looks of confusion and disgust on the faces of the four. He is not sure how much he helped, but he hoped that he gave them something to think about.

Back upstairs, Ethan ran into Fry who was putting her dishes into the dishwasher. Ethan rinsed and put in the dishes from the four.

"How did it go?"

Ethan shrugged, "Ok, I guess. I think that they're too afraid of the boss to try anything. Oh, I did tell them about the boss eating their leader."

"Why did you do that? It's not a secret, but was it necessary?"

Fry still felt odd about the whole thing since she and Ethan had also participated in it as well. She knew that Ethan felt the same way about it. They had been bonding over mutual experiences.

"I feel like I owe Avery and messing with them like that is the only way I have right now."

Now this, Fry was really curious. She had Ethan follow her to the living room and sat on the couch. She felt bad for Avery, to her he was getting the full version of Soren. She was still struggling to separate Gideon from Soren. Trying to sort out that Soren was still her hero, he just was not a hero in the classic sense.

"Explain."

Ethan joined her on the couch.

"You remember what Jordan said about me almost being like Avery. I know that he said that the boss giving me the virus was what changed it. But, I still feel like he took my place. It's sort of like in prison when the strong guys decide to take on someone who's weaker. The weak ones don't always get a choice in the matter."

The first time he met Soren was still vivid as if it was yesterday. The way that Soren had looked at him when he called him his 'bitch' still sent shivers down his spine.

"It's up to you if you want to add on to it when you deal with them later."

Fry smiled, "Jordan said that we should think of Avery as family. It's only right that I mess with the people who fuck with my family."

Back when Soren had saved her, she had had images of a knight in shining armor. Even if he was equipped with sarcasm. Now that she has come to know all facets of her hero, she has had to come to terms with the fact that him saving her had a different meaning. Her current theory is that he would have just kept going if she had not fought back.

*******

After Soren retrieved the bowls, a process all its own, they left the room and started to make their way back upstairs. When they walked by the kitchen Avery glanced over and was relieved to find that it was empty. It was hard coming to terms with how his teammates now saw him. They had worked together for years and had considered each other family.

Avery was suddenly unable to move forward, he pulled himself out of his thoughts to find Soren's hand on his chest, holding him in place. The look on Soren's face was not friendly and it caused Avery's heart to race. He was afraid that he had done something wrong.

"Let me make something clear; I am the only one you lower your head to. It takes no effort on my part to kill a human and that puts them at the very bottom. As my personal assistant, you are no lower than Fry and Ethan are, which still places you levels above other humans.

"When you lower your head to humans it makes me look bad. Remember that. Those four are just as useful to me dead as they are alive. If their being here continues to cause issues I won't hesitate to kill them, all of them. Do you understand me?"

Avery nodded his head but Soren did not move.

"Hmm? I didn't hear anything?"

"Y-yes, I understand."

Soren smiled and released his hold on Avery.

"Good. You get clean-up duty."

Soren handed Avery the bloody bowls and they made their way back upstairs. Soren left Avery to clean up the kitchen. Avery put all of his attention into cleaning, trying hard to block out any thoughts. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done.

When he was finished cleaning, Avery went upstairs to his room. He breathed a sigh of relief when he shut the door and laid down on the cot. He had not come across anyone on his way up and he was grateful for that.

It was evening before Avery's solitude was disturbed. Soren called him out and handed him a notebook and pen.

"That notebook has a list of everything we have stocked up so far. What we are going to do is review it and make plans for another round of trips to stock up even more."

Soren sat down on his bed and motioned for Avery to join him. Soren made himself comfortable while Avery looked over the inventory list and sat on the end of the bed.

"What are we stocking up for?"

"The end of the world. You've heard me talk about building a sanctuary and helping the humans.

"The virus is spreading faster than I had anticipated. Originally, I had planned on spreading out our resource gathering so that the government wouldn't notice us. With the timeline moved up we can't afford to wait."

Soren's eyes shifted to red for a moment while he was speaking. Avery found his curiosity getting the better of his fear.

"Why does your eye's color change?"

Soren tilted his head and looked at Avery with a blank expression, the sudden change in topic leaving him confused.

"S-sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

Soren laughed, "No, there's nothing wrong with asking questions. You just threw me off.

"The color change is due to being in an excited state. The brighter the shade of red the greater the state of excitement. A bright red is seen when an evolved is hungry, or stimulated sexually, or both. The mutated are always in a hungry state.

"Like last night, fighting the mutated. Fighting like that can be quite stimulating."

Soren got up from the bed and moved to stand in front of Avery, effectively trapping him where he sat at the edge of the bed.

"I'm curious, how far can you be pushed?" Soren dropped the notebook onto the floor and pushed Avery back onto the bed. Soren grinned as he climbed back on the bed to straddle Avery. "Just how obedient are you?"

Avery stared up at Soren's red eyes and felt as if his heart was going to burst from his chest. All he could think about was what had happened to Cruz. Please, don't eat me, he begged silently. Out of all the ways he had imagined himself dying over the years, Avery had never once thought that being eaten alive would be an option. Now that he knew it was, it was something he did not want to experience.