Chapter Four
"He's dead!"
Hearing the cry from just outside the lounge I stood up and moved out to the hallway, only to watch as a sheet covered body was carried past by a group of retired-but-still-present Resurrectors who occasionally taught classes. It had been less than a day since Thanos had met with the Leaders and their conversation still echoed in my mind. This didn't bode well for us at all. It was apparent that the deaths were starting up again. I looked at one of the Resurrectors standing near me. Elita, I thought that was her name. She looked as disheveled as everyone else. Her auburn hair was pulled up into a ponytail, her clothes were severely wrinkled, and there were large dark circles under her eyes. "Who was it?" I asked.
"Lucian. It was the strangest thing though. They said there was no charge there. Maybe Lucian managed to save his charge before…before he…" As with most Resurrectors, she was a complete mess. I thought I could remember Elita eating with Lucian in the cafeteria.
I just nodded, knowing it was best not to say anything against her belief. I didn't want to be the one who sounded doubtful; I didn't want to destroy her hope. But I couldn't help but think back to that day when I had heard the jingle of a charge in danger but I only found Thanos in the middle of a field. He had sounded pleased that I had showed up and he had said that it would help him. I had a pretty good idea that he was behind this. "Yeah, maybe." This was going to shake most everyone up. They thought the deaths were behind us. None of them knew that it was the Leaders' fault for this. I hadn't said anything about the threat Thanos issued to the Leaders. It was all because they denied him. Unless they gave in, somehow I knew it would only get worse from here.
Of course before this happened the whole facility was still talking about Thanos the so-called mystery guest. I tried to stay out of the conversations. It wasn’t as if they would listen to me anyway, which was almost hilarious since apart from the Leaders I was the only one who knew who he was. Besides, I didn't think that any of the Resurrectors really deserved to know his name. They only wanted to know more so they could gush about him. It was like they had nothing better to do than to talk about people, whether they knew them or not. They acted like teenage girls with a crush on some celebrity. I thought it was disgusting to behold, and it wasn't something I thought worthy for wasting my time.
Honestly I wondered how they would react if they knew that the man who was the center of their discussions had something to do with Lucian's death and likely was behind Alena and Bem as well. Would they still treat him the same way, practically idolizing him? It was doubtful. We were against murderers. I felt my insides twist at that thought. I didn't really like the idea that Thanos was a murderer. I had no idea how many people he had killed, or even who he really was but I felt drawn to…well, to protect him. It was a feeling I wasn't used to. This connection felt like a bond of loyalty but how could that be when I really knew nothing about him?
"I thought we were finished with this." Her words snapped me from my thoughts, which was nice considering their downward spiral.
I looked over at Elita and shrugged. "Something tells me that we are not even close to the end."
"We can't afford to lose any more of us. The new ones won't be ready to graduate for a while now and if more of us die there won't be anyone left."
She was right about that. This needed to end before we lost everyone. And there was only one way that the Resurrectors would survive; the Leaders needed to give in to Thanos. He only wanted one of us. Surely they could see that it was better to sacrifice one than to allow our numbers to be decimated completely. I could tell from the tone of Thanos' voice yesterday that he felt no qualms about killing us. It was absolutely nothing to him. So why did I feel like his lack of emotion there was a mask, simply a cover to keep everyone pushed away from him.
I made the decision then and there. I needed to talk with the Leaders before we lost anyone else. Even if the others thought of me as lesser, I still wanted to help them. I was born into the Resurrectors and no matter what they were my family. "Bye Elita," I said before turning and walking down the hall, heading towards the Leaders' quarters. Maybe if I talked to them about what was going on something could change. It was at least worth a try.
I reached the door and was about to knock when I heard the jingle again. Just perfect. Letting out a sigh I stared at the door for a moment before turning and walking away. My charges came first; I would have to talk with the Leaders later. I only hoped that by the time I reached my charge, did my job, and came back that it wouldn't be too late. Hopefully another Resurrector wouldn't have to die.
Project Death: Resurrection Page 12