The Metropolis Series #2: Quinn Beyond Bounds
26. Betrayal

JULIO WAS NOT the same guy who had walked into that ice cream parlor. In fact, he was more complicated than I’d initially perceived. Such complexity amplified when he shielded me against Mackenzie’s arrow.

It took a move against his own companion to make me realize how unusually fervent he was about contradicting his own beliefs. The girl he had found in the ice cream parlor wasn’t Cassandra, but I, a girl named Quinn, instead. Despite initial accusations, he had learned to trust me. But what were his motives for protecting me? What did he have to gain?

Mackenzie looked bewildered, but she still managed to look at Julio square in the eye.

“Julio?” she hissed. “What are you—”

“You have to believe me,” he said firmly, his arms outstretched in front of me. “Quinn isn’t dangerous.”

That statement was enough to get a mix of emotions to linger around everyone in the room. Viv and Takahiro tensed up. Tamara appeared to be doubtful, obviously second-guessing Julio’s claims about me.

“But we saw her!” Derek proclaimed. “She attacked me at the arcade!”

I was too busy worrying about the situation to realize that Takahiro had put his thinking face on. He stroked his chin and looked straight at the boy behind the glass window; no fear was apparent in his eyes.

“What time was this?” Takahiro asked Derek.

This was also the first time in a while I had heard Takahiro speak. He sounded like he had suddenly matured, his voice clear and suave.

I think the fact that he was silent for the majority of the investigation was what earned him a look from the others, but what baffled us all was that he was the first to ask a rational question. Everyone, so far, had been acting so rashly.

“Takahiro?” Julio lifted his head. “What are you—”

“Did the attack happen at around seven last night?” the boy continued. “If it did, then Quinn could have never attacked you.” He then faced everyone, boldly lifting his chin. “She was at The MacGuffin at that time. Julio is a witness.”

Derek began to look pale. “I—It did happen at around seven last night,” he admitted.

Mackenzie then shot Julio a confused look while the latter seemed to give Takahiro an approving smile, regarding him as some kind of genius—because Takahiro actually was one. He could prove that I was at The MacGuffin all along. That way, I didn’t have to go into embarrassing details about how I was actually Cassandra’s replacement in the Metropolis. But Mackenzie didn’t look like the type who’d be easily persuaded.

And I had a feeling that Julio knew this, too.

“Then your attacker couldn’t have been me,” I then said.

“She’s right,” Julio affirmed, standing tall to face me as he dusted himself off. “I have an explanation for this, so all of you must listen care—”

All of a sudden, he winced in pain. An arrow had found its way into his shoulder blade. Everyone gasped. Some called his name in horror. Viv was on the verge of tears.

All eyes were on Mackenzie now. Her gaze was cold and distant as she turned toward Julio’s direction, but a glare wasn’t the only thing she had fired. Her bow was missing an arrow.

“Mackenzie…” Tamara’s lips quivered as she faced the archer. “What did you…?”

Then, Mackenzie suddenly gasped, horror flooding her eyes as she beheld the arrow protruding from Julio’s back. “Oh God…” she said, retracting her bow. “Th—that wasn’t me. I swear!”

Viv stepped back from Mackenzie, replaceing nothing but a twinge of solace in the corner of the room. She watched as blood trickled to the floor as Julio crumpled onto it, holding onto his bad shoulder. She was in shock; one could tell by the way her chest heaved and by the way her breathing came out as sharp little wheezes. Takahiro, Tamara, and I attempted to comfort her, but those little bursts of panic turned into a track of broken laughter as a smile forced its way into her mouth.

“How curious…” she then said, but a different voice had come out.

She stood, and one more cackle out of her mouth was enough to make everyone scared out of their minds. I didn’t blame them. The way Viv sounded and acted had made one thing very clear: Cassandra was controlling her.

“I had always known that the front lines were all about bravery,” Viv (Cassandra) taunted. “But loyalty? I never thought so…”

“Viv…?” Mackenzie shrieked. “Wh—what—”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about.” Viv shook her head. She stepped past Julio on the floor and approached Mackenzie, looming over her with the most chaotic shade of red I had ever seen in someone’s eyes. “You’re one of the Author’s creations from childhood, aren’t you? Ah yes, he was in the sixth grade when you came along. Those days have long gone; the Author is all grown up, and he’s forgotten all about you. I know that you’re as sick of this world as I am. You see no point in fighting anymore…”

Mackenzie turned pale. “Th—that’s not true…”

“I know what you want, Mackenzie. You want a happy ending of your own. You want to be free from the duties of the front lines—”

“Enough!” Mackenzie pulled another arrow from her quiver and aimed it toward Viv, which only made the latter chuckle.

Julio crawled onto his stomach, looking desperately at Mackenzie. “No, Mackenzie,” he pleaded. “Please…”

“Then why so defensive?” Viv asked, looking so mockingly at the arrow pointed toward her chest. “Don’t lie, Mackenzie. Go on, tell everyone how you really feel…”

“D—don’t listen to her, Mackenzie,” Tamara pleaded. Despite Cassandra’s presence in the room, she was trying her best to stand her ground. “That’s not Viv. That’s—”

“Who, Tamara?” Viv asked, giving her a glare. “I hope you didn’t mind that little surprise last night. It was either I got a hold of you or that Japanese boy.” She shot a glance toward Takahiro, making him shudder. “But it looks like I’ve chosen wrongly…”

She turned her attention back to Mackenzie. “If it weren’t for you, my boy here wouldn’t be held in this room.” She motioned toward Derek. “To the Spanish House, you’d be a hero, but were you right for bringing him here? He’s from St. John’s. A Metropolitan. Have you not thought about the consequences of bringing him beyond bounds?”

I was tipping toward the edge. This is the same treatment Cassandra had been giving me for the past few months. I had seen her do this to Harumi, which was equally as horrible. Now, she was spreading her acts of torment to other people. For months, I had known that my battle with Cassandra was just between me and her alone, but all the while, she had actually been dragging other people into it, too.

“Cassandra, stop!” I screamed. I pulled the beanie off my head, dropping it to the floor as my long, brown hair fell down past my shoulders.

I had done what Mackenzie had ordered me to do. I had revealed myself, and now, everyone was staring at me. I hated it when people did that, but I tried my best not to think about it. I needed to focus.

“It’s me you want, don’t you?” I challenged.

Oh, look at that, Quinn’s being brave. Unfortunately, bravery isn’t the absence of fear.

In one swift motion, Viv locked eyes with me, her dark hair grazing her pale face, her eyes lost in a fiery shade of red.

“I see,” she said. “Tired of running away, now?”

And when I thought everything was over, the scene shifted…

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