Chapter 88 Help?

October 16, 2025. Thursday. 7:21 a.m.

And no, my day started very differently this time, for I fell asleep.

…In the slumber of dreams, I felt both Silver’s tenderness brushing against me like trembling light and Onyx’s hunger burning fierce and demanding, the two halves of one storm pulling me into their rhythm until I gave myself over to them completely.

I didn’t resist. I let them consume me from Silver with her shy confessions to Onyx with her shameless fire. My body answered in the only way it could, moving with theirs, surrendering to the strange dream where love was war, soft sighs and gasps like weapons, intimacy carved in metaphors of silver light and obsidian flame. It wasn’t just lust. Instead, it was desperation, the craving for connection I’d buried under corpses and violence.

“I love you, Nick,” said Silver.

“I want you, Nick,” added Onyx.

“I know,” I said as I took them in my embrace. “I feel the same…”

It was a union of fire and shadow, sweetness and ruin, their bodies moving with mine in a fever that felt more real than the waking world, a love-making carved out of longing and the need to prove we existed. When I finally stirred awake in the motel bed, the ghost of their touch still lingered, and…

“What the fuck?”

Pajamas clung to me, stained in ways I didn’t want to think about.

“What the fuck!?”

I blinked around the cramped motel room, the curtains letting in a blade of sunlight, and only then did I realize what had happened.

“...”

I was speechless.

Onyx leaned against the bedframe, dark hair damp like she’d already showered, smirking like the devil who got her wish. “Let’s go take a bath.”

Silver was beside her, face flushed, twisting her fingers together. “D-Did you… like it?”

“Of course, he liked it,” Onyx cut in, her grin sharp enough to cut glass.

I kept my face still, the way I did when corpses were at my feet, when enemies begged for mercy. Poker-faced, I slid out of bed and walked past them. The bathroom’s cracked tiles welcomed me with the smell of mildew and rust. I turned on the shower, steam curling upward.

They followed, as they always did. Silver trailed close, her modesty cracking under her own nakedness, arms folded like she could shield herself from me. Onyx strutted instead, bold, teasing, hips swaying like she wanted me to watch.

She winked. “We did tell you we had a surprise, right? Sur-prise.”

Silver’s blush deepened. “H-Hey, Onyx… I think he’s embarrassed… maybe we should… maybe we should leave him alone. Uuuh…” Her voice broke on the last syllable, guilt already drowning her.

Onyx laughed, triumphant in Silver’s faltering. “What? He’s not embarrassed. He’s a man, not a saint. Let him have it. Let him have us.”

Their voices tangled, clashing like oil and water, like two halves of the woman I cherished, seemingly unable to reconcile. Silver’s voice cracked as she tried to defend me, tears welling at the corners of her eyes, her apology caught between breaths. Onyx only looked prouder, like she’d won some unspoken contest.

I let out a long, tired sigh.

“I told you, we should’ve held back,” Silver murmured, her voice small and guilty.

Onyx caught Silver from behind as she hugged her. “Come on, he needs this. He’s barely socialized for the past six months. Someone’s gotta remind him what life feels like.”

“Hey, it tickles,” Silver’s face twisted, red as her tone sharpened. “I mean, we should’ve asked for his consent.”

“Oh, we had his consent in spades.” Onyx’s grin was teasing as she stared at me. “He could’ve woken up at any moment. Part of his powers, remember?”

Silver turned toward me, almost pleading. “I… I mean, it’s not that bad, right, Nick?”

“It felt great,” Onyx cut in, smirking like she’d scored a victory. “I know, I was there.”

Silver puffed her cheeks, refusing to let go. “But still—”

“Shut it,” Onyx snapped, appearing beside me and jabbing a finger her way. “The last waitress tried to flirt with him, and he didn’t even notice, and she had a great rack! Nick doesn’t know how to flirt, okay? He’s helpless without us.”

Silver’s blush deepened, her hands fidgeting. “I-If he put his mind to it, he could have any girl he wants… He’s charming, strong, a-and cool. He just… n-needs to talk more.”

Onyx smirked wider. “See? You agree.”

“I didn’t agree to anything!” Silver shot back, almost stamping her foot. “I’m saying it doesn’t have to be romance. It would work just fine with friends…”

Their voices tangled, sharp and soft. I shoved them both to the back of my mind, like closing the lid on a box.

The shower hissed, steam fogging the cracked mirror opposite me. Water ran down my face, heat soaking into my muscles. I stared at my reflection, droplets tracing lines across pale skin. My cheeks were flushed, not just from the warmth but from the memory.

A helpless, awkward smile tugged at my mouth. The gift of sleep… it had felt good. Too good. But considering what happened, the straightforward truth had been utterly embarrassing. Yeah. See… I had just jerked myself to sleep.

Ahem…

It wasn’t that simple, either. This was so stupid. Silver and Onyx had the best intentions, but what if I had been attacked while asleep? I didn’t sleep; my power set made sure of that, so the idea that I drifted off without meaning to was terrifying. And yet… it had felt good. Ugh. I couldn’t let them know. Especially Onyx. She’d tease me to death.

I finished showering, the steam clinging to my skin like shame I couldn’t scrub away. I changed into my usual clothes, black jeans, a plain shirt, and the scuffed leather jacket that had become my second skin.

By the time I stepped outside, the sun was cutting through Redford’s sleepy streets. The air smelled of dust and morning bread. I pulled my empathic camouflage around me like a second shadow, letting eyes skip over me as if I were no one.

I’d been lying low here since leaving Markend, hiding under the alias of Courier. Safer that way, after running into the Ten. Safer for me. Safer for… her.

A car crunched across gravel as it rolled out from the motel lot. Jessica, the owner, leaned out of the driver’s window. She was in her late thirties, hair pulled into a messy bun, tired but with not unfriendly eyes.

“Good morning,” I called, forcing something that passed as normal.

She gave me a nod. “Just going to buy a few things for my consumption. Gotta spend my vouchers, you know how it goes. If you’re thinking of settling in, don’t forget to talk with the sheriff.”

I shook my head. “No, I’m just passing through. I’ll be gone, maybe in a week.”

Jessica shrugged, putting her car into gear. “Whatever suits you.”

I stared at my bike. The rifles weren’t there. Some bastard had sold them off when I’d made it clear I was pawning, not parting with them. Easy money trumped honesty in places like this.

Normally, when I entered a town, I left Silverside behind. It was safer that way, easier to vanish if someone got curious. But this time I’d dragged them inside with me. I couldn’t really leave it behind, when I’d be hanging around this town for a long time.

Getting in had been the easy part. Staying unnoticed would be harder. My clothes stood out too much, and the bike, even without the rifles, was still too attention-grabbing. Law enforcement or the local militia didn’t need much reason to start asking questions. If I wanted to linger, I had to be very careful. I thought about shoplifting. It was quick and efficient, my usual method. But I caught myself. If I were really going to sink into this place, maybe I should play the part. Blend in the normal way. I sighed, half amused at myself. Buying clothes, of all things.

I left Silverside parked in the lot, since it was too recognizable to parade around. Then I walked to the general goods store. A bell above the door chimed as I entered, drawing the eyes of a clerk who smelled faintly of cheap tobacco. I picked through racks of shirts and jeans that looked like they’d been here longer than me, paid in cash, and left without a word.

Back at the motel, I changed. Civilian clothes. Plain jeans, faded sneakers, a shirt that didn’t scream “dangerous outlaw.” I stashed the rest of the purchases in my room, then stepped back into the streets of Redford.

It was a small town, the kind where everyone seemed to know each other by name or by habit. The kind of place that made strangers stick out, no matter how well they dressed. I walked with the kind of aimless stride that came with pretending to belong, drifting through streets lined with peeling paint, laundromats, and corner shops. The smell of something familiar caught me, greasy and warm. My stomach reminded me I hadn’t eaten since yesterday.

The pizzeria was at the corner of Main. I pushed open the door, the scent of melted cheese and dough wrapping around me.

I walked up to the counter and said, “Can I have one?”

The man in the kitchen poked his head out, rubbing flour from his hands onto his apron. “We just opened up… huh? You’re early. Can you wait? Still making the dough.”

“I’ll wait,” I replied.

I took a seat in the corner booth. The cushions squeaked under my weight, and the smell of yeast and old grease clung to the air. Pizza for breakfast was probably too much, but the craving had dug its claws in. Might as well indulge.

Bored, I loosened my grip on myself and let Silver and Onyx slip through.

Onyx appeared at my side, arms crossed, her expression sharp. “Really putting on the big boy pants now, huh? Dismissing us like that? It’s ungentlemanly…”

Silver sat across from me, cheeks puffed out in a pout. “Yeah… it’s mean…”

I leaned back, running a hand over my face. “Sorry about that. It won’t happen again.”

They were wearing the same clothes as I did. It seemed depending on what I wore, they’d be wearing the same. That’s when I caught the reflection in the glass. It was a face I knew. My breath snagged, words escaping before I could stop them. “John?”

Onyx tilted her head. “You know him?”

“Yeah,” I said slowly, still staring at the reflection. “He saved me from drowning…”

Silver’s eyes lit up. “So, like a friend?”

“Not exactly,” I muttered.

Silver’s pout softened into something hopeful. “Onyx, we should leave. Give Nick a chance to reconnect with a friend. That’s what he needs, right?”

Onyx groaned, dragging the word out. “Fine…”

They both vanished, leaving the booth empty again.

The bell above the door chimed, and John walked in. A trench coat hung heavy on his shoulders, his hair touched with gray. A coarse beard framed his jawline that hadn’t been there before. He looked older and rougher, but unmistakably him.

I stood halfway, eyes narrowing. “What are you doing here?”

Many thoughts raced through my head, each one sharper than the last. There was no use pretending anymore. I could feel John’s empathic powers unraveling my camouflage like frayed thread, stripping me bare and letting him see me for what I was. How did he find me? And more importantly, why was he here? I didn’t believe in coincidence. If John was in front of me, there had to be a reason.

I’d done everything right. Clean getaways, no paper trail, not even a digital shadow when I left Markend. Yet here he was. While I didn’t know exactly where John’s allegiance lay, it was safer to assume he wasn’t alone. Nobody who’d dare confront the ‘Monster of Markend’ would operate solo. Through my empathic sense, I felt the subtle presence of several hostile minds lurking around the area, concealed but not perfectly hidden. With John sitting across from me, their edges became clear enough to scrape my nerves raw.

Onyx appeared at my shoulder, leaning on me with a mixture of boredom and disdain. “That was a disappointment,” she muttered. “I guess, you’ll only have us, Nick…”

Silver materialized, her expression softer, wounded. “And here I thought he was a friend.”

John sat down across the booth, his eyes steady on mine. “I just want to talk.”

I remembered his powers. Back when he saved me from drowning, he’d mentioned something about sensing hostility and killing intent. The way he looked at me now, it was clear he could feel every spike of emotion I gave off. He was an empath, like me, but trained in ways I wasn’t.

“Talk,” I said flatly.

“I’m with the SRC,” John replied, his voice felt rehearsed. “And I want you to surrender. Let me help you.”

I snorted, leaning back. “I don’t trust the SRC.”

The bitterness rose up like bile. The SRC had taken my mother from me, and I wasn’t about to let them take me, too. If John was SRC-affiliated, then he wasn’t just another operative. They’d sent him because he was elite. Which meant empathic detection might not be his only trick.

John leaned forward, eyes narrowing slightly, his voice lowering to a near-whisper. “The SRC is willing to cut a deal with you, Nick. But you’ll have to let me help you.”