To that question

There wasn't much of a fight to be had afterward. Numbers were the only real weapon the cult had, leading to a rounding straight out of a police drama

Me and Chiyo sat against the edge of the bridge, glancing down at the massacre below. Sirens blared as car after car came and hefted the cultists away in handcuffs. Half the local force had to have stopped by at one point–a train of sirens and officers.

“What’d you end up telling them?” I asked Chiyo, legs swinging above the sea of cops. “They said something about disarming bombs. I don’t remember the cult planning anything like that.”

“Because they didn’t. All I had to do was call them out to find a little bomb I made, and the rest solved itself.

“What do you mean by the little bomb you made?”

“Tee hee.”

“Fuck tee hee, you can’t say you made a bomb and then tee hee me!”

“But I just did.” She stretched, getting up from the cool concrete. “My parents are gonna kill me if I stay out any longer, so i think i’ll make myself scarce. Oh, and let's not mention the whole bomb thing to the cops.”

And with those words, Chiyo started to jog off, starting her two hour trek back home. I just stared, watching her light yellow skirt slowly disappear in the distance.

* * *

Around an hour passed before the police called me over. All the questions and interviews made my head swirl; How did you know this, what was your relation to that, did you know these things, and even more questions that eventually started to blur together.

I told them everything I knew, but as the questions went by, it became clear exactly how much I didn’t know, and probability never would.

Eventually, I reached Grace–just as they were shoving her into a random police car.

My eyes met her, resulting in a sneer as she glanced away. Her pretty makeup had started to run, clothes disheveled, and even a small bruise had started to grow against her cheek. A far cry from an hour ago.

“Why couldn’t you have listened?” I said, leaning against a nearby streetlight.

“Listened? We were trying to save you! Every scout said that you’d accept the dagger without question. What changed? What the hell did you do?”

“Well, let's just say you’re a few years late for that. You believe people don't change, I do, and that includes you, Grace. But I can't accept you not facing consequences for your auctions.”

I turned, picking out a bubblegum sucker from my pocket, savoring the flavor against my tongue. “Good luck in prison Grace, you’ll need it.”