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“It sounds like a massive story of bullshit,” Owen responded. “Something that you came up with to…trick or get Carver on your side.”
“Owen,” Carver tried. His best friend was not being reasonable.
“You really sent mages to wipe our minds?” Kenny asked softly.
Leaning forward, Dante gave Kenny an apologetic look. “We did. It was supposed to make things easier.”
Carver winced. No doubt Kenny and Owen were thinking along the same lines as he was.
“Or it fucked them up,” Owen snapped. “Made them think that they were going crazy. Forcing them to live with shattered memories and more questions than answers. To make them afraid to leave the house in case they see more monsters with horns and tails. Demons! Fucking demons!”
“Owen!” Kenny pulled the blanket over his head.
Dante reared back. “We wouldn’t do that!”
“That is exactly what you did do!” Owen shouted as he jumped to his feet off the couch.
Shit! This was going worse than Carver had expected. He’d expected pushback, but Carver couldn’t be the one hurting Kenny. Bringing back the pain that Kenny was still trying to recover from hadn’t been part of the plan.
They had been pretty sure that the monsters had done something to Kenny’s mind. He still had the memories of that night of demons attacking the neighbors in the apartment complex but the memories were fractured and replaced with others. Kenny had been certain that he’d gone insane and dropped out of school.
By the time Carver and Owen had connected with Kenny, it was nearly too late. Kenny had fallen into a hole of conspiracy theories and making gadgets that he thought would keep monsters away.
Carver and Owen had shared their own experiences from that night. Eventually they’d convinced Kenny that what he’d seen had really happened.
Hearing Kenny’s whimper from under the covers, Carver leapt off the couch beside Dante. He had to push past Owen to get to his other friend.
“I’m here,” Carver said, pulling the blanket low enough to peek inside Kenny’s cocoon. “It’s okay.”
“They really did mess with my mind,” Kenny whispered.
“I know. Can I come in there with you?”
Kenny shook his head. “Not enough room.”
“When has that ever stopped us before?” Carver teased.
Kenny giggled.
“I’m sorry. I don’t understand the problem,” Dante said.
“The mind wipe or whatever bullshit you want to call it fucked up Kenny’s memories. He suffered because what you did,” Owen accused.
“I’m so sorry,” Dante said. “I didn’t know.”
“Of course you didn’t know. What do you care about some humans?” Owen taunted. “You just walk around this city all superior and shit.”
Lifting the end of the blanket, Carver wiggled his way under with Kenny. “Hi!”
Kenny rolled his eyes. “Hey.”
“So how do you think it’s going?”
“Could be worse,” Kenny offered.
“Really?” That surprised Carver. “I’m pretty sure that Owen is thinking about a hundred ways to take out Dante.”
“He’s more handsome in person,” Kenny told him.
