My worst fears were confirmed! There was a traitor on the council, the very institution designed to protect the Untethered. And I was their target. I didn’t know if they had any ulterior motive but I knew one thing. I was in danger. And I needed help.

The first person who jumped to the forefront of my mind was Frank. He was the one I trusted the most, after all. The only problem was his complete lack of knowledge about the council. It would be more of a hindrance than a help. I needed someone who could navigate the murky waters of whatever the council was and its various members, of whom I knew only a few.

Frost was a viable candidate to share my findings. He was a member of the council himself and was sure to know the inner goings of the council. His knowledge regarding the various members of the council would surely prove to be invaluable. And with his backing, I could even gain some supporters among the council members. It would, of course, have to be at the risk of letting the traitor know of my findings but I felt that it was a risk worth taking.

There was a third choice, of course. Emma Turner. But the sordid fact was I couldn’t trust her as far as I could throw her. She kept things too close to her chest for my liking. She was a mystery wrapped in an enigma and I was too engaged at this time to unravel whatever mystery she was holding.

There was also the minor fact that whenever I was close to her, I had the mental capacity of a fly. Keeping all this in mind, I felt that there were just too many downsides to recruiting her to my cause at this time.

With my mind made up, I decided to tell Frost whatever I knew tomorrow. Tomorrow would be another red Luna night. That meant that it would be busy for Frost during the day, what with organising the increased number of patrols and allocating everyone with areas. So, after the patrols seemed like a good time to divulge my suspicions to him.

One thing was certain though. I would have to be on the lookout for danger tomorrow night. I trusted Samuel enough to know he would have my back. But my record suggested that red Luna nights were very eventful for me. I would love nothing more than to have a peaceful night of patrol tomorrow and then begin my plans to reveal the identity of the traitor.

The next day was spent in silent anticipation. I went by Samuel’s gym, eager to catch up with him after the events of our last patrol together. I hadn’t really checked up on him after his core had stabilised, having been busy with my training under the council. I was feeling guilty because it seemed like he had gotten into this mess just because he was unlucky enough to be partnered with me.

As soon as he saw me, he immediately strode over to me with a big smile on his face. “Hey, man. Good to see you. Lucky escape from the reaper, huh?”

My reply was eloquent as ever, “Huh?”

He didn’t notice my dumbfoundedness at all. He continued, “You know, how you saved us from the griffin. Frost told me how you defeated the griffin after I passed out of my wound. Thanks, man.”

That was when it struck me that Samuel didn’t remember dying at all. I knew that I had reversed time but I hadn’t really caught up to the fact that his memories of the event would be reversed at all. It was very jarring to see a man who you had seen be beheaded not remember his demise at all. After that, our conversation grew very awkward for me.

“Yeah, it’s no problem. How are you holding up,” I asked, not really knowing what to say, my mind wandering back to the feeling of his blood warming my face.

“Pretty well, considering the situation, you know. I heard that you had gone somewhere for training. How was it? And before I forget, congratulations on unlocking your ability, man.” It was weird seeing Samuel be so cordial and not gruff and sullen. It threw off my loop, even more than I already was.

“Thanks, man. The training was fine. Just learning how to control my ability and get the hang of using it in combat.”

“Great, let’s try out your new-found martial prowess, shall we? Got your weapon yet?” His words might have been complimentary but his tone made it clear how highly he thought of my ‘new-found martial prowess’.

I just nodded at him, confirming that I had my weapon, before conjuring my scythe. Samuel just looked at it appreciatively for a moment before conjuring fist braces of his own. Throwing a look at each other that suggested that we could fight with all we had, we lunged at each other, eager to establish dominance.

And that’s what we did for the entire day. Exchanging blows and swinging weapons, making sure we didn’t give the other an inch. It was a testament to my improvement over the past month that I could keep up with him, even without the use of my ability. The balance did tilt in my favour though when I started using my ability. For the first time in a few days, I felt carefree, just enjoying the moment.

But, alas, all things must come to an end. Before I knew it, we were done for the day and duty beckoned. We freshened up before moving towards the club, my mind again occupied with thoughts of the coming conflict only I was aware of, for the time being.

We reached the club with Luna at the centre of the sky, bathing the city in a sea of ominous red. The club was packed with Untethered just like the last time. In a series of proceedings reminiscent of the previous red Luna, Frank and Frost were handing out the assignments to the various Untethered while we waited our turn.

When we reached Frank and Frost, we were told that we had to patrol the same area as last time. We were surprised, seeing that our experiences the last time had been less than ideal.

Samuel was quick to voice his opinion on the matter, “Are you sure? After last time, I thought you would like to send a bigger team tonight. If the griffin makes an appearance again, I don’t think we would be able to withstand the confrontation.”

I quickly put my two cents in, agreeing with Samuel on the matter. “Yeah, our escape the last time was a lucky break. We were quite undermanned to handle that situation. Even with my ability unlocked, I don’t think we could handle something of that magnitude yet again.”

I knew that the griffin was no longer a concern now, of course. But a council member still had designs of my life and I didn’t want to put myself in any situation which might be too difficult for me to manage. Better safe than sorry, after all.

Frost listened to our concerns before nodding towards us, indicating that he understood our concerns. He said, “I understand. Hmm, I think I can do something for you guys. Tom.  ”

A guy stuck his head out of the crowd, before proceeding towards us. I remembered him from before. Frank had introduced him to me on the night I became an Untethered. His ability had something to do with electricity if I remembered things correctly.

I hadn’t really caught up with him after that, events in my life getting in the way. We had come across each other a few times but never really progressed further than exchanging a greeting and a nod. He, himself, seemed like an introvert and generally didn’t seem interested in making new friends.

Frost looked towards Tom before addressing him, “Okay, Tom. You are to go with Samuel and David here on their patrol. They require help and I’d rather not they come across a situation where they are put in danger just because they didn’t have more than two people.”

Tom nodded his assent before greeting us. “Hey, David and Samuel. Looks like we’ll be working together tonight. Let’s have fun, shall we?”

I was pleasantly surprised by his cordial attitude. ‘Can’t judge a book by its cover’, I thought.

We returned his greetings before he led us out of the club. I was used to working together with Samuel and had no idea how the inclusion of Tom would influence our team dynamic. But he was an Untethered that had an ability, a pretty amazing one at that if the constant sparks flaring all around him was any indication. It certainly added a whole new element to our group which I was sure would help us in different situations.

Of course, there was the possibility of him becoming a permanent member of the group, should tonight go well.

We reached the area where all the action had taken place the last red Luna night. It still looked as desolate and menacing as ever, holding yet further promise of future mishaps should one venture too deep. We just looked around for a bit but the place was eerily silent. We just hoped that this wasn’t the calm before the storm.

The quiet was all but blown away when we heard the sound of a massive stampede coming towards us. Turning to face in the direction of the sound, we looked as a massive herd of cyclops rushed towards our location, no care for anything in its path.

We prepared ourselves for the ensuing conflict. I had my scythe out and was focused on channelling my powers as far as I could so that I had a wide area to work with. To my right, Tom had both his hands holding spheres of electricity, filling up the surrounding area with sounds of crackling thunder. Samuel also had his braces out as he held a boxing pose, prepared to meet the herd head-on.

It was Tom who started our offensive, just releasing a massive burst of electricity towards the herd. It was highly effective as the entire herd was shocked and frozen for quite a few seconds. It was all the invitation we needed as we all rushed towards the herd, intent on finishing this as quickly as possible.

I raised my scythe and struck the first cyclops that had the misfortune of facing me. it struck him on the chest and served to give me a massive boost of confidence. After that, I went through my share of the herd like a knife through butter. All my training my ability and my combat skills culminated in an elaborate dance where I just ended the life of whatever beast faced me, nigh unimpeded. The use of my ability to slow down time for my opponent meant that no one could react quickly enough to present a suitable challenge for me.

It was soon over as everyone had done their part and the herd had thinned out to single digits. Samuel made quick work of them as he clobbered whichever monster was remaining, the massacre not making for a pretty sight.

The entire group smiled towards each other. We all moved to get closer to each other in case we were attacked again. All of us knew that red Luna meant stronger monsters in huge numbers. We all had our backs turned towards each other, being on the lookout of any monster who could be approaching from the direction we were looking at. It wasn’t paranoia if it was true.

There was a lull for a few minutes, all of us concerned with the attack of any monsters and warning others in due time. We all trusted each other enough to know that we would all be warned with sufficient time should a monster dare to confront our group.

That was when all things went to hell. Before I could realise what was going on, I felt a massive shock travel through my body, overloading my entire body with electricity and rendering me useless. I crumpled to the ground and looked towards the direction from which I had been pulverised.

What I saw had me losing my mind in shock. There was Tom, standing with his hands flashing with the most potent electricity looking down at me with a menacing look on his face. Behind him, Samuel was also looking at this scene, his face a mixture of shock and confusion. Those emotions morphed into anger quickly as he charged Tom with intent to kill.

Hearing the sound of the approaching attacker, Tom took his eyes off me as he rolled out of the way of Samuel’s impending attack. It didn’t faze Samuel though, as he quickly changed directions and rushed towards Tom again.

Tom looked wholly unconcerned as he dodged Samuel’s explosive punch. From then on, it was more of the same. Samuel throwing a huge amount of explosive punches towards Tom and Tom dodging them with relative ease. There was an unpredictability to Tom’s movement that made it hard to hit him cleanly. Even I, who felt nothing but burning, hot hatred towards Tom at this moment, couldn’t help but admire the fluidity of Tom’s motion.

Before long, I could see the strategy behind Tom’s actions. Samuel was tiring and he was tiring fast. His punches had lost their impeccable form and he was throwing punches wildly, not unlike a berserker lost in his rage.

I could only watch on helplessly as Tom decided that he had had enough of playing around with Samuel. He ducked beneath a punch that was wildly thrown and punched Samuel right in the midsection, his punches charged with electricity. It was a sign of Samuel’s endurance and will that he didn’t immediately crumple over. Instead, he tried to shift on the offensive once again.

But he was out of juice and his attack showed that. It had none of the bite his previous punches had, instead being quite dull and lifeless. I don’t think it would have hurt Tom even if any of his punches hit. But Tom didn’t let it come to that. He threw another one of his trademark electric punches, this time hitting Samuel’s head with all the venom he could muster.

Samuel collapsed almost immediately, the attack being too much for him to endure. He barely held onto his consciousness as Tom approached him. Tom seemed to be completely nonchalant, as he if hadn’t just fatally attacked who were supposed to be his brethren.

He reached Samuel and held him by the head, picking him up until he was kneeling. He then told Samuel, “Adios, Samuel! I hope whatever comes after this is more fruitful than what has been your current life.” He sounded genuinely sad. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought that he was grieving for his best friend.

He then put his hands on Samuel’s head before releasing massive amounts of electricity. I watched in absolute shock as Samuel's head was flooded with electricity. Before long, the smell of burning flesh permeated the air and Tom let go of Samuel. I was totally devoid of emotion as I saw Samuel falling lifelessly to the ground, eyes rolled to the back of the head. I had seen one of my best friends and mentor die twice in the span of thirty days.

As I saw Tom move towards me with a casual look on his face, I could think of only one thing: ‘I don’t think Tom is going to become a part of our team anytime soon.’