I’ve returned to my house, earlier than I would have thought, yet the feeling does not recede. And the mailman has failed to deliver my letters in the meantime. I’m going to have to call them about this. I gave them exact instructions for it in fact.
-From Professor Shokolov’s Journal, 42nd Entry
Anagen was roused from her sleep by a dull pain to the head. She winced and rubbed her head, while her eyes opened ever so slightly. Nook and AxEl were sitting next to her, both covered in numerous cuts and patches of dirt like they’d been playing in a field.
When she turned her face, AxEl took his head off of his hand and widened his eyes.
“You’re awake!” he shouted, getting Nook’s attention. AxEl unbelted his seat and came up to her, staying just a bit away as she put a hand up.
“My… head hurts. What happened?” Anagen asked.
“You hit your head on a rock or something. Fell unconscious so we had to rush you to the helicopter,” AxEl explained with Nook crouched next to her.
“Can you see how many I’m holding up?” Nook asked with three fingers extended upwards.
“Three,” Anagen replied groggily. She began to cough weakly and AxEl pulled out a small water bottle to give to her. Anagen drank from it, nearly emptying the whole thing in a single swig.
“And that… thing? What happened to it,” she asked, though AxEl remained silent. He looked downwards and refused to meet her gaze.
“We ran away from it. It’s still out there,” Nook replied instead. Anagen seemed to remember something else, as the expression on her face tightened into the same grimace she held in the temple.
“Why did you do it, AxEl?” she asked. AxEl’s tried to answer but the words seem to catch in his throat.
“I-I…Because it was indefensible, Ana,” he said.
“Indefensible,” she repeated. “You destroyed a piece of history, cost the lives of two men, just because the location was indefensible?” she asked him. Her gaze never wavered.
“I didn’t kill them. That monster got them. I didn’t know it would come out!” AxEl retorted.
“You could have been less brash. We could have worked out a solution, like we do!” Anagen shouted, then winced and grabbed at her head.
“But what kind of solution? Would we even be fast enough that the Company couldn’t get their hands on it?” AxEl asked.
“You disregarded me, disregarded Nook. And what does it matter if they have Prophecy? We still control the major areas of distribution!” Anagen said. She pointed a finger towards AxEl and continued, “You’ve been acting without regard for anything ever since your encounter with HoonUl. From those orders you gave about the Mole to your impromptu trip to the AnaHon mountain range. You’re the leader of this operation. That means you have a certain responsibility to your workers, AxEl,” she said. She looked to Nook to back her up, but he seemed focused on something else with eyes that stared nowhere.
“And I’ll fulfill that responsibility, I swear. But think of what would happen if we weren’t controlling the spread of Prophecy. How much worse it could be if the product was in the hands of someone who didn’t care for protocol. We have enough leaks in the business, and HoonUl is the one taking the water from them,” AxEl replied.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Anagen leaned back in her seat. “And when is that going to be? When you start acting like a leader?”
AxEl leaned down on the ground and looked her straight in the eyes. “When I see the Company gone,” he answered.
****
The ride home took longer than it had for them to arrive, so they arrived at Barksight in the midst of the night. Anagen was rushed into the hospital while AxEl and Nook kept quiet about the two dead men in the mountains. Finding the mountain range would be difficult for them and even if they managed it, the temple would be barren of their involvement.
Nook stood beside Anagen as she got her diagnosis and treatment. Thankfully it hadn’t been a major wound, but she would need to rest for a week or two. The doctor’s cleaned up the blow to the head and prescribed some medicine to her to relieve the pain. Once Nook was sure that she wouldn’t need his help, he left through the doors of the hospital.
He caught AxEl sitting outside with a sullen expression on his face. His eyes seemed to twitch every now and then, which confused Nook. What’s he looking at? He kept this staring up until he suddenly darted his eyes behind him and looked at Nook.
“Oh, you’re here. Want to talk?” AxEl asked him, which struck Nook as a question that he took seriously. Did he even want to talk to the man after what had happened between him and the Reaper? Would he tell him that he had condemned AxEl to be hunted down by the creature?
Nook looked around at the streets of Barksight, a bit wary of the trees and flowers that he saw. Is it watching us? Does it even know where we are? He asked himself, the questions clouding his mind so much he hadn’t even answered AxEl’s summons.
Not now, he thought, before turning to AxEl once more.
“Yeah, I can talk,” Nook replied.
“Great,” AxEl said, standing up from his spot on the curb and walking towards him. He moved past Nook and kept going down the street. Nook followed, but not without hesitation. Down and around the street, they walked while keeping silent.
“Weren’t you going to tell me something?” he asked.
“I…was, yeah. You understand that I don’t like keeping secrets from you, right?” AxEl asked.
“And yet you do. I wanted to trust that you did them for good reason, but after what you did at the temple…”
“I promise you it was for good reason. But I do want to make this right, which is why I want to tell you another secret,” AxEl said, as they passed along one of the parks they used to meet at as kids. On the curb were other people, teenagers and adults, who were walking home from work or sports. Each of them looked so unaware in the night it boggled Nook’s mind.
“What kind?” he asked.
“I lied to you about Minahret,” AxEl replied, letting the statement hang in the air. Nook stopped to face him, and saw that he looked much more nervous than he initially thought. Though he kept up the front with fists clenched and chest puffed.
“And AnIn? What about his death?” Nook asked.
“I was the one that killed him,” AxEl, though his voice was quiet enough that no one heard. The street around them had cleared up quite a bit and so Nook could ask anything he wanted. Did he bring me here on purpose? a part of him thought.
“So you did know,” Nook sighed and sank down to the curb. He placed a hand on his face and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“I was afraid he’d leak what he knew about me, you and Anagen to the police. If he did, our entire operation would have crumbled. I… I didn’t know any other way of keeping him silent,” AxEl explained.
“How did you get in?” Nook asked, looking up at him. AxEl’s shadow covered him fully.
“The explosives. We had some left over after the raid, so I used those to break into the station. No one knew it was me,” AxEl explained.
“And Ana? Does she know?” Nook asked. AxEl shook his head.
“No, but I’ll tell her. But what do you think? I won’t hold it against you if you hate me for it,” AxEl said.
Nook clenched his fist. He wanted to, he really wanted to blame AxEl for everything up to this point. The judgement was on him. The Reaper was after him. Nook had no part to play here and he knew it. But he wouldn’t allow himself that kind of reprieve from the responsibility. It was his hands and his choice that took LokIn’s life, not AxEl.
Nook clenched his fists and slammed them onto the ground.
“You did what you had to, AxEl. We all did,” Nook said. So, he met his friend’s gaze, and gave him a smile.
“You’re a better friend than anyone can ask for, Nook. I’m just sorry for what I’ve had to put you through,” AxEl said. He held a hand out for Nook, who took it and rose up from the ground. They embraced each other in a hug, before returning to Ana in the hospital as the sun rose over them.