In the Name of Chaos

Chapter 15: In the morning

I bumped into Saint earlier this morning, and he satisfied my curiosity about the Gifted sold by the black market, telling me that a Gifted person is only allowed to be harmed by their owner, never to a fatal extent, if they refuse to perform their duties. All the Gifted are informed of that before their sale.

I guess I just want to speak about anything that can take my mind off of today; the day I've sacrificed so much for. This is the day I finally get Mathea back home, and I will not accept any other outcome but that.

It's still early, and the mission doesn't start for a couple of hours, but most people are here to confirm orders and motivate each other for the struggles to come. That's why Saint was here, too, but I'm not exactly sure where he is at the moment. I don't think he left this compound though. If my memory serves me right, his team should be leaving from here.

Some people here look excited while others looked scared. Right now, I feel both of these emotions. I have hardly had to put my trust in so many strangers, and that is what I need to do today; I need to trust these strangers to bring Mathea back to me.

"You're thinking too much." Kane's been telling me this all morning. He came to my room around six, knowing I'd be awake, so he could check up on me. "It'll be okay, Will."

I want to tell him not to jinx the situation, but I've been telling myself the same thing for a while now. Everything will be okay.

Kane then pulls me closer to him, and I rest my head on his shoulder. Both our legs dangle off the edge of the bed as our backs are pressed against the wall. We say nothing for some time, and I can't help but think of what he said the other day. He...cares about me.

I'm not sure if I should take his statement seriously or believe he meant it in the same way he always has for the many years we have been friends. However, I'd rather not bring it up. I tend to overthink many situations I have been in, and I prefer not to do that with Kane and me. I don't want to make things awkward.

Anyway, it doesn't matter how he feels or doesn't feel about me. There are too many important things to be focusing on rather than whether I'll end up in any romantic relationship with my best friend. Even if I wanted to, I can't. I don't have the time for any of that right now.

"What if..." Kane's sentence is interrupted when we both laugh as he begins the game I know he dreads so much. "What if we could leave?"

"Leave? Kane, you're forgetting we'll be forced out of Geode soon enough."

I lift my head off of his shoulder and slightly shift my body so I have a better view of his face. I almost throw my legs over his, which are still dangling off the edge of the bed, but I remember that put us in an awkward position before, so I rather pull my knees to my chest and wrap my arms around my legs. I know I'm overreacting; the other day was probably only awkward to me. Well, it wasn't really awkward. I just feel awkward thinking about it.

I have been lost in my thoughts, and, when I return to earth, I find Kane staring at me. He looks confused. "Are you okay, Wills?"

"Yeah," I chuckle, "I'm okay. Are you okay?"

"Yeah...I meant if we had to leave this place right now. Not forever. I just wanted to know what you'd do for fun if you didn't have to be here." I'm glad Kane doesn't bring up my awkwardness, because that would only make me act even more awkward.

"Oh, I don't know."

"One of the few times I start this stupid thing and that's the answer I get." Kane jumps off the bed and begins walking away from me, stopping at one of the loose tiles on the floor and repeatedly stepping on it. I jump off the bed right after him, so I can pull him back to his original position.