Beyond the Rift ✔ (Completed)

Chapter 14: There's something about Marty

Alexis

"Are you proposing that we have a Judas in our midst?" Elvira speaks deliberately slow as if to grasp each word for herself.

"I'm just stating the facts." He replies.

"That is an insane acquisition you make. All of these people have supported us for a long time, always risking their lives to protect this place. Everyone at the camp has been our allies and have fought countless battles along with us. None of them could possibly side with the enemy. Everyone has seen the wrath and spiteful acts of the Grendels, including the tridents." Elvira sounds offended. Knowing that she trained and recruited every member at the camp, it actually seems impractical.

"Everyone except Morpheus." Ethan turns to look at Elvira in the passenger's seat next to him. He delivers his speech carefully as if unsure to venture further into the conversation.

But Elvira's expressions completely alter as soon as he utters Marty's name. Her eyes flickers with annoyance, and she shifts in her seat.

"Morpheus has nothing to do with this. He is just a kid."

"He is the only one who mysteriously appeared less than a year ago, telling us that the Grendels are plotting to release their master, we didn't even question his intel."

"The information was legit. Anyway, that doesn't prove your point."

"He has done nothing but caused trouble, when he showed up at the camp covered in blood. All he wanted to do was expose us."

"Don't give me that crap." With that, she stomps out of the vehicle furiously.

Ethan quickly gets out and so do I. I have no clue about anything that is happening here, however it does raise some questions. Who is Marty? Is he really trying to double cross us? Was he the one who tampered with the warding? But that doesn't make sense, considering he was the one who informed us about the break-in. 

Perplexed, I close in on their argument.

"Why won't you accept the thought of him being a traitor?" Ethan's frustration is showing on his face. A thin line appears between his brows while a muscle in his jaw twitches.

"And what would be his motive?" Elvira takes a deep breath before speaking again.

"He doesn't have to have a motive. We both know why. We can't trust him, it's in his blood. He is basically a nobody."

Elvira didn't respond for several seconds during which an uncomfortable silence looms in the air. In that movement of absolute stillness, the wind dies, the leaves cease to rustle, even the rumble of traffic is absent. In the frozen seconds, I could hear Elvira's rapid breaths, just enough to make me aware of the intensity of her emotion. She walks up to him and forces him to look at her face. Chin up, eyes glistening.

"Weren't You?" Her voice cracks as she speaks. "A nobody. Yet, we trusted you and look where it got us." She pauses, "I trusted you."

Ethan's face falls faster than an anchor from a ship. In an instant, the blood drains from his face, his mouth hangs with lips slightly parted. His eyes widen in an expression of sudden surprise. He looks vulnerable just like the other day, when Marty had mentioned the Trident twins. Fear accompanied by anger swirls within him. His body stiffens and he finally drops his gaze to the ground.

Elvira backs away and heads for the diner while Ethan stood there staring at the gravel path ahead of him. I hesitate, I don't want to catch him at a bad time but leaving him alone isn't a good idea either. By now, I have a general idea of the outburst of emotion one feels when they are offended or annoyed. Being an altruist, it makes it even worse as the energy within them starts to get out of hands. Since I have experienced that on multiple occasions, I might be able to relate.