Codename Alpha: Intervention

Chapter Sixteen - The Overload

I expected two things to explode - first, the thermos containing an apparently friction-sensitive explosive mixture, which had just flown out of my paw. The second, Eric. I had no idea what, exactly, he would say, but I was definitely expecting something extreme.

I froze in terror as the thermos loudly clattered to the floor and rolled briefly, being stopped by the handle. I fully expected it to detonate and the shrapnel to tear Eric and I to pieces. Now, I was probably just blowing the potential for an explosion far out of proportion, but the sense of relief I felt as it stopped and I didn't die was immeasurable.

Even though the explosive proved itself to be inert, I was still expecting my brother to explode, just in a less literal sense. As he stumbled backwards, quickly gaining balance, I just stood there like an idiot with my mouth open.

"Hey," He said, sounding both surprised and confused, as he turned around. "Are... are you okay?" Still, I just stood there, speechless. "Conrad?"

"Um..." I stuttered. I shook my head and tried to avoid eye contact, while moving to my dropped thermos. "Yeah, yeah, I'm... alright," I said. "Sorry."

He seemed to realize what I was doing before I could actually pick it up, though, and instead he bent over to get it for me, saying "Oh, I got you, man." I felt like I was about to die as he looked confused as to why it didn't seem there was any liquid inside of it, and that feeling only worsened as he basically asked why. "Don't worry, it was my fault I was just kinda... standing there," he shrugged. "What'cha got in here?" He added, furrowing his brow.

I cut him off just as he put his paw on the lid to unscrew it. For whatever reason, I recalled a moment, back when I was just about twenty or so, when I got accidentally punched in the snout by a spotted cat back in Korosten, outside of the Noora Kasabian Museum of Art. They were facing away from me, and had mistaken me for someone else - the details, for obvious reasons, were somewhat fuzzy, and didn't really matter. I didn't press charges or anything, since it was indeed an accident. However, because of it, I did learn that a good way to deal with sore gums was to simply hold saltwater in your mouth. And for whatever reason, this was the only excuse I could think of.

"Salt," I said, with whatever confidence I could muster. He seemed to accept that explanation, and I was thankful I didn't have to elaborate any further. He moved his paw away from the lid and passed it over to me, which I gladly took. "Thank you," I nodded, calming myself down. "No, don't apologize, I wasn't... looking where I was going. You know, I should've, uh... been able to tell you were there."

"Well, hey, it actually kinda works out. I was looking to head over to your quarters so we could just, you know, talk." He didn't say it in any particularly ominous way, but the initial anxiety I felt pretty much instantly returned.

"Uh... about what?" I asked, attempting to casually lean against the wall.

"I don't know. Anything, really. Like..." He sighed, and leaned against the wall next to me. "You've just been really distant lately. Not even... not even lately, actually. You..." He sighed and shrugged. "I don't know. You just seem like you've been stressed since the disaster, you know?" He paused and sighed. "Well, I know that you're not normally super talkative, but, just... I've been asking around, and to a lot of people, you've kinda just disappeared off the map in the past month."

"I'm fine," I said, shrugging, lying through my teeth. He seemed to see through that quite easily.

"Really?" He questioned, albeit in a sympathetic tone. "I'm just worried, dude. You haven't been at a game night, movie night... I mean, you spent most of the Burning Man party a couple days ago just standing in the corner. What's wrong?" Even through I was trying to avoid eye contact, I would occasionally glance his way and see that he was looking directly at me. I felt a lump in my throat as I tried to answer, and nothing came out. It wasn't so much because I was worried about the bomb I was carrying, but moreso the fact that we hadn't really just sat down and talked like this for a while.