4. Dark Sides: Rise of the Anacondrai

Chapter 21 - A Moment of Peace

A/N: We're getting into the third act now. I'm very excited for you all to see what I have in store ;)

. . . 

The engine of Cole's 4x4 hummed in lieu of the silence that hung between him and Seliel. Outside, the barren wastelands passed by in a blur. Cole tried not to take any notice of the awkward tension, but it was stifling. Her seat was behind his, so he couldn't see her expression to guess what she might be thinking. They had been getting along just fine before now, so he couldn't understand why all of a sudden he felt so on edge. For the life of him, he couldn't think of the right thing to say.

He was relieved when Seliel spoke first. "So, has this thing got any tunes?"

Cole cracked a smile. "Doesn't look like it."

"Bummer. I guess we could sing instead."

This time he laughed out loud. "You do not want to hear that."

"Oh, now I definitely do. One way or another, I bet it'll be entertaining."

"Not a chance. My dad may have been a singer, but I wasn't born so lucky."

"A singer, huh?"

Cole simply shrugged. Again, he was reminded of how long it had been since he had seen his father. Again he wondered how his dad was doing. "Yeah. That was always the thing that mattered most to him."

Seliel must have picked up on the bitterness in his voice because she went quiet again for a little while. "My dad was the mayor of our village. I was always really proud of him, but, it kept him pretty busy."

"Your village? It's not –"

"No, they're safe. For now."

Although she wasn't acting particularly secretive, Cole had the fleeting thought that she wasn't about to tell him where her village was. Just like he wouldn't have told her where his father lived. It was strange that they could act like friends and yet be so guarded about everything they said to each other.

"Cole?"

"Yeah?"

"I've just been wondering . . . I mean, what will you do after this? If Wu still hasn't shown up and we beat Chen . . . where will you four go?"

Cole's grip tightened on the controls. Until just recently, that had been a concern for him. But she didn't know what Master Wu had told them. She couldn't know. If she did . . .

If she did, then it would ruin everything. She'd be on her guard again, and then it would be twice as hard to kidnap Garmadon's son.

Cole forced himself to relax, taking a deep breath through his nose. "We'll figure something out," he answered evenly. "We always do."

"Well . . . if you needed a place to stay, I know Sensei Garmadon and Misako would be willing to help you guys out. Our truce doesn't have to end once we capture Chen."

Now that caught him off guard. Just what was she trying to suggest? She couldn't possibly think that he would want help from Garmadon of all people. She still didn't understand why that couldn't happen. She seemed to be trying to sway him, just as he had been hoping to sway her. For a moment, he almost felt bad for lying to her. But he steeled himself and remembered Master Wu's instructions. He had to lead his team well, he couldn't lose sight of his mission.

"Thanks . . . for the offer," he said.

They became silent again, and Cole tried to focus on the dirt road in front of him, not all the thoughts swirling through his head.