(GQ #9) Sanctuary of the Elusive Captain

4. Storage Room Shunned by the Light

Leon wandered through the darkness of the storage room. Towers of boxes greeted him at every turn, sometimes face first.

"Ow!" Leon rubbed his nose. Things were harder to see further away from the door, and the storage room was much more spacious than he had anticipated. The captain could be anywhere. He continued calling for him. "Captain? Captain Galhardo?"

A few jagged green shots whizzed by from behind him.

He turned around. "Captain?"

The bucktoothed ranger could barely make out a shadow disappearing behind some of the boxes.

Leon followed it. "Captain, it's me, Leon!"

Whoever it was continued further into the storage room, but not without firing back more shots. They were much more random than any he'd encountered so far. Still, Leon dodged them. But why would the captain fire at him?

"Oh, I get it! This must be some kind of test!"

Leon continued following the shadow. An increasing amount of shots scattered about, but he had no trouble avoiding them. In fact, they helped guide him through the box maze.

Suddenly, he heard a thump and muttered cursing.

"Captain...?" The captain didn't seem like the type to swear. Leon moved in closer.

Too close! Leon crashed into him, but not for long. A hand immediately grabbed his face and pushed him back.

"Get offa me!" It was Aiden's voice, clear as day.

"Sorry!" Leon reached out for something else to guide him, but his hands kept touching his roommate.

Aiden gripped his hands and put them on a box. He then lightly pushed Leon away with a foot. A little uncalled for, but what was Aiden if not kind of a jerk?

"Thanks, Aiden!" Leon used the box to anchor himself. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"None of your business." Now that Leon could see him better, his silhouette was much taller than the captain's. "You think a guy would take the hint after getting shot at. Don't you think Captain Galhardo would've answered after calling him the umpteenth time?"

"Maybe he's hiding?" He guessed. "Emil did say the captain finds it hard to warm up to people."

"...So you think he's playin' hide-and-seek?"

"Could be! My little brother's really shy too. He used to hide from my friends whenever they came over. Eventually, they started saying I made him up, which was so annoying, you wouldn't believe!"

"Oh, I can't imagine..."

"That reminds me! One guy did see him for a split second and thought he was a ghost, so then people started thinking our house was haunted; it became kind of a whole thing. Anyway, my mom told me he might've made some friends! I'm really happy about it 'cause up until now, I was the only one he had, and I was worried he'd be super lonely without me. He's kind of--"

Leon heard shuffling behind him. He turned around to see Aiden.

"Ah, there you are!" Leon chuckled. "You shoulda told me I was talking to the boxes. I must've looked silly!"

"Don't you have a captain to look for?"

"Ah, right!" Leon remembered his mission. "Do you know where he is? I can't find him anywhere!"

"Did'ja check his room?" asked Aiden. "Y'know, where he always is?"

"Ahhhh, that makes sense! Thanks Aiden!"