The Hidden Gemstone

Chapter: 14

Alex's POV:

"What are you?" Xander asked as soon as he recovered from his shock.

I sighed deeply, looking intently at him as if the way he would react to this would suddenly appear on his face. I glanced at the fallen bodies of the once-mortal men on the ground, the blood that surrounded them, and the smoke that slowly rose from the burnt ashes. I looked back at him. "I can explain. Let's just go back to the car, and-"

"What are you?" he asked again, louder this time. I closed my eyes for a moment, bracing myself for what was to come. He might never talk to me again.

"I don't know," I answered. "I don't know what I am or what category I fall in. I don't know what they call people like me. But what I do know... is that I'm different. You and I, Xander... we're not the same." I waited for him to say something but he just stared, waiting for something more. So I continued, "What you saw didn't happen to me overnight. I was born with it. I have always had it. I didn't ask for it, Xander. No one wants to be an outcast. Some of us were just not as lucky as others."

"You killed them," he whispered.

I looked at the bodies of the men and then back at him. "They didn't die."

He looked at me as if I was crazy. He glanced back at the bodies before shutting his eyes tightly and inhaling sharply. I knew that he was thinking - hoping - that this might be just an illusion. At that moment, I had the strongest wish that it would all really just turn out to be a bad dream. I hoped that the gemstone, the supernatural, the attacks from those immortal men, the bullet that nearly killed me, Ryan, and everything that came along with him was nothing more than a mere nightmare that I would wake up from any second. Please, I called out to whoever was there to listen. Please, just let it be an illusion.

The moment he opened his eyes though, I knew it was all real. I was really facing this. He seemed to be as disappointed as I was. He didn't deserve this.

"Just tell me," he said after a minute. "Tell me the truth. Everything. Please don't lie."

I nodded, trying to avoid looking into his eyes which were full of hopelessness. "Can we go to the car first? It's seriously not safe-"

He shook his head. "Not until you explain everything." I sighed inwardly and nodded.

"What do you want to know?"

He took a deep breath before saying, "Did you kill them?"

"Temporarily," I answered. "They're going to be back on their feet soon. That's why it's dangerous."

"How is that possible?"

"They're kind of immortal. Their lives are tied to one person. As long as he lives, they live." He took a minute to digest that bit of information before nodding.

"And this... this thing that you did..." he looked up at me and I almost broke at the fear in his eyes. "Can you hurt me?"

"Xander, I would never hurt you," I said, slowly moving forward and wincing as I did so. I was still losing blood from my wounds but that was the last thing on my mind. "This thing I have doesn't change who I am. I told you, I've always been like this and I've always loved you despite it. I would never hurt you, gifts or no gifts."

He let out a breath before shaking his head. "This is crazy."

"I know," I said. My footsteps were slow but steady and I was a mere foot away from him. "You can have all the time you need to digest it. I know it's not easy for you. But please, Xander." My eyes were pleading. I knew that letting this secret out to someone ended in two ways: either loss or gain. And I had experienced both. "Don't make me your villain."