My Servant is a Lizard Prince

Act 4: Exchanges

"Don't move!" The officers in the alley screamed as they pointed their guns at Volkan. Or, at least, that's what Toel thought was happening. He couldn't see anything happening in the alley, the cardboard was completely blocking his view, leaving only him, the wall on his back, and his own imagination.

What the fuck was Volkan thinking?! Toel screamed in frustration in his head. And what the fuck am I supposed to do now?! Stay here and watch –or hear­– the whole scene unrolled? Jump into the scene like a mad man? Run from the scene like a mad man? None of the solutions was going to give him a happy ending, no matter how hard Toel tried to think it through.

"Where's the kid?!" One of the officers questioned loudly.

"I hid him somewhere else. But that doesn't matter. I have a deal." Volkan spoke. A deal? Whatever it is, Toel knew he was going to hate it.

"You will give up your search for Toel-sama and drop his charges." Volkan continued calmly. "In exchange, you can do whatever you want to me. Arrest me, or kill me on the spot."

Toel was shaking furiously. He was at a loss for words. That lizardman thought he could just sacrifice his life like it was nothing! If anything I was supposed to be the one sacrificing life! Then regrets hit him. I should've been the one protecting him...

"Hoho... I'm intrigued," a familiar, yet disgusting voice appeared. It was the voice of the overweight officer earlier. "That kid meant a lot to you, huh?"

"Of course. He was my savior. And a person that I deeply respect."

"Must mean a lot to be respected by a monster like you." The officer replied sarcastically. As he said the word monster Toel was getting even more furious. He wanted to stand up and punch the officer in the gut right then and there, and not care about the aftermath. And for a moment he really wanted to do it, but his legs didn't have the strength for it. He does care about the aftermath. They might get arrested, and even though life was already horrible, surely life in prison can't be better. But more importantly, they might get shot right there.

Then something hit him. For his whole life, he never cared about his own death. A while ago he was standing in front of a gun like he was standing on the clouds. Death meant nothing to him. But now his legs had completely given up, afraid that he might die. What happened to his bravery?

"Very well. I could never resist a deal." Metal sounds clinked, it was sound that Toel was too familiar with. "Then, I'll be satisfying my own desire right here."

Toel wanted to stand up. If he's not going to do anything there, then Volkan will really die there. But his legs betrayed him. What the hell?! No matter how hard he tries, he couldn't find his strength. Where did his fear of death come from? He had no life in this world. Death would just mean moving on to a better world to him. And no one was going to miss him as well. Except...

Fear increased even more as the thought ran across his head. Volkan was the only one and true friend he ever had. If he died, Volkan will surely miss him. And more importantly, he was going to miss Volkan. Imagining a world without Volkan felt even worse than death. That was the sole reason for his fear. But... if he doesn't do anything, Volkan will surely die. And... he was going to be left alone again.

Strength finally came back to him. Seeing Volkan die in front of him would be worse than anything he could ever felt, even death. He tried his hardest to stand up...

Before a loud gunshot was heard.

Despair hit Toel like a huge truck. He tried to convince himself it wasn't a gunshot and was Volkan using his magic. But the sound was so vivid, there was zero doubt it was a gunshot.