The Worth (Rebellious Heroes 4)

4

For the following days, my dad would drive every once a while to the military base then back home. He would be there for a couple of hours or so, waiting for any news of Quentin. Meanwhile, mom and Edith spent more time together, usually mom ending up crying as she tells her how worried she is for Quentin. Mom knew what wars are. She knew how they work. She's been there when she was younger so no one can't keep her from worrying too much.

Meanwhile, due to my parents' worried state, I decided to be at least their source of strength and run the business. I knew that worrying over Quentin won't bring us anywhere. So I did what mom and dad would often do in the business, inspect the barn, the crops, monitor the harvests, check the sales, etc. Luckily, Mira was there to help me as my mentor. I also can't help but mentally pat myself on the shoulder for the college degree I chose: business. In times like these, it really helped me a lot.

It's already been two weeks since we last heard from Quentin. All of us were waiting for a call, for a good news that Quentin is fine and alive. Yes, there are worse scenarios that would sometimes play in our heads, but we decided to not let it get the best of us. We have to be brave for our family and for Quentin.

But one afternoon, we received a call from the military base, telling us that the Battalion 86 has already returned. Immediately, mom, dad and I went to our rooms to change. I decided to wear a white polo, denim jeans, and sneakers, putting my hair down and wearing a natural make-up before heading down with my parents and we all left with dad driving the car.

Minutes later, we reached the base. The entrance were full of people, families waiting for any news to their loved ones that partake in the war. As we entered the car, the soldiers saluted us, "Mr. and Mrs. Spirit St. Thomas. It's our honor to meet you." They greeted as they saw mom and dad. For Tern military, mom and dad are quite a figure, and it's an honor for any soldier to meet them.

"Good day." Dad smiled, "Is there any news on the 86?"

"Yes sir." The soldier replied as they pointed the building where the 86th soldiers are. Dad then nodded and thanked them before heading to the huge white building from afar. As we reached the building, dad immediately parked the car and we went in the building in a haste, finding Angel as soon as we entered.

"Holy Mae, Aunt Avelon, Uncle Spirit." Angel called as I rushed to her, hugging her tight. Mom and dad hugged her soon after.

"Are you okay?" I asked as I looked at her injured state, bruises and wounds on her arms. She nodded, causing me to sigh.

"Is Quentin here, Angel?" Mom asked, and that's when Angel's eyes were on the verge of tears. But she swallowed hard, trying to stop the tears from falling.

"Their ship..." She whispered, "They surrendered to the Cech troops, Aunt Avelon." Angel said as tears rolled down her cheeks, "We tried to stop them. But they arrested them and brought to Cech. I couldn't rescue him. It's all my fault."

Just after she said the bad news, mom broke down and dad held her. I immediately hugged Angel tight the moment I saw her shaking due to her sobs. It's clear that she loves my brother. She would do everything for him. But at the same time, Quentin loves her as well. Perhaps, she's the reason he surrendered. He would rather die than watch his girlfriend die.

"It's not your fault, Angel." I said as I rubbed her back gently for comfort. Honestly, I wanted to cry. But at the moment, mom is breaking down. Dad is worried of mom so much, his face shows fatigue all over and Angel is breaking down as well, blaming herself for Quentin's doom. I have to be strong for the entire family. Otherwise, no one could think straight on how to get Quentin back, and he'll never be rescued.

After hugging Angel, I immediately went to the office of the military head of the base. As I went there, a lot of people were on the office, like the crowd is having an indoor party in the office. I then tried to be in front of the head's office table, pushing people aside to give space. Afterwards, I succeeded in ending up in his office table, causing him to look up at me.

"Good day, sir. I am Holy Mae St. Thomas. I'm here for my brother, Major Quentin St. Thomas-"

"The information for Battalion 86 is on-"

"I know what happened to my brother sir." I cut him off, "I'm here to ask if there's any actions done to get them back."

"I'm sorry ma'am. As of this moment, we're trying our best to get them and we are planning at the moment. We will notify you-"

I didn't listen to his next words. I immediately walked out in disbelief. They should be rescuing my brother now. They should be sending out reinforcements to get them in Cech.

Later that evening, once we were all at home, mom refused to eat. She was locking in her room, refusing to get out. Dad was also there with her, comforting her with all his might. It's pretty obvious that dad is losing sleep, I can't help but be worried of them too.

For the first time in my life, I ate at the dining table alone. No mom, no dad, no Quentin. But just as I thought I'll eat alone, moments later, dad came in the dining room, eating dinner with me.

"Finally, your mom's asleep." He said as I remained silent, looking at him, "She's really worried about Quentin."

"We all are." I mumbled as he sighed.

"Which is why I might be leaving tomorrow."

"What? Where?"

"Military Base."

"Why?" I asked, my face traced confusion.

"I'm going to fight."

"No, you can't."

"But your brother-"

"Still." I stood up, the chair making a sound as I moved, facing him, "This is not like when you were 18 dad. Times have changed. God knows what Cech will do to you. Mom thinks she lost Quentin. Don't let her lose you too."

"My decision is final Holy Mae." He said firmly, "I'm going to fight to get your brother back. You stay here with your mom."

"Dad-"

"Holy Mae." He cut me off, causing me to shake my head in disbelief and left the dining table, heading straight to my room. There's no way my father will fight them. Yes, he may still be a good fighter. But there's a higher chance that he'll die out there and it'll make things worse for mom.

I want dad to stay here with mom, especially now that Quentin is out of reach, she needs him more than ever. But if they really want Quentin back...

All of a sudden, an idea popped in my head. Waiting it out won't help everybody. It's best if someone should make a move to bring him back. Then in a swift moment, I found myself pacing in the room, taking my backpack and placed some essentials and clothing. I then found myself going out and fixing Sergei's equipment. Afterwards, I went back in and wrote a letter, leaving it in the living room later at dawn.

I decided to be the person to bring Quentin back.