(Alex Rider Fanfiction) Floating in the Dark

Eight

Silence.

Heavy. . .stifling. . . thick and chilling. . .utter silence. Alex felt like a stone statue, shouldering the entire weight of the universe. So quiet. . .so cold. . .so numb. . .

He slowly shifted his gaze down, towards his feet. His feet, where Mr. Stronson lay.

Frozen. The man was frozen into silence. So still, so quiet.

Alex was numb. I killed him. He noticed then, a small, neat hole situated just above the man's left eyebrow. A few, fat drops of blood were oozing out.

Another perfect hole. . .and there's less blood this time.

"W-why. . .?" A strangled, tortured sob broke into his dull observations.

Oh. . .Ricard. I forgot about Ricard.

The slightly chubby boy was on his knees, inches away from his dead father. So close, and yet, so far away. Ricard stared at his father, eyes wide with shock, mouth slack with disbelief. Trembling, he looked up at Alex.

"You – you shot him. You. . .shot my father."

Alex blinked, and gazed at the small weapon in his hand. Yeah. . .I guess I did. Woodenly, he slid the weapon back in his pocket. He didn't need it anymore. His mission was done. Finished.

"Why?!" Ricard suddenly screamed. "Why did you lie to me? Why did you kill him?! Why?"

Numbly, Alex wondered the same thing. Yet, he couldn't seem to find the answer. Everything seemed to be covered in a thick fog. A cold fog that stretched its fingers deeper and deeper into the cracks, searing and freezing and numbing as it went.

As he stared at Ricard in a dumbfounded manner, it occurred to him that the boy was waiting for an answer. Needing some kind of an answer. Alex struggled to figure it out, and finally, something floated into his muddled brain. His mouth automatically moved to speak it aloud.

"Mission. . ." he whispered. "It was my mission."

That's right. It was my mission, and I finished it. I'm done.

With that thought, Alex realized that he no longer needed to stay. It was time for him to return. To go back to Scorpia. So he silently turned, and walked out of the study, and into the hall.

An enraged, agonized scream followed him, shaking with pain and shock and loss. Alex barely heard it, barely registered the sound. After all, it was just a simple echo of what shrieked behind the numbing fog.

Father. . .I completed my mission. . .just like I was supposed to. I killed him, just as they told me to. Are you proud of me, Dad? I'm doing just what you did, before you died. Am I. . .just like you, now?

XXxxXX

This was the house. The house where Alex was supposed to kill someone. Jack could hardly wait for the car to come to a stop. As soon as it was safe to do so, she threw open the door, and leaped out. Her Alex was inside this place, and if she didn't do something, he'd -

She ran. Fear sent her straight to the front door at an incredible speed. Jack whipped out a hand for the handle, reaching out to throw open the door.

Before she could touch it, it opened. A stranger stood in the open doorway.

Jack jerked to a stop. She stared, suddenly finding herself staring at a young, pale face. A face, which was vaguely familiar. A face that was also completely blank. Empty. It was like a pale mask, framed with wild blond hair.

Her heart started to pound slowly, so horrifically slowly. This stranger. . .was he. . .? She met the boy's gaze, and instantly flinched back. At first glance, those brown orbs were dead. Just. . .dull and flat. But as she made herself look closer, she saw.