The Blazing Rebellion

Chapter 43

John POV

John didn't sleep for the whole night, his mind stuck on the news he'd learned the day before. Every time he began to dose off, he saw his mother in his mind, her eyes dull as she turned to stare at him... Every time, he jolted back into an awakened state, breathing hard as he fought to put her away from his mind. It was only making him feel more guilty.

He would've skipped school the next day if Alban hadn't told him someone would explain things to him there. He couldn't focus on any of his classes, though, and he felt Sera's stare on him during all of them... he still hadn't explained what was going on to her. He just felt so restless, so ready for someone, anyone, to explain what had happened. He didn't want to think about it, but he found it was the only thing on his mind.

Blyke had tried to ask if he was okay, too. John had been lost in thought when the red-head approached, and his mind only clouded in confusion when he saw that Blyke was trying to talk to him. Apparently, he'd looked really startled the day before when he'd come into the dorm, when he'd slammed the door and ignored that Blyke was trying to say hello. He wasn't surprised that he'd seemed like this, only that Blyke had cared. I guess I looked worried enough for anyone to care. It was how he had felt, like his world was beginning to crumble. If he didn't get answers soon, it might just fall apart under him and drop John into darkness... He didn't know if he could escape the darkness this time.

Sera would always be there for him, though, which was some sort of comfort. When he caught her staring with a worried expression, he'd tried to smile, but it had come out as more of a grimace. He'd looked in a mirror later and found that there were dark circles beginning to appear under his eyes, as they usually did when he was really stressed about something. No wonder everyone keeps staring.

Unfortunately, John's mood didn't improve the rest of the day. Whoever Alban had sent to talk to him wasn't showing up. When his last class ended and John saw no new messages on his phone from anyone besides Sera, he almost threw his phone at the wall. Why is it like this?! Why won't they just tell me?

A few people gasped at his sudden angry and moved away. John sighed. Being angry was helping nothing. He locked himself in his dorm room the rest of the day, trying to drown his thoughts out with homework. The night ended up just as sleepless as the previous one.

Standing in front of the mirror before school, John winced. I'm starting to look like I did during my 'Angry King John' days... He frowned. Come on, uncle! Do something before I get a lot more like angry John!

Finally, as if hearing his thoughts, Alban did something. John was called to the office during his second class of the day. He jumped out of his chair, leaving his classroom before his teacher had even excused him. What felt like a thousand eyes followed his back, but he ignored them. It doesn't matter that they're confused. I'm finally getting answers!

John sped through the hallways of Wellston. Thankfully, it was empty at the moment, making it easier for him to get through at a fast pace. He reached Headmaster Vaughn's office in only a few minutes, pushing open the door without even knocking in his desperation to know what had happened. Inside, he saw not Alban but a tall blue-haired guy with glasses whom he didn't recognize.

The expression on the man's face was grim as he turned to face John. Something about it made John pause where he stood. He opened his mouth to demand what was going on, to ask if this was the person whom Alban had sent to explain things to him, to beg them to come up with some sort of plan... he hesitated. What if I don't want to hear what he's going to say? A while ago, he never would've guessed that this was the case. However, after seeing the seriousness in the man's light green eyes, John could tell that whatever information wasn't good. He wasn't sure how it could get worse than his mother being experimented on by NXGen, but the thought of it terrified him.

"John, this is Simon. He's a detective," Headmaster Vaughn explained from where he sat at his desk. His expression, too, was dark. "He... found out where they were keeping your mother."

John could tell from the way he paused that Headmaster Vaughn wasn't sure how much information John had already been given. He nodded to show that he'd known his mother was being held against her will. Then, turning back to the blue-haired man, who was apparently a detective, he waited.

"Your father hired me to find her," Simon explained as John stared at him. John's eyes widened. He hired a detective? How come he never told me?! John's dad hadn't mentioned anything about his mother for the many years since she'd left. John had assumed she'd left them, even if his dad had weakly insisted she'd been kidnapped. It seemed that his father was hiding more from him than he'd thought.

Now, though, that wasn't important. "Where is she? Do you guys have a plan to get her out? How long has she been there?" John launched straight into his questions as soon as Simon and Headmaster Vaughn went quiet. There was a brief silence once he finished. The two men exchanged a glance that John didn't like the look of. They're hiding something from me.

"Sit down, John," Headmaster Vaughn told him, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk. John frowned. Why do they want me to sit down? What are they going to tell me? He bit his lip, taking a step forwards. I'll just follow what he says so that I can finally figure out what's happening.

He took a seat in the chair and turned to stare at Simon. "So?"

The detective shifted his feet, avoiding John's eyes. "I found where she was about a month ago... I went straight to your father. He didn't tell me much for awhile after that, but recently I found out that he was planning something..." He paused again.

John could sense where this was going, and he didn't like it. Dad... what are you doing? Hopefully this Simon guy had stopped his father. If John's dad had been to go after his mother himself, it wouldn't end well. He was only a cripple, after all.

Simon still wouldn't look at him. John felt his blood growing cold. "You stopped him... right?" His stomach dropped when there was no answer for several minutes.

SImon took a deep breath. "I convinced him to bring others with him, but he wouldn't agree to stay behind. He said he had to go see her and save her, he had to make sure she was okay. The team managed to get out, but..."

John drew a sharp breath. But?! "What happened?"

"He was severely injured."