Prodigal Son

chapter 10

Kade pinched his brow, yawning before checking his phone's clock.
Almost 3AM.
Eh, maybe he should head to sleep. Needed to be rested if the Moor-Bot came knocking.
He set his laptop aside, yawning as he stood up.
He looked up at the night sky, then out at the driveway.
Operations had mostly come to a close for the night, but he couldn't sleep.
He'd been poring over every ounce of new footage of Cody, unable to tear his eyes away.
They could be coming back any minute now.... But.... He couldn't be of any use if passed out mid fight, right?
He started walking back in, snorting as he noticed Agent Fowler passed out over the outdoor set-up, loudly snoring.
With no time to truly repair the damage done to the house when the Moor-Bot had charged in, they'd been forced to apply a temporary fix, just sealing up the gaping hole in the floor from where it'd grabbed Cody.
Grabbed him right out from under you
Kade shook off the thoughts, rubbing his eyes.
He hadn't been able to go upstairs.
He couldn't see the damage, couldn't be reminded.
So, the bunker couch it was.
He was barely able to drag himself through the rows of equipment inside, and descend to the deeper level.
Still, he entered the depths of the bunker, and promptly collapsed on the couch.
Now, finally. Finally he could pass out, get some-
"Kade"
He bolted up.
His heart was pounding, threatening to beat out of his chest.
Was- was that...
No... No, no it couldn't be. It wasn't.
It sounded just like Cody was calling him.
He sighed, running his head again. 
"This is why you need sleep, Kade... You're loosing your mind..."
Yeah, he was hearing things. His stupid brain was malfunctioning from low sleep, and mixing with his guilt or something.
He shook it off, laying back down.
Yeah, he was just hearing things.
No need to-
"Kade"
He sat up again, whipping around to look.
Okay, that time, he definitely heard something...
The need to sleep was abandoned, adrenaline taking the reins as he jumped off the couch, scanning the room.
"Where did..."
"KADE!"
Without a second thought, he bolted down towards the tunnel entrance, not even noticing as his phone fell out of his pocket, clattering down at the entrance.
"CODY?! CODY ARE YOU DOWN HERE?!?"
He ran through the tunnels, blindly scanning every corner, not noticing how deep he got.
"CODY, ARE YOU HERE?!?!"
He paused, and as he strained his ears, the only sound was his own heaving breaths.
".... Yeah.... I've finally cracked.... You're slipping, Kade, you're slipping. You're slipping, out of guilt."
"Oh, you slipped alright."
Kade jolted, whipping his head around.
"...S-Show yourself!! Who's there?!?!"
An echoing laugh jumped at him from the dim tunnels, bouncing around his brain.
"What's the matter, Kade? Guilty conscience?"
The voice was like nails on a chalkboard, fear saturating his heart.
"Cody, Cody is that you?"
He couldn't see anything in the dim light, but he suddenly felt a draft of air blow past him.
His heart pounded, sweat dripping down his forehead.
He definitely wasn't alone.
"Cody... Whatever you're doing, I won't hurt you, alright? I refuse to hurt you."
The laughter ceased, and Cody said in a bitter tone,
"... Too late for that, don't you think?"
Kade was taken aback by the seething tone. Guilt panged at him, and he had no words of defense.
"... Cody... I know I've messed up-"
"Oh, y'think?! Yeah.... You really missed up, big brother."
"Cody, please. Show yourself. Let me help you."
Wrong answer.
"Oh.... NOW YOU WANT TO HELP ME?!"
"Cody, just listen to me."
"That's always how it is, isn't it? You. Never. Listen!!!"
Suddenly, Kade felt a huge draft of air rush at him, and dove out of the way, just narrowly avoiding something colliding against the wall with a huge crash.
Kade gasped, seeing sparks fly against the rock.
"Oh my god..."
He fumbled for his phone, but cursed when he couldn't feel it.
Instead, he grabbed his comn, but it only gave off static.
"DOES ANYBODY READ ME?!?! HELLO?!?!"
"Oh, what's the matter Kade? Comn not getting a signal?"
Kade forced himself back to his feet, His breath ragged.
"Cody, please. Don't do this. I know you wouldn't-"
"Wouldn't what?!"
Suddenly, movement caught Kade's eye.
He turned abruptly in the tunnel, seeing a flicker of purple energy.
Kade watched in shock as Cody suddenly came into view, seeing the invisibility drop.
He wore a black hoodie, and Kade's stomach turned at the sight of Morocco's emblem emblazoned on each shoulder.
His eyes had dark circles, his features tainted by seething, furious hatred.
"My god... Cody...."
He smirked, saying scornfully,
"What's the matter, Kade? Seeing ghosts?"
Kade backed down the tunnel, raising his hands.
"Cody. I refuse to fight you, okay? Yes, I screwed up. I really botched things before, I was a total jerk, I put you down, and I can never undo that. But I want to be better. I swear to you, I want to be so much better."
Cody only glared at him, and Kade took a cautious step forward.
"Please. This isn't you. You have every right to be angry, but the Cody I know wouldn't attack like that. That's the virus talking, you can't let him win. Please, let me help."
Cody glowered, taking a step back.
Suddenly, he grabbed his head, groaning in pain.
Kade's jaw dropped in horrified shock as the veins in Cody's neck started glowing purple, his eyes opening to reveal the same glow.
"Cody!"
He screamed in pain, then looked at Kade, his eyes wet.
"K-Kade..... Please... Help me..."
Without a second of hesitation, Kade charged up, tackling him in a hug.
"CODY! Stay with me, keep fighting! Please, god, please..."
Suddenly, the purple glow faded from Cody's eyes, and his hands fell down to his sides.
"Cody, talk to me, are you okay?!"
Cody's demeanor suddenly changed, his tone suddenly calmer.
"Yeah.... I'm okay... Thank you, Kade."
Kade looked up, and his heart dropped to the floor upon seeing a shark like grin on Cody's face.
"Thanks for being a big help."
Kade was completely unprepared for a beam of purple energy to shoot out, sending him flying backwards.
As he groaned in pain, Cody whipped around what looked like a new hoverboard, that grin even bigger now.
"Oh my god.... Is that a new hoverboard?!"
"Sure is, a gift from my partner. Want a demonstration?"
Cody threw it to the ground, and no sooner than did Kade get back to his feet was he rammed back down again.
Cody dipped low, using his shoulder to ram Kade back, then grabbed his shoulders, and threw him hard into the rock wall.
Kade screamed as his head ricocheted off the rock wall, dropping to his knees as he saw stars.
A hand went to his forehead, coming back stained crimson.
He tried standing, but collapsed almost imedianty.
Cody only watched, an eye twitching as he ignored the pain that protested his own actions.
"Co...dy.... W... Why?"
He shrugged nonchalantly, almost looking bored.
"I can't disappoint my partner. You look tired, get some rest."
The invisibility flickered back in, and Kade feel the draft of Cody's exit.
The dark tunnels seemed to expand, swallow him up.
His hand blindly groped with the comn, before he dropped to the floor.
"Co... Cody..."
An anguished whimper escaped him, then his eyes fluttered closed.
The darkness consumed him, and he was left alone with his pain.
The only break in the silence was a crackle from his comn, grasped in his bloody, outstretched hand.
"Kade, we got your emergency signal! Where are you?! Kade! Kade are you there?!"
-
Dani was on the verge of tearing her hair out as the stalked around the hospital room.
"What the hell happened to him?!?! He was unreachable for half an hour, who did this to him?!?!"
Graham grabbed the fabric of his pants, his eyes not leaving the floor.
"... One guess..."
"Uuuuuhh...."
Everyone raced to the bed, as Kade started stirring.
A heavy bandage was wrapped around his head, but didn't hide the dark bruising on his face.
His eyes slowly cracked open, and he winced at the light.
"Ooh.... Everything hurts..."
Doctor McSwain pushed aside everybody, as Kade slowly pushed himself up.
"My head..."
Charlie leaned in, his tone striken with fear.
"Son, what happened?!"
Kade froze, his hand meeting the bandage on his head.
His eyes went wide, before he looked down,
".... Cody. Cody is on the island, he ambushed me in the tunnels."
Graham looked away, Dani's hands clenched tight over her mouth, and Charlie felt like he'd been stabbed in the gut.
".... No..."
Tears welled up in Kade's eyes.
".... He was right there... He wouldn't listen to me..."
Kade's jaw ground together as tears started streaming down his face.
"God.... He attacked me... He really attacked me..."
Dani and Graham each put a hand on Kade's back, and Charlie stepped back, a low hiss escaping him as he grabbed his comn.
"Doc, It's time. Activate the emergency Dome, Griffin Rock is officially on lockdown. They're here."
-
Cody made his way back to the Bot, diving deep to the cover of the woods.
"Ah, my partner, how did it go?"
"Perfectly. I doubt Kade will stay out, but he doesn't have to. The message has been sent."
"Excellent, excellent!!! I must applaud you, I wasn't sure you'd be able to do it."
"Hey, I couldn't dissapoint you, could I?"
Cody turned to the window.
Even as he smiled,
A slow tear trailed down his face.
"I couldn't believe it either."