Lightless Twin Souls | ONC 2023 ✔

Chapter 8 - Other Souls

Before Charles fell on the floor, JD caught him and immediately carried him to the couch.

"Drew!"

Andrew, starstruck, ran close. "Y-yes!"

"Heal him," He yelled, voice shaky as he moved out of the way. "Now!"

With one quick nod and hum, Andrew pulled Charles' scarf away, and his hands moved to the top of his jawline. Tiny sparks of light rained down from his palms to Charles' skin, the little diamond-shaped sparks sticking close to the bruised skin and staying there.

Andrew stole a glance behind him, where JD's face looked bitter and regretful.

"His life is not in danger, is it?"

Andrew shook his head. "He's merely unconscious."

"Oh, Garnet." JD caught his head in one hand. "I knocked him out. I really just knocked Charles out."

"Well," Andrew's hands dropped, the distance between his fingers and Charles' jaw and neck growing small. "Why did you hit him?"

"It was on impulse!" JD reasoned but then violently shook his head. "No, I kicked him on purpose. I... I was afraid that Zalden's CEO still had control over his mind."

His speech fastened, and his hands kept shaking as he paced back and forth.

"Heck, Charles shouldn't be here! He only comes here when he's on vacay from work, but he only goes on vacays on special occasions concerning his relatives or friends outside of Abarly."

JD's palms and fingers stuck against each other, his eyes burning straight into the pictureless frame on the wall above Andrew and Charles.

"But he recently just did that last month, and he only does that once every several months!"

The light from Andrew's palms slowly faded along with the white marks on Charles' jaw. He tapped the area where his brother hit Charles and nodded in satisfaction with his improved condition.

"He should wake up in just a few minutes," Andrew said.

"And his outfit! Autumn clothes that aren't his color, and-"JD's gaze jumped on the door and everywhere. "Wait, he doesn't have any luggage with him? Why was he here, then?"

"Brother." Andrew turned around after carefully wrapping the scarf around Charles' neck again. "Is he your companion?"

"Well, he's... I wouldn't call him a companion since I travel alone, but we're friends." JD stopped pacing around the room. "I met him outside of Abarly, and he's the one who told me about this town."

"I see." Andrew sat on the arm of the sofa where Charles lay.

"More importantly," JD walked over to Charles and checked his pockets. "He doesn't have anything but the card key and his phone?"

"...Phone?"

JD muttered a silent apology as he fished through Charles' coat's inside pockets, then froze. His hand took hold of something, and as he pulled it out, he raised the object to get a clearer view. A vial with a transparent liquid inside.

"Is that...?"

"...An elixir." JD's voice was quiet, his grip tightened, and his eyes glinted. "Shit. Did Zalden figure us out?"

"Us?" Andrew mumbled, one of his eyebrows rising.

JD rolled his eyes at him and slapped his cheeks softly. Andrew responded with a little giggle.

Suddenly, an urgent yet soft knocking echoed from the door, freezing the two. JD took immediate, silent steps towards the door and looked at Andrew, whose blue eyes shone briefly. After the quick glow, he pulled out two fingers, indicating the number of people behind the door.