Owen Changes His Mind

11. Denial, Anger 2/3

Apo hardly knew what to do with himself after visiting Owen. He visited Rasbi, who refused to talk to him but at least listened, and he visited Magic, who explained why Bek was back in the clearing as well. Apo heard that Kyle was sort of a leader, which Red has some strong feelings about. Apo found it hard to feel anything at all. He was still jumpy about people approaching him, preferring to avoid the others. And Apo noticed that he'd started apologizing a lot more. He assumed it was because he was talking to more people. Red assured him he didn't need to apologize, but Apo knew that was just Red being Red. Apo slipped out of the house they shared, promised himself he'd build his own house soon, and started wandering to find Graecie.

Apo unintentionally snuck around corners and took routes people wouldn't notice him out of habit, so it took Apo much longer to find Graecie than he otherwise would have. When he finally did find her, she was with Magic. Apo crouched at the door and started to knock, then thought better of it. He turned away and stood. "Who is that? Who's there?" he heard from inside the house. Apo turned to see Magic opening the door.

"Oh, uh, hi Magic," Apo fidgeted.

"Oh, hi." Magic stepped back from the door and turned away from Apo. "Graecie, it's Apo," she called.

Apo heard Graecie call his name from somewhere deeper in the house, then wander closer. "Graecie," he smiled, leaning in toward the door. She really reminded him of Erin. They both did.

"What brings you here, Apo?" Graecie asked.

Apo scooted back. His smile faded. "It's Owen. I don't want you to kill him."

"Apo, he's not- It's not really up to me."

Apo twisted his hands together. "I know he's a little unhinged right now, but I really think he will snap out of it. He will."

Magic touched Apo's shoulder. When he finally looked at her, he could tell she was concerned about him. "I want to keep him safe too. He's like a brother to me. But didn't he try to kill you, Apo?"

"He's not-" Apo took a deep breath. "He's my friend! I know he's- my friend is somewhere in there-" Apo stopped abruptly, remembering what Owen had hissed through clenched teeth. He shook his head. "Owen is just confused. We were coming back to the clearing together. We were, I was, I was coming back." Apo's breathing started to hitch. He looked at the floor, which seemed to pulse. "He said he missed me. He said-" Apo swallowed over a tangled choke- "He said he would meet me and we could go back together-" Apo realized he was crying when Graecie handed him a tissue.

"Apo, I really think you should be more concerned with yourself. We're discussing what to do about you this evening. Look, I'm sorry to be so blunt, but you escaped out of prison. And we can't just put you in prison with Owen, that would be a death sentence for you. Even I can see that."

Apo stared at Graecie, mouth ajar. "A... death sentence..." he echoed faintly. Apo turned back to Magic. "This isn't Owen. He isn't like this. He's confused." Magic just shook her head, eyes wide. "Why won't anyone listen?" Apo asked, turning to leave. Neither Graecie nor Magic made any move to stop him.

Apo found himself at the edge of the little pond. It looked different. There weren't as many trees around. Without thinking, Apo pulled out a fishing rod. He didn't notice when the sun set.