Owen Changes His Mind

11. Denial, Anger 3/3

Magic found Apo at the little pond the next day. He was still fishing, angrily casting out and reeling in. "Apo, I'm here to tell you the good news," Magic called out to him. When Apo didn't respond, Magic scrambled closer, carefully stepping through the garden that was left around the edges of the pond. "Apo?"

Sighing, Apo reeled in. "What is it, Magic?"

Magic paused. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm peachy keen," Apo snapped. "I'm stuck in a box with people I hurt, and my best friend is-" Apo stopped, unable to continue. He shook his head, looked down at the fishing line in his hand, and cast again. "Everything's fine."

Magic sat down next to Apo and didn't say anything for a bit. Then she murmured, "Nobody blames you for the deaths anymore. I don't blame you, and Bek stood up for you. You're free."

"Great. Just what I wanted."

"Somehow, I don't believe that," Magic murmured.

Magic watched Apo deflate, then take out a book. "You know, I just wanted to be useful again. I know I can help us escape." He handed the book to Magic, who took it. It held strategies for dealing with the maze- pages and pages of them.

She skimmed them, then handed the book back. "That's a lot. How long have you been writing this?"

"Since the beginning," Apo admitted, shoulders lowering. "I wrote some of it in jail, and the rest out in the maze."

"It's impressive." Magic stared across the water. Apo relaxed even more, slumping a bit. "Can I ask you a question, Apo?"

"Sure," he agreed, but he sounded nervous. A carp bit and Apo reeled it in, casting again.

"Why were you angry?" Magic asked in a small voice.

Angry? He wasn't angry. He was- oh yeah, Apo realized, he had been angry. It didn't take Apo long to figure out why. "It's kind of personal," he explained. "I guess I just-" Apo stopped abruptly and turned to face Magic. She turned towards him. "It's just hard to believe that someone who means so much would care so little. That he wouldn't even try. That despite everything, the maze, the past, the levers- we were best friends, Magic. And he doesn't care. He'd throw it all away just to be who he was before. He doesn't care about- he doesn't care." Apo's grip on the fishing rod was white knuckled. He bit his lip, drawing blood. "Owen is stupid. He's being stupid."

Magic nodded, looking out over the water. "Yeah, it sure sounds like it." Apo drew the line in and unhooked the glass bottle stuck to the end of it. After a moment of peace, Magic ventured, "It makes me wonder why."

Apo drew in a sharp breath. "I don't care," he declared, throwing his line further than he meant to. It stuck in the opposite bank. Apo grimaced as he pulled it out and recast it.

"Well, alright then," Magic ventured, standing up. "I said what I needed to say. You're free, Apo. You can do what you want." He didn't look at her as she walked away.