LINKAGE (boyxboy)

CHAPTER 52: THEY FORCES

"You said you were going to tell me after dinner. Here we are." The boys were lying down in Isaac's bed while the TV was on but they barely paid attention to it. Isaac had his head on Gavin's chest, while the boy slowly played with his black hair, curiously pointing out the mysteries of his past. The rain was still falling on their left side, but the sound of it was faded out.

"You are insufferable." Isaac fixed himself on the bed to feel more comfortable while he talked. He passed his arm around Gavin's chest, touching his ribs above the shirt. "Before my mother had the courage to tell me about Chemeris and everything, I always wanted to work for the military. I liked weapons, action movies, had a huge interest in the conflict in the Abyss Zone... this when I was sixteen. The Federal Opus has a junior military academy, that would teach you about science, history and math, and also how to fight and use a weapon. If you finished everything successfully, you would receive the lowest title of the military once you completed eighteen and finished the studies."

"You were very promising as a soldier then."

"I was the baddest, Gavin. No one could beat me. Even some highest ranked soldiers would leave training with me all sweaty and breathless. During my first year working for the Opus, I was silently learning what Chemeris wanted to accomplish, and the more I learned, the more I hated Kyedoth. There was this man... Leeway, if I remember correctly. He was the Master Chief Sergeant of the Federal Opus, one of the highest military ranks there are, and he worked directly for Kyedoth. Received orders from him to do horrible things, actually. Leeway always had an assistant by his side to mentor, a younger soldier he could train to be exactly like him, and some time four years ago, he chose me. I was working for him, so I was around Kyedoth all the time."

"I was very naive while I was eighteen. I thought that trying to kill a man that has over 3000 years old was a good idea. He smelled the poison and dodged the knife I tried to stab on his back. That was when everything went wrong. My mother screamed at me so much, she almost killed me saying that I screwed everything up, that Chemeris' plan was not going to work anymore. She came up with a plan: declare myself missing, create ghost bank accounts, turn off my BioID, lock me in the bunker... I promised I would fix things."

"And you did. Congratulations, Isaac."

"No, I did not, Gavin. I will only fix things when he is not the President anymore... I wondered several times, how a man like that could hold so much power. He kills people for fun, he only cares about himself, the poor people live miserable realities... how Chemeris did not do anything to stop it."

"I think their backstory is beyond our comprehension, Isaac. And he did something to stop it – he did me!" Gavin smiled.

"You do not count. He should have acted sooner, sparing you from doing something you do not want and from sending you away."

"I believe he had a very good reason to do such things, Isaac."

"I believe too. I usually do not criticize him... but changing the subject, it feels so good to know that we are safe, my family is safe, Lola is safe, no one else got killed... we have fewer things to worry about." Isaac closed his eyes and dived into Gavin's body, feeling the smell of his skin as his nose was close to it. The lights of the room were off and only the TV illuminated their faces. The Malone boy played with his hair while doing it, and Isaac had his fingers slowly caressing Gavin's ribs.

"I wish we could stay in this peace forever but it won't last more than tomorrow."

"One day, Gavin. Our lives were not made to be ordinary."

"I would like to be ordinary for a few days. All these things... facing monsters, soldiers, maleficent president, ugh, I'm sick of it."

"One step at a time." Isaac got his Lenses on and turned the television off, leaving them in the dark.