A Hero in the Dark: 2nd Edition

Chapter 57: Conflict of the Challenge

It's been two whole days and I still haven't figured out how I'm going to do it or if I can. If I don't, he'll put me in that room again—and I really don't want that to happen. But if I do manage to kill Five, then what? Will Setrákus truly trust me? Will he refrain from punishing me again? Won't John be mad? What if he hates me? What if they all hate me? And mom and dad... I can't do that to them. I can't imagine the look of horror on their faces as they realize they raised a murderer. What if they never want to see me again—or worse, what if they throw me out?

I guess it has been driving me slightly mad. I shake my head. Maybe I should just go for it. Yep. Find Five, take the first shot, and hopefully, it'll be over before I can blink. I know it's a stretch; there's no way it'll be that simple, but I don't know what else to do. I'm running out of time. I only have a few hours left to figure out what to do, how to do it, and do it well. I've been avoiding using his help up until now, but now, I want this over with. Where is he? I ask.

I'm afraid I don't know. I have not seen him since he fled from the Infirmary.

What? What's that supposed to mean for me? What am I supposed to do? How can I possibly complete my task if I don't know where he is?

Use your Legacies. Search for his mind and he will appear to you.

I sigh and close our connection, then slouch down to the floor in front of a portrait of Beloved Leader. I shut my eyes and try to clear my head. Five, where are you?

Emily! Shit, you're ok! He sounds desperate, his thoughts coming fast and eager, and that alone sends guilt crawling up my spine; I rid it quickly. He healed you?

Yes. Where are you? We need to talk.

It's silent, at least outside my head, but inside, I know he's thinking, wondering what's so important. I know he heard my urgency, and I hope it doesn't push him away. Northwest side of the ship, he says, and as soon as I hear that, I draw into his occipital lobe to see what he's seeing, then cut off our link and return to Setrákus Ra.

I show him where he is, show him the hallway I'm in, and ask him how to get to him. Continue down the hall, then make a left," he says. "I trust you will be able to find your way from there. He'll be on your right.

Sure enough, he is, sitting on a tall box on the other side of the room—watching me. I let the door shut closed. There aren't any Mogs; we're alone, so I draw closer, though I be sure to keep my distance. I'll confess; now that I'm face-to-face with him, it brings back a weird feeling of sympathy mixed with resolve. I want to do what Beloved Leader said—I don't want to feel any more vulnerable—but Five... it's obvious how hard he's been hit; maybe not physically, but overtime. "What'd you want to talk about?" he asks, sounding more hopeful than he should.

"I wanted to talk," I admit. "But I don't really."

"You don't?" He looks like a little boy craving ice cream. "Then why'd you want to see me?"

"I had to find you," I say, gazing down to compose myself, to compose my ergokinesis, and without meeting his eye again, I mutter, "I'm sorry about this."

As easy as lighting a match, I ignite my ergokinesis and blast a beam at his chest. He shields his face but it's useless. He's slow, too slow to fly, and he falls. It's hardly a six-foot drop, but he doesn't hit the ground. He floats at the last second, rights himself, and sets his feet back down ahead of me. "What the hell?!" he shouts. I blast again, and he flies up instead of forward. "Emily, stop!" I can't. I know I can't. "This isn't you!"

But it is me, and I don't stop. I shoot another ray of cobalt. How dare he speak as if he knows who I am; he does not! I wish he would shut up and let me do it. I know he won't fight, not if he saved me. He cares, and it's always emotions that hold people back. It's the only thing I'm grateful for.