Call of the Hero: One Day

Chapter 20: The Wounds That Do Not Heal

Chapter 20: The Wounds That Do Not Heal

It wasn’t long before life seemed to return to normal. But for some, life never could return to normal. Alex lost a brother, one that he was reminded of every time he went to his bedroom and saw the second bed, one that he thought of every time he played music at his church, one that he couldn’t help but forget when the family gathered for Christmas. More than one night, when some discussions between the brothers would last well past midnight would have otherwise filled the room, only Alex’s sobs could be heard.

The questions from the police didn’t help any either. The investigators seemed to from a special part of the military, the ones who knew Azaiah’s secrets and seemed to want to know every piece of information from the kidnapping to the final battle. It made him wonder what else Azaiah was hiding from him, made him think about what secrets the world held that he’d never know.

Some would say that he should have blamed Azaiah, that if it weren’t for him, none of this would have happened. And while that was true, he knew it wasn’t that simple. Azaiah’s secrets were what brought all this pain to him, but Azaiah also did everything he could to protect everyone. From getting him out of that prison they were held captive in, to figuring out how to reverse Zack’s desire to fly out the window. Azaiah was his friend, he was Zack’s friend, and he did everything a friend should.

He couldn’t lie and say there weren’t a number of tears shed around the Christmas tree that year. Opening presents didn’t seem the same when there wasn’t his older brother sitting next to him, teasing him about the dorky sweaters Grandma always seemed to get him. After all the wrapping paper was put away (much to the their Terrier’s disappointment) he went up to his room and let himself just cry. He heard the music playing, heard Uncle Joe laugh way too hard at a joke that probably wasn’t funny in the first place. However, before he let too many tears go, he felt his phone vibrate, and saw the text message, from none other than Azaiah.

“Merry Christmas. Remember on this holy day the reason we celebrate. Though bound by sin, God Himself stepped down to save us. He has come to give us life, the life that has and will overcome all death.”

Out the window Alex stared, to heaven above, where his brother had to be having an even great Christmas. On earth Alex could only celebrate the one who came to set mankind free from sin, but Zack was able to celebrate with the one who set mankind free. At that made him cry even more. For as long as he lived on this earth, Alex would miss his brother. But he’d also know his brother was still alive, and that for a little while they’d be apart. While not ideal, he knew it was only temporary. And as he lived his life, he’d do so in a way that would make his brother proud, and keep those dreams and plans alive in his heart.

Because for now, all he could do, was live.

Ending Author Note:

Holy crap…I just wrote a story in a day. 20 chapters at that! That’s 30k words…true not the 50k I was originally aiming for, but still, I’m impressed with this It might not be exactly 20 chapters, because my ability to count them wasn’t exactly the best, but that’s what makes things more fun. I actually like how this turned out. True, there are tons of spelling mistakes, but I’ll fix those later. I had fun with Azaiah here, and the new characters I introduced along with him.