Akeldama | lrh

twenty five - stone

I got ice in my veins,
blood in my eyes.
Hate in my heart,
love in my mind.

•••

We find out pretty quickly that Luke's motor skills are not ideal.

He only takes a few steps out of the room before he stumbles and almost falls, and Michael has to catch him before he can hit the ground. He's wincing, a look of discomfit and pain on his face.

"Your bones are still weak." Michael sighs, and Luke brushes him off. He runs a hand through his ratty hair, twirling the knife he got off Ares in his other.

"I'm fine." Luke says, setting his jaw. "But I still think this is a bad idea."

"You think anything that isn't suicidal is a bad idea." Ivy retorts, standing in front of us all with a hand on her hip. The gun is still in her belt, along with more bullets thanks to Ares's dead body. There was also another pistol, which Michael picked up immediately. It rests in his free hand. Luke got all of the daggers and blades off of the dead guards belt and made a makeshift sheath, but it's still half the size of his original one.

"Well, technically this is suicidal." Luke says, as we continue to move forward. "We are literally walking into a giant death trap. Every guard in this place is expecting us now."

"I'm not worried." Ivy responds. She's gone full machine mode, her stance rigid and strong, gripping the sword Michael gave her with white knuckles. Her face is expressionless. Luke stops walking again, swaying a little.

"Ivy, if you're just doing this to get back at me, it's not worth it." He says, pain laced in his tone. He sounds so, so tired. "I can handle this myself. I want you guys to get out of here alive."

Ivy stops, before turning around slowly to face him. She's scarlet. Here we go.

"Look, Luke, I don't know if you realize this, but this massive fucking mess you've gotten yourself into has collateral damage, and you're out of your damn mind if you think you can clean it all up alone." She steps closer to him with every word, until she's literally inches from his face, boring her eyes into his. "You're a good fighter, but you can't slash your way through this one. It's too big. So shut the hell up and let's just get this done."

Ivy steps away from him, fuming. If it were possible there would be smoke coming out of her ears. I did expect this eventually, but not so soon.

"Ivy..." Luke whispers, reaching out to her. She turns away. "I'm so sorry."

"Sorry doesn't bring Xavier back." She replies  quietly.

She might as well have shot him. His expression falls into something I don't think any of us can retrieve him from, and his eyes redden around the edges, but he doesn't cry.

The mention of my late best friend has a lump forming in my throat, but I swallow it down. Luke has served his punishment. There is nothing I can do about it. Zay was never one to hold grudges and I know he wouldn't want me to now.

"Guys, we need to keep moving." Michael mutters, pushing past us to keep walking. After a few moments of silence, the rest of us follow.

The cool air of the hall sends goosebumps up my arms and back, ghosting over my bare stomach and shoulders. The axe is a heavy weight on my belt, but I clutch Luke's knife instead of it. For some weird reason, it feels more secure.

The hall seems endless, and we walk for a solid five minutes before finally coming to its end. It's end being two small but heavy looking wooden doors, glazed in red with large bronze handles.