The Silver Tree (Spirit Animals Fanfiction)

Chapter 7

Conor was furious.

He half walked, half ran through the busy streets of Trunswick leading up to the castle in the centre of town. The townsfolk were still there and smiling, if not even more broadly than before. Or perhaps it was just his imagination now that he knew they were hiding something big. He wasn't entirely sure of the whole story, but that's why he was going to get some answers. Dawson was going to tell him exactly what was going on in this town. And then, hopefully with some answers he could start searching for his brothers.

"Excuse me, sir," said a voice from behind him. "Is something wrong?"

Conor turned around to find a young man dressed for work, and even though he looked much too wealthy to be his brother, Travis, Conor couldn't help but see the similarities. The eyes were the same soft brown and he had the same rounded face. Even his eyebrows curved the same way when he was worried.

"You seem upset by something," he continued, and Conor realized even the voice sounded the same.

Unwilling to notice any more similarities, Conor turned away and kept walking. Obviously this action had disturbed the friendly people, because they all started getting really nervous, laughing even louder, waving at him more often, smiling nonstop. But the more Conor thought about his brother, the more those noises slipped away, until the only sound to reach his ears was his slowed footsteps echoing off the pavement. And then the horrible memories from the night before came rushing back.

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Everything always came back to that moment. No matter what his dad had said, no matter what the explanation was, it was those four words that stuck with Conor, echoing over and over in his head.

Your brothers... they're gone... they're gone... gone.

He was aware of Abeke saying something to him, but he couldn't quite make out the words, and furthermore he didn't care. He just sat and half listened to his mother's sobs, the cries of the birds, and the breeze rattling the old windows. Nothing really mattered in that moment except those four words.

Conor didn't know how long he sat there just hearing them in his head. It felt like hours, days even, but in reality it must have only been a minute or so because he snapped right out of it as soon as his father stood up and slapped his mother right across the face. The echoing sound of it covered everything else Conor had been hearing, and before he knew it he was on his feet too, running at his father.

He wanted to hurt him. He wanted to make him feel the pain he'd inflicted on his mother and brothers. He tried to punch him, but his father grabbed his fist and threw him to the ground. Conor jumped back up and began punching his father's chest. It didn't seem to hurt him in the slightest, but he continued anyway. He only stopped when his father reached out and snatched the collar of his shirt, lifting him up until they were face to face.

"You stay out of this, you hear me?" his father spat. "You stay out of this, and you stay away from my family."

He dropped Conor and started walking away. Conor tried one last time to get at his father, but as soon as he got up he felt someone restraining him from behind. He struggled against his captor, watching his father getting further and further away.

"Conor," Abeke said, still holding him tight. "It's not worth it. Please."

He stopped struggling. There was no point, Abeke wasn't going to let him go.

"You're a coward!" he yelled at his father who was now climbing the stairs. "You could have searched for them!" His father just kept climbing. "If you'd done something they might be here right now! But you're too scared to do the right thing!" His father disappeared behind a wall. "You hear me?!"