Alex in Wunderstrande: The Clairvoyance Clock [BOOK ONE]

Chapter XXXIV: A Failed Savior

Time stood still as Brody's lifeless body fell forward onto the platform with a sickening thud.

Almost instantly, my lungs forgot how to function. The aftershock of the gun's discharge paralyzed me as Lancaster's citizens met the sight with renewed zeal. Their rambunctious cheers of praise shattered my heart to millions of irreparable pieces.

Somehow, I found the will to breathe again and with it, let out a grief-stricken yell, which quickly degenerated into choked sobs. My knees gave out. I collapsed in front of the platform, consumed by the deepest, most painful despair as it slashed through my being.

"Bring him up here," Lucian commanded Mechanical Man and Marcus.

The townsfolk carried on their sadistic celebration as the men leapt down and yanked me to my feet. While my brain ordered me to escape their resilient grasp, my body refused to operate. Every part of me had simply given up, succumbing to sorrow.

Once on stage, I tried not to look at my fallen guardian. Even through my blurred vision, I could see a pool of dark blood expanding like a supernova across the stage from where Brody's body had come to rest. My stomach lurched; I wrestled with the urge to vomit.

"Alex, Alex, Alex," Lucian sighed as he grabbed my jaw and forced me to look at him. "I remember a time when a curious teenager told me he needed separation from his guardian. You should be grateful; I just released you from having to worry about him ever again."

I glared daggers at Lucian, quivering in simultaneous rage and hopelessness.

"After all, why be upset over losing someone who wasn't even family to begin with?"

A collective gasp rose from the crowd. Murmured questions circulated quickly, hushing to a mild whisper as they waited for Lucian to explain himself. I could feel the intense heat of their stares, flicking between Lucian and me.

"H-how do you know?" I faltered.

"Oh, Alex, are you really that naïve? I've known this whole time," he said, voice dripping with poison. "Your violet eyes, your intolerance to Industrian air: all of it was a dead giveaway that you're actually from Wunderstrande."

"Morris was Wunderstrandian, too, and you never said anything!" I spat.

"Priorities, kid. He had an airship, and I did not."

I clenched my teeth together.

"You know, I'm surprised no one else had you figured out before now," Lucian remarked. "Imagine what the entire country of Crommelin will say once they discover Lancaster's former war-hero secretly raised a Wunderstrandian as his own."

"Alexander is the enemy!" I heard an unfamiliar voice exclaim amongst the assembly of shocked residents. "He's one of them!"

"Kill him before Wunderstrande finds out!" another voice declared.