His Hunter

XVI | Connection In Isolation

At first, all Lionel could think about was Cole. He lived and breathed Cole. He distantly felt his legs collapse beneath him and felt Cole's arms catch his body. But the world left him. It got dark. 

Lionel felt regret. He hadn't done enough. He'd gotten comfortable. Cole had said he would stay, and so he'd gotten comfortable. He'd seen the glimpses of worry from Cole. Lionel knew something was wrong. He'd been a little bit distant. But Lionel hadn't said anything. He'd been so worried about everything that was happening with Kaleb and the Pack. 

It was hard to breathe. Lionel felt his regret like an anvil on his chest, pinning him to rock bottom. He'd had a plan, but it was impossible now. Lionel wouldn't be able to make amends. 

Because the harder he tried to remember, the worse it got. It was like someone had forced him into a car and he was watching himself out of the rear window. The car drove away, and he felt himself get farther and farther away. Finally, the car rounded a bend and Lionel was just gone...

The forest was dark. It was always dark and rainy. Cold, biting drops of rain pelleted his body until his skin felt raw. He still saw his mother's blood everywhere he looked. It was oozing down the tree trunks and between the roots like little gruesome rivers. 

His body burned with the exertion of running. He was too terrified to stop. He had to protect his brother. It was what his mom wanted.

Lionel stumbled on a root. His brother heavy in his arms, he couldn't catch himself. He managed to twist his body so that his shoulder took the brunt of the force from his fall. Horror seized him as his mother's blood seeped closer and closer to him. He clung to his brother for dear life but suddenly realized that he was alone. Albert had vanished. 

Lionel couldn't move. He couldn't get up. He lay there in his mother's blood. It was his fault. It was his fault, and he deserved to lie here. His brother was gone. Albert was safe. So...Lionel could stop. He could let himself go. He could die.

The blood rose. It dyed Lionel's ratty clothes and slid over his grimy skin. But right as it was about to cover Lionel's face, he sat up. He...didn't want to die. 

But why? His parents were dead. He had no Pack. His brother was lost. The guilt he felt for surviving and for being the cause of his mother's death was unbearable. He wouldn't survive on his own very long anyway. So why did he want to live? Why didn't he just let himself drown in his mother's blood? 

"What does that mean?" The question Lionel himself wanted to ask came from nowhere and everywhere. When Lionel looked down again, the blood was gone. He felt calmer. 

That voice was...he recognized it. But how? Was it someone who he'd met before? He didn't think it was another Rogue, so who was it? 

Lionel forced himself to his feet, feeling Bram's blows all over his body as he moved. "Where are you?" 

He was quiet, whoever he was. "Who are you? I...think I know you," Lionel said, spinning around. He scanned the trees, but it was hard to see through the rain. He felt like he needed to move. The Rogues would probably catch up to him if he stayed in one place for too long. But...he didn't want to leave this person. 

Here, he didn't feel so alone. 

"Albert doesn't know." Lionel blinked. The voice had come again, but it didn't make any more sense than last time. 

"Al?" Lionel asked. "You know about Al? Where is he? Is he ok?" Lionel was worried. He wanted to die a second ago, but now he was worried. He was scared. 

"I have to go see Albert," the voice said. Lionel started to panic. He was going to be alone again. 

"Don't leave!" Lionel shouted. His voice broke, and he realized that he was crying. "Stop! Who are you? Where's my brother?"