Ancient Forces (2018 Reboot)

Chapter 28 - Fading Warmth

The family was in a bad position after Zayne's disappearance. Keith and Ver were both on edge and skittish the next morning. Damien was informed on what happened, and to put it simply he was not happy. In fact, that was the first time Ver had seen Damien that pissed over anything. Ver came to an unsettling conclusion that Damien was getting angrier with each moment that Zayne was denied his dream. Ver could understand it. Damien had already gotten his life ruined, so seeing someone else close to him have it ruined would only fuel that flame. At this point, Ver wished she could take it all back. She wished so much that she could reverse time and undo what she'd destroyed. After all, it was her fault that Damien was mad, and it was her fault that Zayne was missing now. It was a mess.

Keith took the day off of work, as did Ver. They both needed time to wind down from last night and collect their bearings. They were under command from the government to find Zayne currently, but they decided to hold off on that action. They had more important things to attend to, such as Eli and Damien. Keith volunteered to go take care of Eli, adding that he needed to apologize and make it up to him for his actions last night. This left Ver with the painful requirement of dealing with Damien. Ver was on thin ice with him already, so trying to poke the ice and tread across it was a dangerous game. They went their separate ways to cover their bases. Keith left and took off for the base, already mumbling apologizes to practice and use. Ver cautiously moved down the hall towards Damien's room, which was emitting massive waves of cold air.

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Keith took a deep breath as he stepped through the barrier, entering the base within. His eyes immediately locked with Eli's, the piercing glare of judgemental attitude burning a hole right into Keith's soul. Keith gulped loudly as he slowly approached the teen who had returned his gaze to the TV in front of him, watching the news. The lights were out, so the only source of illumination was from the sun outside and the TV inside.

"What are you doing?" Keith asked carefully, sitting on the other end of the couch from Eli.

"Waiting for Zayne to make his move, but you wouldn't be watching for the same reasons as me," Eli growled in reply.

Eli reached over and switched the channel to something else before Keith could look at the news. Keith did, however, see that Eli's hands were still shaking and unstable. They looked pale and jittery like the nerves had been fried in them and they couldn't sit still. It made Keith wince at himself.

"So what does the mighty man wish from a monster and a miscreant like me?" Eli looked out of the barrier, avoiding eye contact with Keith.

"I want to say I'm sorry for last night. I'm sorry for everything I did and said, and I want to make it up to you somehow. I want to make sure that there isn't any friction between us," Keith replied humbly.

"You know what my life was like before Zayne beat the snot out of me and dragged me here?" Eli asked from out of the blue.

Keith didn't know how to answer, so he just remained quiet.

"I didn't have a life. I was searching the streets for food, shelter, for some way of living other than the one I'd known. Then I squeezed my way into the school. I didn't care about the grades, I just went there for the food. For the option to learn to control the beast within me. I didn't care about other people, I didn't care about the teachers. I stole phones and earphones, took food and materials that I needed to get the bare minimum every day. I was a miscreant. And every night would be the same. Transform into that monster, go hunt, come back to wherever it was I was staying, wake up, go on with my miserable life. It was a constant cycle that wouldn't stop. There was nothing I could do, even when I practiced at school to control it. It just wouldn't go away. Until..." Eli turned and faced Keith, who had been quietly listening the whole time.