Breaking Free (BXB)

Chapter 19-Farouk

I stared at the red curtain in front of me, swaying in the wind. It gave little glimpses to the room inside and my heart pounded relentlessly in my chest. I felt my hand begin to shake in Owen's grasp. My hands were so much smaller than his, and for once I wasn't bothered by it. I could feel his pulse racing beneath my fingers and I knew he was as scared as I was.

"Are you ready?" He asked, and I could see the struggle in his eyes. Clenching my hand tightly, he looked back at the curtain. I gulped and prepared myself for the worst.

"No. But I have to be." Suddenly, Owen was pulling me around the corner, his eyes wide and frenzied, his resolve long gone. He cupped my face gently, staring at me as if I was his whole world and I would break if the wind was too strong. His shoulders were tense and his eyes were dark, and I knew. I knew exactly how he was feeling.

"Milo." His voice shook. His eyes took in my face frantically and I felt tears burning the edge of my eyes. " Milo, you don't have to do this. We can run away. We can go and never look back." His eyes were frenzied and sad and I frowned. I held his hand on my cheek and leaned into his touch, my eyes closing for a half-second. I imagined life on the run with him, I pictured it and reveled in it for half a second before opening my eyes.

"No." Owen choked and I stared at him sadly, my hand falling from his. "Owen, this is your home. I can't take you away from it. I would never forgive myself, and neither would you." I watched as Owen's legs gave out and he slid to the floor, his face distraught. I turned away from him, unable to look at his broken face any longer. "I'll find you again when this is all over, ok?" I murmured, my voice cracking. God, I wished we could run away together. I wanted it so bad. But I couldn't.

Then, witch a hardening resolve, I pushed back the curtains, facing a man with dark, wrinkly skin and milky eyes that I couldn't read. My heart cracked at the sound Owen was making outside the room. A small sob escaped my mouth, and I brushed away a tear, a choked laugh ringing around the room.

"I'm sorry." I apologized to the man that must be Farouk, taking a seat at the metal table across from him. My hands were cold, laying on my lap like dead weights. Farouk's face was devoid of any emotion, and his hands were clasped neatly in front of him. He took in a rattled breath that made me worry if he was having an asthma attack before his cracked lips formed a smile.

"It's alright my boy." His voice whistled when he spoke, and I shivered. He looked through me, instead of at me, and it was unsettling. "You don't have to tell me your story. I know it already. I see all. All that was. All that is. All that could be." His voice shook with a dark knowledge of the world. Creepy. His entire aura reminded me of crumbling paper scrolls from ancient times.

"So...If you've seen everything, what next?" I asked, my voice hesitant. I knew that Owen said he would have a task for me, but this man was creepy, and I certainly didn't want to mess with him, so I would leave the ball in his court. He cracked out a boisterous laugh, and I shivered.

"Well you're certainly something, aren't you?" He rasped out, and I snorted, some of my nerves sleeping away.

"That's one way to describe me." I felt somewhere in me that I really shouldn't be sassing this man, but I couldn't help it. Sass was in my bones. It was my knee-jerk reaction to stress. Or literally anything else.

"So how would you describe yourself?" He inquired, his face scrunching in curiosity, as he leaned forward. Distrust settled in my gut. This felt like a trick question, and I wasn't sure how to answer. I coughed awkwardly.

"Uh, I guess I'm kind of sassy and a bit of a goody-two-shoes. I don't know, how does anyone know who they are?" Farouk leaned back in his seat, his eyes rolling around the room lazily.

"I wouldn't say stealing a key to break out prisoners is something a goody-two-shoes would do, would you?" He asked, his voice light. I gulped. The air was tense, and I felt like I was walking on a land mine. One wrong step and I would be blown to pieces.

"But that's different. That was my Dad, anyone in my position would do the same," I explained, my muscles tense. An uncanny smirk crawled onto his face, and I stared at the floor. I couldn't look at those unseeing eyes.

"Would they?" He asked, his voice edgy as if he had just realized he was going to win a game of chess. My eyes narrowed and I crossed my arms, anger flaring in my chest.

"Yes. They would," I snapped.

"Milo, you know your father is a hunter. He kills people like us." I froze, the world around me coming to a halt. That wasn't true. It couldn't be. My Dad was a good man, a kind man. He cared for me, and he cared for my mother. He loved us, he would never do anything to hurt us. I hadn't listened to what everyone had been saying before, but this man was different. He was the truth, and here he was telling me that my dad was a murderer.

"You're lying," I whispered, my voice lacking any real conviction. It made sense, even if I didn't want it to.

"You know what I'm saying is true. Why else would he be here? Face reason, Milo." He hissed, his hands digging into the table. It felt like I was underwater, everything felt slow and his words were muffled. "Do you want to free him?" He asked, and I jerked up, my eyes wide.

"Of course!" I cried. I would do anything to save my dad from that hell.

"Then kill him." My head snapped towards the old man.

"What?" I asked, wondering if I had heard right.

"Kill him. Free him from his mistakes." It sounded as if there was cotton in my ears. His words were muffled and my heart pounded in my chest. I remembered Owen's words, pleading with me to do whatever Farouk asked. I felt like I was being tugged in a million different directions.  I was completely still for a couple of minutes, frozen in shock. I apologized to Owen in my head, squeezing my eyes shut, before snapping into action. I threw myself out of my chair.

"No." My voice was strong and resolute. I felt powerful at my full height, even if I was short. Then Farouk turned to look at me. For a split second everything was still, the birds stopped chirping, the wind paused in its place and all of the air was sucked from the room. Farouk jumped to his feet, his milky white eyes growing dark and the shadows in the room seeming to grow around him.

"Do as I ask or face the consequences!" He cried, his skin flaps shaking.

"No," I retorted. "Give me something else, I will do anything else." The room grew darker and thunder rumbled nearby. Then in a split second, it was all sucked back inside him and he lowered himself into his seat.

"Anything?" Oh shit. I knew that I would regret saying that.  A lump formed in my throat, and I swallowed thickly.

"Anything," I confirmed, and Farouk smirked.

"There is a sword being kept at the Hunter headquarters. It is ancient and valued greatly by our people. Find it, and bring it back." I stared at him warily.

"What's the catch?" I asked, my voice low and cautious. Farouk snickered and I shuddered. He was creepy and unsettling in every single way imaginable.

"It wouldn't be near as fun if I told you, now would it?" He teased, his voice slightly off-kilter. This man may be coveted as someone important in this society, but I could tell by that one noise that he was insane. Shaking my head, I moved to leave the room, every nerve in my being on fire with rage. I was surprised that I hadn't punched him throughout this entire thing, with how livid I was. "Oh and Milo," he called, and I paused, not bothering to look at him. "go alone." Then with a single crack, a large black lizard appeared and scuttled away.

I stared after him, wondering how I was going to face Owen and tell him I was leaving for who knows how long on a suicide mission. My heart squeezed, and I sighed, tugging at my hair. This journey was going to be hard, and it was going to be dangerous. I didn't know how I was going to survive it, but I had to if I wanted to save my dad and see Owen again. And when I did, I would kiss him like no tomorrow and I would ask him out on a date, just like normal people do.

But until then, I had work to do.