Piece By Piece

Confessions

“They said they were gonna ‘put them on ice,'" Chuck explained to the others as they searched the entire facility.

“So... they could be anywhere?" Garry asked rhetorically. The island was basically a giant frozen rock.

“Garry's right," said Leonard. “We're at a dead end."

“We can't give up!" Chuck argued.

“I didn't say we would."

“Yeah, we'll get them back," Courtney said optimistically.

“Boss is calling us in for a meeting," they heard Carl say.

“Hide!" Leonard ordered the rest of the group. They hid in another room where they found an eagle frozen between a giant pair of ice blocks. He wore a white coat with a name tag that read “Steve" sewn on it. He couldn't seem to move.

“What happened to him?" Bomb wondered.

“Pfft, probably never told his girlfriend he loves her," Courtney figured.

“Can we not talk about this?!" Leonard spat.

“Leonard, be real," she said. “Clearly, there's something you guys share. Why won't you admit it?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Even if there was, nothing will ever happen," Leonard tried to reason with them. He didn't want to hurt Red any more by telling them.

“Yeah, because she and my sister will probably be dead if we can't find them!" Chuck pointed out, keeping watch at the door. No one was listening to him, though.

“I'm sure you can do better," Garry shrugged.

“What is it, Leonard?" Courtney asked. “Why don't you want anything to happen? What did she do to make you afraid of falling-"

“I tried to assault her!" Leonard finally confessed. Everyone stared at him in surprise.

“Hey, Jerry, you hear something?" Carl asked curiously. They headed for the torture chamber to see if anyone was in there.

“It was probably Steve," Jerry figured. Everyone else was perfectly hidden.

“Let's just be glad it's him and not us."

Once the guards left, the group continued their conversation. Courtney looked at her boss nervously.

“When you say ‘assault,' do you mean..."

Leonard nodded. “It was back when Red fought against me to save the birds. I wanted her, she wouldn't let me have her, and I got desperate and selfish and ruthless. She defeated me, of course, before I could do anything. I don't know why, but even after all that, I want to be with her. I tried getting over her, but I couldn't. And now, I actually need her to help save our islands, but I'm afraid of what I could do to her. And I don't want to hurt her. Because if I do... I'll be hurting myself. But she's not gonna want me after what I did."

As Leonard turned his head away in shame, everyone looked at him with mixed feelings. Courtney decided to be the first to speak.