Defying Equilibrium

Chapter 16: Jackson

Nico opened the letter with delight when it arrived. He looked forward to receiving letters from his oldest brother. He and Sol would often fight over who got to open it, not that Nico could read anyway. He just wanted to be the first to look at it. He got to open the letter this time, his little hands tearing open the envelope in excitement and unfolding the letter. The symbols on the page made no sense to him, but he loved breathing in the smell of the fresh ink.

He eagerly handed the letter to Sol, who then in turn handed it to Xander. Sol couldn't really read very well either.

Xander adjusted his glasses, and then read the letter out loud. By the time he'd finished reading, Nico's face was crestfallen. He didn't understand a lot of the big words, but he'd gotten the gist of what Jackson was saying. That he was hurting. That he was unhappy. And that he wasn't coming home.

Nico began to tear up. It wasn't right. Jackson's letters were supposed to make him happy. They were supposed to brighten their day. But now, Nico just felt more confused and sad. His little fists clenched. How dare those people make his brother sad!

"It doesn't make sense though," said Sol after a while, a perplexed look on his fence. "No sense at all."

Xander looked up at him in surprise. "What doesn't?"

Sol held up the letter. "It's addressed to Sidney as well, and in the letter he's telling Sid not to enlist. But Sid said that he'd left to join the Shielder's Militia when he ran away. So why would Jackson send a letter to Sid when he's there with him?"

Xander's eyes widened. Sol was right. He hadn't thought about that.

If their brother wasn't on the battlefields with Jackson, then where was he?

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"Where am I?" asked Sidney Dare drowsily as he woke up. Not knowing where you are is never a nice feeling to wake up to.

Oscar was sitting awake, a little distance away, leaning his back against a tree trunk. They had stopped for the night, and now, in the light of the morning, they were still getting used to being woken by the loud dawn bird calls.

Dare remembered where he was, and sat up, looking around. Sansu wasn't asleep, but she was just lying on her back staring at the sky. Dakora was still sleeping, snoring lightly curled on her side, with her knees tucked to her chest. Ahmed slept lightly, on his side next to his sword, ever the warrior even while sleeping.

Dare plaited his hair, something he did every morning. Grand rescue adventure or not, his morning ritual remained the same. Parts of his hair were slightly shorter after Dakora's fireball. He smirked, thinking of his older brother Jackson. Jackson always told him to get a haircut, even threatening that he would cut it off while he slept when Dare irritated him. Something about the length of Dare's hair just annoyed him.

Oscar had been practising with his sword, nearly all night. He didn't sleep much these days. He swung his sword at a dead tree, ducking and moving as if he was dodging counter-attacks.

He swung the sword to his right, and made a decent dent in the side of the tree.

His invisible opponent swiped at him, and he ducked.

His sword swung to the left, making another slice in the tree trunk.

His opponent swung again at him, and he jumped back.

It was weird. It almost felt as if there really was someone else there, fighting him. It felt as if the invisible attacks he was dodging were a little too real. But his own footsteps and the whistle of one sword were all he could hear.