unStopabble | unOrdinary Fan-fic

Chapter 19

When the final tape ended, silence still blanketed the dimly lit office. Leilah was stiff, only able to release a shaky breath. The others were similarly frozen, their focus captivated by the now black screen.

The frames were engrained into William's memory. He would never be able to unsee them. Listening to stories was one thing but witnessing the horror of his own son being tortured for months was an indescribable experience. The worst part was that he knew there was nothing he could do to help. It was all in the past. John had already suffered through it.

William turned away from the group and stalked to the office door.

"Mr Doe?!" Vaughn called, but his query was deaf on the man's ears. He left.

Leilah watched the blank, dark screen, her reflection staring back. She did this. Her lip trembled. All of this was her fault. Shutting her eyes, she winced and hid behind her blur of her fingers. All she wanted was for her sister to be safe and happy, but this...

Everything went wrong.

The script was so twisted. She had lured John in by betting on his protective nature over Seraphina - his good soul - and traded him off to be transformed into a killer and end the one he so desperately fought to save.

It was tragic, really.

Everyone's efforts were futile.

It wasn't his fault.

"Excuse me." She said, stepping back toward the door.

"Leilah, wait-" Darren stood frozen, one with the gray room. Leilah only unpaused time once she was away on the roof, clinging to the fine, metal net.

Up till now, Leilah had managed to shift more blame onto John, telling herself that he was at fault for most of what happened after they abandoned him at the facility. Her conscience had always proded her, but she stubbornly pushed it down, blocking out its words.

Now, she couldn't avoid the truth. She saw the videos. She watched Keon and his people beat, gaslight and break John into submission. Asset 004 - the weapon to make EMBER unstoppable.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, pressing her forehead against the wire. Tremmors shook her until she was overwhelmed by her own tears. "Seraphina, I'm so sorry!" she called out to the sky.

"I'm sorry I failed you. I abandoned you, tricked you, used you as bait and got you killed." she was on her knees, letting her hair fall over her reddened face. "Not only that, look at what I did to your best friend. He's a shell of what he used to be, I can tell without even really knowing him! I'm sorry!!" she cried, "Please, I don't know what to do. I want to help... but I feel like an imposter. They should see me as an enemy, not a friend."

It's your fault my boy was dragged into this mess. At least have the decency to not fu*k up our plans to fix him!

"William is right. About everything." she chuckled, wiping her small nose, "I have to make sure I don't screw up anymore. I- I have to undo my mistakes. I'll try to fix John... for both of your sakes."

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The father ran to the dormitories, where his boy was. Gasping, he arrived at the top of the stairs and finally pushed down the cold, metal handle to let himself into the dorm.

There was a familiar grunt coming from the kitchen. William peeked over and between the cabinets crouched John, struggling to lift a frying pan. After giving in and letting his eyes burn like an orange flame, he could stand up, pan in hand, to greet his father.

The boy smiled, letting his eyes crinckle at the corners. "Hey, dad! How was your meeting?"

John looked happy; the only thing that showed how damaged he was were the physical effects of his treatment. But he was still himself, to William at least. The man's lip quivered.