NOVEL NEXT Book 2. Chapter 68. Actions and Consequences.
The Seed was absolutely exploding with power, yet somehow I was unharmed. Karis was nowhere to be seen, and Jax was clawing at the ground, trying to keep himself from being pushed further away. Bright lights flashed in the sky and emergency alarms rang out all throughout Lucida as they seemingly prepared for an unknown threat pushing in from the tear in space near the planet.
I tried to pull my hand away from the Seed, but looked down to notice it had melded into the thing. I summoned the strength I had remaining and pulled with everything I had, but I couldn't break free.
"Ses, if you're there, I could use a little help here."
Ses replied, and to my surprise, there was no pain this time. "You have betrayed my trust. I warned you against activating the seed. The damage is done."
"Ses, we don't have time for this. I need to shut this thing down. Can you help me or not?"
"You don't understand the repercussions of what you have done, Andrew. You have started a chain of events that will lead to the annihilation of every soul in this galaxy, for what? The selfish desire to save those closest to you?"
"You're damn right, Ses. I had a choice to make and I made it. I would do it again, too. Those people, my friends, my crew, all put their trust in me. Now I can't make sense of exactly why they did it, but it doesn't change the fact that I have a responsibility to save those I care about." I tugged again, trying to free my arm. "Now, I get that you didn't ask to be a part of all this. Hell, we have that in common. I understand that the threat just grew exponentially, but we survived Alcara, we established that humanity can overcome the Lacertine occupation, and we took down the Council. We can deal with whatever is coming through that rip in space up there, but I can't do it without your help." "You ask for my aid after betraying my trust?" Ses responded.
"I made a choice, Ses. You are bound to me, and that sucks for you because I am going to do things that you don't agree with from time to time. We have a chance here, though. I need you, my friends need you. I am not like the people who tortured you. I know you will need me to prove that, and I am willing to try, but that will take time."
A couple of seconds that felt like an eternity passed before Ses responded. "I will give you time, Andrew."
My arm pulsed, and the Seed released its grip on me before falling to the ground as the waves of energy ceased.
I shook my hand, quickly clenching and unclenching my fist, trying to rid it of the numbness caused by the Seed, when out of the corner of my eye I saw a blur of movement. Jax had wasted no time, quickly closing the distance between us and launching toward me with a powerful right hook.
I spun on him and raised my left arm to block while at the same time activating my armor for the first time in what seemed like months. Jax recoiled at the realization that I had regained access to my full capabilities, trepidation and doubt slipping onto his face.
I recalled my visor; I wanted to look into his eyes, to see the fear. "Should've finished me when you had the chance, Jax. This next part is gonna hurt." I shot forward with a right elbow that hit him directly in the sternum. Jax groaned in pain and tried to retreat, tried to regain his footing, but I didn't give him time. I swung out with a devastating low kick to his right leg. I heard the crack as his leg buckled, and the propulsion vent on the back of his calf was crumpled in. He stumbled to one knee and held up a pathetic hand, trying to fend me off, but I slipped behind him, grabbed his outstretched left arm by the wrist, and in one fluid motion, I transformed my lower right arm into a spike and drove it into his shoulder joint from behind. Jax bellowed in pain, as orange blood shot from the front of his chest.
I summoned my daggers and felt their familiar hilts in my hands; the jagged black blades were longing to be fed, longing to take life. "It didn't have to be this way, Jax! We are better than them!" I shouted the words, the emotion of Jax's betrayal finally outweighing the adrenaline of the fight. "Elvis didn't fucking deserve this, I didn't deserve this," I walked around and squatted down in front of him. I took the point of one of my daggers and ran it along his neck, up to his chin. "Look at me, you piece of shit! You look at me!"
Jax looked up at me. There were so many emotions on his face: anger, fear, sadness, regret, but it was too late for those things now. He had betrayed everyone, he had taken the easy way out, and now he would pay for it.
"There was never an easy way out, Jax. There was never gonna be a place you could hide from the monsters that ruled this galaxy. You spit on the only people who could have given you a home, a place where you belonged. "
"I, I didn't want this. I wanted the power to keep Matty and me safe. I wanted the power to make sure people like Claire never had to die again." Jax struggled up to his knees with some effort, his left arm hanging limply as the wound continued to pour blood.
"I didn't hate you at first, you know that, right?"
I didn't answer, just looking on as he spoke.
"After Claire, after Alcara, he came to me. He promised me power, he promised me sanctuary," Jax coughed up blood and winced at the pain. "It all went too far. With every upgrade, every Chaff he drained to make me stronger, the hatred grew. I needed justification for what I was doing, and I made you the target of my hatred."
Jax looked up as dust and dirt billowed in the arena around us. The fires in the second level were still blazing, there were flashes in the night sky all around the planet, and the emergency alarms continued to sound throughout the city. "They are safe, at least I don't have to die with their lives on my conscience."
Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!
I looked up to see a Council ship hovering in the air near us. The cargo bay doors were open, and I could see Matty and Tiff holding onto the safety railing, waving us toward them.
"Captain," Sherlock spoke up. "I have restored the comms and am patching them through now."
"Cap, you don't have to do this," Matty said. "I know he fucked up, I know he did a lot of bad shit, but you won, you don't have to kill him."
"You weren't here, Matty. You don't know everything!"
"I know he is my brother, and even if he can't be trusted anymore, I can't stand by and watch you kill him. You always say you don't want to be a weapon, you want to be more than a killer. Well, here is your chance, Cap."
"He is right, Matty. I don't deserve forgiveness. I gave up, I lost the will to fight them, so I took a deal." He looked toward the hovering ship. "Look at me, brother, look what I let them do to me. It's better this way."
"No! Jax, I'll be damned if I'm gonna watch my brother die. You fucked up, and there will be consequences, but you are my brother, damn it! Cap, if you kill him, if you kill my baby brother, I swear I will walk away from all this shit and you will never see me again."
I looked at Jax, broken, defeated, bleeding out in front of me. "I can never trust you again, Jax. I will never forgive what you did to Elvis."
Jax looked up, shame in his eyes. "I don't expect you can, but I am done fighting. I just want to go home. I want to be done with all this."
I bent down and picked up the Seed before I turned and walked toward the ship as it landed about 80 yards away. "Matty, go get your brother. I want him confined to quarters when we get back to the Bloodhound. We will drop him off near your home when we return to Earth. I don't wanna see his face between now and then."
"Understood, Cap," Matty replied before jumping off the loading ramp and trotting toward me. We met halfway between the ship and Jax. Matty reached out and grasped my arm. "I don't know what to say, Cap." He looked over my shoulder at his little brother, broken and bleeding. "He is my baby brother. I know what he did, I know he can't be trusted," Matty looked at me with tear-filled eyes, "but all I see is the little shit that chased me around growing up, trying to be just like me. I gotta believe that little boy is still in there somewhere and someday, a long time from now, when all this shit is over, he can just be that again."
I nodded and slapped him on the shoulder. "Go get him, we need to get out of here asap." I took a deep breath as the tension of the last few days suddenly melted away. Our fight wasn't over, not by a long shot, but I had my friends back. I smiled as I looked at the ship. C.J. was wearing a goofy grin, flipping me the bird. Michael was standing stoically beside him, flanked by who I assumed was Kinthragor, and damn, he looked almost as scary as his dead brother.
I was relieved to see Tiff, which confirmed that it was her duplicate TT that had come to me when I activated the Seed. She was standing there, hands clasped in front of her, and surprisingly, a look of worry and relief on her face. I paused on her, taking her in. In that moment, I made a decision: I would no longer hide from the feelings that had been growing inside me.
I could see that she had feelings for me, and the excuse that we worked together, or whatever you want to call it, didn't matter anymore. She smiled as she realized I was looking at her. I felt a warmth inside at her smile, but it suddenly melted away and was replaced by a look of absolute horror.
Tiff pointed toward Jax and screamed. "Andrew!"
I spun around to see Karis standing behind Jax. He had pulled him to his feet by his hair and was looking directly at me.
"I'm afraid I can't let you have him back, Dawes. He has served his purpose, even if he revealed his pathetic nature in the end." Karis smiled, and an ivory dagger appeared in his right hand.
I looked at Matty, who was screaming defiantly in Karis's direction. Without a thought, I closed my visor and rushed toward Matty. I closed the distance in seconds and grabbed him from behind, holding him in a bear hug, dragging him toward the ship. Jax fought with every fiber of his being, but I was just too strong.
"LET ME GO, CAP. I GOTTA HELP HIM!" Matty screamed, tears streaming down his face, fighting to get to his brother.
Jax looked on, the shame on his face replaced with peace. "Make the fuckers pay, brother. You hear me! You make the fuckers pay! You find Mom and you tell her I lov…" Orange blood sprayed from his throat as Karis took the white dagger and began sawing slowly. Jax gurgled and thrashed, grabbing at Karis's arm with his one good arm. Karis never stopped smiling, never stopped looking at me. It struck me that he was enjoying this. He was savoring the kill, taking his time. He continued sawing in slow, intentional motions before finally cutting completely through.
Jax's body fell limply to the ground as Karis stood holding his lifeless head. Then, dropping the dagger, he placed a hand on both sides of the head and squeezed until it popped like some sort of gore-filled melon.
Matty went limp, a sobbing moan escaping as he reached for his little brother. C.J. rushed out and picked up the Seed before grabbing Matty under one shoulder, helping me get him to the ship.
"We gotta go, NOW!" C.J. shouted as I entered the ship and looked back toward Karis one last time. He didn't make a move, simply standing there, covered in gore and orange blood, smiling. A cold shiver ran down my spine as the cargo bay door closed and the ship shot toward orbit. If Karis was a monster, what had I just unleashed on the galaxy by allowing the true Havokium people to return? What had I done?