10 KiB
Chapter 47
“So just how DO you do it?” Abraham asked to the empty air as he walked between the walls of the tire warehouse. “Solomon…Asher…Michelle…you stay strong no matter what. You lead without any problem. But me? What on earth can I do? I don’t know how to lead or what the right decision is…” He sat down on a stack of tires and looked around him. There, laying behind one of the tire piles, was a large stain…red and sticky. Abraham knew what it was without inspecting, but curiosity and intuitive longing pushed him to go and inspect it. As he walked closer he drew back, seeing the pool of blood on the ground. He shook his head and started to walk away, when a small glint caught his eyes. He glanced back and saw a very familiar object in the blood. “…Why is this here?” He asked darkly. Abraham reached down and, careful to keep his fingers out of the blood, used the very tips of his index finger and thumb to extract the heavy pistol from the blood. It wasn’t just any pistol though…it was one of the two that Asher always carried around with him. Had he dropped it in the struggle? No…he wouldn’t just randomly drop one of his guns. Had he…wanted it to be found? Abraham set it down on a tire and grabbed a cloth to clean it off, all the while wondering what it meant to find Asher’s gun hidden in the tire warehouse. There was simply no way it was coincidence. “Everything okay, Abraham?” Abraham turned to see Katie slithering towards him, Annie walking next to her sleepily. “Found Asher’s gun.” Abraham answered honestly, holding out the weapon. Katie blinked and sighed. “He must’ve dropped it in the struggle.” “Asher doesn’t just ‘drop’ things.” Abraham whispered. “He’s always been really careful…and he takes pretty good care of his gun.” “Well yeah, but fights are chaotic.” Katie argued. “He might’ve gotten overwhelmed….what are you saying he MEANT to drop it?” “….I dunno. Maybe I’m crazy.” Abraham grumbled. “You’re tired…go sleep some. We can handle things for a while.” Katie instructed. Abraham didn’t answer her but simply stared at the blood and then the gun. He finally felt a hand touch his shoulder and looked to see Katie’s eyes staring into his with a look of genuine concern and fear. “Please, go rest. Don’t stress so much.” “Alright, Katie…I will. Just…wait here for Sarah and let me know if Tori comes back with Tamil.” “SLEEP!” Katie snapped, shoving Abraham towards the mats in the back of the warehouse. Abraham walked to them and sat down, his head in his hand and his other hand clutching the pistol. He glanced around it and he shook his head. He didn’t even know how to use this thing…yet Asher knew. Another prime example of how unfit he was to lead or protect this club. How can Abraham protect them…if he can’t do even the simplest of things, like use a gun? He lay back, at last and closed his eyes, allowing his body to rest…before he knew it, he was drifting into deep sleep.
“Abraham! Wake up, Abraham!” Abraham sat up sleepily, rubbing his eyes. Tori stood in front of hm, her body jumping up and down in concern. “What’s wrong? Did you find Tamil?” “I did…he…he’s not wanting to come back.” “BRING him back.” Abraham instructed. “This is no time moping and feeling sorry for ourselves.” “Well I tried but…but…” “What’s wrong?” Abraham finally asked. Tori sighed and held up the severed head of Tamil which was looking down and away from Abraham, who now looked about ready to vomit. “Oh my god…” Abraham groaned. “What happened to the rest of him!?” “I tried flying him back…his head came off…he held onto the tree too tightly.” Tori whimpered. “Tamil, are you THAT depressed?” Abraham demanded. Tamil didn’t look at him, just glared away and biting his lip. “You can’t do that man, we need to stick together or we’ll all fall apart!” “….It not matter…” Tamil grumbled. “What doesn’t matter? The club?” “I just want be alone…” Tamil grumbled. “I know you’re upset, but we can’t let ourselves be divided right now.” Abraham encouraged. “We already divided, Abraham.” Tamil pointed out. Abraham sighed and nodded his head. “Yes, I know…which is why it’s so important that we stay together so we can figure out how to save Asher and Michelle.” “How you know we can?” Tamil hissed darkly. “Listen, I know things look bad but just listen to me! We’re all gonna get through th-” “YOU NOT MICHELLE!” Tamil finally snapped. Abraham froze up and Tamil’s eyes were filled with tears. He couldn’t see Abraham’s face…but somehow he knew exactly where not to focus his grey pupils. Abraham narrowed his own eyes and looked down. “…You’re right, I’m not.” He finally sneered. “But YOU’RE Tamil….and I thought you were better than this.” Abraham turned and marched away, carrying Asher’s gun with him in his trembling hand. “Um…wh-what should I do with-” “Toss get Sarah to help you pick up the rest of him and bring him back here…I don’t care right now.” Abraham snapped. “ABRAHA-” “WHAT!?” Abraham shouted back. Tori yelped and looked down in shame for being shouted at. Abraham’s eyes widened as he realized how hostile he’d sounded and let out a long sigh. He was losing it. “I’m…sorry Tori I…” “No it’s okay…” She whispered, though her wings were still drooping. “You’re just stressed.” “I’m…not cut out for this leader thing.” I replied. “Tamil, you’re right about that.” Tamil’s head perked up a bit at my mentioning his name. “I’m not Michelle…and I’m not Asher. I’m just…me.”
“But you are enough!”
Abraham spun around. Standing behind him, wearing her hair let down and looking rather frustrated, was Sarah. Her six red eyes were all burrowing into Abraham angrily as she marched towards him. “Tamil, you should be ashamed of yourself!” She shouted. “Michelle would be furious with you if she were here.” “Well she not…” Tamil snapped. Sarah bristled angrily and reached behind her, grabbing several lines of thread and tying them swiftly around his mouth, making Tamil start screaming angrily into the silk. “That’ll keep you quiet until you cool off.” She then turned on Abraham. “And YOU need to cool down too. Just take a breath and stop trying to fill Michelle’s boots.” “I don’t WANT to be the leader.” I argued. “But you’re putting the responsibility on your shoulders.” Sarah noticed. While she let that sink in, she looked to Tori and winked. “Go find Tamil’s body and leave his head here. Bring the body back here and I’ll stitch it up later.” “Okay.” Tori agreed, flying out the open window and into the sky. Once she was gone, Sarah then looked back at Abraham, her eyes sympathetic, but also stern. “Thanks, Sarah.” “We need to talk, Abraham.” She sighed. “Where’s Katie, Calypso, and Annie?” “Calypso is getting a bath. Katie took Annie to the roof to look at the stars. It’s late out, after all.” Sarah replied. “Now stop dodging the point.” Sarah cleared her throat and leaned forward. “You’re not Michelle, Abraham, but you don’t have to be.” Sarah informed him. “Be your own person and trust us to know how to take care of ourselves.” “But…we need a leader right?” “Michelle just helped settle disputes and made critical decisions when they needed to be made…she trusted us enough to let us do what we needed.” She walked close and gave Abraham a gentle hug, careful not to smother him. “You’re trying and thinking about all of us…and we love you for that, Abraham…even Tamil.” “hhmmmph…” Tamil mumbled. “Ignore him. He’s being a baby.” Sarah rolled her 6 eyes. “My point is that you don’t need to worry about us so much. Where did that even come from anyway? You seem pretty obsessed with looking out for Tamil and everyone all of a sudden, the way you took charge earlier.” “…Solomon…” “What about him?” Sarah asked. “…He was…my grandpa.” Abraham answered. Sarah let go of Abraham in stunned amazement and all of her eyes were enormously widened. “I…I felt like I had to…do what he did and take care of everyone.” “Solomon was….” Sarah whispered. “Wow…a lot of things just added up right there….how did you find out?” “At the farm. That ass who blew up the clubhouse told me that I was his….the farm…” “The farm?” Sarah asked. “THE FARM!” Abraham cried, suddenly beaming from ear to ear. “They can help!” “Help?” Sarah asked. “How? And with what?” “Maybe they can help keep some of us safe for a while? Or help us hunt down the Dawnbringers. Or they could-” “Slow down!” Sarah interrupted. “You’re getting a head of yourself. We don’t know if they want to help…and even if they do…is it right to involve them in our problems?” It was a fair question. Abraham looked down at the gun in his hand and held it up to show Sarah. She looked at it carefully and then back at Abraham, concern still in her expression. “I found this. It’s Ashers gun…and…I don’t know why he’d leave it…but without it…” “Abraham, it’s alright.” Sarah assured him. “We can solve this ourselves.” “I don’t think we can.” Abraham interjected. “I want to believe we can, but realistically I don’t think we can.” There was a long pause before Abraham spoke up again. “Back at the beach, Asher told me that I was your hope…that I proved monsters and humans could interact and live together….that I could be the bridge between monsters and humans or some cliché bullcrap like that.” Sarah didn’t reply, but she did give a slow nod of agreement. “This club…it’s my family, Sarah. I want to save it. Leader or not, I WILL save it…not just because of who my grandpa is, and not because we need a leader again…but because the thought of being apart from my family hurts.” “…I agree.” Sarah sighed. “But do you really have to go back to the farm right now? You just got back and we need everyon-” “I’m not gonna go yet…but I will need to.” Abraham answered. “I don’t know how to use Asher’s gun…no one here does I think. But I’m willing to bet that Christina at the farm does. She’s lived among humans before in a friendly way. I want her to teach me how to use it.” “You want to use Asher’s gun!?” Sarah asked. “Why?” “I think that’s why he left it.” Abraham replied. “To fight back.”