Chapter 6: The Elwright Boy

What if the life you knew...ceased to exist?

My feet hit the soft spring of grass and I crumbled into a heap at Garren's feet as the portal vanished behind us. I could feel the sharp blades as I wove them through my fingers, pulling a handful out of the ground as anger bubbled inside me. Useless! Again! Garren knelt next to me, his surprisingly soft fingers gripping my chin and forcing me to look up at him.

"There was nothing you could have done." His voice was achingly gentle and I could feel my stomach churn at the sympathy and sadness that glinted in his green eyes.

"Get off me!" I couldn't stand how his voice calmed my shaking.

I pushed myself to my feet, ignoring the pain that surged through my body. Looking up, I saw Tyson staring expectantly at empty air. A pang jumped into my throat; I knew what he was waiting for. For the swirl of darkness that brought the promise of his brother with it. I forced one foot in front of the other until I stood in front of him. He towered easily above me, the hard lines on his face making him seem older than he really was. The wings that were shaped upon his back were crude and dirty, the black feathers darkening in the sunlight. His jaw was strong and chiseled, a feature that his brother had carried with him. Tyson's eyes matched that of the sky and for a second I had trouble separating them. He looked down at me with a smile.

"Don't worry; he'll be here soon and then we can leave." His voice was refreshing, almost like a splash of cold water in the morning.

"Tyson..." My voice caught in my throat.

He rested a hand on my shoulder. "He wouldn't abandon us. That's not the man my brother is." He felt the need to reassure me.

I shrugged him away. "Tyson he's not coming." I forced myself to say.

"Of cores he is!" A look of shock passed over his smooth features.

"No he's not." My lips felt swollen as I tried to find the words that would make him understand. "He..."

Laney fluttered up beside us, her pale skin sickly against the sun. "He never planned on coming with us." Her voice was thick with pain.

Tyson had to lean down to look at her. "I...I don't understand. I went there...to save him." His voice was breaking as he began to grasp what we were trying to tell him.

"Tyson I-" I reached out a hand to touch him as he fell to his knees.

He knocked it away, staring at the ground. "I think you've done enough." His voice was surprisingly commanding and it sent shudders of through my body.

Laney looked up at me with her silvery eyes. "I'll talk to him." She gave a pointed look towards Garren and Emmany.

I sighed and turned, walking towards my companions. Garren looked up from where he knelt beside Emmany as I approached. He opened his mouth to talk but I shut him down quickly enough.

"Yeah yeah I know its not my fault." I could hear the sarcasm that dripped form my voice.

Garren stood, looking down at Emmany and walked to wads me, grabbing me by the shoulders. "Rae that the hell is your problem?!" I could hear frustration in his voice. "What have I ever done to you?" I could see the regret in his eyes as the words left his mouth.

"What have you done?" I hissed, the cool air of my breath sliding between my teeth. I stared him down, anger boiling into the tips of my hair.

Once upon a time, Garren and I had been close friends. Closer than Emmany and I now. His betrayal had cut me deep and it was something I could never forget. Before Emmany had been admitted into the Compound, Garren had been my training partner. It gave me an edge that I wouldn't have had otherwise; the kid was rather skilled in archery and other anti-Arial tactics that would easily take down a fly girl like me. It gave him the challenge of defeating a rapidly moving target. At the time there was a boy; (of cores this story has to evolve a boy, why else could it be interesting?) that I had pledged my unmatched affection for and my undying friendship. His name was Jason Elwright and he'd been my classmate for seven years and my neighbor for five. He and I were inseparable and pretty soon, Garren joined us and we became the dynamic trio. Jason and I grew up together and I knew his secret. He was a Mind Reader. Somehow, he'd escaped the Inquisitor and was able to remain inside the Wall. (See....Mind Readers are kind of a no-no. There is a lot of fear around Amora that they M.R.s with 'evil' intentions would take over the government using their powers. Granted their fear wasn't unprecedented, such a thing had happened and caused the destruction of my people.) I trusted Garren with this secret and being the government-loyal twelve year old he was, he told his parents during a home-visit. Jason wasn't thrown outside the wall; on the contrary he still remains in it. His body at least. He and his parents were subjected to a firing squad; my punishment was to watch on top of being forbidden to continue rooming on my own in the Compound. Thus my friendship with Emmany began and my one with Garren ended.

I know what you're thinking; he was a scared little boy who didn't know what else to do. We were fed lies about the M.R.s, much like we had been the Mutants. But you try being friends with the kid who ultimately caused your best friend's death. The idea had been drilled into our minds that if we told the government about a M.R. in 'hiding' that neither would be punished, the M.R. would be sent away somewhere they would live a happier life. In the Outcasts. Like I said, once upon a time.

"Rae...I-" I could hear distress in Garren's voice. He took a step closer to me. "I didn't mea-." He hung his head, his brown hair falling over his face. "I was televise. I didn't think that they'd hurt Jason, I-"

"Don't say his name." I could feel tears prick behind my eyes. "Don't you dare say his name." I walked past him, my shoulder colliding with his.

I settled down next to Emmany, relieved to see her eyes were open once more. She'd heard the entire conversation. "Rae..." She began softly.

"Drop it Emmany." My voice was as strict as I could make it while being on the brink of tears.

"He didn't know that would happen. None of us did." She focused her green eyes on me.

"He betrayed us! What if it had been you Em?" I fell against her stomach as the first tear began to fall.

"Rae look at that boy. Don't you think he's as broken by it as you are? He didn't know. He was child who trusted that the adults were telling the truth. He didn't want to see his friend get hurt as much as you did." I could feel her hand as it stroked my hair. "You're not the only person who lost someone that day. You lost Jason but Garren lost you both."

I just want to go home.