Chapter 10
Broken Hearts
Roderich walked past the strip mall with his left hand in his pocket and his right clutching onto the briefcase that was heavy with carrying the Edelstein fortune. His heart was pounding against his chest and fear was overwhelming him. He swallowed hard as he turned into the alleyway, trying desperately to act casual. He stopped and scanned the shadows. Elizabeva was around here somewhere, but even he wasn't supposed to know so he couldn't give her away. Roderich closed his eyes, took a deep breath then stepped forward, opening his dark purple eyes that shimmered with terror.
He paced surrounded by unfamiliar shapes and shadows. He breathed in, trying to calm his shaking body, but the cold autumn air that filled his lungs did nothing but force a painful chill down his spine. Roderich halted as he came across a pathway that lead to his left, and a pathway that lead to his right. His mind started to spin, unable to figure out which way he was supposed to go. Both alleyways were equally ominous with the smell of garbage from the nearby dumpsters and the long shadows that stretched across the pathways that were lit by only the full moon's light.
"Edelstein."
Roderich's body tensed, then he slowly turned his head to his left. "Hello." He said, but his voice came out in a fearful whisper.
The man smiled at him. Roderich couldn't tell what the man looked like due to the shadows that stretched across him and the black clothing he was wearing. Roderich heard a clicking sound and he saw a small handgun glow just enough in the moonlight to tell that it was pointed at him. "Now, Edelstein, walk three steps forward, and place the money on the ground." The man ordered.
Roderich took a step backwards, concealing the briefcase behind him. "Where's Lovino and Ludwig. I want them first, then I'll give you my money."
The man chuckled. "Now do you really think you're the one calling the shots here?"
Roderich's fear altered and became fury. "Where are they?" He yelled, his voice echoing through the alley.
"Lovino is with me, just back there." The captor said, nodding his head in the direction Lovino was. "And you'll get Ludwig back if you cooperate, and right now you aren't doing so well at it."
Roderich narrowed his eyes. "Give him back to me."
"Give me the money."
Roderich had to force himself from running forward, taking the gun from the man, and killing him and all of his friends, but Roderich knew he'd get shot after he took three steps. "No. Give my family back, then I will give you my money." He hissed through grit teeth.
The man laughed hysterically. "How about this, Edelstein, I kill you, take your money, then kill Lovino and Ludwig. How does that sound?"
Roderich clenched the briefcase harder in his right hand. "We can't negotiate?"
"You wanna negotiate? How about this, you give me the money at the same time as I give you Lovino."
Roderich straightened his posture. "What about Ludwig?"
"You'll get him back if everything goes as planned."
A cold chill shot through Roderich. What did he mean by "planned"? What was his plan? Roderich hid his fear, and made himself look calm and casual. The man whistled and two other men walked up, one held a gun to Lovino's head, and the other was on Lovino's left side, holding onto his shoulder, leading him to Roderich and the captor. Lovino didn't look as scared as Roderich had thought, he actually looked more angry than scared. He had a few cuts on his face and a couple bruises, but besides his heavy limping due to his hip, he seemed fine. They stopped even to the captor.
"The money." The captor ordered.
"Lovino." Roderich demanded.
Lovino said something, but it was too muffled due to the gag in his mouth.
"The money." The man hissed as another cocked the gun that was against Lovino's temple.
Roderich inhaled, and took three steps forward, just like the man ordered, and bent down, placing the money on the alley's wet asphalt.
Just before he let go of the briefcase, he heard the world shattering words. "Liar!"
Roderich jerked his head upward looking in the direction of the sound. The man standing before him was glaring down at him in anger. Roderich tensed. "What?"
"You said you'd come alone!"
Roderich's heart sank, shattering inside his body.
"No! No!" Elizabeva struggled against a different man.
Roderich backed up, and moved slightly in his wife's direction, still holding the money in his right hand.
"Kill her!" The lead captor ordered.
"What? No!" Roderich sprinted towards Elizabeva, but it was too late. The man who she was fighting against pulled out a dagger, and shoved it into her abdomen, stopping her from struggling.
"No!" Roderich cried, tears building up in his eyes.
The man twisted the dagger, let her fall to the ground, and ran off with all the other kidnappers and Lovino.
Roderich slid to Elizabeva, dropping the briefcase a few paces back. He lifted her in his arms and held her. "No…" He whispered.
"It's okay…" Elizabeva mumbled. "It's okay, Roderich."
Tears rolled silently down Roderich's face. "This can't be happening…"
Elizabeva gave him a weak smile. "Roderich… Tell me something that I don't know about you…"
Roderich stared into his wife's dying green eyes. He knew exactly what to tell. "When I was getting married to you, I wasn't so sure I'd work out… But do you know the exact moment I fell in love with you?"
Elizabeva coughed, then shook her head.
"Right when you said 'I do.'"
Elizabeva smiled, but the light in her eyes were still fading slowly. "Do you know when I fell… in love… with you…?" She asked.
Roderich shook his head, tears rolling down his face and falling onto Elizabeva's.
"When you walked up to me and asked… 'Sollen wir tanzen?'…" She chuckled. "You say it better…"
Roderich could tell by how quiet her voice was and by how dark her eyes were that she was in her last moments. She fell in love with him when he asked that question, so Roderich decided he'd ask her one last time. "Sollen wir tanzen?"
Elizabeva gave him as slight smile. "Yes…" She whispered, her voice barely audible. She closed her eyes and went limp in Roderich's arms. Roderich uncontrollably sobbed into his deceased wife's green shirt, that was now forever stained with blood.
.
Feliciano was curled up in a ball underneath the dashboard on the drivers side of Roderich's car. He stretched himself out and peeked out the car window where he could see the captors. He bent back down, back hidden within the shadows of the car. Feliciano's mind kept wandering to the horrible nightmare where Lovino and Ludwig were murdered, and they killed Roderich and took his money. Feliciano's hands were shaking. He wasn't brave, not at all. He was the exact opposite of brave, which is the exact reason he opted for Gilbert to go in his place and hide in the car. Because Gilbert wasn't afraid of everything. Feliciano let out an exasperated sigh and froze. He heard shouting. Angry shouting. Yelling.
"You'll pay for that, you damn bastards!"
Feliciano's body began to shake more. They were taking Lovino away. He peeked out the window again and saw Lovino struggling against two men. He saw a gun get thrown to the ground. Lovino looked directly into Feliciano's eyes in terror. Lovino wouldn't want him to be here, to put himself in danger. But it was too late, Feliciano was here, Feliciano was in danger.
A different man put the gag back in Lovino's mouth and all three of them shoved him into the black car Feliciano was watching this whole time. Feliciano hid himself again. The black car's engine roared as it turned on.
Something took control of Feliciano, but whatever it was, it made him swallow his fear, and pull himself into the driver's seat and turn the car on. The black car drove away, speeding down the road. Feliciano forced the car into drive, and sped down the road, chasing them.
Luckily for him, this car was fast enough to keep up with them, but not fast enough to catch up to them.
They made a fast right. Feliciano made a fast right. They took a tight left, running the stoplight. Feliciano took a tight left, running the stoplight. They sped up, moving even faster now. Feliciano sped up, slamming his foot so hard on the accelerator that it hit the floor of the car and the engine roared even louder. The space between them began to fill with Feliciano's car surprisingly catching up to them. They made a fast right. Feliciano missed the fast right and continued forward.
But luckily for Feliciano, he lives in this area, and he knows all the shortcuts. Feliciano ended up speeding through a neighborhood, making fast rights, over and over again. He made one last fast right, slowing down only slightly so he didn't drive on someone's yard. Feliciano knew that these men were headed to the highway to try and lose him, so he knew this was his last chance to stop them. He pushed the accelerator against the metal floor of the car and sped down the hill, into the intersection of a four-way stop. The hood of their car began to appear in Feliciano's peripheral vision. They moved into his line of sight. Feliciano's car smashed into theirs, and Feliciano could feel himself lift out of his seat, but there was no seat belt buckled against his body to stop him from flying out of his seat and go crashing through the windshield.
.
Feliciano opened his eyes slowly, but his vision was dark. He heard the muffled sounds of sirens and crackling fire through the ringing of his hears. His head pounded, and his entire body was in horrible, agonizing pain. He moved his left leg. Bad idea. Stabbing pain shot through his knee and up his leg and into his back. He let out a soft, quiet whine of misery. He lifted his head. Bad idea. His neck ached and throbbed violently, so he laid his face back on the wet ground.
"Sir!"
The sound came from his right, but moved to his left so he could see the figure above him. But his vision was too blurry, he couldn't tell who it was.
"Sir!"
He lifted his head again, hoping to see the person better.
"No, sir, please don't move."
Feliciano put his head back on the ground. 'Sir'? What was 'sir' supposed to mean? What was this person even saying?
"Che cosa?" Feliciano asked.
The figure froze and stared down at him. "What?" It asked.
What was 'What?' supposed to mean? What language was this person speaking?
Feliciano closed his eyes and moaned in agony. "Che lingua...?"
"Do you speak english?" The figure asked.
What the hell was 'english'? Whatever it was, Feliciano didn't speak it.
"No, non lo faccio." Feliciano replied.
"What is your name?" The figure asked.
Feliciano shook his head slightly, but immediately regretted it. "Cosa stai dicendo?" Feliciano exclaimed angrily, but pain shot through his jaw and he closed it, and let out another moan.
The figure said something, but the ringing in his ears grew too loud to hear anything else. He opened his eyes and his vision was too blurred to see much, and it slowly darkened as he faded back into unconsciousness.
.
Roderich walked slowly and numbly out of the alleyway in the direction of the sirens, clutching the briefcase in his left hand, and letting his right hand dangle by his side. He was tear streaked, but no longer crying. "It should have been me…" He whispered.
"Sir, you need to stay back." A male voice ordered, gaining Roderich's attention.
Roderich looked up to see a paramedic standing in front of him, then he looked past the young man. Roderich saw the car Feliciano was supposed to be in upside down in the middle of someone's yard, and the kidnapper's car on fire in the middle of the intersection of a four-way stop.
"What happened!" He yelled, fear rising in his chest.
"Sir, just get back." The young paramedic said.
"No! That's my family!" Roderich saw a window shatter, and Lovino throw himself out of it, coughing hard.
Roderich pushed past the paramedic, and ran to Lovino. "Lovino!" He yelled.
Lovino, who was now laying on his back on the ground, desperately trying to breathe looked up at Roderich.
"Mein Gott, are you okay?" Roderich demanded over the crackling of the fire.
"I'm fine." Lovino growled, stopping himself from coughing. "Where's Feli?"
Roderich looked up, then to the car in a random person's yard, then back to Lovino. "I don't know…"
"Find him, dammit!" Lovino screamed, then began hacking again. "I'm fine." He whispered, forcing himself to his feet, then limped over to the police.
Roderich stood and went jogging around the wreckage, desperately looking for someone familiar.
"Sir!"
Roderich looked over at the sound, but this paramedic wasn't directing it at him, but at someone who limply laid on the ground. He watched in terror as the man hopelessly tried to make sense of the scene.
"Sir!"
The paramedic repeated. Roderich walked a few steps closer, staring at the injured man on the asphalt.
"No, sir, please don't move."
Roderich narrowed his eyes in confusion.
"Che cosa?"
Roderich froze. Feli? He thought. Feliciano was hurt, this hurt. He looked back at where he last saw Lovino, but he was no longer there. Roderich's heart was pounding even harder now and his world began to spin too fast for him to keep up with. He took a step back, holding his head, feeling as if he was going to faint. He could barely breathe. Feli, no! He thought.
"Sir? Sir! No, sir, what is your name?" The paramedic exclaimed.
Without thinking, Roderich ran over and kneeled down beside the paramedic. "His name is Feliciano Vargas."
The paramedic turned to him. "Thank you, sir, but you really must get out of the area."
Other paramedics ran up with a gurney, and gingerly placed Feliciano on it, strapped him in, ran inside the ambulance, that drove away quickly.
Roderich knew that he would have to find Lovino and tell him that Feliciano was hurt, so hurt he couldn't even stay conscious. When Roderich jogged up, Lovino was just ending a conversation with the police. Then it dawned on him. He needs to tell the police about Elizabeva.
Lovino turned to step away. "Did you find Feli?"
Roderich nodded. "He was unconscious and they have him in an ambulance headed to the hospital right now."
Lovino closed his eyes tightly. "Accidenti!"
Roderich wanted to tell Lovino that everything would be all right, but right now he had to talk to the police. "Officer?" He asked.
The officer turned to him. "Yes?"
Roderich didn't know how to say it, so he just forced it out of him. "I am Roderich Edelstein. Lovino Vargas and Ludwig Beilschmidt were kidnapped by the men who were in the black car and used them for ransom in exchange for all of my money. They told us not to get the police involved, so we didn't, and they told me to come alone, but we didn't… And they killed… My wife…" Roderich wanted to break down and cry again, but he forced himself to stay calm.
"Yes, I know about the kidnappers. Now where is your wife?"
"I'll lead you to her."
.
Lovino's entire body ached, but he somehow managed to stay conscious although everyone else in the car was knocked out cold. Lovino heard the slight crackling of fire coming from the engine. Get out. Lovino thought. Get out of the car.
Sirens started to blare loudly, growing closer and closer with each passing second, but Lovino couldn't wait for the firemen to save him, and he didn't care if the kidnappers made it out. Lovino repositioned himself and started trying to open the door, but it was locked and the controls were fried from the fire. Lovino leaned over and began to kick the window with his left leg, but it didn't do too much. The car began to fill with smoke, and pretty soon that was nearly all he could see. The unconscious woman next to him had a dagger on her, according to earlier, but then again pretty much everyone had a dagger on them. Lovino clutched the dagger and began to stab the window wit it. The window cracked. Cracked more. Cracked more. Broke. Lovino grabbed the windowsill of the car, not caring about the glass digging into his hands, and pulled himself out and landed on the ground coughing.
"Lovino!" He heard from a familiar voice.
Lovino looked over to see Roderich jogging to him, carrying the briefcase in his left hand, and his right covered in blood, which reminded him of someone he had to save.
"Mein Gott, are you okay.?" Roderich exclaimed.
"I'm fine." Lovino replied, choking back his coughing. Lovino then remembered seeing Feliciano in a car staring at him when he was still in the alley. "Where's Feli?"
Roderich looked up at something, then back down to Lovino. "I don't know…"
Anger flowed through Lovino. "Find him, dammit!" Lovino started to cough violently again. "I'm fine." He whispered. Lovino forced himself to his feet and spotted an officer before running off in that direction, fighting his dizziness with each step.
"Officer!" He yelled, coming to a halt before him, but Lovino didn't wait for a reply. "My name is Lovino Vargas, I was just kidnapped by the people in the black car. They had me for a week and demanded money from my friend, Roderich Edelstein." Lovino paused to breathe. "There was another man, Arthur Kirkland, who was kidnapped and was probably there for a month or so. Ludwig Beilschmidt, a friend of mine, was also kidnapped… Along with Matthew Kirkland, he was kidnapped too." Lovino gasped for air.
The officer seemed to be surprised on how fast Lovino was giving all of this information. "Sir-"
"The kidnappers made me drive to their warehouse, I can lead you there, as long as you can get me to a certain gas station, I can lead you there. But we have to save them! Arthur is a good man and they're demanding money that he doesn't have and they're hurting his son because he can't give them money!" Lovino interrupted.
The policeman took a step back. "And you said your name was Lovino Vargas?"
Lovino nodded multiple times. "Yes."
The officer finished scribbling a last few things down on his notepad, before he repeated the story.
"Yes, that's what happened." Lovino said. "But we have to go and get them."
"Sir, thank you for your information, and yes you will lead us there, but right now you need to rest. You have injuries." The officer said, nodding to the paramedic who had walked up.
Lovino gave the paramedic a glare. "I am refusing treatment!" He yelled, then looked back at the officer. "We have to go and save them."
The policeman sighed. "I can't go, but I will get Officer Greene go get backup and go with you."
"Thank you." Lovino said, turning away from the officer right as he spotted Roderich walking up. "Did you find Feli?"
Roderich nodded. "He was unconscious and they have him in an ambulance headed to the hospital right now."
Lovino closed his eyes tightly, anger flooding him. "Accidenti!" He hissed.
Roderich tuned to the officer as Lovino walked away. A different officer came jogging up. "Are you Lovino Vargas?" He asked.
"Yes, are you Officer Greene?"
"Yes. Come with me, please, Mr. Vargas." Officer Greene said, jogging off in the direction of a police car.
"Yes, Officer." Lovino said gladly following him so he could save everyone else who was held captive.
.
Feliks walked out of the gas station, acting casual, acting like the lives of his family weren't in danger. "Paid for the gas." He says, skipping up to Toris and Gilbert.
Gilbert just stared forward at the road, while Toris looked over to Feliks with raised eyebrows. "So what now?" Toris asked.
Feliks opened his mouth, but had no idea how to respond, so he closed it.
"Waste time." Gilbert chimed in, finally taking his albino-red eyes off the road.
"But how!" Toris said, gesturing his arms forward.
Feliks looked over at Toris, who seemed very worried. Toris always wanted to know what was going on in the world, that's how he comprehended it, but whenever he didn't understand, or he'd get too worried he would freak out, and Feliks was really the only one who knew how to calm him down. "Like, you worry too much." Feliks pointed at Toris. "Ab-libbing is my life!"
Gilbert walked over to the car. "Toss me the keys." He demanded.
Toris raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"I'm going to move the car so someone else can gas up."
Toris hesitated, then finally tossed the keys to Gilbert, who got in the car, turned it on, and drove into an empty parking space. Feliks turned to the dark road, gazing into its shadows suspiciously.
"You okay?" Toris asked.
Feliks turned to him and stared right into his sky blue eyes and lied. "Yeah, Toris. I'm fine." But the truth was, he had a terrible feeling.
Feliks decided that he was going to "ab-lib" by vacuuming out his car and checking to air in all four of his tires, but yet there was still time.
"Got a text from Feli." Gilbert said, shattering the ominous silence.
"What's it say?" Feliks replied, jogging over to where Gilbert sat in the passenger seat with the door open.
"It says: 'Rod and Liza have been gone awhile, I'm getting a little worried...'"
Feliks closed his eyes tightly, his chest tightening in fear. "We're not allowed to respond, right?"
"That's what Feli told me." Toris answered.
Feliks brushed his hair behind his left ear, staring at the cement ground that's still wet from the earlier rain. Feliks breathed in the cold autumn air, desperately trying to calm his nerves. If one thing went out of line, one little thing wasn't the way these men wanted it to be, his family would be killed, and it would be his fault. It was his plan.
"Another text." Gilbert informed, catching Feliks off guard.
Toris gave Feliks a sympathetic glance, then looked back to Gilbert. "What does this one say?"
Gilbert's eyes widened in fear, ran his fingers through his albino-grey hair and let out a sigh. "Feli sent: 'I hear yelling!'"
Feliks heard Toris begin to pant. Feliks, in turn, grabbed his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Toris clutched Feliks' hand tightly.
"Another text."
Toris closed his eyes tightly, and took multiple deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.
"What does it say?" Feliks asked, begging that is was good news.
Gilbert paused before answering. "It says: 'I hear Lovino cussing… They're capturing him again!'"
Silence. Toris was holding his breath with his eyes closed, and the tightness in Feliks' chest nearly disabled him from breathing. Something went wrong. Did they find Elizabeva? Did thy backstab Roderich? Is Roderich dead? Is Elizabeva dead? Did they take Elizabeva and Roderich too? This can't be happening. Feliks thought. Feliks felt as if he was going to faint. His mind began to spin rapidly, but he forced himself to remain conscious. He looked at Toris beside him, who was paler than paper. "Toris." Feliks said weakly. "Toris, sit down." He placed his hands on Toris' shoulders, and directed him to the car, opened the back seat door, and sat him down.
Toris began to hyperventilate, and his entire body began to tremble. "What are we going to do?" Toris whispered. "They're dead! They killed Roderich! They killed Elizabeva!" Toris put his hands on his face. "They're all dead…"
Feliks gently grabbed Toris' wrists and began to pull them from his face. "Toris, look at me."
Toris did as he was told, and looked up at Feliks, letting him pull his hands from his face.
Feliks forced himself to remain calm. "Toris, they have Lovino, but it doesn't mean everyone's dead."
Toris stared at him blankly.
Feliks stood, still in front of Toris, and still holding onto Toris' trembling wrists. "Gilbert, could you go buy a bottle of water for him?"
Gilbert, who was staring blankly at the phone in his hands, stood up quickly and began walking back to the gas station. "Ja." He whispered over his shoulder.
Feliks kneeled back down in front of Toris, who still had no color in his face. "Toris." He whispered.
Toris looked at Feliks with a fearful expression. "Yes?"
Feliks had no idea where he was going with that, but he had to figure it out quickly. He shook his head. "We will figure this out, okay?"
Toris nodded slowly, but Feliks could see doubt in his eye. The truth was, it felt like everything was being destroyed. His family was in terrible danger, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Feliks reached his hands up, letting go of Toris' wrists, and ran his fingers through Toris' light brown hair. Toris closed his eyes, and there was a split second of peace on his face.
"Toris." Gilbert said, holding the bottled water in his hand.
Toris snapped his eyes open, then looked up at Gilbert. "T-Thank you." Toris gratefully took the water, opened it, and took a quivering sip.
Feliks stood up, grabbing Toris' hand, and looked back to the dark road. He blinked tears from his eyes, and forced himself to look calm and casual. He closed his eyes and focused on breathing.
He squeezed Toris' hand, and Toris squeezed it back. Feliks then opened his eyes when he heard a faint humming sound. It sounded like a car. The sound grew louder and louder, until finally Feliks could see a car racing down the road. A black car with heavily tinted windows. The car sped past them, followed by another car. A familiar car. A car that Feliks knew was a navy blue color. "Is that Feli's car!" Feliks screamed over the roaring of engines.
"What?" Toris exclaimed, standing up quickly.
"Ja, that was his car!" Gilbert answered, running to the drivers seat.
Feliks ran to the passenger seat, then stopped, turned around, and ran to the back seat, and sat with Toris. Gilbert turned the car on, and sped out of the gas station's parking lot, and out onto the road. Feliks buckled himself in. "Toris, buckle yourself." He ordered.
Toris did as he was told, and buckled himself. Feliks kept a hold of Toris' hand the whole time the car sped down the road, desperately trying to catch up to Feliciano.
Not much time passed before Feliks heard the sound of sirens growing closer and closer. He felt Gilbert slow the car, and pull over to the right side of the road. Shit! Feliks thought. We really don't have the time for a ticket right now. But instead of a policeman showing up at the window, an ambulance and a fire truck went speeding past, sirens blaring. Gilbert pulled the car off the shoulder of the road, and began speeding again, staying just under the speed of the emergency vehicles.
They followed the vehicles to the scene, and they pulled over when they saw fire. Feliks jumped out of the car when it had barely stopped moving, and Toris quickly followed him. Gilbert turned the car off, then jumped out of the car. The three of them went running to the scene. The black car was on fire and had a broken back window. Firemen were pulling people out of the blaze. Feliks quickly turned to the left, and saw the familiar navy blue car sitting upside down in a random persons yard.
Toris went sprinting over to Feliciano's car. "Feli!" He called.
No answer.
Feliks and Gilbert followed Toris. They ran up right as paramedics were placing a motionless Feliciano in the ambulance. Toris began to hyperventilate again. "Oh, no." He breathed. "This can't be happening!"
Feliks kept turning from one direction to the next, with his hands on his head, holding onto his light blonde hair tightly. He wasn't really sure what he was looking for. Then he spotted someone familiar. "Roderich!" He screamed, then went sprinting. Roderich stopped and turned in Feliks' direction, a policeman standing parallel to him. Feliks caught up to him, and wrapped him in a giant, tight hug. "I'm so glad you're okay!"
"Ja… Okay..." Roderich said in monotone.
Feliks pulled himself off of Roderich, and looked him in the eye. "What? What happened?"
Roderich turned his head away from Feliks' eyes.
Feliks then saw that he was tear streaked. "What happened?" Feliks asked.
Roderich closed his eyes tightly, tears rolling down his cheeks. "I'm sorry, Feliks… I'm so sorry." He whispered.
Feliks' eyes widened and his chest tightened. "What happened." Feliks demanded.
Roderich turned his head back to Feliks. "I'm sorry. It should have been me."
"No." Feliks said in denial. "No." He shook his head multiple times, stepping back from Roderich.
"Elizabeva is…" Roderich began, trying to figure out how to say it.
Feliks covered his face with his hands. He didn't want to hear what he knew Roderich was going to say. He didn't want to hear anything.
"Dead." Roderich finished quietly, his voice almost inaudible.
Feliks' legs went weak at the words, and he fell to his knees.
"Sir!" The police officer exclaimed.
"I'm-I'm okay." Feliks lied, fighting tears.
"I'm so, so sorry, Feliks. It should have been me." Roderich whispered.
"No!" Feliks glared up at Roderich. "Never say that!"
Roderich's eyes widened. "What?"
"Never say it should have been you! Because it's not your fault! It should have been me! It was my plan! I should have died!" Feliks screamed, tears rolling down his face.
"What? Feliks, no! Don't say that!" Toris chimed in.
"It should have been me." Feliks mumbled to himself, his entire body trembling, his vision blurring and spinning. Everything darkened as Feliks lost his consciousness.