Hey-O! So, this is a really long chapter, but that's okay, because it's awesome and features a special guest character! (Hint: he is Sarah's other brother) That's right, you guessed it, Sam Temple is in this chapter! So, even if you don't like the guest character, you should still review and he'll give you a SammySun! :D And who doesn't want one of those? *Elbows Drake, Caine, and the Human Crew to shut up*
This is also an awesome chapter because Brittney and Caine screw up everything! :D
Well, I won't bother you anymore, so go ahead and read! And don't forget to REVIEW!
I walked out. No one followed me. Or at least, no one that I could see. Bug was probably on my tail that very moment. Still, when I reached the edge of town I ran through the woods and didn't stop until I made it home. Drake was there, cleaning a kill. I ran up to him.
"Caine found me," I panted. "He knows who I am." Drake looked at me like he was almost worried. He did something very soothing and un-Drake-like. He stood up and held out his arms. I fell into him, tears beginning to form in the corners of my eyes. He held me close like that for a while as the sun set. I started the fire with my powers but still sat there with Drake. He was coldhearted and pitiless, but his chest was warm. His heart was made of stone, but it still thumped in his chest. "You know," I began, "You don't have to worry so much about hurting me. I like it. I'm just as screwed up as you are, Drake." He didn't say anything. "Am I really that much of an annoyance?" I asked quietly, unsure. Drake looked at the ground, voice completely emotionless as he said it.
"I feel like it goes against who I am. I don't want to be Drake Merwin, the guy who's in love. I want to keep being Drake Merwin, Whip Hand, all of that. You sort of make me forget that. But it's worth it. You're worth it." He paused here, and looked at me sheepishly. "But, um…can I hurt you, from time to time? Nothing major, just maybe a whip lash or a punch here or there…?" I almost laughed. He could slit my throat for all I cared. He thought I was worth it. In that moment, nothing else mattered. I nodded in reply, and we were once again silent.
He looked at me for a long moment, and his lips found mine in the darkness. It was a soft kiss, and I found myself wanting more. I reached to pull him closer to me, and his human hand moved to my neckline. I heard him mutter something about a pig, but I didn't register it at the moment. I did register when something hard formed over his teeth. Drake didn't have braces…
I opened my eyes and leapt back in revulsion. Where Drake had once sat a moment before was that girl I had seen the night before I first met him. Her clothes were dirty, and she wore glasses and had braces. She was a little pudgy and had stringy blonde hair that fell in pigtails just past her shoulders. I stuttered for a moment, at a loss for words. "What the f—who the hell are you?" I asked in shock.
"I'm Brittney," she said calmly. "Drake's literal other half. I was wondering why he has been fighting the change more often recently. I suppose he didn't want the two of us to meet." She sat there calmly, like this was nothing new. I was still confused.
"You kissed me," I said, giving her a strange look. She sighed, as if regretting Drake's actions.
"Technically, Drake was kissing you, when we had the unfortunate event of switching control, so I was left with you here."
"Technically," I replied, "You had your lips pressed against mine, which counts as kissing." She shook her head.
"Well, I'm not going to sit here arguing about it. Drake will be back in a few hours. And when he does come back, tell him he cannot keep avoiding his master. He has to come back sometime."
"What are you going to do?" I asked, confused.
"Pray," Brittney answered tersely, then closed her eyes, folded her hands, and began to mutter words that made no sense to me. I stepped back and picked up the animal Drake had been skinning and sat down with it, a good five feet between myself and Brittney. She didn't notice me at all. She looked like she was in her own little world. I finished removing the entrails and put the meat over the fire pit to roast. I grabbed the innards and walked to go reset the traps. I needed some time to clear my head, anyway.
I couldn't believe I hadn't figured it out ages ago. After he left Caine's group, I stopped watching him as much. I didn't need to spy on anyone besides my brothers. But still, how had I missed Drake turning into Brittney every couple hours?
The traps had yielded a few rabbits and a squirrel. I carried them back to the campsite, where Drake was waiting for me, not Brittney. "Sarah," he began, and I dropped the animals and walked over to him. I pulled out my knife and sank my dagger into his chest. He looked down at it, then back at me. "Sarah, I'm sorry," he pleaded. I turned away. "Sarah, I said sorry!"
He was angry that he had apologized and I hadn't forgiven him. He struck me across the back again and again and then once more for good measure. I couldn't see; the pain was blinding me. I fell to the ground on my stomach, face turned towards the fire. I could see a few coals glowing. Then they were blocked by a very dirty shoe. I craned my neck as much as I could. I could only see up to his knee, so I gave up and thudded back down again. My back was in agony. The old lashes that had just been starting to become scars were all reopened. My back was a mess of blood and shredded skin. I felt myself drifting, drifting off to sleep.
I fought it as hard as I could. I couldn't black out now. Then I would be at the mercy of Drake's whip until he calmed down, which might not be until I was dead. I desperately tried to keep my eyes open but still I was fading, fading…fading…
I woke a few hours later. I was in my tree house, and Drake was right above me. My head was in his lap, and there was gauze wrapped around my torso. Drake looked at me, and I reached out with my consciousness to see what he was feeling. Two things I never would have expected Drake Merwin to feel: compassion and guilt. I didn't even know he had the capacity to feel those emotions.
"Usually," he said, "when someone says sorry, you say something nice back." He felt bad about hurting me, but I wasn't ready to forgive.
"Usually, when someone is mad at you, whipping them until they pass out doesn't make them want to forgive you." I replied. Drake looked hurt for a second before resuming his usual angry stare. But that one second of hurt that crossed his face broke my resolve. I didn't want to forgive him. But this was Drake, who could have let me die but saved me and tried to help me after hurting me. This was Drake, the only other person in the world I could trust. This was Drake, who I hated more than anything else in the world, but I loved him too.
Drake could see it in my eyes. "Lucky for me, this isn't usually, is it?" he asked, and I smiled. He pulled me up to him and kissed me. Suddenly my head fell to the floor with a thud and Drake was thrown against the wall, knocking over the plastic drawers. "What was that?" he asked angrily, and I pulled myself up.
"Caine," I muttered, and then leaned over the edge of the tree house, where my brother stood. Louder I said, "Get out of here, Caine. What do you want with me?" Caine smiled.
"With you we want nothing, seeing as you aren't hostile and aren't concerned with death. We could care less about you. I have a few issues with the other person up there, and by the way, what were you two doing up there?" I resisted the urge to blush. Drake jumped out of the tree house and landed in front of Caine. "Well, hello, old friend," he addressed Drake. "I'm going to kill you." Drake snorted, whip hand twitching, ready for a fight.
"Caine, we both know even you can't kill me," Drake laughed maniacally. "I can't be killed!" Caine was the one who smiled now, calm and cold.
"Oh, yes, I can't kill you," Caine said. "But I brought someone with me who can." Everything slowed down as I watched. Twin beams of green light hit Drake, who screamed in agony. The lights illuminated Sam, who had a cold, merciless face, burning Drake to ashes. I could feel his emotions, anger and fear and hatred for all that Drake had done to him: threatened Astrid, whipped him to the brink of death, everything. But still, he couldn't kill Drake. He couldn't. I felt myself falling, falling, falling, out of the tree house, falling through the light. It burned my skin and made me scream in pain. It was a million times worse than Drake's whip, it was pure agony. I registered falling out of the light and impacting the ground. I saw the brightness from behind my eyelids disappear. The pain was still unbearable, but I staggered to my feet and opened my eyes to see Sam standing there looking at me in horror, Caine screaming to keep killing Drake, who was slowly reforming, thank God.
"Sam, please," I gasped desperately, "Don't kill him." I lunged forward, movements awkward, like I was drunk. Sam looked at me with revulsion. I wondered what I must have looked like, whipped and burned, even uglier on the inside. I heard the sirens in my head, felt the welt on my face where the woman slapped me. 'You did that' she yelled, as I watched the footage of the mangled, burned bodies pulled from the building over and over again. She had hit me, and all I remember was the pride swelling in my chest as I saw the burning building, the pride in having caused so much pain.
"Sam, kill him!" Caine yelled, "Quickly! He's reforming! Hurry!" Sam looked at Drake, whose side was beginning to regenerate, regrow flesh before our eyes.
"Please," I begged, at his feet, "Sam, please, don't kill him, please, kill me instead," I was shocked at the words coming out of my own mouth. I was willing to lay down my life for this psychopath? Sam and Caine were both staring at me like I was crazy. Drake stood up, almost done regenerating.
"No!" he shouted, "Don't kill her!" Then, because he was Drake, he added, "If you so much as lay a finger on her, you'll all die by my whip. I will make you all wish you had never lived. I will make you scream for death like Brittney does every day!" We were all at a standoff. Sam was facing me, palms out, Drake was facing him, whip raised, I was facing Caine, knife in my hand, and he was facing Drake, ready to send him flying fifty feet.
Sam was the first to break the silence. He looked at me. "Why are you helping Drake? And why aren't you 'concerned with death'?" I took a deep breath. So this was when the entire truth would come out.
"I'm helping Drake because…because…" I looked at Drake for a second before the rest of my words came out quickly, all jumbled together. "Because I love him. And I don't fear death because I know Caine can't kill me without you." Sam looked confused.
"But I'm right here," he said slowly, "What's to say we won't kill you here and now?" I looked at Sam, so naïve, and I knew I had to tell him the truth.
"You couldn't even kill Brittney. How are you going to murder me when you know the truth?" Sam shoved his palms forward.
"Truth? What truth? What are you talking about?" he said, confused.
"No! Don't listen to her!" Caine shouted, desperate to keep Sam on his side. "She's lying! Don't listen to her!" Sam turned towards me and stepped forward.
"What truth!" Sam asked urgently. I looked at Caine and didn't even need powers to sense his emotions. Pure hatred was written all over his face. Then I turned to look at Sam. He was afraid, nervous, but unsure. He didn't want to kill me if I had information.
"I'm your sister," I breathed, then repeated it louder. "I'm your sister. You would never murder me. It isn't in your character." Caine flew at me, blind with rage. A sudden crack and he was on his knees, red line on his back opening up and starting to bleed freely. Sam looked in my eyes. I nodded a silent confirmation of what he was asking. He moved towards me, and my hand tightened around my knife before I realized he was hugging me.
"You were right," Sam said, and I think he was tearing up. "I can't kill you. Drake, on the other hand…" He rose and moved into a fighting stance. Drake's arm slashed the air in front of him.
"No!" I yelled, and both boys looked at me in surprise. "Please, just…don't kill him. Sam, go take Caine to Lana. She can fix his injury. Drake, he's my brother. Just let each other live for the time being, please!" Now I could feel myself crying, and cursed on the inside. Drake would think I was an idiotic sobbing girl and Sam would think I was some weak little sister. I didn't want his pity. Sam backed up and helped Caine to his feet.
"Sarah, I hate you," Caine's shaky voice. I looked at him and smiled. Of course he did. Everyone hated me.
"Sarah," said Sam, more kindly than Caine, "are you sure you want to stay here? You really love…that monster?" He pointed at Drake, who gave a signature shark grin. I laughed and moved to Drake, who put an arm around my waist. Sam shrugged. "Ugh. This is like déjà vu." I laughed again. Right after the Thanksgiving Battle, he had asked Diana the same thing about Caine. Caine seemed to pick up on that and moaned.
"Diana…" He pined. Drake was trying to resist the urge to burst out laughing. I punched him lightly to keep him quiet. Caine had already lost this battle. We didn't need to rub it in his face, as tempting as it was. Sam helped him limp off, back in the direction of the town. I wondered what the kids would think of their great king, half dead and moaning for his ex-girlfriend, carried by his archenemy, Sam. I would have paid to see it.
"No, not now," Drake said, but already he was shrinking, whip hand receding to a regular arm, braces forming over his teeth. Brittney was coming. I watched in equal parts horror and fascination as he twisted and transformed into the little prayerful girl. After he was done, Brittney looked at me.
"I have to leave," she said, and immediately began walking away, deeper into the forest. I was happy to see her go until I realized that wherever she went, Drake went too. I ran after her and cut her off. She wasn't very fast.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
"To see my God, and Drake's master," she said.
That was when everything in my life truly began to fall apart.