He should've said something.
But they had been doing so well. They handled it just fine, and trying to butt in would have just annoyed them. They had made it perfectly clear that they didn't want anything to do with him.
He should've done something. Said something, helped them fight at the least. Jeremy and Aelita would've been sensible enough to accept the help, and Yumi might have aside her pride and dislike. But Ulrich would have definitely refused.
Now their faces haunted him.
There was grim determination and strain in their eyes; their faces bordered on terror and threatened to break. It was all too clear, etched into his mind as if the school had been overrun with Xana's robots only a minute ago.
He should have been used to that. William had lost his father, his old friends, Yumi... No. He didn't want to think about that.
But that was different.He couldn't have stopped it that time, but this... he would've if he—he would have...
Would've...
Could've...
Should've...
None of that mattered now. They had saved the school, but they were dead. William couldn't change it or justify that he had just let them die, no matter how many could've's or would've's he used.
Their faces were in his dreams—nightmares, more accurately—staring at him with either an expression of wild terror or hate. William had seen the latter before—the numerous practical jokes and pranks he'd played at his old school ensured that.
But watching someone get scared to death just wasn't the same as watching someone die.
...yeah.
Just assume that all the 100-300 word dark prompts that come up next are challenges from XL. (Don't forget to check it out!)
