Chapter 49 A Noble Act
I sighed and stared off at the ceiling. My stomach, my heart, and my head all ached. The inside of my mouth was as dry as a bone.
Kam…
How could he be so stupid? How could he even think about trying to do this? Why did he feel that this was the best course of action?
What if I had done something more? What if I was around him more often? What if that would have been enough to save him from this horrible fate that now awaited him?
I sniffled and pulled my knees up to my chest. I took deep breaths as I buried my head in my lap. I was...empty. My brother was going to die. There was nothing that I could do for him at this point. All I could really do was lave him to the consequences of his actions, allow him to reap what he sowed. But even then, that wasn't good enough for me. After all….
He was my brother.
I started to cry, sob actually. This was...this was…
"Kamark?"
I lifted my head, for that voice always lifted my spirits somewhat. However, when I saw Singe's face, he looked just as worried as I was. He approached me and took a seat at the foot of my bed.
"I'm so sorry."
"For what? You didn't tell him to…"
"No. But I should have told you about what he was saying earlier. Maybe, if I had done that…"
I felt a pange, causing my heartache to increase. "Singe. Don't blame yourself. Never blame yourself. It wasn't your fault." I grit my teeth. "It wasn't anybody's fault except Kambert's. And now, it's too late for him."
Singe put on a determined face. "No. It's not. The trial hasn't happened yet. We still have a chance to save him."
I let out a hollow laugh. "You always try to look at even the worst scenarios with an optimistic outlook, Singe, I really admire that about you. But there is no optimism to be found here. Kam made his choice. His fate will be sealed by noon today, which is when the verdict for the trial will be announced."
Singe looked at me with...defiance? I couldn't say for sure. Either way, it was an emotion that I wasn't used to seeing on his face. He looked down at his right arm, wiggling the fingers on his hand. He stood up, facing me with an extra bout of seriousness.
"You said the trial is at noon, right?"
"Mmhm."
"So we still have time. We have two hours."
I shook my head. "Singe…"
"No! Kamark, we can do something! We might not be able to grant him freedom in its entirety, but we can save him from death! We just need to put our heads together and…"
"SINGE!" I shouted. I stared him down. "Stop! We can't! Do you understand that? WE! CAN'T!"
Singe shrank back from my tone. He looked down at his arm again, gripping hold of the wrist.
"There isn't even any point in going to the trial," I said. "After all the crimes he committed…" I wiped a tear from my eye. "I can't go watch him get the death sentence handed to him like this."
Despite the fact that Singe disagreed, as indicated by the look on his face, he nodded. "Okay."
With that, he left. Not feeling any desire to go out and do anything, I yawned and laid back in my bed. I figured I might as well get some rest.
…
I yawned and stretched my arms up to the ceiling. The blanket was wrapped around my little body, helping it to feel snug. I looked around the room until my eyes landed on the clock on my wall. That was when my heart skipped a beat.
8:00pm? Holy crap, I had been asleep for ten hours!
I bolted out of bed. I had to check on the rest of the Society. They were no doubt worried out of their minds. After all, they were just aware of the trial that faced Kam as Singe and I were. I had explicitly gone out of my way to tell them two days ago.
I made my way out into the main room of the hideout. The Society was hanging out there, a very real sense of sadness emanating off of everyone of them. I realized why immediately; the trial had been eight hours ago. The fate of my brother had already been announced.
I felt as if I was turning to stone. My breathing became shallow and rapid. I nearly collapsed to the floor, the only thing preventing me from doing so was a very speedy Marcus.
"Kamark," he said sullenly. No positive emotion in his tone at all. "Are you alright?"
Of course I wasn't alright. But the tone of Marcus's voice indicated he already knew the answer. If anything, the question was rhetorical.
I hung my head, not even bothering to hide my tears. There was no point in trying to hide them anymore, no point in running away from my emotions. Sure, they probably wouldn't help me in the long run, my feelings. But trying to deny their existence was just asking for trouble.
"There there," Marcus said. He embraced me in a hug. "It's going to be alright, Kamark."
I knew those were empty words. Despite that…
"Thank you."
The other society members noticed me in my state of misery. They all crowded around me and embraced me in the biggest group hug ever known to koopa. I allowed the warmth that their bodies provided to spread to my heart. Even though I was falling apart at the seams, I could still find solace in being here with everyone.
"Thank you," I said in between sobs. "Thank you, friends."
The Society smiled at me. I really did consider them friends, and they all knew that. I'm glad that we were as close as we were.
"Just hold your head up high," said a paratroopa named Kel.
"I lost my sister to cancer," said a lakitu named Chris. "I know what it's like to lose someone close to you."
"But you can't let that stop you," said Marcus. "You have to keep going."
I nodded and wiped my tears away. "I sure am lucky to have you guys."
The smiles on the Society members grew bigger. It was only once my eyes scanned over them all that I realized someone was missing.
"Where's Singe?"
As if right on cue, Singe came sliding down into the hideout, wearing a raggedy cloak over his shoulders. He smiled at me with the same brightness that he was always known for.
"I did it!"
"Did what?" I asked.
Singe's smile only grew bigger. "Kam isn't going to be executed."
Whispers grew up among the wide eyed society members. I raised my hand to quiet them and stared at Singe. "How is that possible?"
Singe smiled and removed the cloak. That was when the whole Society, including me, let out a gasp.
"Singe! Your arm!" cried Marcus. Kel and Chris even went so far as to faint.
I stared at the place where his right arm used to be in horror. In its place was a mechanical arm, a robotic arm. I looked up at Singe, my mouth gawking open. "Singe…"
"I gave it up. I struck a deal with Bowser. He said that he was willing to let Kam go free as long as I gave up something valuable to me. At first, I suggested my life…"
"SINGE!" I screamed.
He raised his now mechanical right arm. "That was more or less Bowser's reaction too." he giggled. "So, I suggested my dominant arm. He accepted that offer."
I stared at Singe, unable to comprehend what all was being said to me. "So...Kam is safe?"
"Yep! He got his sentence reduced to prison for life, so he isn't entirely free. But at least he's alive."
I slowly approached my crush. "Singe...thank you!"
I wrapped him up in a hug. I cried, but this time, they weren't tears of sadness. They were tears of joy. Singe was willing to go the extra mile for me and my family. He was incredible! He was magnificent! He was…
He was my one true love. I couldn't deny that anymore. He was everything that I could possibly hope for in a partner.
And come the next morning,I was finally going to man up and tell him that.