Chapter 4

Shadow was breathing shallowly when they entered. Locke stalked right up to him and snatched his mask off. The other three stared at Shadow's face. It had a few gashes on it, but the skin was stunningly pale from lack of sun. It bordered sharp green eyes and pale, rounded lips. His nose was slightly bent but otherwise perfectly formed. His lips curved slowly into a smile.

"So. It is too late."

"Hah. I've seen your face. You can't hide from me any longer, Clyde."

"Are you going to kill me?" His eyes shifted to look at Terra, Sabin and Edgar. "No, I see your guards are with you."

"Shut up." Locke said quietly.

"What's going on?" Edgar cut in impatiently.

"Be patient, Edgar." Shadow said in his low, flat voice. "You see… Locke has a grudge on me, a long, hateful grudge."

"Rightfully so," sneered Locke. "You were such a coward, and everything I went through was your fault."

"What happened?"

"Look at my hand, Terra." Locke removed the leather glove he always wore. Terra had thought he left it on for 'treasure hunting' purposes but now she wasn't sure. "See this scar? Even magic could not heal it. The skin isn't normal… it is knotted and mutilated. They nailed me to the wooden wall while I awaited my execution. Oh yes, right through my hands. Are you enjoying this, Clyde?" Locke smiled caustically. "The price for stealing a million GP was heavy. I'll let you use your imaginations to what else happened. And then… oh, well, let me start from the beginning.

"So after Rachel lost her memory I left Kohlingen. I wandered around some towns, and I met a man called… Clyde… a thief. Our skills were similar. So we became partners. I went under the alias 'Baram' because I didn't want Rachel to ever hear about a thief called 'Locke' should her memory return.

"Eventually we made a major plan to steal from the wealthier passenger trains of Doma. The trains that held the rich passengers were loaded with money, from the profit from the passengers and the money necessary for purchases along the road. A million GP. We took it successfully and made plans for our wealth. I even made up a new name for us. 'Shadow'. But we were tracked down quickly. I was… injured while we ran. The group split up to find us. A small group found us." Locke's lips twisted with contempt.

"Clyde…Shadow… during the fight, I was injured, and it was his fault. We were fighting them, but at the last moment, when he had to give the killing blow, he froze. He couldn't do it. And another came to attack him from behind. I shoved him out of the way... and.... I was injured. I asked Clyde to kill all the remaining men and catch up with me. I needed a head start because I was injured. But he was afraid… he said he couldn't… and I had to do it for him.

"He waited for me, of course. But we were slowed down. They began to catch up. I collapsed from blood loss. I asked Clyde to end it. I knew what they would do to me if I was caught. He was a coward. He was afraid to do it. And he didn't end it for me. He just ran. Ran. Abandoned me. He owed me that much, I couldn't save Rachel so he might have just ended it for me, but he ran and left me.

"Then they caught up… and did things… while I awaited my execution. But I heard imperial troops were moving recently, taking over towns, and killing townspeople. They were still far from Kohlingen so I wasn't too afraid. I planned to use my share of the million GP to go to Kohlingen and protect Rachel if there was a need. I knew I had to go. So I pulled my hands through the nails, took a hidden knife, and cut the rest of my bonds. It was hell, getting my hands out, holding the knife. I was injured in a million places and I was pretty much dead. But I went away, I'm not sure where. I must have come near a town.

"I fell unconscious nearby but some of the townspeople found me and took care of me. I was so badly injured I was unconscious for at least a week. I wasn't able to get out of the bed for five months, do you know that?" He shrieked at Shadow. "I couldn't use my hands for a goddamn year! And when I returned to Kohlingen, Rachel was dead. I was too slow, it's all your fault, goddamn you!" Terra closed her eyes, but she could feel salty water seeping out.

"Do you know what it was like, going through hell and coming back to earth again, because I had to live to save Rachel? Knowing it was all your fault, and Rachel died even though I went through all that hell for her? It was all your fucking fault, and I wasn't able to save her…" Then the man who had killed his emotions long ago began to cry for his enemy.