Chapter 7
The warm golden sunshine rays glistened down towards the ground on Axel's path ahead. The light had managed to pierce through several gaps in the trees and the woodland smelt fresh and airy during his daily hunt for food. It was as if this beautiful forest had stood here since the beginning of time and had never been touched or faltered with ever since.
The quietness of this place was calming for his soul and Axel felt the most at peace here. He could have easily spent the whole day in these woods before returning back to the higher terrain.
Suddenly along the soiled path, the white butterfly appeared in front of Axel's eyes once again. Its beautiful wings glistened almost silver on its edges as it fluttered between the sunlight and the shadows. Axel immediately understood that the butterfly was leading him somewhere. So he dropped down the logs of wood he had been collecting in order to chase and follow it. He quickly gained speed as he sprinted through the forest for the next two minutes on its trail.
It wasn't long until Axel's run stopped abruptly to a halt as soon as his feet stumbled across what seemed to be the edge of a large waterfall. He could feel how powerful the landmark was and the energy that it released was overwhelming. Although the waterfall was beautiful, none of this made any sense.
For almost 3 years now, Axel had come to know these lands and this forest like the back of his hand. During this time, he had never once heard of, nor had come across anything like this before. Axel had sworn to himself that a large oasis such as this, suddenly appearing on a trail that he walked on each day couldn't have been real. It was simply impossible. But here he was, standing by a waterfall so amazing like he had never seen before. He stood in front of it, breathless and frozen in awe.
This summer in particular had been much harsher than the previous two. The drought they had suffered had lasted now for weeks on end and water was scarce. But here in front of his eyes was enough water to quench a whole city.
Axel quickly ran back for the two large barrels he was carrying that he'd dropped before the butterfly appeared. He then returned to fill them with the fresh cool water. He carried the two heavy barrels all the way back up the terrain, but by that time, the butterfly was gone.
When Axel eventually returned to the cabin, Eru confidently smiled at him whilst John stared at the fighter in disbelief. Once again, Axel had at least a dozen questions aloud in his mind. He wasn't even sure if what he just witnessed had been real even though he brought back the water to prove it.
Axel caught his breath then used his wrist to wipe away the sweat from his forehead and his beard.
"What the hell just happened? What I saw couldn't have been real!" He sighed, heavily dropping the two large water barrels that he had carried for miles.
Eru calmly walked over to him then unbolted one of the barrels that instantly poured out the clear shiny water. He took a small cup and filled it close to the edge then he passed it onto Axel.
"Drink!" Eru encouraged the fighter, making full use of the very little English that he could speak.
Axel took the cup to his lips then gulped the whole lot down in one go.
"Does this taste real?" The old man questioned, this time in his own native language. Axel gave him a sheepish nod back.
"Then it's real,"
"But the waterfall...I'd never seen it before! I've been on that trail at least a hundred times!" Axel shrugged in disbelief.
"Just because you never saw something before doesn't mean it was never there all along," Eru replied.
Axel figured that this event was pretty much similar to the mysterious volcano that John had previously mentioned. Perhaps it was a portal to another dimension or something that had emerged from the spirit world. Either way, Axel couldn't have imagined it, nor could he have missed a waterfall of this size in that very same location. Then he remembered that the same butterfly had led him there.
"The butterfly appeared again so I followed it there…" Axel explained to Eru.
The two of them then took the half an hour trek down to the forest to the very same spot on the following day. However this time, the gigantic waterfall was no longer there.
Eru crouched down then pressed his palm into the soil beneath their feet. He could feel the intense energy that still remained from the waterfall deep in the earth and lingering in the air around them.
"Your spirit guide who showed you here was trying to protect you. You are well on the right path now to discovering your own True Strength and your capabilities", Eru explained. "You will witness more about this world and yourself in the coming future…."
"Who is this spirit guide then? Is it good? Is it an angel?" Axel asked, feeling curious.
"It could be, but it is lost and also trying to find itself. When you see a white butterfly, it means that this type of spirit is pure and good. It's a plain white compared to others because during its time here on Earth, this soul had never once sinned."
His words had sent shivers down Axel's spine and had given him so much to think about which was unexpected.
"Now you are ready for the next part of your journey" Eru nodded. "You must leave to live here in this part of the forest and continue with your training and meditation in solitude…"
Axel took a long exhale. For three years now he had become accustomed to the company, even though they were in the middle of nowhere. Eru was a mentor to him, but now it was time for Axel to step up further and become his own teacher.
"I have taught you everything I could. Now it's time for you to really understand your own spirit and everything around you."
That night, Axel packed up the few belongings he had into the same backpack he used when he had first arrived. He said his goodbyes to John then the old Shaman blessed him one last time. Eru wished him peace and strength on the rest of his journey and quest for true strength. Eru knew that it was not going to be easy and the most difficult challenges were yet to come. Living deep in the forest on the lower terrain was harder in many ways, but it was possible.
The following weeks ahead were another tough test for Axel who had been set the mammoth task to build his own wooden shelter from scratch. At the same time, Axel had to hold his own against the elements and dangers that surrounded him.
Eventually after hours of blood, sweat and tears, he succeeded day by day in building his own log cabin. It was strong enough to withstand the next Winter which came around in the blink of an eye once again.
One night, the skies started to heavily rain for what felt like hours. The sound of droplets beating against the roof reminded him for a moment of the first night he and Blaze spent together. But all of that now was a distant memory and Axel was a different man now. As time went on, he remained so focussed and dedicated to finding what he set out to search for, that some days he couldn't even recall his own name. No doubt, Axel was now stronger than ever, both physically and spiritually. His chi was the most powerful it had ever been and the fighter inside of him could take on anything. But there was still more to learn on this path to true strength.
Now that Axel had started to remain in solitude, he had nothing to listen to except for his own thoughts. But in his mind, they were now louder than ever. His only companion was the energy of nature that surrounded him as well as the white butterfly who often appeared by his bedside every day. This was Axel's life now and it would continue to be for a very long time.
Wood Oak City.
Blaze was sitting quietly around Adam's dining table along with Max, Sammy and Zan as they did every single Christmas day since she became part of their team. Except for this year, there were two main differences. Firstly, a new member of their crew was present at the table. Estel Aguire was her own force of nature. Bold, loyal, driven and she made a damn good officer in upholding the law. Adam had been seeing her for the past month where the couple had enjoyed several dates together however, it was early days and anything between them was yet to develop into something more serious.
The second notable difference was the empty chair next to Blaze. Their first Christmas without Axel around just wasn't the same. So far, he had been gone for just over 3 months. Although the group carried on as usual and barely spoke about his departure, they were feeling his absence even if they didn't admit it.
"Let's make a toast…" Max raised his glass. "To old friends. Those with us and without us in the world right now," The rest of the table joined him in raising their glasses.
"You ok?" Adam, who was at the head of the table whispered to Blaze sitting on his left.
"I'm fine," she nodded with a smile.
Soon after they started dinner, it didn't take long for someone to break the ice and address the elephant in the room that had affected the team's morale.
"So do you think Axel will be back anytime soon?" Sammy finally blurted out what everyone else was thinking mid way through chomping on his turkey leg.
"I don't know bro, he's been gone longer than we expected" Adam softly answered.
"I can't believe he's missing Christmas in Wood Oak!" Max was next to shake his head disappointingly before Estel gave her thoughts on the matter.
"Axel could have at least called you guys to let you know he's alright. What if something has happened to…"
"Sssh" Adam gestured under his breath, politely discouraging her from saying any more.
"I personally think the fucker is so busy training, that he forgot it was Christmas!" Max tried to lighten the mood.
"Ax could survive anything though, I'm sure he's doing great…" Sammy nodded.
Zan was next to display his discontent, "Estel has a point though, I still think that it would have been the responsible thing to give us a call."
"I can't see him coming back anytime soon…" Max sighed defeatedly.
Just as the others started to bring what was on their minds off their chest, a loud bang on the dinner table immediately silenced their flaring conversation. Blaze had angrily slammed her fists down next to her plate and she didn't want to hear anymore about it. She was the one in the room who hadn't yet lost hope or faith in Axel as they did, so Blaze finally broke her silence about it.
"Guys, really?" She sighed. "Axel was with us everytime we fought, he was the one who led us and risked his own life! Without him, Adam would certainly not be alive right now and the war with the Lima Nations would have wiped us all out! So cut him some slack, I know that he's coming back soon and so should you! Why are you giving up on him?!" Blaze huffed in dismay after her outburst.
"I'm sorry," Sammy was the first to apologize, feeling guilty about bringing this up before the others followed.
Adam however knew Axel well enough to know that this situation wasn't right. Not one phone call, not one letter….. nothing. He had just taken off into the woods without a goodbye and disappeared into his own world without a consideration. Adam looked at Blaze with sadness in his eyes. He pitied her for hoping for so much. He could see the situation for what it was, but Blaze was blinded and still madly in love with the guy. She held on tightly to the note she had received the day after Axel left when he had promised to come back for her. She had taken everything he said to heart. And in Adam's mind, Blaze was either destined to fall hard if Axel didn't return anytime soon, or she was simply in denial.
For weeks now, Blaze had also changed. Work for her was tough and the Commissioner was hard on her after she went AWOL for those 10 days back in September. Was she pretending to be happy? Or did she really believe every word Axel said? One thing was for sure though, time would tell. And Adam had already started to have serious doubts in Axel.
Three days later.
Adam was the type of guy who preferred to stand back, analyse and make sense of a situation before approaching it. This made him unique in contrast to Axel and Blaze who were both headstrong in nature, where they often made impulsive decisions. He had taken a few days out after Christmas to himself in order to make sense of everything. Adam had also known Axel the longest out of the entire group since they were children. He had witnessed his best friend's life turn from normal to upside down overnight.
Adam was used to the phases that Axel had been going through since his teenage years and he was always there for him through thick and thin. The two of them were like brothers and he could count on Axel for anything. The ultimate test was when the syndicate had taken Adam as hostage under Mr X's leadership. They had tortured him and were about to kill him, but Axel risked his own life in order to save his friend. That day he had fought hard like he had never before. Along with the help of the others, Axel defeated Mr X as well as his arch-rival Shiva. There was nothing that Axel wouldn't have done for Adam and the feeling was mutual. But this decision of his was so out of the blue and out of character. Adam never had thought in a million years that Axel would have gone through with completely shutting himself off to the rest of the world for good.
He cautiously approached the block that led up to Blaze's apartment. The two of them hadn't spoken properly since Christmas day and he knew that she had been ignoring his calls. Blaze was the youngest of the three as cops and was on the lowest pay. By the time she had arrived in Wood Oak City, she was forced to start over from scratch. Blaze worked hard to rebuild a life here after leaving London with nothing. She was too stubborn to admit it, but Adam could see that she was struggling financially and had often rushed into making poor decisions.
The block she lived in was rough like many other hoods in this part of the city, but Blaze kept her head down and was more than capable of handling her own. She would often change her police clothes at work so that none of the residents knew about her role there. To them, she was just the pretty English girl who lived next door.
Adam knocked on her door several times before there was an answer. He waited patiently for about a minute until finally, three different chained locks were undone before the door swung open.
"And there I was thinking you were too busy after you abandoned us for the SIF," (Special Intelligence Forces), Blaze gave him an annoyed stare against the doorframe, folding her arms.
Adam had transferred departments recently after turning down several promotional roles at their precinct. He wanted to do something that had required more work behind the scenes undercover, catching the big brawlers who ran operations outside of the city. He had grown fed up with the blues and their environment at the precinct so with Estel's recommendation, Adam landed a senior role elsewhere that offered a more generous paycheque.
"I didn't abandon you, I just wanted to try something different…." Adam shrugged. "Can I come in?" He asked.
"Sure", Blaze sighed. "I was only joking by the way, I'm actually happy for you and you deserve to be somewhere where they appreciate your work". Blaze rested against one of the kitchen counters opposite him.
"Well, after six months I'll be running my own task force in the SIF, guaranteed! So if you hold on a little while longer, I'll put in a good word for ya and you can join us!" He winked with optimism.
"I'm good," Blaze smiled back as she brushed past him towards the small open-plan living area.
Suddenly Adam noticed the log book, keys and documents to Axel's car on one of the kitchen counters.
"Hey, what's going on with Axel's car? The tax for it isn't due for another six months and we can always turn a blind eye to it at the department…" he raised one eyebrow.
"Oh, I'm not planning on renewing it. A buyer is coming for it tomorrow." Blaze casually answered.
"What?! You can't just go sellin' a man's whip without his permission!" Adam looked at her in shock.
"I have to," Blaze sighed, turning her gaze towards the window. "A buyer is coming tomorrow and he said he'l take it off my hands for $5K.
"You do realise that's stealing don't you Blaze? I don't know what to say to you right now!" He shook his head annoyed. "You must really think then what we're all thinking, that Axel ain't coming back any time soon. But that doesn't excuse what you're doing! What's it gonna be next huh? His home?!" Adam raised his voice, now perplexed.
Blaze turned to face him whilst her temper had begun to flair up. "Don't ever say that! Of course Axel is coming back, he has to!" She yelled back at him.
Adam took a deep breath to compose himself before he replied. "Sweetheart, I hate to break it to you but it's been over three months now. Axel left all of us and has now moved on. Don't you think you should do the same?"
"He's coming back, I know it! He promised me…." Blaze argued with a stern tone in her voice.
"And you believed everything he said didn't you? I'll always have Axel's back but you and I both know what his track record is like when it comes to relationships. The guy's a player without any commitments or intentions. He probably told you what you wanted to hear just to get in your bed."
"That's not true. He loves me!" Blaze snapped back.
Adam shook his head. "Can you hear what you're saying right now? Blaze, I thought you were smarter than that. You're starting to sound like a lost teenage school girl right now, it's delusional! I have to be honest with you as your friend. And I know you don't wanna hear this, but Axel ain't coming back and you need to move on with your life."
Blaze suddenly fell silent then she looked down towards the floor. Adam's words were harsh and what he had said was a bitter pill to swallow. But he had a point. All this time, Blaze was nowhere near ready to lose hope about Axel returning. She had held onto his word all this time.
"I don't give a shit what you think anymore!" Her tone was still angry and worked up.
"Fine! You can stay here then, feeling sorry for yourself until you're ready to come out again. In the meantime, I'm taking this…" Adam reached for Axel's car keys and documents on the counter.
"No! You don't understand, I need that money…`` She reached forward to snatch back the paperwork, but Adam didn't give in.
"If you needed cash or anything, why didn't you come to me or Max? You know we're here to help,"
"I don't want your help! Just give me the fucking keys back!" Blaze demanded, almost ready to throw a punch his way.
"It's pretty fuckin' selfish the way you're going about this I think. And no, I ain't givin' this back to you." He shouted back as she fought with him to snatch back the car keys. "If you need money, you'll have to find it the honest way…" he quickly turned away from her then stormed off towards the door.
"Adam, I'm pregnant!" Blaze suddenly yelled back. She immediately took a deep breath and paused as he slowly turned around to face her.
"What? Are you sure?" He frowned with shock on his face.
"Yes…" Blaze sighed as she took a deep breath, this time answering him back with a softer tone in her voice.
"And is it his…?" Adam awkwardly asked.
"Do you really have to ask me that?!" Blaze snapped back, feeling annoyed at him.
Adam took a deep exhale, then covered his nose and mouth in his hands. He tilted his head back to glance at the ceiling as he paced up and down the living room in disbelief at what he was hearing.
"How could the two of you have been so stupid?!"
Blaze shrugged, almost ashamed to tell him the truth before she turned away to face the window. "I've asked myself the same question hundreds of times…" she sighed. "I was planning to sell that car because I needed the money for hospital bills, clothes and anything else. You know what our workplace is like, maternity pay is shit!"
"So you're planning to keep it?" He queried. "You realise, you're going to end up as a 23 year old single mom, plus the Commissioner has tried to find any excuse to get rid of you! You have the rest of your life ahead, think about this first."
"Fuck the Commissioner! This is what I want and I've thought this through." Blaze replied with certainty. "And if you can't accept it, that's fine. This baby ain't your problem. Just do me a favour and spare me the lecture from now on!"
Adam took a deep breath, remaining calm as he sat down on the arm of the couch opposite Blaze who was standing.
"Look, I'm here for you. I'm sorry I snapped at you like I did, you just caught me by surprise" he shrugged. "Whatever you decide to do, you know I'll support you. All of us will. Don't shut us out like Axel did. You don't have to go through this alone…."
"It won't come to that, I know he's coming back!...He has to, right?" She gulped, staring back at Adam for reassurance.
He gave Blaze's hand a gentle squeeze. "I hope so, I really do".
