The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.
Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.
Piers' Room
The young soldier continued to read the contents of Chris's flash drive while he took care of Kate after the fight with Angelina.
And the more he found out about Christopher, he could not help but make some comparisons with his friend and boss Chris.
Christopher seemed to be a primordium version of Chris as a young man, according to what he remembered from the conversations with Claire: temperamental, determined, and concerned about the people he liked.
Years fighting against bio-threats and personal sacrifices and losses created a thicker skin on the captain.
The files of Christopher's later life showed him more tormented by the remorse of past mistakes and choices, especially in relation to his children. It was painful for a protective father to bury each of the children who perished before him. He felt like it was not the natural order.
And being a single father had never been in his mind either, or even part of his dreams of having a family.
However, the more Piers read the diaries, the more he understood Christopher's complex emotional state and unlike what the public knew about his love for Angelique, more up to the end of his life there were only few mentions of Angelique. He had finally allowed her to rest in peace.
And in the last two years of life, Christopher only talked about Katarina and their children, including Oliver, but most of the content was about him and Katarina.
In the last two years of his life, Christopher seemed to ignore the marriage annul to the brunette, and often he referred to her as his wife. For him, the marriage on paper was just a detail.
It was clear the confusion he had, confessions of anger and love mingled. Illusion and deception were frequent words in the accounts.
Christopher seemed to stay aloof from what happened to Katarina, but it was only by public facade. It was he who fought with the proper authorities so she could be allowed to keep the trunk she always carried wherever she went. The trunk with the memories of the children they had. For the authorities he claimed that the trunk was of no use to him and only served to remember the terrible memory of that viper, but in the diary Christopher confessed that he fought for her for know how much that trunk was important to her and also to be a way of redeeming himself for having taken away the children from her during their raising. The trunk was a form of comfort to both of them. And a link that connected them.
Christopher knew he did not have much time to live and began to organize things before his departure. He did not want to leave anything partly solved and yet he asked God which he did not believe the strength and courage to face Katarina for the last time. He wanted to say goodbye and tell her how much he loved her and missed her.
But he could not... his pride was greater, and he missed the only chance he had. He failed.
His health after the meeting suddenly worsened what made it impossible to try to meet her again, and that was when he wrote his final letter.
Piers let out a heavy sigh and finally understood the other side of the story that Lionel stood for.
It was Christopher himself who asked Lionel to take care of Katarina for him when he could no longer, after all, he did not seem to have this merit after so many mistakes that he committed towards her, to them.
And Chris Redfield seemed to be just continuing from the point where Christopher stopped and redeemed himself for Christopher by sheltering Kate and in taking care of her at all times and even in those times when she seemed to not deserve it – a sort of unconscious redemption.
Could this possibility be that they were actually the reincarnations of those people, as Lionel believed? Piers wondered, even though he remained skeptical despite admitting that some things seemed to fit and make sense.
Apart from what he talked about Katarina, Christopher also talked a lot about Henry and Oliver. The living seeds of the women of his life.
At some point his closeness to Oliver declined. They had no animosity, but Oliver hated Katarina with all his might.
And with that distance, Christopher could only count on the frequent help of Lionel and Henry.
Christopher was very categorical in talking about Henry and how much they had in common although Henry had many physical traits of Katarina as pale skin, green eyes, and dark hair.
While Melissa was the opposite and of the girls he had, she was the one who most resembled him physically, while Lilly was practically a duplicate of Katarina, even in the manner of speaking with the French accent.
Despite the love he felt for his children, it was sad to know how he used them to hurt Katarina for a while. And especially how badly he had influenced the twins over their mother.
Even though he regretted it later, the damage had already been done and Christopher managed to hit her in what she loved the most besides him, her children.
Reading about this repentance of Christopher, Piers breathed again and wondered: Was this the source of Chris's fear in being reluctant to have children even with the excuse of work, and also why he felt so much for the pain of Kate not being able to have children? If it were true that they were the reincarnations of the old couple, would that be their karma to be lived together?
Chris might not speak openly and even deny it, but his attitudes seemed to reflect Christopher's dilemmas.
Piers chuckled, "This is already going too far. These ideas have nothing to do. I'd better stop here" he told himself
It was late at night and near the time he'd arranged to meet Yana.
The next morning, they woke up with knocks on the door. Quickly they dressed. It was Chris. Yana left them alone.
"I can see that I won't be the only one to marry in the duo..."
"Ah come on! It's not all that"
"Is not that? Every time I leave you alone and I meet you, the two of you are together"
"I really like her, but marriage is a bit too much at the moment"
"She is cool..."
"She is, but we have an ocean of distance and you and I have a job to do"
"I know... but before we jump to work… I know I'm not the most appropriate to give advice, even more for you, but this ocean story is just an excuse. It's obvious the attunements and the chemistry you have, the things in common that you have. This is rare. In my opinion, it is worth the investment"
"I appreciate your opinion and we'll see what happens... but now we have a job to do and my suggestion is that we should go to your house in Arthena. I have a hunch that there we will get some answer since the perimeter of the cave is out of the question"
"Yes I agree. That's what I woke up thinking of..."
As they headed for the elevator, they were talking, "How's Kate?"
"She is fine. She is resting…"
"Did you guys talk?"
"Yes we did. She told me what happened"
"Do you believe her?"
"I do! She admitted that she was wrong too, but in my view the two made a mistake and should be even"
"Kate is a good girl, but she can lose control because of jealousy..."
"It was not out of jealousy, but it was Angelina's offense that made her explode and I'm completely on Kate's side on this... I never imagined Angelina could be so toxic like that and offend someone's defect…"
"I agree it was heavy what she said"
"I was very disappointed with Angelina, not only for what she said, but because she did not admit what she did, she was not honest with me even having chances for it"
Was it just Chris's biggest motive for his radical decision? Was that omission sufficient reason for him to be so adamant in his decision? Or is it because there is also a reflection of the past according to Mr. Lionel's crazy theories?
"I see ..." Piers replied
They changed subjects afterwards as they headed to Old Arthena.
Fleury Head Office, Technical Department
"Jesus Christ, what is this?" A young technician commented with a bewildered expression as he stared at the computer screen
The technician watched the retrieved camera footage of one of the researchers killed in Bohma. He watched it several times, paused several scenes and printed the screenshots before picking up the phone, "Please inform Mr. Dennis and Mr. Douglas that the analysis of the video is complete"
It didn't take long for Dennis Fleury, the company's vice president, entered the room.
"What did you find out about the footage?"
"See for yourself" the technician spoke showing him the computer screen
Dennis was stunned and immediately left the lab and headed to his father's office.
"Is that way to enter my office?" said the old man with a pissed tone. His mood wasn't in the best since the assassinations of his researchers
"We got a situation"
"What kind of situation?"
Dennis showed him the screenshots.
Douglas analyzed them, intrigued.
"That situation…" Dennis commented
"What is that?"
"The creature that killed the researchers"
"That I know! I meant what kind of creature is that?"
"I don't know…but I heard locals believe there are guardians in Bohma…"
"Guardians? Is that how they call B. up there?"
Dennis chuckled, "Apparently…"
"Any luck getting into the cave again?"
"None. It's highly secured now"
"I wonder why…" Douglas spoke looking at a picture of an albino creature with human silhouette, bald, shirtless and white eyes although in some the eyes were black
"I don't know if their government knows about it, but certainly someone is covering it…the security seemed private"
"Probably who created it"
"So should we drop the search on the black herb?"
"Not at all! More than ever we have to get it!" He looked again at the picture, "and this creature too!"
"What? How?"
"Somehow! I'll contact a certain agency and provide some tactics. This creature needs to be studied!"
"I see"
"By the way, any luck with the petit bitch?"
"I contacted her brother…for some money he told me where she lives now"
"Where is she?"
"More important is who is she with now?"
"I want to know everything, I told you that! I still will face her! I haven't forgotten how she abandoned me!"
"She lives with the BSAA guy, Chris Redfield…"
"That moron?!" Douglas grumbled
"Yes, and they're engaged"
"Engaged? So he's actually the one she was cheating on me with? I thought it's was the other bastard…"
"Maybe she had both…"
"Coming from her? I don't doubt!"
Dennis shrugged.
"So the petit slut is engaged to the moron that ruins my friend's plans…so he's a bigger stone in my shoe than I expected…I wonder if he knows the truth about her…"
"So what are you going to do?"
"We'll be more careful this time and I will have a talk with the fool…I won't let him be with my petit…the break for her to screw around is over and I will get her back! She's mine!" he gritted his teeth, "But first let's get her attention and see if she's really moved on from her dirty past!"
"What do you want me to do?"
"Get her attention! Use her brother or whoever else! Just get her attention to expose her!"
Old Arthena, Christopher Reed's House
Chris and Piers were allowed to enter the property. Piers noticed the bad maintenance of the place, strangely that got his attention. Not even "his" house had been so abandoned like Chris'. There was certainly something different about that place, he could feel it.
As they entered the house, it didn't look as bad as the outside.
"I didn't have the chance to actually see the house because of Kate, but today we don't have to worry about distractions" Chris commented
"Sure…It's a cool…looks old…"
Chris laughed, "Sure it does, but I don't intend to keep it"
"No?"
"Of course not! It'd be just a waste of money…and a money I don't actually have!"
"Come on! Money is not a problem for you, is it?"
"Piers…look at this place! It's just another expense I'm not willing to have, not because of the money I have, but the waste of money I don't want to have in a place I won't even live"
"Rent it" Piers joked
Chris laughed, "Only if for a ghost!"
They climbed up the stairs. 10 suits, but only one was clean, the master suit where Christopher and Katarina slept.
Chris looked at the king size bed and felt a brief torpor.
Piers stared the walls and all the sexy paintings of Katarina usually half naked, "Wow…" he spoke seeing the erotic painting of Christopher and Katarina hung in front of the bed. Both naked in a very intimate moment. Taken by lust, "Their sexual steam was definitely true!" He commented
Chris looked at the painting. Katarina completely naked and lying between Christopher's naked legs and against his bare chest, her legs fully open as his left hand was over her womanhood covering it from the viewer's, yet his fingers were into her and his right hand cupping her right breast. Her left arm around his neck as they stared each other with passion.
"Yeah…" he swallowed
"I almost feel like in a porn room with all those sexy paintings…" Piers said taking notice of another naked painting of Katarina full frontal holding a red fabric and another of her in a doggy position, or the one she was naked arching her back and head shamelessly.
Chris cleared his throat, "We should get out of here…"
Piers giggled, "Are you embarrassed or something?" he asked with a teasing tone
"I just don't see the reason why we're in this room when we came to investigate the abandoned house in the other area…" Chris replied taking the lead to leave the room.
He certainly was embarrassed. Well, not him exactly. Katarina's image still disturbed him. She was undeniably a sexy and stunning woman even with no clothes on. Her power of seduction was a keen from anyone he had ever seen. Maybe except for Kate. Like Katarina, Kate did have some "crazy" ideas for their intimate moments. She made him do things he never expected to do such as sex in the office even in daylight, or in some public places, or by take pictures or recording them having sex. Of course they deleted it afterwards, but he never forgot the very first time she asked him to take a picture of his view while fucking her from behind. She wanted to see his point of view while she was in doggy style. And he took the pictures. He trusted her. He trusted she wouldn't broadcast it.
Just like Katarina, Kate was shameless during sex and loved the feeling of the danger of being caught in action. Even if they were caught, she certainly wouldn't mind though. She loved the spotlight.
He could guess Christopher did feel the same as him about those "crazy" ideas of those women. Even vexed, they ended up ceding to them. Somehow, he and Christopher did like the danger and the feeling of doing something "wrong" sexually speaking. The feeling of being controversial.
They returned to the living room and they were surprised to see Jerry there greeting them.
"That must be destiny! I was about to call you Chris"
"Why?" Chris replied
"I wanted to talk to you"
"So talk…"
"Where's Kate?"
"She's not here, why?"
"I'd like to talk to her too"
"You can do that at the hotel because here she will never put her feet ever again"
"Oh…now I remember, I heard she thought she had seen a ghost…"
"Yeah…"
"That's sad…there are no ghosts…"
"I agree…"
"So you returned with Piers…By the way, did you like your future house?" Jerry replied turning to Piers
"Yeah…it's cool…"
"Will you keep it?"
Piers shrugged, "I don't know…it depends on the cost of maintenance…"
"I see…but if I'm not mistaken, you were granted a share of money, weren't you?"
"Yes, but…money ends so…"
"I understand…I can totally understand…but I'm glad you're here visiting your houses. It's not every day that someone gets a good house, right!"
"Good house?" Chris spoke looking around. His house didn't look that good, and the land was definitely worse
"They're good houses…"
"Come on! I don't know about his, but I saw Kate's…mine doesn't look good at all, I definitely won't keep it" Chris said with a shrug
Jerry frowned quickly and disguised his reaction, "Maybe you see that way only because you're seeing it only with your eyes…"
"And how can I see another way? Isn't it what eyes are for?"
Jerry laughed, "It makes sense what you said"
Piers observed the man and could sense Jerry was hiding something, "Maybe if we take a better look in the property he might change his mind as he didn't have the time for that last time…" he said
"Sure! It's his place after all"
"So would you mind opening the gate for us"
"Sure, but only for you. Not him"
"Well, it's my land isn't it? Should I decide who I want to join me wherever I go?"
"Absolutely, but only after the land is transferred to your name, until there, I'm the one responsible for all the permissions and interests about the lands, but don't get me wrong, I'm just following orders"
"So why did Kate had the permission to cross the gate? Was it only because she's a girl?"
"Oh of course not! She also had the permission for it"
Chris and Piers exchanged gazes briefly.
"Why?" Chris asked
"Again, I just follow orders…"
Chris let out a sigh and stared at Piers who waved his head at him in acceptance, "Alright…so I'll go alone…"
Even suspicious, Chris and Piers obeyed to the instructions. Chris crossed the gate alone but received a radio from Jerry in case he needed some assistance.
Again Chris made his way into the woods, heading to the abandoned stone cottage of his dreams.
He felt watched.
He felt weird.
He stayed outside only staring the cottage and the surroundings. He carried a hidden knife with him – just in case.
He walked around the house, slowly, observing it. He walked to the back and saw a well. A dry well. He felt shivers staring down the deep hole. He was sure the monster he had seen had ran that way, but it was deep enough for him to see the bottom without a flashlight.
He so felt watched. His heart beating faster and the adrenaline raising his senses. He could feel he wasn't alone. He looked at the house, to the window. Nothing.
He looked more to the surroundings, the wood was too dense to see further. Yet, his intuition screamed to him there was something about that well. About the house.
Carefully he walked back to the front area. He stared the tall mountain among the trees. Once upon a time there used to be a waterfall there.
He heard the birds chirping. Only him and the nature, and some flashes of dream memories.
Why did he receive a worthless land? Once upon a time Christopher Reed kept his family's inherited emeralds in that abandoned place. He looked at an old map showing there used to have a waterfall, a river and emeralds there. An useless map. No water fall. No river. No emeralds anymore.
He turned again to the house. The front door was half open. More closed than open. He frowned. That was weird. He didn't leave it that way when he went there.
Someone else had been there after him and Kate.
He moved slowly to the house and peeped through the window to see inside. Nothing out of the usual as far as he could see.
He headed to the door, slowly he opened it.
He felt shivers from head to toe. Something was different inside. He grabbed his knife before opening it completely.
His eyes widened as he caught the vision of the white silhouette standing near the fireplace staring at him.
"Drop the knife. I won't hurt you…" the white male figure told him with a calm tone
Flashback
It was daylight, Christopher was at the table in the living room while writing letters to send to his children who no longer lived with him and already lived in other houses with their own families.
"Daddy, Daddy!"
He heard the screams of Melissa, his youngest 12-year-old daughter, approaching the house.
"What happened Mel?" He replied
"Hurry! Henry..." she spoke catching her breath
"What about him?"
"He got hurt!"
"Again?" He asked getting up quickly
"Hurry dad, he's bleeding a lot!"
"Where is he?"
"In there" she pointed to the barn
Without thinking twice, Christopher rushed to the location, and as he entered, he saw little Henry, holding his wrist all bloodied, and a machete full of blood on the floor near him.
"What happened, son?" He asked worried, taking a handkerchief out of his pocket
"I cut myself" the boy replied coolly
"How?"
"I wanted to make a test…"
"Test what, son?! Look at you!"
"I'm fine, dad..."
Christopher knelt down and looked better at his son's wrist and could not believe his eyes. Or rather, in what he didn't see! The boy's pulse was perfectly unmarked.
"Are you lying to me as your mother did?" He said in shock and irritated at the same time
(*)
As time passed, Henry became an adult and remained very attached to his father, and they both had some hobbies in common such as going out to hunt, or training.
Of all the children, Henry was the only one who kept close to his father in the everyday, even more than Oliver. Henry was the son most attached to his father and never questioned his father at all.
They both had a very special connection.
One day, he was helping his father with the barn reform.
Christopher no longer had all the physical vigor of youth; after all, he was almost 60 years old. But in spite of his old age and increasingly weakened health, he was still active in what he could and always had the help and support of Henry for everything - his most special son.
But it was during the reform of the barn that an accident happened and a wooden slat struck Henry in the chest.
"Henry!" Christopher shouted desperately seeing his impaled son
Henry was agonizing with the pain of the object crossing his chest, but even with the pain, he held the batter and in a quick movement, he pulled it out. The lung had been pierced and a huge amount of blood spurted from him as he agonized on the floor.
Christopher was desperate not knowing what to do.
"Dad..." he whispered before closing his eyes
Christopher bent over his son's body, weeping. He could not believe that happened before his eyes. He could not believe he would have to bury another child of his. He'd have to bury his special son.
While Christopher was in tears, he didn't realize that Henry's wound was healing. It took a few minutes, but Henry slowly regained consciousness in his father's arms.
"Dad..." he whispered through the weeping of the old man who immediately ceased upon hearing his voice
"Henry..."
"Sorry to have made you cry so long, but I'm getting better..."
"Oh my God, Henry!"
(*)
Years passed, Christopher aged as Henry remained the same in young looks, although his skin showed more evidences of Henry's specialty.
Henry had always been as white as his mother Katarina, but his sensitivity to the sun and lights starting to affect him more and more. He had to cover his skin with long sleeves and pants, and hats. Something was changing in him and his skin getting paler as the time passed.
The last time Christopher had seen his youngest and special son was one day before his death.
The old man was leaving his bedroom in Arthena's house with the help of Lionel and headed to the dark room across the hallway. He knew Henry didn't like to see all those paintings of his mother.
The pale man was sitting at the desk when he saw his father entering the room.
"Is there anything I can do for you?" the pale man asked standing up
"I want to talk to you"
Young Lionel left them alone after helping Christopher sit on the bed.
"Listen to me very attentively, I won't be able to repeat it again as Mrs. Death is very close to me"
"You say that everyday and you're still here…"
"But I mean it this time, I can feel it"
"Alright…"
"I know you don't like listening about your mother but you have to. This time you have to! She's still alive, in prison, all alone and only god knows for how long. She won't have anyone else but Lionel to count on as I know she can't count on you for anything. I know you blame her for being the way you are, for being so special…"
"I'm not special, I'm a freak!"
"Call it whatever you want, but…"
"But nothing! She's not the only one in prison, I'm imprisoned too! I can't have a life this way! The sun hurts! If I cut my members off, they get restored! I can't die because this fucking body's regeneration! And it's all her fault! She cursed me!"
"She loves you, she wished for you!"
"I hate her! I'll never forgive her for all she did! You yourself taught us and all the inhabitants that she's evil! Why now are you telling me otherwise?"
"Because I was wrong! I was angry with her"
"She's a murderer! She doesn't deserve mercy!"
"She's your mother"
"She's a witch!"
"Henry…she's having the same fate as you…she's locked in her youth and in that cell…"
"She's not. She wasn't born this way! I told you to cut her neck off, to stab her heart when you had the stupid idea of visiting her so you could be sure she's not like me! She can die! She can get away after all the crap she did, while me? I'm sentenced forever!"
"I'm sorry…" Christopher felt affected by Henry's anger
"Don't say that…"
"I wished you too Henry…You're a part of me too and I never thought things would be this way…"
Despite his anger, his father's tears affected him. He had always been the example to be followed. He had always been his mentor. His best friend. His shelter.
"You don't have to be sorry, you were bewitched…"
"Henry, my son…my dear son…she never wished that for you either…"
"Yet she's the one to blame…If you can forgive her, it's up to you. But me, I don't forgive her at all!"
"You know she could watch out for you when I'm gone…"
"I'll live my way when you're gone…by the way, you know there's still that option for you to prolong your life and continue watching out for me…"
"Son…if that were the order of life, I'd gladly continue living with you…but that's not how things are supposed to be…"
"I know…I'm the exception"
"Son…I'm sure one day you'll meet Mrs. Death too, but I believe that you're special for a reason…"
"It's damnation!"
"Maybe you're special because you're the only one who can protect the Black Herb, or do you want anyone else sharing that fate and suffering as you? You know there are some people that still try to enter the cave to see if the herb is really extinguished…"
"I don't wish that condemnation for anyone but Katarina O'Gregon. She's the one who started it all!"
"You should blame the Walker brothers. They were the ones using it for bad purposes"
"And they got what they deserved! They were killed by their own stupidity!"
Christopher let out a heavy sigh and placed his hand on his chest. It hurt. His son's bitterness hurt him.
Henry was irreducible. He was as stubborn as he himself was. He didn't insist on that subject anymore. He knew his son too well and anticipated what he really wanted to say in a letter he wrote for him, but only at the right time Henry would have access to it.
They continued talking about other things. Christopher Reed was only saying goodbye to his special son.
End of Flashback
Chris was stunned. The figure's eyes were white – was he blind? - and he wore an outfit that covered him from head to toe. He started removing the outfit from his face so Chris could see him. A few details were different, but that white figure staring back at him was so similar to no one else but Henry O'Gregon Reed.
"It can't be…" Chris whispered making the physicals comparisons to the man of his dreams and the portraits he had seen at the museum
"It can't be what?"
"You…"
"It's about time we finally met…It's been a long time…"
"What?"
"Oh, I beg your pardon. I forgot you don't remember…"
"I don't remember what?"
"Never mind…what matters is that we're facing each other after all…" he said moving away from the fireplace and heading to a window
Chris raised his knife again in a defensive position.
"I told you to drop down your knife. I won't hurt you!"
"I don't know you or what you are…"
He gasped with a shrug, "Does it matter when I'm treating you politely?"
"In my job things like you shouldn't exist…in exception of few…"
He grinned, "I agree I shouldn't exist! And that's why I'm glad we finally met. That means my mission is coming to an end at last"
"Mission? What mission? Killing people is your mission?"
He laughed, "It happens… though we have similar jobs…killing happens when lunatics use people as guinea pigs to create freaks like me, but always fail or for not being able to keep them under their control or because of the intromission of people like you…defenders… so you and I are no different about many things"
"So what makes you so different of the lunatic creatures I kill?"
"I'm not a threat, I only defend my territory from bad people who create the lunatic creatures you kill"
"So those men were bad people?"
"In my opinion yes, mostly because of the people behind them!"
"What do you know about it?"
"Oh, now you want my cooperation. I thought you wanted me dead"
"If I wanted you dead, you'd be by now"
He laughed loud, "That's why I called you…"
"You called me?"
"Yes, through Jerry…didn't he give you my message?"
Chris shook his head.
"Oh…so something else brought you here…"
"You brought me here…I saw you the other day watching us…"
"Oh, right! Such a day!" he smiled, "How's the pretty girl doing, I didn't mean to scare her…"
"She's good"
"I felt bad seeing her that way…got me worried…"
"Why do you care? You don't even know her…"
"I'm not a heartless thing…I do care about people! I never meant to hurt nor scare anyone…"
"That's nice of you!" Chris spoke in sarcasm
"You have the right to not believe me…I'd doubt too hearing that from a freak…"
Chris let out a sigh and stared the figure looking outside with a contemplative expression.
"Are you Henry O'Gregon Reed?" Chris broke the silence
A few seconds passed before he answered, "I used to be…"
Chris bit his lips not knowing what else to say. He was confused at some extent. He couldn't figure what he was feeling nor what to think. He wanted so bad to find out the truth about the dead researchers and now the questions escaped him after having the confirmation Henry had killed them.
"I didn't want this meeting to be like this…"
"Why did you want to meet me?"
"Never mind…"
"Never mind? You killed people to get my attention, now you have it!"
"I didn't kill people to get your attention, you're figuring it all wrong!"
"So tell me, why did you kill those people? What do you know about the people behind them?"
"They were researchers who worked for the Fleury's…They want the Black Herb for their evil purposes with bioterrorism"
"How can you be so sure?"
"They're not the first to try it…I heard them talking…"
"You live in a cave! You can't be sure they were after the Black Herb!"
"I told you I heard them! My senses and sensitivity are highly advanced and the echo of the cave prolong the sounds. I heard and saw you at the cave with your friend too"
"Yeah I saw the cameras…"
"I don't need it…They're just useful when I'm not there"
"Like now…"
"Like from now on…"
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"I can't go back to the cave anymore. I made the mistake of being seen…It's just a matter of time until a new expedition is sent there"
"So you came to hide in my land?"
He laughed, "Technically this is my land…by blood merit…"
"You want it so keep it"
"Technically I'm dead too after nearly 3 centuries…I mean…Henry O'Gregon Reed…"
"Well, one thing is for sure…I will not keep this land…"
"I know it looks bad, but that's the intention…but you'd be making a mistake to give it to the government…this land needs to remain private!"
"Okay, so I donate it to you. It doesn't have any value after all…I get you a fake name and that's it"
"No value? There is an emerald mine under this ground! Do you see that well? That's the entrance for it! This is the biggest secret of the family! We were always very secretive about it! Plus, the mine has a secret passage that leads to my cave, very at the bottom of it where no one but me and Lionel had access in all these years!"
Chris made a face, "What?"
"That's why you can't get rid of this land! Do you see that mountain complex where there used to be a waterfall? It's part of the group of those large mountains that keep the site to the Forbidden Cave! This is the back of the site! Many centuries ago, there used to have a river there, so cave was safe! But over the time they kings changed the route of the river and so now all that site and this land got dry…and unfortunately the cave got exposed as well"
Chris was still surprised, "I didn't know that…"
"Didn't you see the old map? Lionel told me he gave it to you…"
"I saw a map, but…I didn't pay much attention to it…"
Henry shook his head in disbelief. If his eyes could be seen, certainly they'd show him rolling his eyes, "This is how I walk around… I can't get much exposed to sunlight just like the Black Herb! I use the secret passage underground…That's why Lionel gave you this land and the responsibility to watch the Forbidden Cave site…they're all connected!"
Chris was stunned. Emerald mine, Forbidden Cave and Henry's hideout…that was too much for him to cope at once. Now he understood Jerry's comment about the land.
Their conversation was interrupted by the radio beep. Jerry informed Chris that he and Piers had been requested for a mission.
Chris looked at Henry who stared him back, "I have to go…"
"I heard"
"I'll return to continue talking to you…"
"You don't have to…you won't keep the land…" he spoke with a shrug
"I will keep the land!"
"Just because I told you about the emerald mine?"
"No…For your safety"
"My safety? I'm a freak that shouldn't exist…"
"Honestly? Strangely you're not a freak for me…I've seen special people like you…and some of them are my friends, like family…"
"Special…Family…" he whispered touched by those words
"I can see you have a lot to tell me Henry and I surely want to listen to you. I want to know more about the Fleury's and all you can tell me about such things…If they saw you, they won't come just after the Black Herb, they will come primarily after you! Like Lionel, I can see you're not a real threat. You're not as kind as Lionel was, but something tells me you're cool…"
Henry smiled in distress. He was trying to keep his emotions under control. He didn't want to break down in front of "that man"…The man who didn't remember that once upon a time they were father and son, and accomplices to cover Henry's specialness.
"Take care Henry and let me know if you find, learn or see anything out of the usual"
"I will…Be safe…Chris…"
Henry watched Chris disappear from across the trees making his way back to join Piers. Tears cored his face. It was hard not being able to call him dad. Despite the initial divergences, they ended up coming to good terms. He smiled at the two lights guarding Chris without him being even aware of it. He certainly recognized them.
Chris and Piers returned quickly to the hotel. Their stay in Bohma was over for the meantime.
Chris found Kate crying in the room and all the luggage ready. More than him she wanted to return home.
Thank you McTamale for the review! :D
Only two more chapters!
Stay tuned!