Chapter 58 Nothing is as it seems
Michael was a little concerned when he saw Isabel using her powers on Maria. It wasn´t like he didn´t trust her, but he was worried that the help would be not working. It would be devastating for her and everyone else expecting a success. He looked towards his sister, who was trying to hide the fact that she was praying for a miracle. She always did that when he was near, because he wasn´t so believing in a higher power like her. She got that from their grandfather, he had told them that everything was already in the cards and the chief was giving them what he thought they deserved. He was sure that that was all just a bunch of crap. But that was just his opinion. He turned away from Tess and eyed Liz and Max standing at the wall. She was quietly crying while he held her and stroked her back comforting. Both seemingly in their own cozy world, like usually. Zan had been like that with Ava, too. Michael had to avert his eyes, it was just reminding him about everything he lost. Instead he concentrated on Alex staring intently at the girls, intertwining his fingers nervously. This boy was the only one in the group he didn´t get. He appeared like he was on of the geeks who where playing those games with dragons and wizzards. But then he changed completely and became this cool person playing guitar and charming Isabel out of her panties. Strange, he never noticed how different they all were. Slowly he let his gaze wander to the boy who got his best friend in such a short time. Kyle was an all american highschool student. Footballplayer, nice family, nice car and mostly nice girlfriends. However that was just the surface, if you dug deeper you found a young man struggling to fit in this world, just like himself. He wondered what would happen to him when his sister didn´t come back. He hoped they never found the answer to that question, because it would be real painful. For him and for all of her friends. Then he watched Sean, the formerly annoyingly cousin. He was sipping his coffee while he observed Maria and Kyle. He seemed to be like an older brother for them and made sure that they were alright. He had similarity with Laurie, who was there for them in every step of their life. It was always good to have such a tight family, you never know when you needed them. Slightly insecure he glanced at the girls sitting near the window. Isabel had her face contorted from concentration while Maria was still emotionless. For the first time it hit him that she was carrying his children. He was going to be a father. The thought was scary and great at the same time. He wouldn´t admit it out loud to anyone, but he loved children. Okay, he knew he was still young and they should have been more careful, but it already happened. Why cry over spilled milk? And besides it wasn´t like it had been a one night stand. At least they both loved each other, even if they were apart right now. As soon as Maria was back in the real world they would talk about everything. Plans about their future, about the financials, the college and education of the children. Thinking about that, he asked himself how many it were, babies could mean two or three or even four. Hopefully it wasn´t that much. Curiously he walked to the bed and took the chart from it. Reading properly through it, he found out it were twins, the sex wasn´t visible yet. Checking the rest he noticed one fact that let his mind spin out of control. She was in her 14th week of her pregnancy, which meant almost four month. Unfortunately they meet each other three month ago and had been having sex over a month now. Shocked he let out a small cry of anger. The children were not his.
" What is it? What did you read?", Sean had been obviously watching him and saw the instant changing of his expression.
Michael just shook his head and tried to grasp the thought of the woman he thought would be his wife in the future carrying the offspring of someone not him. He didn´t like to imagine it or he would go crazy. " The kids are not from me".
That exclamation startled the rest of the gang. They turned away from the two girls and faced the guys standing at the hospital bed. Kyle and Tess got in gear immediately and walked to Michael. Confused they read the chart, which Sean had taken to check and reacted equally shocked about the revelation. Alex rolled his wheelchair in the direction of his friends and joined them while Max and Liz stood back.
" That can´t be true. You have to be the father or else it would mean they are", no Kyle didn´t want to think about that. It was too unbelievable. Well he wasn´t exactly okay with his sister being pregnant, but at least with Michael he knew that she was in good hands.
Michael nodded his head, he had already counted two and two together. He knew what it implicated and it pained him to picture them taking care of their children. " Yes. They´re Lykus".
Kyle reread everything and he rubbed his eyes to be absolutely sure. But nothing changed, the evidence that his best friend wasn´t the father of the babies in his sister belly was staring back at them. No matter how they looked at it, the outcome was always the same. Comfortly he put a hand on the shoulder of his old roommate. " I´m sorry man. That has to be aweful".
" Guys, guys. Come here. Something is happening", Max´ voice broke through the tension in the room. The urgency sounded excited and hopeful together and got everybody to forgot for a moment that they were in a hospital and one of them was in a stange state.
Instantly they all turned their attention towards the two girls sitting on the chairs. At first nothing seemed to have changed. But after they took a closer look, they noticed that Maria was crying. Surprised they observed the tears falling from her eyes and dripping on her night gown. Then she blinked one time, two times and before they realized it, she was with them again. Isabel was there and embraced her while she finally grieved for her sister. The others watched relieved and sorrowful at the pair, not sure how they should react now.
" Let it out. I know how painful it is to lose your family", Isabel cried with her friend. The memory of Vilandra was playing in her mind. The moment she found her dead mother, the knowledge to be an orphan and to know that she was the reason for their death. She could relate, even if it had been another life.
Maria was sure that it would have been better to stay where she was. But that had been when she thought it was just her. Now she had to consider the lifes of her children, too. The way into reality had been more painful than she had imagined it. The guilt to be the source of so much misery was pulling her down and it felt like it wanted to choke her. Thankfully she had such a good friend in the form of Isabel, who wouldn´t give up on her, knowing that she was a killer. " I´m so sorry. I´m sorry for making you worry. I´m sorry for being not strong enough and I´m sorry for not being the person you all need".
At that Kyle pulled his sister away from the other girl and in his own arms. Crying of joy and sorrow he squeezed her tightly at his body. " Don´t say that. You´re perfect the way you are. If not for you, Mom and Dad would be dead right now. Besides if somebody should be sorry it should be me. If I wouldn´t have been such a coward I could have saved Lindsey".
" I´m glad that you stayed away. I don´t want to hear you apologize for being a coward. You reacted right. I´m the one who failed protecting my family. I made so many new mistakes, because I wanted to avoid my old mistakes. I´m a screw up", Maria had trusted Rath, her first error. The thought she could keep her family safe, error number two and error number three was to listen to the things Nicolai told her. I hold myself back to give you time to think my ass!
Kyle pushed her from him, still keeping a firm grip on her shoulders to look in her face. He was angry at her for trying to blame herself for everything going wrong. " You´re not a screw up. I don´t want to hear that again!"
Maria shook her head, still convinced that she was a failure. She should have sent her family away as soon as she noticed that Nicolai was in town or knew her position. But she was so sure that she could protect them, shield them from any harm. She should have known that her life would always run the same way. Without love and much guilt, ashamed thinking about the lifes lost to her. Damned to mourn her family forever. " But it´s true. I could have made a difference in this life and I didn´t do it. I lost my mother, saw her lifeless body lying on the ground and I didn´t kill Khivar for that. I ran away like a coward. Even when Mael and King Salem died, I was too scared to strike back. One good direct hit and we could have ended this war within hours. I knew the castle inside out, every hiding place, every location of the guards, every trap. And what was I doing? I worried over Vilandra, Rath and Zan, how they would cope with the death of their parents".
" Firstly that had been another person, secondly you had been a child and thirdly you´re one of the most caringly creature I met in my life. You always put the wants of others over yours, that´s how you are. You would pull an old man from the ground when everybody stepped over him. If you wouldn´t do that, then you would be like Khivar. We love you just the way you are", Isabel couldn´t listen any longer to the lies her friend were telling about herself. She did everything in her powers to help her friends or her family, sometimes even people she didn´t know. How could she not see how much everybody loved her for the way she was. Michael was more upset with the thought the children weren´t his than the thought he could be a father. Tess, Liz, Alex, Max and herself thought about her like a sister. And Kyle the big teddybear would give his life for her.
Liz finally joined the three, sick of hearing the pity party. Her best friend wasn´t like that, she was strong, brave and most of all always thinking with her heart. No matter what happened, it wasn´t her fault. Some things just happened and nobody could have foreseen it. That was one of gods mysteries in life. " Would you listen to yourself? Where is the girl who told me that crying doesn´t change anything? Or you shouldn´t wallow in the past and the mistakes done there, because you can´t change what already happened".
Sean noted the anger in the usual quiet girl and was stunned. He hadn´t expected that from her and then towards her best friend, who just lost her sister. " Are you mental? If I hear something like that again from you I´ll forget my good education to never lay a hand of violence on a female creature and slap you out!"
" Sean. Don´t attack her. She´s right", Maria wiped her tears from her face. There would be a time when she could mourn properly for everything. But the time wasn´t now. They should prepare themself for fighting back at the moment and not sit around to wallow in self pity. " We don´t have time to waste any longer. We should be at the base and plan an attack on our enemy".
Kyle was just about to reply that she should rest more, because of her pregnancy when they all heard the commotion outside. It sounded like a nurse was trying to forbid someone the entrance to a room. Amused they realized it was Lareks rising voice telling the poor woman to piss off and annoy another person. Seconds later the door opened and the devil himself appeared with Nolak in tow behind him. Both breathed out relieved when they laid their eyes on Maria and walked quickly in her direction.
Larek immediately pulled her on her feet and almost squeezed the life out of her. " Oh thank god! You scared me to death. Don´t do that again, I´m not so young anymore. My heart can´t take it like it used to".
" I can´t breathe", Maria managed to get out between fighting for air and being touched about his concern. Besides he was almost the only person who could make her smile in a dark time. He didn´t do anything special or tried to be funny, he was just like that. He said something pretty normal, but he made it sound so comical that everybody had to laugh.
Nolak noticed that his young companion didn´t loosen his grip on the girl and interfered before blood would be flowing. He grasped the other mans shoulders and pulled him back roughly, almost hurtful with his fingers digging into the flesh. " Gosh! Let her live".
Larek smiled apologistically at Maria. He didn´t mean to hurt her, he was just so damn happy that she was alive. The local radio station was talking about nothing else than the attempt on the life of Sheriff Valenti and his family, the people witnessing to whole thing retold everything their friends and Roswell wasn´t that big, so everybody in town heard of the news before the sun came up. " How are you? I mean are you hurting bad?".
" Not physically. I think most of my injuries have healed", her skin didn´t burn so painfully anymore. Her head stopped pounding like a rock concert and she didn´t saw anything in double like before when she thought the doctor had a exact twin. The only thing was the slight nausea feeling, but now she knew the reason for that.
Nolak did something that surprised everyone in the room, he laid an arm around the younger girl and kissed her temple tenderly. The relieved expression on his face showed what was going on inside him. Something he had never done. " We know what happened to your sister. We´re sorry about your loss".
Maria swallowed visibly and fresh tears were shooting in her eyes. But she repressed them forcefully, not wanting to appear like some weakling. She could have a breakdown and cry for days when she took revenge on Khivar, Nicolai and most of all Rath. Bastard tried to fool her into believing he was on their side. Next time she would show him what she learned from her father. She wasn´t just gifted with special powers, she was trained to handle a weapon like it was a lipstick. " Thank you. Did someone else get hurt?".
" Except your family? No, not that we know of", Larek turned to the others, who had been pretty quiet the whole time, especially Michael. He was leaning against the wall and seemed to seconds away to explode. Something was wrong with him, but unfortunately they didn´t had time for that. " What about your parents?".
Tess shook her head. They called their family as soon as they had been out of the hospital. Everybody was either still on the way to their destination or already there. They had been relieved when they heard the familiar voices and knew that nobody was hurt or died. Obviously just Maria and her family had been targeted. " Everything is fine in that regard".
Maria felt really bad for not asking them about that. She just thought about her loss and her pain. But she didn´t think about her friends. What kind of friend made that her? At least not a good one. " We have to do something so that it stays that way. We should immediately plan an attack that has the treacherous scumbag shaking of fear".
" You should be more careful from now on. Think about your condition", Alex finally realized that everything was really happening and his best friend was carrying two children under her heart. He was already thinking about their appearance, if they were boys or girls or both.
Maria shook off the arm from her shoulder and started looking for her clothes. They didn´t have time now, they should be out there and getting ready to fight and not getting worried over her state. She wasn´t hurt or groggy. " I´m pregnant, not deathly ill".
Larek and Nolak reacted simultanously with shock and widened eyes. Instantly their eyes wandered to Michael, who noticed the stares directed at him. He glared at them both, angry that they reminded him about the status of his nonexistent fatherhood. " Don´t look at me like that. I´m not the father".
" What do you mean? I know I hurt you by breaking up, but don´t you think it´s a little harsh to deny your participation in creating this children", Maria had stopped searching for something to wear, because there wasn´t anything except her blood soaked, shredded pink sweater and the equally dirty jeans and because the statement from her ex boyfriend had hurt her.
Michael left his place near the wall, took the chart his sister was still holding in her hand and walked towards what he thought was the mother of his offspring. Furiously he put it under her nose to show her why he knew that he wasn´t a participant. " I´m not denying anything. I have proof that I´m not repsonsible for your condition".
Maria read though the facts of her injuries, the results on her tests and the further treatment. There was even standing something about contacting a shrink, because of her mental state. And then she saw it. 14th week of her pregnancy. No that couldn´t be. White as a ghost she faced Michael. " But that would mean you´re really not. Oh my god, I think I have to puke".
" Where is he? I will rip his entrails out of his puny body", was suddenly heard from the outside. Seconds later the door was forcefully thrown open and a really pissed of Corly was storming in the room with a slightly ducking Lykus trailing after her. She stopped in front of her soon to be ex boyfriend and glowered at him. " Why do I have to learn about the accident from strange people I don´t even know and not from you?"
Larek winced shamefully. Now he remembered what he forgot to do in all the rush to the hospital. Smiling sheepishly he tried to save the small part of his dignity he had still left. " I´m sorry honey. It slipped my mind. I had been such a mess when I heard about it that I didn´t think right".
Corly glared at him for a moment longer before softening her features. It wasn´t like she was upset with him after all. She was more angry at the wankster behind this. " Alright. I let it slide this time", worriedly she turned her attention on the girl why she came here in the first place. With outstretched arms she went to her and squeezed her like Larek had done it. " I heard what happened. I´m so sorry. Is there anything I can do for you?"
" Yeah, I need clothes. I can´t stay here any longer", Maria had been ready to go two hours ago. The smell hanging in the air was slightly upsetting her stomach and she wanted to look after her parents. Besides the tension in this room was crushing, it was like everybody waited for her to lose her head or have a meltdown.
Corly was tempted to laugh. Some things would never change and not even hundred lifes would make a difference. That girl could never stay on her ass and rest, even if her life depended on it. Chuckling quietly she waved her hands over the ugly gown on Marias body and switched it into a pair of jeans and a white wool jumper. " So. That had been taken care of. Something else I can do?".
Maria was close to say that she should bring Lykus out of here, because Michael seemed to be seconds away from strangling the mentioned person. But she didn´t want to add fuel to the fire and she knew that she would do that when she interfered between the two males. The last time she had done that she had been called a traitor. " Can you get everybody out. I want to talk to Michael. Alone".
" No problem", Corly turned to the others scattering around the room and trying to listen what the girls were talking. " Out. Shoo. There´s nothing to see anymore. Visiting hours are over", without as much as using her powers the people went towards the door. Quickly she snatched the arm of her former crush and pushed him in the direction of her sister. " You stay. We´re all waiting outside", with a tiny grin on her face she urged everyone out of the room and closed the door tightly behind her.
Michael wanted to be everywhere, just not here and not at this moment. His feelings were still too violent, although he knew it wasn´t her fault. But the thought to see her one day with another man taking care of their children was more than he could bear. With every other girl he wouldn´t even care, but not with her. " What do you want?".
Maria was prepared to see his protective walls shooting up, yet it still pained her. She also wanted him to be the father of her twins. She was sure that they could have found an agreement with the kids, even if they were momentarily not together. However this drove the wedge deeper into their damaged relationship and it remained to be seen if they could repair it again. " I want that you´re not so cold towards me. I want this situation as much as you do. I would much rather have you as the father, but we can´t change that. So all I´m asking you is to not let your anger with me or Lykus be in the way of your duty. We can´t allow us any mistakes anymore".
" So you´re saying you want me to swallow my anger and do like nothing ever happened? You want me to forget that my girl is carrying the children of a guy I hate with a passion? Great, why didn´t I think of that?", Michael was more than pissed off and that usual tended his sarcasm to hit full force. It was his way of letting his frustation out and get his temper in check before he hurt someone with his dangerous powers. Even if he was furious with Maria, he didn´t want to injure her in any kind. Well at least not physically.
Maria tiredly rubbed her face with both hands. If she would have had the strenght, she would have gladly joined this fight. But her energy lever was on the low and she needed a little time and maybe something edible to get back on her feets again. " You know, this situation isn´t easy for me,too and all I´m asking you is to be a good friend, like the others are. But I´m obviously barking at the wrong tree", disappointed and sad she got her shoes, which stood besides the bed and walked out. She didn´t even have the power to be angry with him.
The others noticed the expression on her face as soon as she stepped from the room. Immediately Tess, Liz and Isabel were at her side and led her along the hall, all the while saying mean things about Michael, which got a few small smiles from her.
Later
After Maria looked after her parents and noticed their conditions, which was still devastating, she and her friends were on their way to the underground compound in an old army truck, which Larek "borrowed" from a human base. The mood was swaying from fear to nervousness and back again. Tess had almost bit off all her fingernails, Liz was constantly brushing her hair from her face, Kyle was keeping his sister in sight in case she was feeling sick, Max seemed to be in his own world, Isabel was staring out of the opening of the green cover around them, Sean watched his feet, Michael was quietly sulking far away from everyone else and Maria tried to keep awake. The trip to her inner child had been more exhausting than she thought. Just as she was losing the battle against sleep, the vehicle came to a halt and startled everybody. Seconds later Nolak and Larek appeared at the exit and shood the gang out. As soon as the last one of them was in the open, they started their trek to the highest boulder standing in the desert. Quickly checking the surrounding, the two oldest members put their hands on either side of it and immediately a white sign, a mix between a circle and a sword going through it, appeared and the stone slide aside. Checking everything again, one couldn´t be too careful, they all stepped inside the huge looking elevator. When the door closed behind them the light changed from bright to darker and a light rumbling was heard. Then a soft melody was playing over speakers hidden in the cubicle, which Larek reacted instantly and started humming the rhythm while doing something that seemed to be dancing. Nolak just shook his head and wondered why he was still surprised about most of the things his younger friend made.
" Could you maybe be still for like two seconds".
Larek just smiled at his companion before he began to sing loudly to the song. Finally the others recognized it. It was Highway to hell from AC/DC. Everybody was sure that they stepped into the twillight zone, because this couldn´t be real. A moment later they all jumped when the cubicle came to a sudden stop and the door parted. The picture greeting them was alarming and terrifying together. The long and wide passageway was filled with people in uniform quickly walking around, a few of them were soldiers, others seemed to be scientist and the remaining were looking like they didn´t belong here. Slowly the group tried to make their way through the chaos without standing in the way of someone. They stepped along the tiled walls, the only indication that a base was hidden in a huge rock, because the floor was purely sand and soil. The lights above them flickered at a few spots and made the hallway looking bigger and more frightening. Even if the ceiling was extremely high above them, they all felt a little trapped. Liz clung to Max like a second skin, while Tess openly eyed everything with wonder. Sean, who was the only one being here for the first time, was impressed about the size of this base and how organized everything appeared. Kyle was a tad bit intimidated from the impressions around him and for the first time he really realized that the training was over. They were in a real war. He glanced at his sister besides him and saw her tired eyes staring at the back of Michaels head.
" You alright?".
Maria faced him and managed a small smile in his direction. She knew he was just worried about her, but she wasn´t about to break. Everybody was treating her like a glass figurine or a defenceless child. She was fine. " Yeah. And I would appreciate it if you all would stop asking me that every few seconds. I´m not made of porcelaine okay".
Kyle took her hand and squeezed it. He was well aware of the fact that she hated to be mothered, but they all had a good reason this time and they just wanted to keep her around them for a little bit longer. " Fine, we´ll try. But I make no promises".
" Great. Why do I even say something, it´s not like anyone listens to me", Maria hoped they arrived soon at their destination, because her back was killing her and her stomach was loudly growling for something to eat. The boys had eaten all donuts and so there was nothing left for her when she came back.
Nolak used the fresh silence of his young troop to explain a few rules they had to follow down here. Although everyone had waited almost two decades for the moment the rightful royals would join the fight, they wouldn´t be in charge. They were just soldiers and had to listen to higher ranked men. At least for a while. Most of the people in this base had trained all their lifes for the war ahead of them and wouldn´t take it lightly if some teenagers would take their places, even if they knew about Rath and Marianna. This was no vacation and they all had a tight schedule everyday, starting with the morning exercise before breakfast and ending with the planning of an attack in the evening.
Maria already expected that and she could accept most of it. But she couldn´t wrap her mind around the fact that they didn´t do anything to take revenge for her parents. " And when do we strike back? I mean they had been sending a message and we have to respond, so that they know we received it".
" Already taken care of. But unfortunately we either were fooled about the location or they have moved", Larek had immediately given the order to give them something they would never forget. But except for abandoned buildings, they didn´t find a living creatures in Copper Summit. And now they tried to locate them again. All they could do was keeping quiet and wait for them to make another move.
Hanson choose this moment to approach them, surprised to see all so early here. When his eyes landed on Maria and Kyle, he laid his hands on their arms to show his respect. Quickly nodding at them, he addressed Nolak. " What are you doing here? We didn´t expect you until tonight".
The older man glared at his younger fellow, something was rubbing him the wrong way about this guy. Although Larek told him that it was really his half brother, he still didn´t trust him. Especially not as long as this nagging feeling in his guts was telling him otherwise. " What did you expect, that I would sent them back home? Khivar sent a warning and I didn´t want them in the open, where they could be killed".
" No. I´m just stunned to see you. No need to get bitchy on me, old man", Hansons smile was as fake as the boobs of Pamela Anderson. And his teasing tone didn´t match the angry gleam in his dark eyes. But it disappeared pretty quick when he noticed the cold glance directed at him from Nolak.
Larek interfered instantly before the both of them would start a fight in the middle of the hall, where everybody could see them. It wasn´t good for the moral of the soldiers to let them witness an open attack on each other, even through they were on the same side. " Would you both stop it! We have other problems at the moment! If you want to beat yourself up, do it quietly and not here".
Hanson turned his attention away from the pain in his ass and focused on his half brother instead. His expression already changed to a friendlier one and this time his smile wasn´t fake anymore. " Whatever you want bro. We´re clearing our disagreement another time".
" Why do I get always stuck with you? Don´t you have to be back with Nicolai? Maybe then you can start bothering him, instead of annoy the hell out of me", echoed the voice of Corly from the walls. She was sounding very pissed off and close to kill someone.Everybody turned around and saw her pushing a wheelchair with Alex sitting in it towards them. Her expression matched her voice while Lykus tried to keep up with her. He made an attempt to talk to her, but unfortunately for him she ignored it. Until she was with them. " Thank god. Please tell me I´m released from babysitting him", she pointed at the attachement behind her before facing her sister. " I´m sorry Maria, I know you were together with him for a long time. But how could you sleep with him?".
Maria was spared finding an excuse in the form of Lykus interrupting her try to say something. He glared at Corly while lifting his finger in her direction. " Hey, I´m not that bad. Besides I don´t find out everyday that I will be a father soon".
At that an angry snort resounded from within them. All turned to Michael, whose eyes had changed to an almost black color and were looking at the father to be with so much hate, that it was nearly tangible. Strangly it was no wonder and they all wondered how long it would take before the first punches were thrown. " Thank god for that. The world doesn´t need more of you. It´s enough that you got Maria pregnant".
" What is you´re problem? You have her trust, her heart and her love. What more do you want? Okay, they´re not your kids, I can respect that. But seriously, why can´t you accept that she had a sex life before you came into the picture", Lykus was so sick of the verbal attacks towards him. Well, part of him understood where the other man was coming from. He would act the same if he would find out that the woman he loved expected offspring from another. However they weren´t enemies, actually they weren´t even friends, but the point was they stood on the same side.
Michael felt Rath threatening to break from his bonds and kill the bastard slow and extrem painful in front of all the witnesses. He already imagined the pleasure in seeing the lights dying in the scumbags eyes, the feeling to have the power to end a life so quickly, to have someone at his mercy. But then he sensed his sister and Maria. They both tried to calm him down. It even worked for a few seconds. " It has nothing to do with that. I just don´t like you, I think I have to keep you in sight, because I trust you as far as I can see you and that´s not far believe me".
Lykus smirked cockily at his opponent before going to deliver the final punch. And this time it was below the belt. He could be pretty nasty, too if he wanted. Just because he had kept in the background didn´t mean that he was a coward. " Why do you think I care what you think about me? I´m just here because of Maria and to keep her safe. You couldn´t do the job the last time, so I see to it that it doesn´t happen again".
" You dirty son of a bitch, I´m going to bust your ass and keep it as a trophy", Michael had finally enough from the other man. He lunged forward and was prepared to dish out a nice punch to the rips when something caught him and tossed him backwards. With a hard slam he crashed on the floor and lost his breath for a moment. Then he looked up at the truck hitting him square in the chest and propelling him into the air. Surprised he saw Lykus sitting up on the ground as well and an angry female glaring dangerously at him.
Maria looked between the males trying to make her crazy. She was so fed up with getting treated like a object and not like a human being. She noted that the others stepped away from her and tried to be invisible. " I have enough from you both! You fight about me like you own me! But neither of you has given any thought how I feel! I´m the one standing between you and you don´t care what I´m thinking about this whole situation!", she made a little break to get air in her lungs again and to get her powers under control. As much as it would make her happy to see them both suffer, she couldn´t risk it with them all underground. " Don´t you notice that you hurt me with all the tension! I have enough problems on my own at the moment, I don´t need yours, too! So if you want to kill each other, do it somewhere else. Some place I don´t have to witness your pissing contest", she faced the two stunned looking man to see if they understood everything she said. Relieved she realized that she had indeed manage to make them speechless. " If you excuse me, I´m hungry and want to find something to eat".
Kyle, Alex and even Max hid their silent snickers behind coughs while Liz and Isabel glared at them. Tess helped her brother back on his feets and brushed the dust from his clothes. At least until he slapped her hands away from his body. Lykus got pulled up from Nolak and Larek, both seemingly trying to dissemble their amusement. Sean watched worriedly after his cousin, afraid she was taking on more she could carry and Corly inwardly cheered of joy, because her sister spoke out what every women felt.
" All right, show is over folks. Now follow me, we´re bringing you all to your sleeping place", Nolak remembered that he was the oldest in the pack and he should behave like that as well. So he did his duty and lead them to the common room where all soldiers spent the few hours sleeping. Of course males and females were seperated. He was curious how they would react when they saw that they had to share.
Later that day
Michael was on his way to Maria to apologize to her. He had been having time to think about everyting and he realized he overreacted slightly. Besides with that he could show her that he was more mature than pansy Lykus and do the right thing when he noticed that he made something wrong. Alright, maybe he had a little help from Tess, who had a long talk with him about the proper behaviour towards the other gender. She pointed out to him that most women didn´t like to get treated like a trophy, which was passed around between males nor did they like to be in the middle of a macho competition. But to his defence he thought he had a good reason for his outburst. Love was turning every man into a neanderthal and made them crazy when it wasn´t returned. Until the break up from Maria, he hadn´t understood Zan and why he suffered so much after Ava died. Now he knew how it felt to lose someone, even if in his case his love was still alive. But it was more painful to be close to her and yet so far away. To see her interact with others like nothing was different, like their relationship meant nothing at all. He had felt that stab into his heart when he saw her talking to a few soldiers, of course males, in the dining hall earlier after he and the others had brought their few possessions into the dormitory, totally surprised about the many beds lined side by side in the huge room. At first it looked like a sports hall, just filled with sleeping places. But after they, meaning Max, Kyle, Sean and himself, talked to a few fellows they thought it wasn´t that bad anymore. It could have been worse. The only downside was that they had to share the bathroom with fifty other men and there were just four stalls and four urinals. The shower was on the other side and had similarity with those in highschool. Other than that he was very content with the arrangement, especially considering the good food served here, which he, Sean and Kyle already checked out. For a cantine not bad, but still no french cuisine. Tess and Isabel just scrunched up their noses about the thought to share the room with so many women, not even mentioning the bathroom. But they knew that they had to get used to it eventually and after a while they stopped complaining. Liz and Corly were the only ones not saying anything bad, they had accepted their deal. Alex got his own room because of his handicap and Maria because of her delicate condition, so they both had nothing to add. Michael was glad that she was alone, so when he talked to her he could be sure that nobody else was listening. A small smile appeared on his face when he thought about the things they could do behind closed doors. But firstly he had to get her to forgive him, the reason for him to walk along the dark corridor. Just as he was in the process to turn the corner, he saw Lykus standing together with Maria in front of her room. They seemed to be in a serious conversation. Immediately he stepped backwards to hid himself and just stretched his head forward to watch them. His blood started boiling when he saw the bastard laying his hand on the arm of his girl and she was even covering it with her hand. Now she was smiling. Woah the dead man just made the biggest mistake of his life, he embraced her tightly and whispered something in her ear, which she responded with a small grin.
" What are you doing?".
Michael almost pissed his pants when he heard the voice besides him. Jumping startled he turned to the intruder. Breathing out relieved he noticed it was just Hanson. " Damn, did you have to scare me like that? I think my heart stopped beating for a second".
Hanson looked around the corner, just to see what made the other man so jittery. Immediately he witnessed Lykus and Maria arm in arm standing in the hall and looking too cozy with each other. Slowly he pulled himself back. " I´m sorry man. That has to be painful for you to see them both like that".
" They´re just talking. I have nothing to fear from the sucker", Michael said that more to himself than to his companion, who didn´t believe the bullshit anyway. Maria loved him, she told him that. Why should it change now?
Hanson raised an eyebrow at the other man, like he wanted to say if he was the only one seeing something different. " Are you sure? I mean she´s pregnant from him, that will them bind together for a long time. People already married with less reasons".
Michael felt rage slowly crawling up in him. He didn´t think about that at all. No, he didn´t want to be there when they decided to give their relationship another try or even choose to marry. It would break his heart to lose her like that. Before that happened he would rather kill them. Peeking around the corner again, he witnessed Maria smiling brightly at Lykus and kissing him excitedly. Pushing himself back he finally lost the battle against his darker side. " It won´t get that far, I will make sure of that".
" Then I would suggest you get the kids out of the way first. No babies no bond. You will see she will come back to you immediately", Hanson whispered in his ear and added fuel to the already blazing fire. It was the small nudge in the right direction.
Michael turned to him and his eyes were black and cold. Everybody seeing him now would instantly know that something was wrong with him, because not just his appearance had change, but also his aura. It felt deathly and dangerous. " That was my first thought, too", with a smirk on his face he came out of his hidding place, only to discover that neither Lykus nor Maria were at their spots anymore. Shrugging his shoulders he went into the room. Sooner or later she had to come back again.
Hanson meanwhile smiled diabolic after the easily led boy. His face almost disappeared in the darkness and made him look more evil like he was. " I´m really good. Not long and the royals are history".
TBC