Going ahead with the Re Write! Episode 1 Complete.

After having positive feedback about the new writing style, I've gone ahead and re-written Episode 1 of Crux!

Here it is if anyone wants to recap. It's got a little more detail to it as well.

Thanks to everyone who responded :) I'm looking forward to going forward with new chapters soon!

Edit: Episode 2 updated as well!

Here

Edit 2: And Episode 3 is done and dusted too. So on with the chapter I'll go!

Caturae

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Crux - Episode 4

    Here's the first snippet of episode 4, in the new format. I'd really like people's feedback on this, as if the format isn't liked then I'll simply not bother writing any more. If it is liked, I'll post up the rest of this chapter asap!   

At Bic Coffee House

“I’m glad we came out for breakfast.” Lewis smiled at Blake. “Y’know… after the other day and everything.”

He laughed nervously, remembering his sibling’s fight. Blake simply nodded, his scrutinizing stare not once faltering. Lewis never seemed to notice the stare (which some people would have said was really a glare), as if he were immune to it.  He carried on as usual, filling in the silence with ramblings as he always did.

“Yeah, and It’s such a nice morning too! Look, you can see the sun coming up over the beach.” Lewis pointed, and Blake glanced over in the direction, if only because Lewis would keep annoying him until he did. “And all the birds flying around. Do you think they’re watching the sun too? Can birds see in colour?” 

Lewis stopped for a second, his face scrunching up comically as he thought. Blake took the rare moment of peace to take a sip of his coffee and admire the horizon. Yes, it was a beautiful morning.

“I wonder what it would be like to see in black and white?” Lewis babbled on, making less and less sense as he did so.

 Blake glanced over at Lewis, who was amusing himself tilting his head backwards and forwards, blinking and staring up at the sky, probably trying to work out how to see in black and white himself. Blake smiled wryly and opened up the newspaper he’d bought with him, ready to look for one column in particular. But his eyes narrowed as they caught an article on the front page. Maybe he wouldn’t have to search through the paper after all.

He was so engrossed with the article that he almost didn’t sense someone walking up behind him. But they managed to knock into a table, sending a small plant pot over the edge. It landed with a dull thud near Blake’s feet.

“Hey Rhys.” Lewis greeted casually, lounging in his chair and sucking on a biscuit.

“Hey! Hey.” 

Rhys had the same nervous disposition as when Blake had first met him. He was rubbing his hands together, eyes darting around as he went to pick up the plant, only to stop and stand up again. He did this a few times, Blake’s eyes narrowing as he watched, before Rhys gave up – realizing he had nothing but his hands to scoop the stray earth back into the plant pot. He finally took the plant and placed it on the near table, firmly, as if it might topple again. With his shoes he scraped at the small pile of dirt, perhaps trying to lessen the appearance of it by spreading it out. It just got worse.  Rhys straightened and looked up at Blake.

“Sorry.” He grimaced.

“No harm done.” Blake was still watching Rhys, his eyes curious.

Rhys forced a smile. “I’m such an idiot. Not that I can do anything to make Samud hate me anymore, I guess.” He laughed nervously, then stopped and hunched down. “He is inside, isn’t he?”  Rhys hissed, and looked between Blake and Lewis. “I think he might actually kill me if he found me here.”

“He’s inside.” Blake affirmed.

Lewis nodded, and ‘mmhmm’d, his mouth now full of biscuit. He motioned that he was going to fetch his own coffee.

“Good, good. Anyway, I saw you, and heh, I’ve actually got my wallet on me.” Rhys took it out of his jeans pocket. “I was wondering when I was going to pay you back. Where I was gonna find you. ” He handed the owed money over. “I’m so sorry about the other day. The kids had taken my wallet out of my pocket, they can be a right handful sometimes. But finally they’re spending the weekend at their Mum’s.” Rhys grinned widely, a real smile. “You were a lifesaver though. It’s Blake, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” Blake still seemed to be studying Rhys.

He folded his newspaper back in half, catching Rhys’ attention.

“Whatcha’ reading? Anything interesting?” Rhys leaned on the table after glancing at the coffee house door, still keeping a look out for Samud.

“An interesting article, actually.” Blake’s eyes moved to the paper and he smoothed the creases out of it with his hand. “About the disappearances of two people. The writer has many theories about what really happened to these people - Michaela Wright and Jack Cook.” Blake paused.

Rhys’ hand had recoiled from the table as if it was burning hot at the mention of the names. He was visibly disturbed - shaking a little, his eyes wide and not able to meet anyone Blake’s.

Blake continued, “The writer suggested that they were involved, and perhaps eloped… so to say. Or even that Jack Cook is to blame for the girl’s disappearance.”

He looked up at Rhys, watching.

“No.” Rhy’s face was wracked with confusion, “No, that’s not true! That’s not why he left!” He seemed to be speaking to himself, lost in thought, but he looked to Blake and realized he was speaking aloud. Backing away slowly, Rhys then whirled around and ran off down the street in an alarming manner.

Blake watched until Rhys was out of sight, and continued staring in the direction, his eyes narrowed as he thought.

“You’ll never guess what!” Lewis bounded into his seat, flinging a drink onto the table with such a force that most of it spilled over the edge. Lewis quickly wiped the escaping whipped cream off the side of the cup before continuing. “Samud has brownies and cinnamon pastries! I couldn’t decide so I got both!”

“Really.” Blake’s tone gave away his amusement, a smirk playing at the edges of his lips. He neatly moved the newspaper out of the path of spilled coffee.

“Lewis,” Blake waited for him to finish licking the drink from the side of the cup, “Was Rhys friends with this… Jack Cook?” He motioned to the newspaper article.

After a gulp of whipped cream, Lewis piped up, “Oh yeah. They were almost inseparable. I mean, Jack wasn’t as bad as a lot of people make him out to be.” Lewis chewed on his chocolate flake thoughtfully.

“He was scum, and everyone round here knows it.” 

Samud glared at Lewis as he placed his orders down on the table. Lewis withered a little under the glare, obviously uncomfortable.

“He put my brother in a wheelchair.” Samud continued bitterly.

“Well, I mean, uh,” Lewis spoke timidly, “really, I mean, I heard it was, uh, drugs.” He smiled apologetically at Samud, still cowering in his seat.

“It was Jack’s fault.” Samud returned firmly, Lewis fidgeting under his gaze.

“Did this Jack Cook force your brother to take the drugs, then?” Blake asked cooly. “Otherwise your brother would at least be partly to blame for his own actions.”

Samud seemed to swell with rage at the notion that this stranger to the town would ask such questions. His eyes burned like fire.

A movement to the side distracted him, and as Samud noticed who it was he smiled a victorious smile.

“Just ask Malachi. He knows it was Jack’s fault.” Samud waited expectantly.

Malachi eyes the group much like a deer eyed the headlights of an oncoming car. His wide eyes couldn’t quite meet Samud’s, and without a word the man darted off. Not quite running, Malachi ignored Samud’s shouts of confusion. Samud walked after him a bit before giving up.

“I told you he was weird.” Lewis nudged Blake. “But this cinnamon whirl is delicious!”

Blake nodded slowly and folded the newspaper beside him up, his fingers lingering over some of the text, and looked up in the direction where Rhys had disappeared, deep in thought.

- - -

And so concludes part 1 of this chapter. As I said, if people are happy with the format, I'll continue Crux like this for now. I may even write alternatives for the first 3 chapters, also formatted like this.

Hope there are people out there that liked it :) And that my writing wasn't too bad!

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Crux - Competition

I've been thinking about holding a competition to do with Crux since it started.

It's probably obvious from the storyline that there's a mystery to do with Michaela Wright and Jack Cook. The competition would simply be just to guess what the mystery is. As in, what happened to the two characters, if anyone else was involved, etc. Readers would have one guess per episode as new clues are revealed, with their latest guess cancelling out any previous guesses they'd made.

The winner would be the first to guess correctly. The prize would be simpoints, and a sim request if the winner wanted. The winner wouldn't be told that they had won until the end of the story, so the plot wouldn't be spoiled for them!

Anyone interested? ;)

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Crux - Episode 3

At the Holt's house



George smiled when he noticed who was in the kitchen. At once he became a completely different person.
"Hey uncle Alex! Are you taking me to school this morning?" He asked eagerly.
Alex cringed a little, "Sorry George, I’m here to help your mum look after Kayley this morning. We can hang out later, I promise."
"Hmmm…" George seemed to be thinking about it, "well, okay. I mean, you’re the only adult I know that actually keeps promises."He turned to glare at his mother, "Unlike some people…"



Annette wasn't about to let the comment slide.
"George, you know I said you wouldn’t get a new bike if you were naughty." She reminded him.
George just glared even more, "You promised you’d get me one."
"Not if you were naughty!" Annette threw her hands up in the air, exasperated, "and you cut off Susie’s braid at school. There’s no way you can do that and still expect to get a bike!"


George immediately clamped his hands over his ears
"Blahblahblah." He babbled before Annette could go to say anything again, "Not listening!"
Annette waited for him to stop, taking a deep breath.
"If you’re going to be rude, George, you won’t be allowed to watch TV after school."
"Whatever." George didn't even bat an eyelid.



At that moment, Gregory sat down at the table. The look on his face made it obvious he'd heard the entire conversation.
"George, don’t be rude to your mother, or you definitely won't get to watch TV tonight." He backed Annette up.
"Geez, okay. Give me a break!"
"Hey!" Gregory moved to stand up, "No backchat. Just eat your breakfast, George." The two stared at each other until George looked away, "And try not to get into trouble at school today, okay? Gregory added, softly.
George stirred the cereal round and round in his bowl.
"Mmmmhm." He made a noise of agreement.
"Okay?" Gregory asked again, wanting a different answer.
George put his spoon down and turned to his father, "…..yes Dad. …I’m sorry."
He actually sounded like he meant it this time.


"See, George, you can be good!" Annette piped up, "You've nearly eaten all your cereal. And you'll always feel a better person for doing the right thing too!"
George once again glared into his cereal bowl, grumbling. There was something about his mother that just bought out the worst in George.



Alex watched them from the kitchen, his heart a little heavy. He worried about Annette and George sometimes. Fortunately Gregory was amazing with kids (it was probably how he got to be the headmaster at the school while still so young) and was also an amazing husband. Not to mention an amazing friend. Alex smiled in memory of their younger days. It was definitely Gregory that held the family together.
"I dobe wanna get dress Uncle Awex!" Kayley interrupted Alex's thoughts.
Alex smiled down at the bundle in his arms, "Come on cutie, you’re going to playschool today. You can wear your special socks if you want!"
Kayley threw her arms up in the air, "Yay!"
She was definitely an easier child than George. And Alex didn't feel guilty about that, but he did feel a little guilty about George somehow being his favorite.

"Well, I’ve gotta be off already." Gregory stood up and turned to Annette, "That was a lovely breakfast, honey. But then, your meals are always lovely. Just like you."



Annette blushed, "Aaw... thanks honey! I hope you have a good day at work."
The two were still as in love as the day they met.

"Ick, get a room." commented George.
Alex nudged him, "Leave them George." The boy looked to Alex and nodded.
Alex tried to make eye contact with Greg and finally succeeded.
He spoke as discreetly as he could, "Greg, I need to have a word with you before you leave."
Gregory gave Annette a kiss before turning to Alex, "No problem."





Alex waited for his friend to come over. "I just wanted to let you know about something." He started, "If you get anyone saying there was a suspicious person hanging round the school last night, don’t worry about it. I know who it was, I sorted it out. There won’t be any damage or anything."

Gregory didn't seem surprised. "Oh yeah. Oscar Richards, right?"
Alex smiled at Gregory's understanding, "Yeah." then he suddenly frowned, "Hey, wait a second… I didn’t mention any names...."



"You didn’t need to." Gregory assured Alex that he hadn't said anything too obvious and acted unprofessionally, "Oscar ends up there every year around this time. Usually I’m there working late, so I invite him in and we have a drink, reminisce a bit. I wait for him to calm down, and then I take him home."

Alex was surprised. "Oh... Every year?" He was trying to make some sense of it.
"You might not remember Michaela… not being in the same year as me and Annette. But basically, Oscar had this girlfriend, Michaela, and she vanished around this time of year." Gregory explained as best as he could.
"Vanished?!" Alex's face screwed up a little in thought, "I can’t say I remember her, but I’m sure there would’ve been a big thing about it, wouldn’t there? What was she like?"
"She was really nice. Obviously went out with Oscar, and she had a few friends. That Rhys guy, and… what’s his name, dammit… he hung out with Rhys and Kai… Never mind. She had only joined the school that year, though."
Alex was perplexed. "I honestly can’t remember any of this. Annette?" He turned to her for some sort of verification that he had actually missed all of this.

Annette wasn't really listening. She was eating her breakfast and probably daydreaming.
"Annette, do you remember Michaela?" Gregory called across the room and she looked up," You must do!"
Now Annette was looking confused, "Michaela? Who?"
"Back from high school." Gregory tried jogging her memory, "she was Oscar Richard’s girlfriend, spent a lot of time with, wait, that’s his name – Jack Cook!"



Annette started coughing, choking on her food. Gregory moved to help her but she raised a hand to indicate that she was fine.
"Jack Cook?" She replied weakly, "Uh… I have a, uh, a vague memory…"



Gregory was feeling a little deflated that nobody remembered these people but him, "You must remember them…" he shook the thought off," Anyway, Alex, people just thought Michaela ran off with him, Jack Cook, because they both disappeared at the same time. I guess someone must have looked into them disappearing or something, I don’t know. But each year, Oscar turns up all lost and sad. I feel a little sorry for him."



"Well, I’m glad I know that to be honest. I was a little worried at the way he was raving. I thought he might have done something..." Alex still looked uneasy.

Gregory smiled, "Don’t worry about Oscar, he’s harmless. He might look all tough as nails, but really he’s just an emotional wreck." Gregory sighed, "Anyway, I’ve got to go. See you after work." He turned to his son, "Come on George, I’ll give you a lift so you don’t get lost on the way to school."
Alex waved, "Bye George! And see you Greg."

George turned round before bounding off after Gregory, "Bye Uncle Alex! See you after school!"



"Right, better get Kayley ready for playschool!" He was about to fetch her from her bedroom when his phone rang.
Alex answered picked it up, "I'm sure it won't be anything important," He assured Annette, who was looking on.
"Officer Clark speaking..." He answered.



"What?!" Alex exclaimed, "I’ll be there as soon as possible!"



At Covertine Police Department





"I want this lady arrested! Her behavior is atrocious and it needs to be stopped!" Pearla yelled at the police officer.
Officer Yang backed up a little but tried to hold her ground, "I’m sorry, Ms Richards, I have already informed you that you are free to issue a complaint, but we cannot go around arresting people just because they’ve upset you!"
Julianna rolled her eyes at Pearla, "And you were the one that dragged me in here! Some of us have jobs, you know! We can’t all just sit around complaining all day."



Pearla scoffed, "You call what you do a job?! Making up lies about people to make them look bad?" She stood back and flicked her hair, "Obviously you’re jealous of me, but that doesn’t make the fact that you’re dragging my name through mud okay!"
"Making up lies? I can’t exactly make up a photograph, can I?!" Julianna retorted.



"Well, I wouldn’t put anything past you!"

Officer Yang noticed the glint in Pearla's eye, "Can both of you please calm down. Any complaints need to be made in an orderly fashion."

At that moment, Alex walked in on the scene.



Officer Yang rushed over to him, "Thank goodness you’re here, Alex! These two are causing a commotion, one is refusing to leave and I’m at my wits end with them. If it carries on like this an arrest will be taking place…"
"What about the Chief? Does he know about this?"
"No... I didn't tell anyone else here, well, because I didn't want to look like an idiot! They're only two women but that Pearla scares me, to be honest. If I can get this sorted without having to bother the guys upstairs..."
Alex nodded, "I’ll see if I can get them to calm down."



He walked over to the two women, choosing to focus on Pearla.
"Miss Richards? I believe you have a complaint to make about Ms. Heart over here. I’m Officer Clarke, by the way, and I’m more than happy to look into your accusation."
Pearla looked more than surprised, though a little distracted..
"Oh…? Officer Clarke? Annette's brother, I assume." She looked him up and down, "Well, heh, I suppose we can't choose family. Anyway, you were saying..?"

Alex couldn't help feeling awkward under Pearla's scrutinizing stare. But he took a deep breath and went along with his plan anyway.
"Uh... yes. I'll make sure that any mis-truths Ms. Heart may have fabricated against you will be bought to light if you so please. However, I will warn you that if there is even a slight bit of truth to any of what Ms. Heart has claimed, it is possible that the investigation will bring this to the attention of other people in the press, and if anything happened it will get more publicity than it already has. But if what she has said is a lie, then of course we will do everything to further this case of slander, however time consuming the case becomes."

Pearla's mouth fell open, "…oh… "
There was a long pause as she seemed to be thinking of some way out.
"Well, of course there isn't any truth to what Ms.Heart is saying..." She started, glaring once more at Julianna, "but, heh, you mentioned it being time consuming? Well, ah, I really wouldn’t like to take up the police’s time as there are many dangerous criminals out there, and of course my own time is very limited, as you must know Officer Clarke, I am a very busy lady."



"So, hmm, well, it might just be easier for everyone if I hesitate a while to make a case." She wiped some imaginary dust off of one of her shoulders.
"I’m quite sure that Ms.Heart will have learned her lesson anyway… Obviously I may pursue the case at a later date, just not when I’m so busy... But, uh, thank you, Officer. I will perhaps see you another day." Pearla bobbed her head at Alex and quickly turned to leave.



As soon as Pearla had moved away, Alex turned to Julianna.
"Oh my goodness, Julianna, I am so sorry! I know what she’s like, and I thought it was the only way to make her drop it." He quickly tried to explain himself. "To be honest… I was a little worried when I saw the newspaper article… that she might cause some sort of fuss."
 
Julianna breathed a sigh of relief. "Urgh. That woman really seems to think she’s above the press. Does she really think she can go around getting into fights and still be immune to criticism from the world around her?" She didn't wait for anyone to answer, "But then she has been the same way since High School, I can’t expect her to change now I guess." She looked up at Alex and became a little sheepish, "I'm sorry for the rant…"



Alex shrugged, "No, no. Out of all the people in Covertine, Pearla is the one I find it the hardest to like. I mean… she’s just a bit… difficult. But her family is going through a rough patch right now, so…"
Julianna honed in on what might have been a good story, "What do you mean?"
"Obviously I can’t tell you anything to do with my job for confidentiality reasons, I mean, when you’re a reporter and everything," Alex looked undecided about something, "but you probably remember back in High School… a girl who was in your year, Michaela?" He probed.
Julianna nodded slightly, "The name rings a slight bell. In my year?"
"Yeah, Greg said that she used to hang out with Rhys Borders…" Alex tried to remember the conversation he'd had earlier, "and someone called Jack Cook?"

Julianna recoiled in disgust at mention of the name.
"Well, I remember that name alright. Good riddance to him." Julianna paused, "But Michaela? I think I’m starting to remember… wasn’t she Oscar’s girlfriend?"
Alex nodded, "Yeah. Apparently she went missing."



"I remember now. She disappeared on prom night, if I remember rightly. But I moved away after that. What happened to her in the end? I always assumed she moved away just like me." Julianna didn't seem to realize anything had happened.

"Well, that’s the thing… no-one knows. She seems to have just vanished." Alex frowned, "And I mean… there are a lot of rumors going around. As far as I know, nobody’s heard from her since that night."



"What?!!" Julianna was shocked.
"Surely people must have looked into it? People can’t just disappear without someone wondering where they went and looking for them."
Alex shrugged. "I guess they did at the time or something, but didn’t get anywhere. Greg said Jack Cook actually disappeared at the same time, and a lot of people assumed they ran off together or something."
Julianna frowned in thought. "Hmmm…"



Alex suddenly remembered what he was meant to be doing.
"Anyway, I’ve got to be somewhere, and I’m sure most of this is just hearsay anyway. Just tall tales, and now it’s me going on!" He grinned, "I’ll see you around. Oh, and if Pearla causes any trouble, don’t hesitate to give me a call!"

Julianna smiled back at him, "Yeah, thanks Alex. See you." She paused, still thinking a little before moving to follow Alex out of the station.



"Don’t you think it’s strange?" Someone asked, stopping Julianna in her tracks.
She turned around, "Hm? Sorry?"



Blake folded the newspaper away.
"Well, I was just reading one of your columns. Very… captivating. Guess I just thought it was strange that there was a mysterious disappearance in Covertine and an investigative reporter as good as you seems to know nothing about it."

Julianna's defences went up immediately, assuming Blake was here to annoy her. "Really? And what seems to make you think I’d be interested in all this gossip….?"

"I just think it’s make a good story, I guess …I’d read it." Blake shrugged nonchalantly before fixing Julianna with a mysterious look, "There seems to be a little more… than meets the eye… a lot of… potential..." He trailed off, before adding, " for a major story. Front page, maybe."



Julianna sat down. " ...I’m listening." Now it seemed like Blake had some sort of scoop on what had happened.
But Blake just shrugged again, "I only just moved here a few weeks ago. I don’t know much about it myself… just thought it was strange there hasn’t been some big story about it. Maybe you should try asking the Richards family something."
Julianna got up to leave. So much for her big scoop, although what the man had said was quite true...
"Yeah, well. Thanks. I’ll look into it, I guess." She turned back to him, "What was your name again?"
"Blake." He paused, "Blake… Gruff."



"Well, keep reading my articles. You might see something in it soon that will interest you… but I can’t promise anything, of course." She smirked at him before leaving the station.


Outside Bic Coffee House





Samud looked frantic, desperately searching all of his pockets. Then he saw someone approaching.
"Hey! Hey, Mally!"
Malachi's shoulders slumped, "…hey…"
"Can you watch Kai for a minute? I dropped my keys when we were out earlier and I just want to have a quick run around to find them. I think I know where I left them, I'll only be a few minutes." Samud didn't wait for an answer, already about to go.



"Uh... I don’t know… I mean, I have to get back to Arrow…" Malachi complained, but it was weak at most.
"Mally, I’m sure your horse needs you, but it will be fine for a while longer." Samud spoke sarcastically, " Look, I just don’t want to pull Kai back to everywhere we’ve been today, it'll wear him out even more. And I’ll be much faster if I go on my own."
Malachi tried to protest, "Samud, I don’t-"
"Come on, man!" Samud shouted, "You were his friend! Look, I’ll only be a little while."



Malachi still seemed a bit tetchy. He looked down at Kai.
"I don't know, I really have to get back... isn't there someone else?"

Samud was ready to blow a fuse in frustration, ""For God's sake, Mal! I'm only asking you this one favor, you really don't have to do it if you don't want to, and it's getting pretty obvious as to how you feel!"



Malachi stepped back, "No, no! I'll do it, I want to do it!" He claimed, but the look on his face said otherwise.
Samud rolled his eyes, "Like I can believe you now."
"Uh.. like you said, me and Kai, we were friends. I can do it, uh, just for the sake of old times, you know..." Malachi didn't even sound as if he believed himself.



Samud suddenly straightened up and smiled, "Thanks Mally! I knew you'd come around!"
He sprinted off before Malachi could even get a word in.
 "Yep. ...fine. Sure. No problem..." Malachi grumbled
"Take Kai to the beach – he likes it there. I’ll meet you there later. Thanks, Mally!" Samud called over his shoulder.



Malachi sighed.
"I hate it when people call me that…"



He looked down at Kai, "It’s funny… you used to call me the exact same thing… Heh."
Kai just stared blankly back at him, making Malachi feel awkward.



"Ah well. Let’s go to the beach then!" Malachi tried to pretend he was enjoying this. "Fun all round tonight."


At the beach



Malachi fidgeted. The only sound were the waves tumbling over each other.
"So…" He started, but couldn't think of anything to say.
He retreated back into the silence. It wouldn't have been quite so bad if Kai wasn't staring at him. His empty eyes were disconcerting, maddening.



Malachi looked away. "I can’t keep doing this… Your brother has things so, so wrong." He whispered to himself.
Kai just kept staring, Malachi fixed by the blank gaze.

Malachi tried to smile, opting for a different tactic. "Heh…" He sniffed, wiping his nose, "I wonder what happened to Jack, after all these years. Living the high life while we're stuck here, probably." He'd already run out of steam. He glanced at Kai, catching the cold eyes again, "I dunno, maybe… maybe you know where he went. Well, knew." He glanced a second time, "Before your accident..." Malachi paused for a second.
"I mean, you were always closer, always seemed to have these secrets, stuff that was completely over my head.."

He half expected Kai to reply, for him to just jump up and start talking. But all he could do was stare at Malachi with his empty, empty eyes.




But Malachi was lost in the moment, remembering, and his emotions got the better of him, "I wish Samud wouldn’t keep badmouthing him…" He was speaking about Jack. That was one of the holes in his life, a big question mark over what had happened to his supposed friend.
"If Samud knew the truth…" Malachi continued, "God. It would kill him."
He shook his head, "Damn it, we were so stupid… I never thought any of this would happen. None of us did. We were idiots..." He looked down, speaking softly, nearly choking on the words he had fought to keep down for so long.
 



"I’m so, so sorry Kai. God, I am so sorry. If I could take it all back…."



A tear ran down his cheek, soon followed by more.
" I know telling Samud the truth would kill him…." He whispered, barely loud enough for himself to hear.



"Just like it’s killing me..."

He looked up, once again catching Kai's stare. It hadn't moved at all, still following Malachi. Malachi could remember when those empty, dead eyes had held so much more. When they hadn't haunted his every thought.



He jumped off the bench in frustration.
" For God’s sake Kai, why can’t you say something?" He stared back at Kai, willing for some ounce of fire to return. None did.
"JUST SAY SOMETHING DAMMNIT! KAI JUST... JUST..."



Malachi broke down, falling to his knees. "...just...I just can't do this anymore, Kai..." He sobbed. "I just can't..."




To be continued...

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