Globe Tracers 3: Heritage of Triad

Chapter 10: The Girl

Kyle:

Onward we trudged. It had occurred to me to use jumps to quickly catch up to our adversaries, us closing the distance to less than a mile, but we had to stop there. Neither Xao nor I could be sure of scouts seeing us. We were just two people, in the end, the element of surprise was an asset we couldn't afford to lose.

We were currently traveling through the mountains, both of us getting pretty thirsty. We never counted on a journey like this before we arrived to rescue Bart. Our supplies were our weapons and my magnatron which- did nothing to tell us about water.

As we continued, Xao didn't look at me. I felt I had to say something, but what? I knew I crossed a line, but I didn't know how to go back. "So Darius... what was he like... before. You told me before he used to be a good person."

He didn't look back. "He wasn't anymore. Hence how you gunned him down. Do you really care?"

"You care. Enough for me to."

His head turned quickly to me. "This isn't about me Kyle!" he nearly shouted. "You killed someone. You didn't feel anything when you did, did you?"

"I... no. I still don't." I looked away. We continued to walk as we talked. "I mean... not nothing. I felt... I don't wanna say."

"Say it anyway."

I kept walking, wanting to stop for this, but we had a mission. "I felt he deserved it."

"Maybe he did. Was it your place, to decide that?"

"I mean... as a person he tried to kill more than once, kinda feels like it." I gave a weak chuckle.

He sighed. "Guess I can't blame you for feeling that way." We walked on for a few more minutes. "We deal a lot in fighting prejudice, I've noticed that." I nodded as he said this. "But not so much in redemption." I gave him a curious look. "Think about it. That whole issue with the gargoyle genocide, none of us participated. People angry at you or me for it are just prejudiced. We're innocent."

"Well I mean, I can own that I didn't try hard enough to find the truth."

"More a secondary thing that," he noted. "Don't think any of us have done anything that bad. We're not killers- not monsters. I made deals that maybe I shouldn't have, maybe perverted the very idea of being a hero or charitable- but I was misled- even thought I was helping people. And you, you hated people, enough to think mass murder was justified... but I'm sure that was okay to just think right?"

"Well... when you put it that way it doesn't really sound secondary." I started getting a sinking feeling in my stomach.

"We've all messed up Kyle. What would happen if someone called you to account?" I blew out the air in my stomach. Xao calmed down as he continued." I understand people can force your hand, but what makes you so much better? Darius was driven insane by the power of the Tricksters- their deals perverted everything he used to stand for and I doubt he even noticed at the time until it was too late. Couple that with the horrors he witnessed, anyone could crack. He did deserve to die, probably by your hand, you're not wrong. But was it really right to embrace it?"

I closed my eyes, feeling so frustrated, feeling my wits starting to crack. All I wanted was to be able to function. Maybe I had turned off some emotions but- I did what I had to. "When someone you love is about to die you tell me how good you are at making-"

"Cry me a river!" He turned and shouted. "My friend was actually cut down and I'm looking at his killer! I'm holding back aren't I?"

I paused, breathing slowly. He stared at me shaking with fury. "Holding back? Who blasted Jaden while he was just talking?" Xao's breath seemed to catch in his throat. He looked down. "Let me guess, you wanted to protect him right? You stated it yourself, I did what I had to so stop dumping on me about not having the right attitude when I did. What difference does it make!?" I started shouting back. "Who knows what Darius had in mind? He could have made a deal that could kill us all or sent some poor soul after us. And don't talk to me about reform, he was a lost cause and you know it. Sure we've all made mistakes but I never tried to get a girl to cut off her own arm with a scalpel so I could hear her scream! THAT is what happened when Jess and I first met him." Xao was silent. "Good. Just listen. I met your friend, and he was more than just corrupted. If you tried to reform him face to face, either you would have died or come out corrupted yourself. Yeah, yeah, I get it, we're all messed up but there's still a line and he crossed it!"