Chapter Thirty-Five: Marc

May 24

The clearing is silent, no one moves. Lucki stands over Leo, a gun pointing at his head. Bunni and Misti flank him, and the rest of the group stands sort of off to the side, watching. Waiting. I stumble over to them, as does Stella. Kallie follows, but here eyes are on Leo. The woman called Roki is missing, where is she? None of the MC’s are moving. Dead? I don’t know.

“Kill me then,” Leo is saying, “Get it over with. My power will unleash an explosion that will destroy you all.”

“You’re lying,” Lucki replies with confidence. “You always lie.”

“Maybe. Fine. Kill me. What have I got to live for anyway?” His voice cracks. “You took her from me…” he trails off. I have a bad feeling about why Roki isn’t here. And I’ve heard the stories about the Death Dimension… Did they send her there?

“No, you killed her, and I will kill you,” Lucki decides. “And it will make me very happy.” He steps off of him slowly, aiming the gun at his head.

“No!” Arx’s friend yells. “It’s a trap! He’s telling the truth -- I should know.”

But Lucki doesn’t listen. He unlocks the safety on the gun. And fires. But the bullet doesn’t hit Leo, because in that split second before the bullet leaves the barrel, Kallie leaps forward and shoves the gun barrel up, pointing toward the sky. The bullet shoots high into the air, and both of them lose their balance and fall to the ground. What just happened?

Another crack resonates through the air, and there is an explosion. Arx stands nearby, holding one of the MC’s guns. The gun is pointed to the sky.

“Just in case,” she says curtly. No one is looking at her though, we’re all staring at Kallie. Not because she just did something offensive, and not even because she’s looking around wildly like a panicked and cornered animal. No, it’s not any of those.

It’s because she just saved our worst enemy’s life.

“I can't let you kill him,” she manages. “He’s--” she stops, hesitates, glancing at me. I shrug. She swallows and continues.

“He’s my father.”