Chapter Thirty-Six: Arx

I checked my hearing. What now? Mad climbs up into a tree and hangs from one of the branches upside-down. “Ooh, this is supposed to be the good part,” she says joyfully. I am so confused, I just stare at her.

“Yup, Leo is Kallie’s dad,” Mad says, lifting the cloud off my head. I come back to my senses. The battle around us has stopped, and I search for the group. There they are, standing over Leo. I see Lucki shoot, but Kallie shoves the gun barrel up into the air. The shot fires. Kallie confesses that Leo is her father. Thinking fast, I grab a dead MC’s gun and fire it at the bullet. Both bullets explode to smithereens. Perfect shot. An unbroken silence follows.

“Well, I didn’t see that coming,” Stella finally says. Her voice is cold.

“Stella-” Kallie tries to say.

“No, Kallie. Don’t. Just go,” Stella demands, voice cracking. Kallie hangs her head, then helps Leo to his feet. His eyes are wet, like he’s been crying, and Roki is nowhere to be seen. Gripping her father’s hand, Kallie blips out, taking Leo with her. The rest of the group stands in shock, staring at the spot that they disappeared.

A rustle and a crack come behind me, and Mad is sprawling on the ground, the branch she was hanging from to her side.

“Whoops,” she says brightly, and brushes leaves and bark off her clothes. Stella stares, confused, as does Marc, and the rest of the group looks bewildered.

“There are two of you?” Marc asks, eyes wide.

“No,” Mad deadpans, and looks up into the tree again, probably searching for a better branch. “We should get me back to my own time before I fall out of a tree again.”

“Knowing you, you might fall out of a tree when you get back to your own time,” I reply with a grin on my face. Stella blinks, still confused, and Marc shrugs and goes to help the rest of the group make a fire. It is getting pretty cold… Mad climbs up into the tree again, with the broken branch in her hand, and starts making a nest.

“What the heck?” Stella mutters, then goes to join Marc and the group.

“You really like falcons, don’t you?” I ask Mad. Mad grins a crooked smile.

“If your memories weren’t withdrawn, you would've felt the same way.”