Prodigy Returns (book 3)

Chapter Thirty-Four

Andrew wasn't sure whether he was jealous — the fear of losing what one has — or envious — the desire to acquire what someone else possesses. Perhaps he was somewhere in between.

He continued to chop wood aggressively as his thoughts stewed in his head. He now despised Maxim and Jacey and regretted ever having come on the mission.

It was clear just from watching Jacey and Maxim that the two had chemistry. He wondered how he was so blind to it before. It had been a while since he and his wife had that same spark. He tried to ignore the feelings, but they kept resurfacing. Every moment he had to spend watching the woman he was in love with flirt with another man was agonizing. The whole situation was a living hell for him. He tried to keep his mind occupied as he swung his axe forcefully into a log.

"You okay, Andrew?" Maxim asked, approaching cautiously from behind. "You seem a little upset."

"How long?" Andrew snarled back, clearly worked up with rage.

"How long for what, Andrew?"

"How long have you and my wife been sneaking behind my back?" Andrew shouted.

Maxim was a master at diffusing situations. With his confidence and calm demeanour, he began to speak, remaining mindful of the axe that Andrew was clutching in his tightened fist. "As we are all rational adults here, I'm happy to discuss this with you, Andrew, but please let's keep our voices down, shall we? We wouldn't want to attract any unwanted attention."

Jacey was off on her own, but close enough where she heard the commotion. She headed toward the two nearby men and slowly emerged through the bushes.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"You must think I'm a fool," Andrew said, burying the axe deep into the log. "Do you have any idea how obvious you two are? You don't think I see the smiles you two exchange throughout the day and hear the whispers at night? What I want to know is, how long have you two been seeing each other?"

"Andrew," Jacey spoke in calm voice. "It doesn't do a person well to focus on the past. I think it would be best if we all just—"

"Answer me!" Andrew interrupted as spit flew from his mouth.

Neither one of them had ever seen him like this. While they couldn't necessarily blame him for having such feelings, it was putting everyone's safety in jeopardy.

"Look, Andrew, it's a complicated situation," Maxim said, putting up his hands passively. There was no telling what anyone would do if they were pushed toward their breaking point, and Maxim recognized that. He respected Andrew and truly felt bad for sneaking around with his wife behind his back. Perhaps more importantly, he respected the threat Andrew posed to the harmony of the group. "We all need each other out here, Andrew. None of us can survive on our own."

"You're not going to answer me, are you?" Andrew said, approaching Maxim aggressively.

"I'm not your enemy, Andrew," Maxim said.

"Tell me... how long?" Andrew said with a slow and calculated delivery.

Maxim and Jacey looked at each other and decided to come clean.

"A couple months," Maxim lied to lessen the sting.

The words barely left Maxim's lips before he was on the receiving end of a wild punch. Maxim stumbled back and instinctually put his hands up to prevent any further damage.

Fueled with rage, Andrew charged forward and tackled Maxim to the ground and began to hit him repeatedly. Maxim turtled up and didn't provide any sort of offensive attack of his own. He just took the punishment. In a way, he felt like he deserved it.

"Get off of him, Andrew!" Jacey cried.

Andrew delivered one last blow before something caused him to stop. A loud roar echoed throughout the forest, instilling hair-raising fear into the small group. Andrew slowly got off Maxim, allowing Maxim to return to his feet and dust himself off. Everyone remained still. Then they heard the roar again, this time it was much closer.

"What the hell is that?" Andrew whispered.

"Whatever it is, it sounds like it's coming closer," Maxim replied. "We can't stay here."

***

"We can't stay here," Alex said, snapping her father out of his thoughts. "We need to get off this planet."

The words resonated with Maxim as he contemplated his daughter's advice. He loved the new life he had created, everything about it was peaceful and fulfilling, but his old life beckoned him. The appeal of returning to Earth was alluring and the thought never left him. Even after all his time on Titan, he had dreamed of returning one day to see familiar places, eating at his favourite restaurants, showing his children a life that they could only dream of. Until Alex arrived, he thought it was just a dream. Now it was a real possibility. Due to the time dilation, his life on Earth had essentially been placed on pause, allowing him to resume it without losing much context.

"Part of me wishes I could go back there," he said.

"Why can't we?" Alex asked. "Let's go home, dad."

"This is my home now, Alexandra. I'm much happier here. I have anonymity, there are no expectations of me, and I can just live my life free, raising my family in peace. I've lived a long and journeyed life and I will spend the rest of my days here in paradise. Now what could you possibly say that would change my mind?"

"Your children don't have the eternity hack," Alex said simply, letting the inference sink in. "You're going to outlive them all, and then what are you going to do? I know you want to provide them with the best life, free from stress and obligation, but they are missing out on so much. They'll never experience love, friendship, different culture and cuisine. There's so much on Earth for them to experience. Titan is a good place to visit, especially while they are young, but you can't stay here. Your life has a greater purpose than just you. The people of Earth need you. They need their Leader."