Adam followed after Harvey with his head hanging, knowing he was in huge trouble. He had knowingly disobeyed him behind his back, lied to him, associated with a human, and accepted food from one! What kind of borrower was he!?
"H... H-Harvey, I-" Harvey lifted his hand, which shut Adam up. The younger borrower hadn't spoken a word, obviously fuming so much that he couldn't even speak. Adam gulped as they finally made it home, and Harvey opened the door before letting Adam enter first. The young male slammed it behind him, making Adam jump in surprise and even made their surroundings shudder.
"ARE. YOU. INSANE!?!?!?" He shrieked. Adam was taken back, used to the more calm and composed version of Harvey. This Harvey was hell breaking loose, he could already tell. "HE COULD HAVE KILLED YOU!!!" Harvey screamed. "HE COULD HAVE TAKEN YOU AWAY AND TRAPPED YOU LIKE A RODENT, OR-OR LIKE A PEST!!! YOU COULD HAVE DIED OUT THERE!!!!!"
"H-Harvey..." Adam stared numbly as the borrower continued.
"I CAN'T EVEN BEGIN TO EXPLAIN HOW MANY RULES THIS BREAKS! DO YOU WANT TO THROW YOUR LIFE AWAY-" Harvey stopped and cleared his throat, his voice having gone hoarse from suddenly shouting at the top of his lungs. "A-Adam," he croaked. "Are you not grateful that I saved your life?"
"Of course I am!" Adam protested, stepping forward. "But you'll never tell me what happened! All you said was you found me trying to loot an empty house, unconscious and on the floor! Don't I deserve to know what happened? I want my memories back!" He had started shouting now as well, both borrowers forgetting all of their caution for the humans above the boards that concealed them.
"No because if you knew the truth then you'd hate me!" Harvey screamed, falling to his knees and sobbing. Adam froze, his eyes rounding.
"Wha..." He breathed, watching as the borrower he knew so strong and never giving up caved, crying before his very eyes. He wanted to comfort him, tell him to forget it, that he was sorry, that he was there for him... But he had to know the truth.
He swallowed before speaking up. "Harvey... Please... It's been long enough... I think it's time I knew." Harvey sniffled and rubbed his eyes, rocking back on his haunches.
". . . Y-you're not a borrower..." He whispered. Adam's eyes widened again, but he waited, listening. Harvey slowly looked up at him with tear stained cheeks, hesitating before the story spilled. "I-it was raining, and you were in the house. You were talking to Ty, fighting about something. You seemed sad... Upset. Then Mitch came in, and the shouting started." By now Adam had figured out all of the humans' names, so he was following along at least a little.
"It was scary," Harvey whimpered. "The others were in the living room, anxious and on edge about the fight. Then you barged into your room and locked the door. You started packing, but while the others were about to turn in for the night--" Harvey paused to swallow, softly panting. "L-lightning struck the house. It started a fire. The oven was close to exploding, so they had to evacuate quickly. Ty t-tried to... To break into your room... But it was jammed. You were shouting, begging him to leave, but... He just wouldn't go. But then falling debris forced him to, so he vowed to come back before fleeing." Harvey swallowed again and looked away, leaving Adam wide eyed with horror, speechless.
"Th-that's when I came in," Harvey continued. "I was in the hallway when the fire alarm had gone off, and I had hitched a ride on Ty. When he ran back t-to try and save you, I-I knew you wouldn't make it... Not unless I did something." Harvey slowly looked down at his hands, then pulled his cloak hood down. "You were starting to choke on the smoke, it was suffocating you, s-so I slipped in and... And, well..." Harvey sat silent, then suddenly snapped his fingers. Adam gasped when purple sparkling light danced where he had snapped, a radiant aura before fading into the air.
"... You mean... I was... Human...?" Adam slowly breathed, not quite recovering his voice. Harvey kept his gaze lowered, shaking his head.
"I-I'm sorry," he sobbed. "I-I took your life away from you and-and turned you into something weak, something that's hardly capable of surviving. I-I was going to turn you back, but... They labeled you dead... So I was stuck with a human shrunken down as a borrower, who would have absolutely no idea how to survive on his own..."
"... Is it reversible?" Adam asked. One sorrowful glance gave him the answer.
"I'm so sorry..." Harvey cried into his hands, still kneeling down before Adam like he was royal. Adam stood there numb, not wanting to believe it. He was human. He was one of those huge ponderous creatures just above their heads, but he couldn't even remember it. He knew nothing about his past life... And he was stuck like this for good.
He finally forced his legs to move, and he slowly walked to the door, his mind still blank with shock. Harvey didn't even try to stop the shrunken human as he left, his thoughts whirling in shock that what felt like his entire life had been nothing but a lie.
Harvey heard the door shut and let out a shaky sigh, rubbing his temples as his tears continued to fall. He hadn't meant for this to happen. He had meant to save Adam's life, not ruin it. For weeks he had been trying to find a way to let one of the humans know of his existence, in a way that wouldn't make him a victim. But that was when the fire had happened. And now Adam had left him, alone and crying, grieving for the past. Not that it was his fault-- he had every right to hate Harvey, despite the borrower teaching him how to survive, taking him under wing as a brother.
'... He'll come back.' Harvey sniffled and slowly stood up, rubbing his eyes. 'He just needs time by himself.' He wiped his tears and stood there numbly, still sniffing before deciding to lay down. He was just starting to head to Adam's room when he heard an ominous creak... And he froze.
'That's not me.'
Harvey shouted instinctively when the roof of their little home was suddenly pulled off, and he backed away with a gasp, looking up with wide eyes. A huge hand was reaching down, shrouding Harvey in darkness, and he was grabbed by the back of his hoodie as he started screaming and squealing for help. He was dangled up into the air, and he found himself face to face with harshly glaring eyes behind glasses.
"I found you... You little pest!" Tyler growled.
YOU ARE READING
Recondite (Novella)
Fanfiction(cover by me! •3•) A group of friends who haven't hung out in a long while decide to get together again and go into the country, spending spring break in a cabin. To them, it's a fun hang out, but to Ty, this is their chance to escape the past. He d...
