Ruin and Revival

Chapter 44: Vulnerable

ARIKA

I run after Axel as I see his dangerously thin frame sprint into the palace.

"What are you doing!" Bri shouts.

"I have to follow him,"

"Oh my god, Arika you never learn! You literally just said you were done with his antics!" I know she is right, but...

"He needs help," I say defeated, unable to put the ominous feeling in my gut into words.

"No, he doesn't! He said it himself!"

"Exactly! But he doesn't see it like I do! Bri, he's on the edge of sanity right now. He needs someone, anyone to be there for him even if he doesn't want to admit it," I finally see that look of consent in her sparkling blue eyes. I can't have what happened to Cole happen to Axel too.

"Okay, okay. I trust you, but that doesn't mean I'm not coming with you," I smile.

"Of course you are. Was that not a given?" We exchange smirks before taking off in a sprint. The palace is still glorious, but it looks grimier and more unkempt than I remember. And unlike the busy bustling of before, the halls are utterly silent, the only sound the squeaking of our shoes on the marble tiles. I beckon for Bri to follow me. We enter the elevator, gasping for breath.

"Seems like some kind of plague has hit this place," Bri says grimly. All I can manage is an equally grim nod of agreement. Damn! Will the death ever stop?

The doors finally open.

"Axel! Axel!" And that's when I see him, crouching before a limb body. The body belonged to that of an elderly woman who had a warm, kind face. Blood seeped out of every opening in her body. I hold back a gasp of revolt.

"She raised me since I remember. She fed me, made me who I am. She loved me when no one else could. She was my real mother. And-" His voice breaks along with the rest of my heart. Bri places a comforting hand on my shoulder and it is the only thing keeping me from collapsing.

"Now, I can't even thank her, tell her how much she meant to me, tell her that I loved her!" His breathing comes in sudden, desperate gasps. All I can do is stand here.

"Arika, get me my gloves," His voice has become dangerously low, too low. I don't move from my spot next to him.

"Get me my gloves," Axel repeats.

"No," I insist. He stands abruptly and I try not to flinch.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU! Are you blind to all of this death? Can you not see what the Republic of America has done to my people?" Our faces are inches from one another.

"I won't let you kill anyone. No one else needs to die," I say as calmly as I can manage.

"Every single one of those bastards deserves to suffer. I'm going to make everyone in that country regret that they didn't take my offer to peace earlier," Axel releases me from the pin of his gaze. I clasp my hand around his now bony arm.

"And what's that going to do? You'll just be killing innocent people. And I know you. You won't be able to live with yourself if you did this," I say with a fervor I didn't know I had for him.

"You don't know me, Arika. Stop pretending like you do! I am capable of much more than you know,"

"Would she be proud of you if you did this? Would you be the son she would have wanted you to be if you did this? Would you be able to face her proudly if you slaughtered all of those children, those families who are just trying to survive in this sick world? I know you have the strength to kill anyone you please, but do you have the strength not to?" And I know I have won him over. Bri gives me an optimistic thumbs up that doesn't fit the situation at all. And I love her for it.

"Then help me, Arika. Please, I don't know what to do anymore," Tears I didn't know the Axel was capable of are now running down his face. He sinks to his knees and cries the tears he has been holding back since he was the baby that was abandoned in the desert. I embrace him tightly and Bri joins.

"You two get cleaned up. I'll go see if there is any uncontaminated food," I nod a thank you to Bri. Gotta love her timing.

"Stay safe. And don't you dare get yourself sick. We are going to need your brains," I remind her even though I know she is completely capable of taking care of herself.

"Thanks, mom!" Bri snickers before we embrace. She takes off toward the elevator.

"Man, I sure have missed showering here," I try and joke. Aside from the body, everything else in Axel's quarters remains clean and untouched.

"What should I do?" His voice is so lost, so vulnerable.

"I think we need to start by getting into some clean clothes. We have no idea how this plague spreads or if we have it already. Then we need to get some food in us. You need it," I eye his boniness frankly and he looks away, pretending to study his fingernails.

"You need to alert your country that you are back. Give them hope, something to hold onto. Bri and I will head to the labs to see if they have even located what all of this could be-" I stop suddenly as I realize his close proximity, too close. He studies me with those calculating eyes and I swallow nervously, my heart pounding. I haven't felt this way for so long. He bites his lip. We lean in so close until we are breathing one another's air.

"I forgot to tell you that I am glad you remembered," Axel whispers, his breath tickling my lips. But he then trudges towards the bathroom. And the electricity that had coursed through me now turns into heavy disappointment.