In Saving the Imperfect

24. And dropped us down for gain

The next morning, Layne was able to find Adan wandering the streets of the village, alone. That was as good of a time as any and the matter couldn't be delayed any longer. When he approached, Adan swung around and gave him a smile.

"Good morning," he said. "Weird to see you up so early."

"Yeah, I don't usually sleep the whole day."

"And that is good to know."

Layne rubbed his neck, trying to figure out how to phrase the question in the most convincing way. For some reason, he believed that Adan might not want to agree with it.

Adan tilted his head and squinted. "Is something wrong?"

"Not exactly. We have friends left in the other village, I've just been wanting to talk to you about-" The man's look along stopped him from talking further. It was cold. Harsh. Layne darted his eyes down and waited for him to say something – though he wasn't going to back down.

Adan sighed. "Don't get me wrong, I'd gladly let your friends come here. But Victor wouldn't like it very much."

"Who cares what Victor wouldn't like?" Layne rose his voice. "They're not safe there with him, that matters a whole lot more, don't you think?"

He would have kept going but the old man raised his hand to make him stop. Layne frowned and squeezed his sore lips tight. Adan moved his eyes around, seemingly examining the houses and the trees with a dreamy look. Seeing that, Layne's fists started shivering.

"Yeah, well, our safety matters too. We can co-exist peacefully only for as long as we're not doing anything to harm them. That includes stealing their workforce."

"Their workforce? Seriously? Our friends are not their workforce."

"Now look, you two being here might already come to bite us in the ass. We have small children here and people incapable of protecting themselves if there's a need. We just can't risk it."

* * *

And it did come to bite them.

For the next few days, Layne and Coden did all they could to come up with a plan to help their friends. For a short time, they even considered going back themselves instead of leaving them behind – though that thought had to be pushed away cause of one simple fact. They would more than likely be killed if they were to return days after disappearing.

When Layne heard Victor's voice that evening, he thought he was being paranoid. Except, Coden grabbed his upper arm and squeezed it tight. At the very least, he wasn't the only one hearing it. They exchanged looks and crept towards the source.

As soon as Layne saw the man, he looked back at him as well. He was standing in the yard of one of the houses with Adan sitting nearby. His smile widened when the two approached.

"And there they are," he said.

Layne curled up his nose and clenched his fist. The sight of him alone caused anger to boil up inside him. That was the man responsible for Troy's death. "What are you doing here?"

"I've been looking for you two, of course. We've all been very worried."

Coden caught a grip of Layne's arm again, startling him.

Adan brushed his hand over his hair and sighed. "We've been discussing the best way to deal with the situation."

"Situation?" Layne flinched. "What situation? There is no situation."

"Shush, now, this conversation doesn't involve you." Victor waved them off with a chuckle.

Layne raised his eyebrows. Victor wasn't acting quite right. At that moment, he was more Adan than he was Victor. Layne wondered whether the sudden change was due to the company he was in.