In Saving the Imperfect

25. The claws of our foes

It was too dark to see anything further than an arm's length away but Victor didn't seem to care. Navigating through the deep forests, he didn't have a single source of light with him but still walked in a confident manner. He didn't trip once. Unlike Layne, who kept stumbling upon various objects – he didn't even know what they were, or running into trees, branches or bushes who'd just sprout up in his field of view just a tad bit too late.

With his hands tied behind his back, he couldn't even use those to help him navigate. All he relied on was Victor walking beside him. That barely helped at all.

When he let out a loud groan after almost tripping over something for about a hundredth time, Victor grabbed him by the arm and pulled him closer. Layne shook away his hand and returned to the original distance he kept between them. Victor responded with a laugh.

"That's why I like you," he said. "That, and the fact that no matter how much I'd try to deal with you, you always just slip away. Probably without realising that yourself, most of the time. I can respect that."

"Of course," Layne grunted. "That's also why you wanted me so much, instead of Coden?"

"Ah, you're being selfish now, wishing that you would have been the lucky one to stay in a place that you think is better. But you only think so because you don't even know that place. You've spent there a few days, only."

"Every place is better without you around."

"Hmm... Well, to answer your question, Adan would have never let me take the Haslett, anyway. They're weirdly obsessed with his parents there. It's almost religious."

Layne turned his head to the direction he knew Victor was, although he couldn't see anything more than a faint silhouette. "You knew about his parents?"

"Of course, ever since he first came to the Land, when he asked me if I knew anything about Sophia Collins and Clyde Haslett. I knew, of course. I wouldn't have told him. Nothing good can come out from him knowing that, anyway."

"Yeah, nothing good for you."

Victor only chuckled. Layne turned away again and tried his best to focus on not tripping. The old man's pace was way too fast for his liking. He didn't have the time to test his surroundings before taking a step and not even the moon was there to help guide him. The autumn weather was beginning to set in and with it, the nights were getting longer and darker.

It took a while before Layne noticed that something was missing. It was silent. Way too silent, for a normal night in the Land. The speakers were off. Upon thinking for a bit, Layne came up with the conclusion that Victor didn't want the howls to prevent him from hearing his every move.

"You think I am a horrible person," Victor stated in a calm voice.

"I mean. Yeah. You are a horrible person."

"Do you idolize Adan, then?"

Layne shook his head, forgetting that Victor couldn't see it. "No. He is also a horrible person."

"Why? Because the selfish you disagree with how he 'sacrificed' you for the good of all the other people who depend on him?"

"You make for a terrible moral compass, so don't even try."

"Alright, so, who isn't a horrible person, according to you? Yourself?"

"Nah, I'm probably horrible, too. We're all Rejects for a reason, aren't we?"

"Depends. Like your buddy, Coden. You think being an illegitimate child is a good enough reason to make him a horrible person?"

Layne bit down on his lower lip and thought for a while. However, that didn't help him to come up with a suitable response. Eventually, he just muttered, "shut up."