The Elite

Twenty-Six

Julian

Leon's eyes suddenly flew open after only a few seconds of having been lost in his memory. Peering deeply into those eyes for answers to what he saw, I instantly picked up the confusion and worry hidden in them. It was interesting, for I would have suspected to see him filled more with sorrow than anything else.

"Ciprian sent you into your memories," I said, hoping to initiate the conversation and find out why he looked like that. "Did you see the day your friends died?"

The worry stuck around in Leon's eyes as he looked around at those of us there, seeming a bit lost. However, the confusion faded away as I saw his decision present in the firm set of his jaw not to say what he truly saw.

"I saw them dead again," Leon merely said.

"What happened?" I asked, hoping to get him to change his mind. "What did you remember that you didn't already?"

"Nothing," Leon said. "All I ever remember is getting trapped, and then seeing my squad's dead bodies."

"And that is what you saw this time?"

"Yes."

I found myself immensely frustrated that Leon was unwilling to share what happened. I could see that he knew exactly what happened. Though he might have thought he was fooling me, he wasn't. Master Jobi trained me too well. He remembered. He had been accused of killing his friends, but he wasn't willing to say what really happened. It was frustrating. A quick glance at a fuming Tass confirmed my suspicion that she was taking Leon's non-answer as proof he did something bad, but I wasn't so pessimistic. I firmly believed something happened the day Leon's old friends died, but I also firmly believed it wasn't his fault.

"Tell us what happened," Tass insisted. "You know."

"Agreed," I concurred. "You know but you're refusing to tell us. Tell us now."

I knew that whatever Leon was hiding, it was important, or else he wouldn't be trying to conceal what happened. Since it was important, I needed to know it. Leon shouldn't try to hide things from me that were important. My parents hid critical things from me, and then they died while there were things going on dealing with that critical thing. If they'd just told me, I'd know it all, and everything would be okay. They wouldn't have died.

I couldn't let something happen like that again. Knowledge would have probably let me save my parents, and it would let me save Leon and the rest of Squad 16 now. Leon had to tell me. It was the only way everything would turn out alright.

"I don't know anything," Leon insisted.

"Tell me!" I yelled.

I couldn't stand people hiding things that were important from me anymore. That was how my parents died and I wasn't going to allow anyone else to die because I didn't know things. Leon had to tell me, or else this mystery could result in the deaths of Squad 16 — my friends.

Leon was staring at me with shocked eyes, quiet as he no doubt worried about my sudden change in behavior. I too was worried about all the negative feelings swirling inside of me, but I was more worried about my squadmates dying because Leon refused to share information with me. That was more worrisome.

"Tell me," I commanded.

"Later, Julian," Leon replied.

His voice was shaky and uncertain, making me think he wasn't going to share the information. So, I decided that if he wasn't going to offer up the information voluntarily, then I'd have to make him.

I tackled him onto his back in a flash, pinning him to the ground. Using my right hand, I snapped the bones in his pinkie finger as incentive, letting him know I was in control now, causing him to elicit a glorious scream of pain, full of fear. It was wonderful, letting me know it truly bothered Leon, for that meant he was going to tell me everything.