Knight Casefiles Book 0: Genesis

Genesis [Chapter 6]

Chapter 6

It took us more than an hour to navigate our way back to Sigrun. She’d taken a bad beating but was healing rapidly. She had several broken bones and the entire left side of her body was swollen. I nearly lost my lunch again. Claude had carried her from then on, despite Sigrun’s protest, and we soon found ourselves back aboveground. Sigrun retreated into the car and started methodically applying first-aid to herself though I knew that even with her inhuman abilities, it would take days for her to heal. Claude and I waited outside the car.

After an awkward moment of silence, Claude went to the trunk, and retrieved two blankets and a six-pack of beer. He offered me one of each and I accepted, nodding my thanks.

He popped his can open and took a long drag, letting out a refreshed sigh and wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

“Your jacket didn’t get wet?”

Claude froze midway, pulled his arm back and stared at it. He wrinkled his nose and spat in disgust. I chuckled. It was difficult not to now that all that adrenaline I’d built up was trying to find a new outlet. I opened my own can and drank heartily as Claude let out his own guffaw.

“Close one,” I murmured, after we had settled down.

“You can say that again,” he replied, frowning at his sleeve before draining his can and opening another one.

I wrinkled my nose as I struggled with the words. “I’m sorry…”

“For what?” Claude asked quietly. The question seemed half-hearted, as if he was reluctant to ask it.

“For abandoning you two back there,” I said. “For being a coward.”

Claude blinked at me, surprise evident in his face.

“I do know how to admit to my mistakes, you know,” I told him.

His mouth spread out into a wide grin as he let out another gruff laugh. “That wasn’t being a coward, kid. It’s called being smart.”

I observed him to make sure he wasn’t kidding. “You don’t have to try and make me feel better.”

“And I’m not,” he said, his tone growing serious. “Chris, be honest with me: do you really think you could have taken the Strigoi leader. Before I ordered you to run, that is.”

I thought about it for a moment. Thought about the uncertainty I felt and the rush of primal fear as my body pushed me to try to survive by fleeing. I shook my head. “No.”

Claude spread his hands as if it were the most obvious thing. “There you have it. You couldn’t have taken him whichever way the fight went.”

“It still wasn’t right…I should’ve stayed there and faced them with you…”

Claude sighed and pulled out his golden blade again, inspecting it. “You would’ve died,” he said simply. “And that’s the greatest form of cowardice.”

I looked up at him. “It would’ve been called martyrdom.”

The old Knight shook his head, trailing a hand across his blade’s edge. “Dying like that…when you know you couldn’t win…Chris, that isn’t courage, that isn’t being a martyr. It would’ve been suicide.” He smiled at me kindly. “Do you know why so many people frown on it? It’s because suicide is spineless selfishness at its finest. Dying for the sake of escaping something horrible, knowing full well that it would free you from responsibility.”

I didn’t reply. My heart grew heavier.

“Running like that, the way you did – now, that was bravery,” he said with a guffaw, patting me so harshly on the back that I fell off the car.