Shane stood over the Trans Am, his hands shoved in his pockets, as Malone spoke heatedly to Marlon and Gil. With the Shadow People defeated, they were able to make it out of their base alive. But Marlon was right: the war wasn’t over.
Shane looked up into the sky, shielding his eyes from the sun, as two helicopters flew low over them.
“The Dwarves are heading to the valley as we speak,” Malone said. “My men are prepared for their arrival, but with the Shadow People defeated, we may be able to end this peacefully. This was their war with the Shadow People; they have no reason to harm us.”
“There’s still a group of those brutes hiding out in the sewers,” Gil said. “We need to destroy them before they try to rise up again.”
Gil hesitated, holding his gaze on Shane. He was clearly out of his mind.
“Shane,” he started. “Look -”
Shane pulled his gun out of his back pocket. “You look,” he said with a hint of a threat in his voice. “If you touch them, I will shoot you.” Shane met his gaze. “Don’t make me break my promise.”
Gil turned to Marlon, hesitant.
“Najia’s never steered us wrong,” Marlon said simply. “We leave them alone.”
Shane pocketed his gun quickly and opened the car door. There was still one more thing he needed to do. One more enemy that needed to die. Someone who he had heard not too long ago and who had managed to escape when they attacked.
“Where are you going?” Gil barked to him.
“I’m going to kill Morris.” Shane was sure he had escaped during the fight. He would find him, and he would kill him.
“Killing Morris won’t bring Najia back,” Gil said as the engine of the Trans Am roared to life.
“But it will make me feel better,” Shane muttered. He stepped on the gas hard and peeled out into the road in search for Morris.
*****
Shane sped up the interstate in search for Morris. He didn’t know where Morris would have gone, but it was the most direct route to get anywhere, and if he were on foot, he wouldn’t have gotten far quickly.
And even if he didn’t find Morris, Shane would drive to the ends of the world until he found him and killed him.
It was probably a stupid goal to have, but what did Shane have left? His hands tightened on the steering wheel as his eyes focused on the road.
Jas. He had Jas. He couldn’t abandon her. Shane’s foot lifted off the accelerator. The car slowed dramatically until it came to a stop, the engine still purring. Shane stared ahead at the seemingly endless road. He had no desire to move: to keep driving or get out of the car. He didn’t know what he wanted to do, except that he wanted to disappear; to simply cease from existing. No, he didn’t want to die. He just didn’t want to be any longer.
He cut the engine and sat in the silence of the world. He leaned back and turned to the empty seat beside him. His gun lay against the leather, loaded and waiting. It wasn’t all that long ago that Najia sat there, beside him, staring out the window as she did, lost in thought.
He knew then that Najia knew what she was doing. That Najia knew what would happen to whomever took the sword.
A distant engine interrupted his thoughts. It grew louder as it accelerated down the road. Shane moved his eyes to the rear view mirror, searching for the source of the sound, but there was nothing behind him. He twisted in his seat, searching out the back window. A glint of the sunlight caught the corner of his eye, and he turned to look out his window as a silver car sped across the desert.
He peered at the vehicle as it neared. Then, as if realizing Shane was there, the car cut away dramatically, its tail end swerving as it made the tight turn.
Without another thought, Shane turned the key hard in the ignition and slammed on the accelerator. The car fish-tailed across the road and onto the desert sand. It skid across until Shane regained control and the Trans Am rocketed forward in pursuit of the silver car.
He grabbed the gun as he quickly closed in on the car, and with two shots out the window, he blew one of the tires, causing the car to spin out on the sand. Shane pulled to a stop behind the car just as Morris stumbled out, his hands in the air. Shane hurried out of the car, slamming the door behind him and holding his gun still, aiming directly at Morris. A sly smile split Morris’s face as he recognized Shane.
“Well, well, well,” he said. “My old friend from the valley.”
Shane sneered at him. “Where are you off to in such a hurry?”
“Things to do, places to go, people to see,” Morris said casually. “Such is the life, hm?”
“Working for the Shadow People must keep you busy,” Shane remarked snidely.
Morris’s smile widened. “You have no idea.” His eyes moved to the gun in Shane’s hand. “Looks like you’re ready for your revenge.”
“I’d love to watch you suffer,” Shane said. “But I’d rather see you dead sooner rather than later.”
“You’re a very vengeful person, Shane,” Morris said. “War has changed you.”
“Enough,” Shane hissed.
“Killing me won’t solve anything,” Morris said. “I was only a tool in this war, just like Najia was.”
“I said enough.”
“You know,” Morris said conversationally. “I was there when Najia was first kidnapped, just before the invasion. I had been keeping tabs on her as she ran amuck about the city. I told Nox, who was hiding under your very nose in those sewers, waiting for his chance to strike. I ordered my men to take her and bring her to me. I was there when Nox appeared to her. I was there when she so fearlessly threw herself out the window. And I was the one who brought her back to Nox where she was given a second chance at life.”
“I don’t need any more reasons to kill you,” Shane muttered.
“I’m not telling you this to give you any reasons, Shane. I’m telling you because you need to know.”
“Know what? How you betrayed your own race?”
“War is not clean. It is not black and white. It is dirty and grey and full or moral questions and doubts. I simply chose the winning team. Can you really blame me?”
“Looks like you haven’t noticed,” Shane said. “But we won.”
“You under estimate the Shadow People,” Morris said. “I chose life. I chose the winning team. Working for Nox ensured the safety of me and my family. Wouldn’t you have chosen that fate if it meant keeping Jas safe?”
“I don’t need safety from my enemies,” Shane hissed.
“You say that now,” Morris said. “But had things gone differently, you would have made the same choice I did.”
“We are not the same people,” Shane said.
“But we are, Shane. We only want what’s best for the people we love.”
“You killed the people I love,” Shane spat at him.
“Did I, though?”
“You brought those things right into the valley where we were supposed to be safe.”
“Just business,” Morris said. He beamed proudly. “It was my idea to be the terrified captive. I knew if I made myself valuable, my life would be spared. That’s how you win a war. That’s how you stay alive.”
“Yet, here you are,” Shane said as he cocked his gun.
Shane pulled the trigger and the bullet ripped through Morris’s chest, blood sputtering out from the entry wound. Morris fell to his knees, his wicked smile plastered onto his face as he choked up blood. He wavered for a moment, his smile never disappearing, and finally collapsed onto the ground.
Shane stared at the body and let the gun drop from his hands. He pulled his eyes away from the corpse, bleeding out in front of him, and turned around. He slid into the car and slammed on the accelerator, leaving a trail of dust in his wake. He drove back to the interstate, faster and faster until his racing heart finally slowed and his vision began to blur. The car slowed as his foot lifted from the pedal. He stopped the car and threw it into park, staring out the windshield as his breathing grew heavy and forced, shuttering with each breath.
Feeling suddenly claustrophobic, he stumbled out of the car and fell to his knees, trembling. His tears fell down his cheeks and stained the dry tar. His hands tightened into fists. He leaned back against the car and closed his eyes to the sunlight.
He stayed there until the tears stopped and the sun moved across the sky. He didn’t move until a car pulled up beside him. Marlon stepped out and sat beside Shane. He looked out into the desert without saying a word. The sun moved further still until the sky began to darken as twilight approached, threatening to blanket the world in darkness once more. But this time, faint stars began to dot the sky with promise.
Marlon finally stood, pulling Shane up with him, and pushed him into the Hummer. Gil drove up the interstate, leaving the Trans Am abandoned in the middle of the road.
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