Chapter 87: Broken
The silence had gone on too long. Marcus and the Lion both stood their ground; neither of them was willing to be the first to back down, and the trio still remained caught somewhere in between, waiting for whatever came next.
Then Morden staggered forward; he left Darlus’ support and decided to take the reins himself.
He wouldn’t be letting the people controlling him like that again.
His legs still weren’t fully cooperating, but he forced himself to ignore the wobble, past the ache still lingering in his throat, and moved to play himself right in the empty space between the two forces.
Now every eye was looking at him, even his teammates. The leaders of the parties looked at the wobbling Morden, and the same thought dominated both their minds.
"Enough," he said, his voice coming out rougher than he wanted it to sound.
Both Marcus and the Lion turned to look at him, along with every single Bearer and beast standing behind them.
"You," Morden said while looking directly at the Lion.
"You said you’re not here for a fight. Fine. But if that’s true, then this has to be our choice. Not something either of you forces on us."
The Lion tilted its massive head slightly, flames flickering along its mane.
"I only offered to help."
"You offered to help with an army standing behind you?" Morden said.
"I don’t think that can be considered an offer; to me it’s more like an order."
Marcus opened his mouth to say something, likely about to agree, but Morden turned toward him next, cutting him off before he could actually speak.
"And you’re not any better," he continued.
"You’ve been hunting us since the moment we triggered whatever this event was, and now you’re standing there acting like protecting us was always the plan."
Marcus’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t argue.
Morden closed his eyes for a second, trying to settle the crazy pounding in his skull. It had stopped him from doing the analysis he had always loved doing so much.
Everything about tonight had been a mess of forces pulling at him from every direction: the shadow, the fight, and the fear still sitting heavy in his chest from not knowing what had happened to his own body while he was possessed.
He was tired of things happening to him. He wanted even if it was just once, to actually choose something for himself by himself and not because his hands were forced.
"I’ll go with the Flaming Lion," he said finally.
Behind him, he heard Darlus take in a sharp breath.
"Morden, are you serious right now?" Darlus asked, stepping closer.
"You want to go with the giant flaming beast and its pack of feral dogs over an actual organization?"
"At least it’s being honest about wanting something from us," Morden said, turning to face his teammates.
"Marcus wants us because we’re his responsibility, or his problem, depending on how you look at it. But this thing at least admitted it wants something specific. I’d rather know what I’m dealing with than pretend I trust someone who’s spent all night hunting us down."
"That’s not exactly a great reason to walk off with a Genetic Beast, we hunt their kind to grow. Do you think they won’t be holding any animosity towards us?" Lisa said quietly, her arms
crossed.
"Maybe it isn’t; in fact, maybe they want to take me just so they could tear me apart the first chance they get," Morden admitted.
"But I’m tired of not having answers. Everyone around me keeps deciding what’s best without actually telling me anything. I’d rather find out the hard way than keep standing around in the dark."
"This is a terrible plan." Darlus shook his head, his usual grin nowhere in sight.
"Probably," Morden agreed.
Lisa studied him for a long moment, her expression unreadable, before she finally spoke again.
"We’re staying with Marcus."
"Lisa—" Morden started.
"No," she cut him off, her voice much firmer now.
"You’re barely able to stand, and you’re choosing to walk off with something that just showed up with an army. I’m not doing that, and Darlus isn’t either."
Darlus nodded beside her with his arm crossed, clearly done arguing but not agreeing either.
Though he understood Morden’s approach too, the three of them had just decided to find that man that had appeared behind to give Morden the message. They had just survived an attack from a shadow controlled by an unknown person. There were just too many things they didn’t know.
Morden looked between the two of them, something heavy settling in his chest that had nothing to do with exhaustion.
"So that’s it, then. We’re splitting up?"
"Looks like it," Lisa said.
Nobody said anything else for a moment. The tension that had been building all night finally cracked, but it cracked in a much easier way. There weren’t any injuries; heck, there wasn’t even a stir of vital energy.
Marcus stepped forward first, motioning for Lisa and Darlus to follow him and his group, but Lisa hesitated for just a second, glancing back at Morden one last time before turning and walking toward the two-ringed Bearers.
Darlus lingered a moment longer.
"You better not do anything stupid," he said, forcing a small, tired smile onto his face.
"No promises," Morden replied.
Darlus huffed out something close to a laugh before finally turning and following Lisa toward Marcus’s group.
The Flaming Lion watched the whole exchange without a word, waiting until Morden was the only one left standing on his side of the clearing.
"Come," it said finally.
"We don’t have much time; the time limit of the Mission will end soon."
Morden took one last look at his teammates’ retreating backs
Darlus’s shoulders slumped, Lisa refusing to look back a second time, before he forced his legs to move and followed the Lion in the opposite direction.
Neither group looked back.
The clearing that had held all three of them together just minutes ago now sat empty except for scorched grass and the fading sound of two sets of footsteps heading in opposite directions.
For the first time since arriving in the Omnisphere, Morden was completely alone.