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“Hey, Jade?”
“Yes, Floyd?”
“If you could get out of here, would you?” Jade looked up to see his brother sitting across the room, hugging his knees loosely. “Just us.”
“Mm.” Jade hummed as he looked at the door that held a singular window at the top, a yellow light the only source of light within the dark room. The only thing that allowed him to see his twin. “Well, it wouldn’t please the other children to hear that we did not set them free, now would it?
“Unfortunately for them, I do not care for their well being as much as I do yours. I likely never will.” Jade smiled as he turned to look back at his twin. “If we were given that offer, I would gladly accept it.”
“I would too.” Floyd looked down. “I’d want that more than anything.”
“But you and I both know that that will never happen.” Jade stood up and walked towards the door, placing his ear beside it. “I can hear them. They’re coming. Be on your best behavior this time around, will you?”
“Okay.”
“Promise me.”
Floyd still didn’t look up. “I promise.”
—
Jade stared at the tanks of the dormitory, the fish swimming ever so peacefully with nothing to disturb them. It was quiet, not a sign of anyone left to disturb the silence that had fallen upon them.
“What are you doing up so late?”
Jade didn’t bother turning to see who had spoken. “It seems that I am having trouble sleeping.” Jade placed a hand over the tank. “I find the silence of the sea to be rather calming, pleasant.”
“I see.” Azul stopped to stand beside Jade, looking at the tank. “The fish seem to be restless.”
“I noticed too.” Where the fish would normally be asleep, now they were swimming as if they had forgotten their sense of time. They swam with unease, moving every which way as if escaping a particularly strong current. Jade made eye contact with a small fish, the small fish immediately swimming in the other direction before returning.
“Do you think something is happening within the sea?” Jade had asked, removing his hand.
“I should hope not,” Azul replied, walking away. “The sea is our home, the last thing I want is for anything to happen to it.”
“Indeed.” The sea was his home.
But he hadn’t seen it in a long time.
—
“Azul.”
Jade had walked into Azul’s classroom, face no longer holding the smile it normally held. His expression was serious, as if he had made a decision he had been afraid of making for a long time.
“What is it?” Azul asked, setting his book down. “You realize classes are to begin soon? Could you not have waited until after-”
“This is a matter that has waited long enough.” Jade ignored the stares he was receiving as he spoke. “I would like to make a deal with you.”
The classroom went quiet as Azul stared at Jade, looking for any sort of reason as to why he made such a request so suddenly. Yet he could not find anything outside of a determination he hadn’t seen in a long time. Not since they had first met, a determination that hid a certain fear he couldn’t quite figure out.
“And what would the deal be?” Azul asked.
“In exchange for whatever it is you desire out of me,” Jade said slowly, “I would like you to help me find my brother.”
Ah. So that was why.
“And if your brother isn’t alive when we find him?” Azul asked, standing up and facing Jade. “What will you do then?”
“Even if he may not be alive when he is found, I still do not want to leave his body in a place that brought him nothing but torment.” Jade lowered his voice. “He saved me and I was unable to save him. I promised to set him free, I promised to get help for him, but I was unable to for the longest time.
“If your contracts are as powerful as I believe they are, you will be able to find him and I will be able to see my younger brother again.” Jade looked down, almost bowing. “That is all I want. I will sign anything you request, so long as you grant me the wish of seeing Floyd again.”
Azul remained quiet for a few moments.
“How long has it been since you’ve last seen him?” He asked. “When were you freed by his hand?”
“It has been seven years.” Jade stood up straight. “Seven years ago, he granted me the freedom we both longed for. Seven years ago, I was the one that had to return to our parents and tell them that their sons had not died, but their youngest wasn’t somewhere they could find.”
Azul stared at Jade. A golden scroll appeared before Jade.
“I do not want anything out of you outside of your loyalty,” Azul said. “Sign that contract, and I will help you find your brother. Do we have a deal?”
Jade lifted his pen, signing the scroll. “We have a deal.”
—
“Idia.”
Idia looked up from organizing his cards, Azul not bothering to do the same as he considered what to say next. His mind was filled with thoughts of what Jade had requested of him, going as far as to request to sign a contract just to see what he had desired for so long through.
If one were to ask why Azul had made that deal, he would say that he only wanted Jade’s loyalty because he knew that Floyd would follow Jade to the ends of the earth. If he heard that Jade was loyal to Azul, then Azul would find Floyd to be at the palm of his hand as well. It would have been an explanation other students would have been more than willing to believe, it would have been an explanation Azul could have successfully hidden behind.
But that was nothing more than a lie.
Azul never liked seeing Jade in pain. The desperation Jade had tried so hard to hide as he signed the contract, the sudden hope that filled him when Azul agreed to his terms and said what he wanted in return . . . Azul was not so heartless as to destroy the other’s hopes of finding his younger brother, the one he was supposed to save instead of Floyd saving him.
“Hm?” Idia said in response.
Azul contemplated what to say next. He couldn’t very well say he wanted to find someone without the other asking questions, and he highly doubted Jade wanted his end of the contract to be revealed to more people than necessary.
“Are you looking for something?” Azul’s head snapped up to look at Idia, who was already looking back. “I figured you might want to know what the latest trends are to see if you can put them into your business.”
“While yes, I do want something found, it has nothing to do with Mostro Lounge,” Azul responded, relieved that Idia seemed to already know what it was that Azul wanted. “However, it is not something I want found, it is some one. Would you be able to assist me in finding this person, Idia?”
Idia looked down at his cards. “I can try,” he mumbled. “But I’ll need to know a few things about this person before I can try anything.”
“Floyd Leech, he should be about seventeen if not a bit younger,” Azul said before Idia could continue. “His home was the Coral Sea.”
Idia’s brow furrowed. “Is he related to Jade?” He asked.
“Jade’s younger brother,” Azul said, already coming up with a lie. “Jade wants to know where Floyd is, seeing as Floyd went out on a little trip on his own a few months ago. Jade wants to know where he is currently since Floyd had stated that he wasn’t going to be staying in one place for long.”
“Oh.” Idia set a card down. “I can try to find him. I’ll let you know if I find something, just give me a little bit of time.”
Azul nodded, smiling as he set a card down. “How kind of you,” he said.
He wasn’t willing to allow Floyd to stay missing for longer than necessary.
—
“Ortho?”
“Welcome back! How was your club meeting?” Ortho appeared from within Idia’s room, watching as his brother shut the door and walked towards his computer. “Was Azul there today? You mentioned something about him having a business deal today.”
“Yeah, he was there.” Idia sat down in his chair, sighing before turning to Ortho. “Find me everything you can on Floyd Leech, younger brother of Jade Leech. Azul said something about Floyd going on a trip and Jade wanting to know his whereabouts.
“But Azul lied to me, and I want to know why.”
—
One week later, Azul was pulled aside by Idia.
The corridors were empty. Azul had been sent to deliver something to the Headmage by Trein, having little intention of doing anything else.
“What is so important that you could not have waited until our club meeting to tell me?” Azul asked, adjusting his glasses as he looked up at Idia. “I am rather busy at the moment-”
“I would argue that whatever you are doing now is not more important than Floyd’s very life,” Idia snapped. “You did not tell me Floyd was missing.”
“That was not information that was mine to disclose-” Azul started.
“A few days after we last spoke, I found a report.” Idia lifted a folder from within his hoodie, opening it and handing it to Azul. “Within it, I found records dating up to two days before his sixth birthday. Everything was mostly normal, it followed the same pattern. Until I saw the page that was dated four years after his initial disappearance.
“He was severely punished for helping another child escape wherever they were. He was beaten so badly that they weren’t able to do anything with him for a few days. But once he recovered, he set the rest of the children free until there was no one left except for him. He was set to be executed that night, but they didn’t for some reason that was not written down.
“He is still alive. But not for long. Considering what they’ve been doing to him . . .”
Azul flipped through the pages within the folder, face paling as he read the contents. The final paper was a missing poster that held a young boy smiling widely, the young boy in the form of a moray. Beneath the image were the words “Floyd Leech, age five.”
“When is his birthday?” Azul looked up. “You mentioned he went missing just days before his birthday. When was it?”
Idia stared down at Azul. “He was born on November 5th.”
Realization hit Azul so suddenly he felt his knees go weak.
“The one Jade’s looking for isn’t just his younger brother,” Idia continued, fully aware of Azul’s state. “It’s his twin.”
—
They reached Jade’s classroom only a few moments later, Azul entering to pull him out without the notice of Vargas.
“You did not tell me Floyd is your twin,” Azul said as soon as they were out of earshot.
“It did not seem like important information,” Jade responded, taking note of the fact that Idia was standing just behind Azul. “There is little that can be found from the fact that he is my younger twin-”
“Plenty could have been found from that fact.” Azul opened the folder and pulled out the missing poster, shoving it towards Jade. “You are going to look at him and tell me that you would not introduce him as your other half? Did you forget that he was your twin? Why was it that you did not tell me? Do not lie to me, Jade, or I swear I will break the deal right here and now.”
“I did not tell you he was my twin because then it would have been far too easy to tell that I was with Floyd the moment he was taken,” Jade said, looking down at the poster. Azul could see the moment Jade’s calm facade broke, voice wavering as he stared at the image. “I was unable to protect him once, and it was proven time and time again that I was incompetent as his older brother. I failed to save him once, and I have not seen him since.”
A tense silence filled the air as Jade stared at the poster. Azul was no longer willing to argue with him, opting to look at the field from their spot hiding within the trees instead.
“Were you one of the kids he helped escape?” Idia asked quietly.
“No, I was not.” Jade finally looked up, and from the corner of his eye, Azul did not think he imagined the pain that was so evident in his expression, in his tone. “I knew the rest of the children managed to escape, but I did not know that he was behind it. I had only blamed every single last one of the children for not being able to get my brother in time.
“I was the first one he helped escape.”
Azul turned at that.
“What happened?” Idia asked.
Jade looked back down at the poster, a single tear falling.
—
Floyd had been thrown in the room, clutching his left eye with his hands as blood dripped from them. Jade had rushed to his twin as the door closed, attempting to help him sit up to assess the damage done.
“It’s gone,” Floyd said before Jade could say anything. “Can’t see anything out of it.”
“Ah.” Jade sat back as Floyd placed a hand behind himself to sit up, looking at Jade. “Does it hurt?”
“It doesn’t matter.” Floyd looked at the doors before scooting closer, voice going quieter as he spoke. “We need to get out of here, Jade. I heard what they’re plannin’ to do to us and everyone else, we won’t survive it.”
“We’ve survived everything else they’ve done to us, Floyd,” Jade said. “It’s been a few years now. You’ve seen what’s happened here. Some children make it, some don’t. But they don’t matter. We’ll make it, I promise.”
“Not this time.” Floyd had grabbed Jade’s hand, gaze pleading for his twin to understand. “We won’t make it this time, Jade, I can feel it. Please, let’s just go.”
Jade hesitated. “And if we get caught? We surely won’t make it then. By staying here-”
“Right now, things are worse than they would be if we got caught leaving!” Floyd’s grip on Jade’s hand tightened. “Jade, please. I don’t wanna stay here, not for what’s going to happen.”
Jade stared at his twin for a moment before sighing.
“We’ll leave tonight, then,” he said. “The guards only pass by at fifteen minute intervals, we’ll have that exact amount of time to escape.”
“I know where the exit is,” Floyd said, suddenly eager. “I’ll take us there.”
“Then by this time tomorrow, we’ll be back home with mother and father.”
They had been so sure their plan would work.
—
They were interrupted by the sound of Vargas shouting.
“I apologize, but I must return,” Jade said. “It seems that Coach Vargas has a rather important announcement to make. It was a pleasure to see you both.”
Jade walked away without a moment’s hesitation.
“He didn’t return the poster,” Idia mumbled.
“Do we need it?” Azul asked.
“Not really,” Idia said hastily. “Just . . . Is it really a good idea for him to have it?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Wouldn’t it serve as a reminder of what he failed to do?”
Azul said nothing in response.
—
“What happened next?”
Azul had called Jade into his office the moment classes had ended, Jade knowing full well why he was summoned.
Jade sat down on an armchair in front of Azul’s desk, folding his hands over his knee.
—
Jade had picked the lock of the door a minute after the first guard had passed. It did not take long for the door to open soundlessly, Floyd walking out just as quiet less than a moment later. Jade had followed behind him as Floyd rushed through the halls, leading them towards the exit.
Then the alarm sounded.
An alarm began blaring so suddenly it startled Jade into bumping into Floyd as the other suddenly froze when they turned a corner. When Jade looked, the door that was marked as the exit had been locked. Bars surrounded it, preventing them from reaching it.
“We can’t go back to the room, the guards have surely turned around and reached it by now.” Jade grabbed onto Floyd’s arm. “Maybe if we sneak into one of the other childrens’ rooms, we won’t get as severe a punishment.”
“No.” Floyd grabbed onto Jade’s wrist and pulled him in another direction.
They ran through the corridors, trying to evade the guards that were no doubt searching for them. Floyd looked around almost frantically, Jade trying to not make a sound as he was taken somewhere he did not know.
Floyd suddenly pushed him into a room filled with boxes and shelves. Floyd closed the door, the sounds of footsteps rushing towards them getting louder with each passing second.
“We don’t have time.” Floyd looked around before he spotted a window high up on the wall across from the door. It looked barely wide enough to fit one of them. “Go, start climbing!”
Jade began using the boxes to elevate himself, stumbling in his haste to reach the top as the sounds of guards’ footsteps became louder.
Just as Jade reached the window and pushed it open, just as he began to climb out, Floyd suddenly pushed him forward and slammed the window shut.
Jade fell onto the ground, immediately looking up.
“Floyd?”
He watched as Floyd looked down at him before he was grabbed by the hands of the guards and pulled away.
Jade could do nothing but run.
—
“It was my own fault for not knowing the moment he brought up the fact that he wanted to leave.” Jade looked down at his hands. “I was a fool of a child. I should have known that we would not have been able to escape, yet I allowed myself to be convinced by my younger brother’s words. But he knew that the odds of both of us making it were next to nothing. Yet he still wanted to go through with it.” Jade leaned forward, placing his hands over his head. “He could have died. He could have died, he knew the risks, yet he still did it.”
“So you were the child he sacrificed himself for,” Azul said.
“I was the first of many.” Jade leaned back. “He had sworn that only the both of us would escape. Did he think that saving everyone else would make me forgive him for what he’s done?”
Azul stared at Jade before nodding once.
“Where were you?” He asked, lifting a notepad.
“We were in a laboratory. We served as experiments for these people whom we could not identify, simply because they always wore masks and clothing that covered anything that could have possibly identified them.” Jade closed his eyes as he began to remember. “The laboratory was on an island. There were ships at the docks, though there was nothing inside of them. I remember clearly that my last gift towards them was making it so that those ships would never be used again. No child would ever be taken to that place again, that was my final promise to the director of the laboratory.”
“Do you remember what the laboratory looked like? Perhaps how long it took you to return to your home?”
“It took me two days and three nights. The laboratory held the appearance of a respectable building, well kept. No one could possibly guess what was happening within its doors.”
Azul set his pen down, looking at Jade.
“I don’t know how helpful this will be to Idia in terms of finding the exact location,” Azul said, looking through his notes. “But from what you’ve said, we can confirm that Floyd is their last experiment. Every last possible thing they could have tested among all the children, everything was tested on him. All of you owe him your very lives the moment he comes out.”
Azul stood up and walked towards the door of his office. “I will be leaving to meet with Idia on this matter. You are to stay here and take care of everything, I will inform you of any new information we may get.”
Jade heard as the door closed. Yet he still did not move.
He leaned forward and placed his face over the palm of his hands, shoulders beginning to shake as he did so.
—
Idia read the contents of Azul’s notepad a few times before speaking.
“The place’s appearance could have changed by now,” Idia said, looking up at Azul. “I can look, but we’ll have to bring him in so we can confirm which building it is or isn’t.”
“As much as he may not want to see such a place again, he has no choice if he wishes to save his brother.” Azul stared at Idia’s computer, eyes narrowing slightly as he read the contents of the report he had asked to see. “Search for the building. We do not have time to spare, not if we want to get him out alive.”
Idia nodded, beginning to type on his keyboard before he stopped. Before Azul could ask, Idia spoke again.
“Do you think Floyd will remember Jade at all?”
Azul hesitated. “I don’t know.”
But it will kill Jade if he doesn’t remember.
—
A few hours later, Azul had returned to Octavinelle.
He walked through the empty halls, intent on reaching Jade’s room. He didn’t bother knocking as he pushed the door open, Jade turning almost immediately to see who the intruder was.
“It would do you well to sleep when you are supposed to,” Azul commented. “However, there is no use discussing that now. Get dressed quickly, we’ve found potential places where Floyd could be.”
Jade merely put on a jacket and a pair of shoes before following Azul out.
—
“We’ve found a few places that match your description,” Idia said, more awake than Azul felt. “But we can’t decide which one it is, and we don’t have enough time to check all of them. I’ve pulled up their images from seven years ago so it’ll make it easier for you to recognize since some of the buildings have changed a lot in the past few years.”
Jade approached the computer screen, examining every last one of the images.
They all appeared the same. Welcome, though in the middle of nowhere. Warm, though having none of that warmth within. A place that looked so kind, yet it was the nightmare that would plague the ones that escaped for years to come-
Jade felt the blood drain from his face as his eyes fell on one image. That was it.
“It’s that one,” he said, voice hoarse as he pointed at an image with a trembling hand. “That’s where Floyd is.”
“If we were to leave now, we’d make it by the time the sun rose if we were to go on a boat,” Idia said. “I can’t turn into fish like you guys and I can’t swim-”
“I will push the boat.” Jade stood up and began walking out of the room. “I will get us there before dawn.”
—
Jade was the first to dive into the water, holding the boat they had stolen from Vargas’ storage room.
Idia and Azul followed not long after, stepping onto the boat, barely given a chance to balance themselves before Jade suddenly pushed them forward.
The ride was silent. The moon was high above them, illuminating the sea. Azul saw their reflection as they sped through the water, the ripples caused by the speed distorting the image ever so slightly.
“I never properly thank you,” he said so suddenly he startled Idia. “You managed to find him and figure out what had happened. I apologize for lying to you, back then.”
Idia shook his head. “I’m not mad about that anymore,” he said. “I’m just . . . I don’t even know why I’m here. It’s not like I need to tell you guys where to go, you already know, and I can’t fight in real life-”
“You do not need to.” Azul smiled as he turned to properly face Idia. “Jade made a contract with me to find his brother. It would not have been possible without you. If not Jade, I want you to be here when we get Floyd.”
Idia looked down, the tips of his hair turning pink as Azul laughed.
“I can see the island now.” Azul stopped laughing, turning serious as he looked back at Jade. “I suggest you go a little slower as we get closer so as to not alert anyone of our arrival.”
Jade said nothing in response, but Azul knew he heard.
—
“All of this, just to keep Floyd in.”
They stared at the brick wall that was built all around the laboratory like a fortress, preventing anyone from getting in or out.
“One can only stay in a place for so long before they want to get out.” Azul touched the wall that loomed over them, watching as the bricks fell as quietly as they could so that they could enter. “And seeing as Floyd was not granted a magical ability yet, or rather not granted one that would aid him in his escape, they built this flimsy thing in hopes that it would be enough.”
“It was enough to keep him in, but it was not enough for him to believe that he would not be able to escape.” Idia pointed towards the cracks on the walls, small holes trailing up as if someone was attempting to climb up before they were prevented from doing so any more. “They should thank Floyd for allowing everyone else to escape, they seem to have their hands full with him alone.”
“Silence.”
Azul and Idia quieted at Jade’s command. That was when they heard it.
The sound of screaming, coming from inside.
—
“They’ve arrived.”
The director turned to Floyd, who tore another guard’s head from their neck with nothing more than his mere hands. Floyd tossed the body aside, ripping the mask off of the head before allowing the head to roll off as well. Floyd looked up at the director, who was already looking down at him.
“I’ll begin running out of servants if you keep killing all of them,” the director said.
“You bring them in here to run their tests on me,” Floyd retorted, voice low. “I would say that it’s a fair exchange.”
“Hm.” The director turned back to the computer screen. “I won’t have you for long. I will grant you one last wish, as a final goodbye.”
Floyd stood up, adjusting his attire of a mere white shirt and white pants that were stained with streaks of blood both old and new. He looked at the director for a moment before turning to the door.
“If I cannot kill you,” he started, “I will have everyone else.”
The director stared at him for a moment before he pressed a button, the door opening.
Floyd was gone before the director could say anything else.
—
Idia lifted his pen, shooting a flare towards a wall of the building. The area shot collapsed, leaving a large hole they could walk through, not a single person in sight.
Jade walked through and immediately began walking through a series of corridors as if he knew where he was going, a destination already in mind.
It was hardly a place Jade could forget, after all.
Less than a minute later, Jade stopped in front of a large door that seemed to be as thick as the walls, meant to keep things in with no hope for escape. Jade grabbed the handle and pulled it down, watching as the door opened.
He looked through. There was nothing, but old crimson stains that reminded him of every single time he was thrown back inside when he was younger.
“If not here, then where is he?” Azul scowled as he looked around. “Neither Idia nor I know a thing about this place-”
They felt a sudden rumbling. Jade looked up, immediately running in the direction of a flight of stairs. He rushed up, Idia and Azul barely able to catch up as he continued running through the halls.
“Floyd!” He shouted, no longer caring about the guards that could potentially turn the corner and find him. “Floyd, where are you?! Floyd!”
Jade turned a corner. He watched as his twin stomped on a guard’s knee, holding a shotgun with a maniacal grin as he pulled the trigger. Jade watched as a bullet buried itself in the guard’s head, blood splattering.
“Floyd?” Jade whispered.
Floyd immediately looked up at the sound of his name, lifting the gun and shooting in Jade’s direction.
Jade barely managed to shout for the ones behind him to duck before the bullet soared past them, burying itself in a wall.
“Floyd, stop-!” Jade started before Floyd ran to him, grabbing him and pulling him back.
“Who the hell are you and why are you with him?” Floyd snarled, aiming the gun at Idia and Azul. “Are you here to hurt him? Kill him?”
“We brought him here to find you,” Azul said calmly, holding his pen behind him, prepared to attack at a moment’s notice. “We did not bring him here to get hurt, so I suggest you put your gun down-”
“Hm? Put the gun down?” Floyd began laughing as he set the weapon down, though his hold on Jade only tightened. “Leave. Leave, get out of here. I don’t need to leave anymore, I’ve killed everyone here! No one’s going to hurt us anymore, we can live here safely!”
“You’re not staying here-” Azul started.
“You shut up, you’re nothing to me! To either of us!” Floyd turned to look down at Jade. “Right, Jade? We’ll live here, we don’t have to go back home ever again. We won’t be in danger anymore, no one’s going to experiment on us-”
Jade recognized the desperate look in his eyes. It was the same one Floyd gave when he had asked to escape.
Jade lifted a trembling hand towards Floyd’s face, barely touching the other’s eyepatch.
“Floyd, what have they done to you?” He whispered.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “They didn’t do anything to you, that’s all that matters. Now, we can stay here! The director said he’d grant me one final wish, if I tell him it wasn’t enough to kill his subordinates, he’ll have to let us stay-”
“Floyd, we can leave now.” Jade turned, grabbing his twin by the shoulders. “You’re free now. No one’s going to hurt you.”
Floyd looked at Jade before his eyes flickered to the ones behind him for a moment.
“Come with me,” he pleaded. “Please. I’ve lived without you long enough, I will not waste a moment longer.”
Floyd looked to his left. As if reading his mind, Azul shot a flare in that direction and they watched as the wall collapsed, showing the dark sky that was slowly starting to lighten with the sun rising, the sky Floyd had never seen before.
“We’ll wait for you on the boat,” Azul said, grabbing Idia by the wrist and pulling him to jump out.
“I’ll take you somewhere where you’ll be safe,” Jade said, Floyd turning back to look at him. “But first, I’ll take you back home. Mother and father have missed you so much, Floyd. They’ll be so happy to see you again. And then we’ll go to my school and ask the Headmage to allow you in. We’ll be together again, Floyd. Just come with me.”
Floyd stared at Jade blankly. His eyes dimmed.
Fear flooded through Jade as Floyd pushed him out of the building. Just like when they were younger.
As Jade landed, he looked up. He watched as Floyd turned to stare down at him.
Jade watched as a large blade buried itself in Floyd’s back, through his abdomen.
—
“Make sure he doesn’t die from blood loss,” Azul had told him as they set Floyd down on the boat. “Idia and I will take care of the boat. We’ll get him back to the school as quickly as possible.”
Jade stared down at Floyd’s limp body. He could not move. He watched as Floyd’s breathing became ragged, his expression one of sheer pain as blood soaked through his clothing.
Jade leaned down, hugging his twin.
It was the first time he allowed himself to cry in a long time.
—
By the time they reached the school, Floyd was barely breathing. Jade had carried his twin to the infirmary, calling for the nurses, not bothering to listen to the people that had asked him where he’d been.
He watched as the nurses pushed him aside the moment he set Floyd down on a bed, the nurses surrounding his younger brother as they worked to try to save him.
“They’ll save him,” Azul said, Idia standing behind him, back towards him. “Just give them time. You found your twin, Jade.
“You found him.”
Jade did not move from his spot beside the doors of the infirmary. Azul and Idia had left him after a few words of comfort.
Hours passed. He heard nothing from inside.
Another few hours passed. The doors finally opened.
“He’s alive.”
He ran in, immediately rushing towards his twin’s side and grabbing his hand, tears already falling as sobs racked through his body.
“Don’t leave me,” he said as he fell, placing his face over Floyd’s chest. “Please don’t leave me, Floyd, please don’t leave me.”
—
“Don’t kill me.”
The director had stopped at the sound of his voice. “And why should I listen to a little child who broke the rules?”
“Because I’m the only one you have left.” Floyd turned to glare at the guards that were on either side of him, making sure he didn’t escape. “You can’t leave this island. I’m the only one you’ve got if you want to finish your work.”
The director said nothing in response.
“So you already had something in mind to save yourself,” the director said. The director turned to Floyd, and Floyd thought he could almost see the grin on their face through the mask they wore. “Very well then. I will not kill you.
“Not yet.”
—
“Yes, your twin found you.”
He looked at the distance, the building behind him burning.
“But do you really think that I was not prepared after that little stunt you pulled all those years ago?” He pulled out a device, the screen showing a dot.
“Found you.”
—