CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
They all stared at the place where Nightmare was consumed by Ronnie's Dimensional portal. All the crows that hadn't been swallowed flew up into the air once more—the glow in their eyes slowly died down. The violent sky turned peaceful as if nothing had happened. The moon was shining with all its pale glory and stars littered the night sky.
"Is it really finished?" Rea asked.
Suddenly Ao, who was sitting on Ronnie's shoulder, spread her wings and cawed loudly. She took off into the air but instead of joining the crow that was circling them on top, she flew towards Alice.
"Alec!" Clinton screamed. "It's Alice!"
Alec quickly teleported to where they were and his heart sunk at the sight. Alice looked worse for the wear. Despite Z's constant healing, the wound in her neck wasn't getting any better. He dropped to his knees beside her and held her hand in his.
She was still warm. And that was a good sign.
"It was her, wasn't it?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper as he put Alice's hand in his cheek to feel her warmth. "The crows?"
"Possibly," Z answered, glancing at the man. "Her stats suddenly spiked together with the glowing,"
"I've already called for an ambulance," Clinton stated as he patted the younger man at the back. "Z will keep on healing her until they arrive,"
Jet dashed towards them and dropped to his knees on Z's other side. And without a word, put his hands on top of Alice, from the palm of his hands came out the warmth of life. Alec's eyes teared at the action and his lips trembled as he gripped his sister's hand.
There was silence as only the fluttering wings of the crows were the only thing they could hear. Ao was now sitting on top of Jet's head, lovingly pecking at his hair. And from afar, the siren of the ambulance could be heard.
~oOo~
"I seriously can't get over the fact that you just stood there while we fought for our lives!" Jet sneered at Clinton who only raised his drink in salute to him.
The eight of them went out for a well-deserved drink. Their table was lively. For a group of people who were used to staring at Death in the face, what happened with Nightmare the night before was just routine—a part of their lives.
Laughter filled the air at Jet's statement. Ronnie slapped him in the back with a roar of laughter. "Come one, mate. You have to move on. You've been repeating that for the last hour!"
Jet slammed his cup down the table. "Of course, I will! He didn't help! At all!" Jet continued, clipping his voice as he rolled his eyes.
He was only answered with more laughter. Duke and Z who were sitting in front of him were even wiping imaginary tears from their eyes. Rea was doubled over the table clutching her stomach as she tried to stifle her laughs.
"I can't believe you're like this," Tom chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "Every time I saw you I thought you were this rebellious kid who doesn't care about anything but—," he couldn't finish his sentence as he laughed out loud.
Sam threw a piece of nut towards Jet and hit him squarely in the forehead. "I can't believe you can't move one from that!"
The rest of the night was spent with everyone teasing Jet. By the end of dinner, Jet was grumpy like the old troll guardian of a bridge. As they bid him goodbye for the day, he snapped at everyone who continued to laugh at him.
"Well, anyway, I'll drop by the hospital tomorrow, mate," Ronnie stated as the three of them walked towards the parking lot. "I'm glad she'll be alright,"
Alec nodded and gave a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, then,"
Ronnie waved goodbye as he got in into his own car. He honked once as he drove away first. Jet turned to look at Alec in innocent hope as he outstretched his hand for the car key. Alec took his car key out of his pocket and made a move to give it to the younger man. But he hesitated.
"You don't have a license," he stated.
Jet rolled his eyes. "Better me driving than you who drunk 3 beers," he reasoned.
With a sighed, Alec dropped the keys in the waiting man's palm. Giddily, Jet quickly ran towards the driver seat and unlocked the car doors. And Alec sat at the passenger seat, putting on his seatbelt as soon as he closed the door.
"Do you think Nightmare won't escape this time?" Jet asked as he drove towards the Agency hospital.
Alec shrugged. "We can't really know, can we? Ronnie said he did things as how Alice had instructed him but he managed to escape before using you,"
Alec saw how the younger man's knuckles whitened as he gripped the steering wheel despite looking cool and unbothered. With years of being with the kid, he had learned how to read him like a book even though he likes to lie about what he really was feeling.
"So, you know what that entails, right?" Alec questioned with a smirk.
Jet's eyes widened as he shook his head. "Oh shit. More training?"
The older man gave him a laugh and patted him gently in the shoulder. "You obviously have telepathy despite it not being in your files. We should start training you so that you can control it. Until now you can't talk to Alice even though she has no problem speaking to you,"
Jet groaned but couldn't deny what he was saying. He was cursing himself with everything that had happened. If Alice hadn't protected him, she wouldn't be so weak as to allow Nightmare to escape. And if he wasn't so weak, Nightmare wouldn't have been able to use him against Alice. If only he hadn't been running away from his training and was actually taking it seriously.
"Look, kid," Alec started, his voice serious. "I know what happened this time isn't exactly pretty. I can see you beating yourself over it. But—I just want to tell you that I've never, not once, even considered blaming you,"
Jet parked the car as they reached the hospital. But once they stopped, he rammed his head into the steering wheel and refused to meet Alec's eyes. "I'm sorry, Alec. I really am sorry," he muttered, the regret was thick in his voice. "
Alec leaned back on his seat and stared at the roof of his car. "You know, Jet, I really see you as my brother," Jet glanced to his side to look at Alec's face but he remained on the same position. "So, even though Alice is in the hospital right now—I wouldn't have it any other way. You're both alive. That's what matters to me,"
The older man sat up straight and turned to him with a genuine smile. Then, he petted Jet in the head; gently ruffling his hair in the process. "I'm sure Alice doesn't blame you as well. So, don't be too hard on yourself. You just have to train harder from now on,"
Jet straightened up and took a deep breath. And when he turned to Alec, the older man could see his newfound determination.