Chapter 21 Bless Your Heart
Killian continued to eat his sausage biscuit sandwich, eyeing Cyrus as the man quietly listened to what Ship Captain Bricker was saying.
He had on another borrowed coat, and while it was still a bit chilly, it did feel warmer than last night. So he could only surmise that something had improved…or had possibly been fixed…maybe.
The moment Bricker walked away, Cyrus looked at him, hesitating.
He smiled and wiped his mouth as he finished his sandwich, setting the napkin down on his tray as he said, “Why don’t you go to whatever meetings you have to, and while you do, I’ll go check on Skya and the other little ones? We can continue our talk after?”
“Sorry.” Cyrus sighed. “But it would probably be a good idea, in both cases. They did another full review of the damages, and there are apparently some new problems to deal with. I need to find out what’s going on there, and it would likely be good for you to check on the tiny Nymph, as she and the other little ones you had with you were pretty upset after being separated from you yesterday. ”
He winced. Upset would be an understatement.
The little kids, especially Skya, had basically had a full-blown meltdown.
But as much as Killian had wanted to stay with them, he’d needed to help the injured more.
And after that, there had just been so much else to do that he hadn’t gotten a chance to check on them before going to sleep.
“You keep eating, I’m going to go track down Severo, and then the rest of the children.”
Cyrus chuckled. “You’ll find both in the same location, as Severo got the lucky job of watching them all. They converted a large lounge room into their bedroom and play area. If you follow the main large hallway past our room, it’s all the way back, right before the divide. There’s a sign.”
Nodding, Killian stood and left the cafeteria, taking the door he’d come out of the day before with the scared children. He followed the hall until it branched off, going right, before finally walking through a pair of automatic doors into the larger main hallway on that side.
The main ring of the ship was spread across three floors. The main floor being in the middle, was the largest floor, and held the living quarters, various other living spaces, and the ship’s hospital, along with the main engine room.
The upper floor, based on him now knowing what model the ship was, held mostly machinery rooms, and likely a weapon storage.
The lower level was the second largest, and held more weapons and machinery, but also was the location of the now destroyed ship port, along with a large storage haul and the converted cell they’d escaped from.
The middle floor had an outermost main hallway that went around the full circle, and then smaller more maze-like halls inside that.
Killian found the room easily enough, it being where Cyrus had said, right before the ship’s divide. A sign to the right of the door read Playroom. And that was what it was, even if shit was still chrome.
The room was about half the size of the massive cafeteria, and had been divided into two areas; a bedroom and playroom.
To the far right were multiple rows of beds with small trunks at the foot of them, while the center and left side had a bright red rug on the floor that was covered in toys, with endless couches lining the curved walls.
As soon as he stepped fully inside, Killian found himself surrounded by little ones, some were crying.
Skya flung herself into his arms as she wailed, “KILL-KILL!”
Killian chuckled. “I’m fine, I’m fine,” he said, hugging her tightly before setting the toddler back down. He smiled when Zenny gave him a brief hug.
“Is the white-haired man okay?” Zenny blurted. The kid seemed to tense up as he waited for his answer.
He blinked. “Ah, yes, he’s fine. Still recovering, but he's not in danger anymore.”
Zenny sagged. “Oh, good.”
Killian frowned slightly at the Cupid’s behavior, and at him even knowing Ender had been hurt, until he remembered the kids had in fact seen the Gorgon get shot…or rather, they'd heard it and saw the bleeding afterward.
“Is it true? Are the bad men gone?” Hecuba, one of the older children who was nearly a teenager, asked.
He smiled. “Yeah, all the bad men are gone.”
“Does this mean we get to go home?!” a little girl named Carli asked.
“It does mean that,” Zenny answered stiffly, the kid looking grim.
The Cupid averted his gaze when he noticed Killian looking, and he wasn’t the only one who looked away.
Clearing his throat, he corrected him. “Home, or wherever is the safest place for you…that’s where you’ll go.”
Killian quickly counted the number of children who relaxed at that, burning their faces into his memory. They would have to decide what the safest option for them would be, and it was obviously not home…
As the kids babbled on, he met Severo’s tired gaze over their heads. The Shadow Dweller was sitting on the couch directly across from the door, looking like he hadn’t slept much, but then, he probably hadn’t.
He smiled and nodded, before glancing back down. “Why don’t you all go back to playing, as I need to talk to the tall, tired-looking shadow in the corner over there.”
They giggled, with one little girl saying, “He is just like a shadow!”
“No, dummy, he can move shadows!” another small boy huffed.
“Hey, none of that. Be nice,” Killian admonished.
The little boy huffed again, but ran off with the others as they all went to play.
All except for Zenny that was. He couldn’t help but notice that the Cupid instead went to sit on the floor with his back against a couch, his eyes still on him, curling up just as he had days ago when introducing himself.
Ignoring the kid’s odd, intense stare, Killian took a seat next to Severo on the couch, not saying anything, just watching the children run about. After all the fear they had faced, seeing them so lighthearted definitely warmed ‘something’ inside him…
For a bit they just sat there in silence, the only sound being the kids giggling and playing, before the Dweller awkwardly said, “I’m glad you’re alive. We’re… We’re friends, right?”
He snorted. “Yes, we’re friends, you dork. Have been for over two hundred years, I’d say. I mean, I’ve known you almost as long as I’ve known Cyrus.”
Severo smirked. “You would have known me the same amount of time, but someone refused to leave the property and hid anytime I came over for the first few months.”
“Damn right I did.”
The Dweller laughed. “I would prefer this not happen again anytime soon, as I’m sort of attached to your scary as—mmm, butt.” The man sighed, his gaze flicking to the children.
“Kind of attached to you too, Dweller.” He giggled.
“Anyway, yeah, thanks for living.” Severo cleared his throat, and Killian barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes when the Cryptid sniffled—the damn crybaby.
He sighed as he decided to address one of the main elephants in the room. “Severo, I’m sorry I put Skya in danger. I should have been more alert of my surroundings, been more cautious of outside drinks…and I should have, at least yesterday, stayed put.”
“Killian, you couldn’t have known what was going to happen.
As for yesterday, you didn’t know how fast we’d figure out who took you, or even if we were on our way.
Not to mention you having all the children with you.
More than anything, the captives who managed to fully free themselves should have stayed with you to protect them. ”
Killian had been frustrated at the time, when none of the others had wanted to stay behind in the cell and protect the children.
It was how he’d ended up walking around with them all.
At the same time, he hadn’t been able to force himself to do it either, so he understood in part. As for them running off…
“Can’t really blame them. It was a stressful situation. They aren’t trained soldiers who are used to following orders.”
“You shouldn’t blame Cyrus either.”
He blinked, and couldn’t help but chuckle at the abrupt shift in the conversation. “Who says I am?”
“Aren’t you?”
Killian met the Dweller’s gaze and smirked.
“I don’t know what I feel, Severo. I haven’t sorted my emotions yet.
I know enough to know that I am mildly annoyed, and have a bit of anger when it comes to what happened, but as for blame—” He sighed.
“—No, I don’t think I can, or do, blame him.
This was always set to happen. Cyrus just changed whether I was going to live or not. ”
“Killian…” Severo cleared his throat and took a shuddered breath. “Skya wasn’t supposed to be here. While Cyrus is struggling to see anything new right now, he could see bits of what had originally been supposed to happen and, in that timeline, Skya wasn’t with you when you were taken.”
Killian’s eyes widened at that. “She…wasn’t supposed to be here…?”
“No—hah. It’s stupid really. I can’t find it in myself to blame him.
Not even for her being in danger, and you know why?
Because if he had told me about you, I would have made him do whatever he could to fix it.
Resulting in the same dam—darn thing happening.
And when I realized why he did what he did, I finally forgave him. ”
“I knew you hadn’t…” Killian said with a sigh.
He’d been hoping the Shadow Dweller would eventually, but sometimes, Severo would get this look, like he was expecting Cyrus to betray him.
He’d kept his suspicions to himself though, as one, he didn’t do drama, and two, he wasn’t going to force them to talk about it when neither were ready, or more likely, knew how to fix it.