Annihilation - Book Three

Chapter 42 ( End)

Unfreezing him was the easier part, though they now wonder if leaving him some time to think might have been wiser. Between the bordering hypothermia and the intense rage, it took Reid and Tonic to hold him back from jumping out the window after us.

 In the moments of calm that followed, he was able to explain to them the circumstances and the exchange that had taken place. There was no betrayal, as much as Reid seemed to want to think so, there was only survival.

 It was fully understood that I did what I believed had to be done, even if at this moment it seemed like the worse thing to do.  

It's hard to understand someone who isn't the most open, it's hard to know what I was going through or how much under her control I currently was. As much as Verando insisted I was of sound mind when he was frozen, doubt tends to creep in when my father suffered a similar set of circumstances at the woman's own hands. 

They gather their things, the insane are easy to go around in their current state as they appear to be left in a state of stupor. Those in the group who aren't lycans wonder why their intellect was left intact and Tonic is happy to provide crude assumptions on intelligence and the usefulness of having pompous and drunken servants. 

As they raid the kitchen and prepare to leave, the crossroads that the group feels they should take slowly begins to become obvious. While the disgruntled warlord wants to go after me and my captor, the reality of their situation slowly starts to set in as they stand around the broken table.

They're surrounded by death and destruction, the furniture is battered and broken, the donkey nibbles on a fallen plant, the house is in a state of disrepair that renders it a hazardous shelter for any length of time. 

"We go after him." Verando insists. "If we leave her to her own devices and she is controlling him, this is it. We are finished, we can't defeat them both." The group looks back and forth between one another. Even the overly loyal Reid shrinks back to join the crowd. 

The rage that follows is met with patience for there is no speech, no call to action, that can provoke the weary travelers to embark on yet another suicide run through an unforgiving frozen wood. Winter sets in outside, the broken doors and windows creak and moan at the howling wind and snow. 

"Verando," Adriam says slowly. 

"Don't." The gray-haired man says sharply, setting his jaw. "Do not turn on me now."

The Frenchman frowns. "Randy. We can not go after him." He carefully puts his arm around Penelope. "We have others to think about."

Penelope shrugs him off. "Don't let me burden you." She grumbles. 

Haryek nods in agreement, the elf crosses his arms over his chest. "She's going to need medical care, a place to have the baby and she needs to not be running around getting blown to bits by an evil enchantress. Verando, think of your child."

He growls low in his throat. "I'm thinking of our friend's life!"

"He knew ta risks, Randal!" Tomas sighs. "Ya got a wee babbie formin'. We gotta move on fer it's too late and there is no gettin' back. Winter is settin' in, there be no fewd 'round here fer miles. We have to go back."

The conversation circles but they seem to all be nearing the same conclusion. Going after me, in the heart of winter, surrounded by the infected, was not an option. "Then I'll go alone. Take the supplies, I will manage."

"And leave us with no defenses?" Adriam questions strongly. "Reid is loyal but he's inexperienced, Tonic is totally unreliable, I have to tend to Penelope, Tomas is a drunk, and Haryek is only just not graduating from being crippled. Verando, we might not make it back with you. We won't make it back without you. I'm sorry but we have all lost something on this quest and it is time to go home, regroup and come up with a new plan."