The Purge
Chapter 26: Conleth

“He and I collided like two predestined stars and in that brief moment I felt what it was like to be immortal.”

Lang Leav

I kissed Halley inches from her lips.

She opened her eyes and she let out what looked like a breath of relief. She pursed her lips shut as she looked down at mine. She blushed. I don’t know if I did that blush to her or it was the effect of the tequila.

“Thanks for not stealing it away.” She said, slurring. Her eyes were half way to closing. “I meant my first kiss.”

I opened my mouth to say something when she collapsed in front of me. I caught her before she reached the ground.

“It’s okay, Blondie.” I grunted at her weight. She’s so small and yet she managed to hide some weight. “I got you.”

“Is she all right? What happened?” I looked up to find Bri.

“What have you done, Con? You gave her a sleeping curse?” Athren taunted.

“We should go back now.” Bri suggested.

“What?” Sigourney blurted in the midst of the crowd forming around us. “And miss the floating lights?”

Bri gave her an apologetic look and she sulked.

“I can take her back if you want.” We all turned to Chivas who appeared smoothly behind Bri. She shot daggers at him with her eyes. Actually, we all looked like prowling Predators at him. He raised his hands in surrender. “Whoa. Easy, folks. I’m just trying to be nice.”

“I don’t trust you.” Bri retorted like she’s going to spit fire at him.

“Me either.” Athren stepped beside her.

“Me three.” I joined in.

Sig rolled her eyes at us. “Me four.”

Chivas shrugged and smirked at the team formed against him. “All right. No harm done. I was just asking. You people are just so weird.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, stole a glance at Halley and he disappeared in the crowd.

“He’s drunk.” Bri noticed.

“And she’s drunk.” Athren said as he scowled at me.

“But she only drank one shot. How could she be drunk?” Sig countered before I could defend myself.

My hand found the nape of my neck. “Actually she drank twice.”

Bri sighed. “It doesn’t matter. We should get her back. Besides, it’s getting late anyway. We can’t risk catching curfew.”

Sig made a duck face. Athren wrapped an arm around her. “We can watch those floating lanterns in my room if you like. My window has a perfect view of the city.”

Of course, Athren was bluffing. We don’t have windows in our chambers. As to how he would make the floating lanterns in his room, I have no idea. But Sig smiled despite the disappointment. Athren turned to me and offered to carry Halley. I didn’t argue because I, myself have something to do before returning to Battle Camp.

“Con,” Bri started.

“I’ll catch up with you guys, I promise.” I prompted and ran off before she could argue with me.

And I didn’t break my promise. I got back just in time they reached the amphibian. Bri’s tensed eyebrows relaxed and I was able to breathe normally from running in order to reach them.

“Where have you been? No. Never mind. I don’t care. Just get in the car.” She said, snidely.

I smirked at her and I raised my paper bag. “Happy Meal?”

She rolled her eyes at me and she went in the car along with the others.

We sat silently on our way back to Battle Camp. We walked silently on or way back to HQ. Such a random, boring report. So I proceeded to my plan. I let the others have the head start before pulling Bri away. As usual, she had protested and nagged me about the rules that I don’t care. Blah, blah, blah. The corridor I hid her in was too small for us that her voice echoed in the walls.

“I didn’t kiss Halley, okay?” I said and she stopped talking. Maybe that was effective.

But she raised an eyebrow at me. “Liar.”

“Well,” I rolled my eyes. “I did. But I didn’t kiss her on the lips. So…” her eyebrows met and unwrinkled. She started to laugh.

“Thanks for confessing.” She tapped on my chest. “But really, Con. It’s okay. You don’t have to explain. Raging hormones is the least of your worries.” She started to walk away but I held her back. “Conleth, what are you doing?”

“Come with me.” I prompted.

Her eyebrows arched. “We have curfew.”

I peeked at the open doors and then I looked back at her. “Come with me. Just this once and I promise you won’t regret it.”

She looks up at me and takes my offer into consideration. She sighs in surrender. “Fine. But just this time.”

I grinned at her. I pulled her with me to the doors and once again we disappeared out of Battle Camp.

“We are so getting into trouble.” Bri kept on murmuring behind me. But I didn’t let go of her hand. It felt so good in mine.

“Con—”

I abruptly stopped and turned to her and she bumped into me. “We’re here.”

Bri regarded the place first before she turned to me with a look that said I was too old school and ridiculous. But I saw a flash of a smirk on her face when she glanced at me.

“What are we doing in front of a battle ship? Planning to bomb the camp?”

“No, I would suggest we ride on it.”

“Con, we can’t just run away.” Her trepidation was wearing her off.

“Bri, for once will you please stop eating the moment? Let go.”

She gaped at me like she wanted to argue more. But I held my hand out to her. “Just for tonight. Forget about the rules. Let everything else go.” I looked down at my hand she hasn’t taken yet. A morose feeling entered my chest at the next words I say. “Tomorrow, we can pretend none of these has ever happened. We can forget about it.”

Tentatively, she reached out to me. She took my hand and I gripped tightly on to her. I don’t want to let you go. We climbed up the battle ship without thinking of the danger, the war, or the curfew. This will be just one night with her alone. And tomorrow, I’ll forget about this. She’ll forget about this.

I brought her to the bow where the city was visible. Lights started to float up the sky like stars reaching out to the heavens. The floating lights. Sigourney was right to feel bad not to see this. It was indeed a magnificent view. I looked at Bri to find her eyes marvel at the spectacle. Lights floated in them as she smiled. It was a brief, soft smile that spoke of hidden happiness in the cage of her heart.

She caught me looking but I didn’t make a move to look away. She was a view I never wanted to lose sight of. A smirk slithered her lips.

“So this is where you bring girls on dates?” she narrowed her eyes playfully at me. “On the ship’s bow.”

“Actually, no.”

“No?”

“Yeah. Just you.”

She frowned as she tried to hide a smile from me. It’s my turn to smirk at her.

“So this is a date now?”

Her eyebrows arched at me. “It depends on you. You brought me here.”

I grinned at her. “You’d be surprise. I’ve never actually taken anyone out.”

“Of course. We’re locked in Battle Camp.”

“I meant in my whole life.”

“Oh. Well then…why did you bring me here?”

“The Trance.” I answered and her smile faded. “I know I’m not supposed to pry. I’m sorry—”

“It’s okay.” She held up a hand. “You don’t need to apologize. We can’t keep away our lives to each other, can we? We’re always gonna be connected. In some way.”

“So… I’m guessing your dad’s a captain then.”

“Yeah.” She smiled at the thought of it. It was the kind of smile that was kept away for a very long time. “My family used to own shipping lines and ports.” But it was also a smile that was too painful for her to show. Sometimes I forget that like Sigourney, Bri was from Sector 1. I guess getting into Battle Camp erases all ranks. We were meant to treat each other fairly in order to see ourselves in a team. She looked down at the dark water beneath us. “My dad used to take me and my brothers along a ride. I was my dad’s first mate.”

I smirked at her. “Ah… a captain yourself.”

“I was.”

“You still are.”

She sighed. “I don’t know. Sometimes I don’t think I am good enough to command others.”

“I will follow you.”

She snorted. “You always break my commands. You’re too arrogant.”

“How ungrateful of you, chief. I saved you a terrible amount of times.”

“Wow. I didn’t know two times have been doubled to a great amount of terrible times.” She giggled.

“Well, for you, I am willing to die.” I changed my voice into something noble and deep. She guffawed. “I’d give everything just to see you laugh like that.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “It’s Freedom Day. We can do whatever we want.”

I leaned in to her and she gasped. I backed away laughing. She poked me and I had to grab the rails to prevent myself from falling.

“Hilarious, Conleth.” She glared at me.

“I thought it was funny.”

She balled her fist up at me and I raised my hands in mock surrender.

“Whatever the hell is your story?”

I snorted. “You saw it in the Trance.”

“Well,” she shrugged. “I’d like to know more.” She raised an eyebrow at me. “I demand to know more.”

I sighed. “So there was this boy I know. He… he’s very stubborn and likes to play tricks on people. A little devil they say.” I peeked at her and jeered. “But they couldn’t understand him, his parents. They couldn’t understand his powers. They were too afraid of him. But not his brother. He always has his back. He trained him to harness his powers so he wouldn’t have to hurt people or to scare anyone. Until one day, a car came and decided to take the boy away. Maybe the Republic thinks he was too dangerous to be kept out. The boy’s brother refused and so… they killed him.”

I felt her hand on my shoulder.

“Did I scare you?”

“No.”

I laughed despite the lump in my chest and the thorns in my head. “Nah. This shouldn’t be the conversation we should have on a date.”

“I’m sorry about your brother. He didn’t deserve to die.”

“And I’m pretty sure your family didn’t deserve to die either.”

She forced a smile. “Yeah.”

“Anyway, the boy ended up pretty happy to where he is right now.”

“He did?” Bri played along.

“Yup. He ended up in a horrible school and trained by a vicious commander. All teeth and claws out.” I teased and she laughed.

“Too bad for him. Maybe if he wasn’t so stubborn, his commander would have been lenient with him.”

“She doesn’t have to.”

“Why not?”

“Cause she would always win him over.”

Bri started to shift uneasily on her seat. She fidgeted on the railing.

“I guess she does.”

“You know what else he did today?” I asked. She shrugged. “He saw the most amazing girl today. She’s all light in a night sky. It had nearly blinded him to just look at her. But he couldn’t stop himself. All that he could hear was his heart beating. All that he could think about was that… she’s so beautiful. But he let her go and now he’s regretting that he had never asked her to dance.”

“What a fool he is.”

“I’d agree with you.”

“If… if he had only took the courage and asked her, then maybe she would have danced with him.”

I blinked hard at her. “Would you? I mean… would she?”

She sighed and she looked out into the sea. “Con, you could’ve just asked me if you wanted to.”

“I-I was just scared you’d turn me down.”

“Why would I turn you down?” she turned to me. Irritation built its palace on her forehead.

“Because that’s what you always do.” I prompted and she scoffed.

She stormed at me but the silly little thing hanging on my neck had somehow saved me from her wrath.

“What’s that?”

I held on to it for protection. “Nothing. Just a silly little trinket.”

“It’s a ring.”

“A Mood Ring to be specific.”

She wrinkled her nose. “So it can tell your moods then?”

“Maybe. I haven’t really tried it yet.”

“Why don’t you? It’s a ring isn’t it? Why’re you wearing it around your neck?”

“As much as I want to, this silly little thing could only fit my pinky. Here” I took it off and I tossed it to her. She caught it mid fall. “You try.”

“How do I know it’s safe?”

I rolled my eyes at her. “Bri, I love you. You think I’d let anything bad happen to you?”

She rolled her eyes back at me. She twirled the ring in her hands before she slipped it on her ring finger. “Oh. It fits.”

I snorted. “What a coincidence. You think it means something?”

She frowned at the ring on her hand as it started to change color. “I don’t know. What do you think pink means?”

I smirked at her. “Progress?”

She frowned and poked me on the arm. She took the ring off.

“Here you go.”

I closed my hand around hers. “Keep it. I guess it’s not meant for me.”

“Con, I am not a sentimental type of person. You know that.” She pushed the ring back to me. “So take it back before I throw it off the ship.”

“Keep it for now. If we get through this, then you can return it back to me.”

Her shoulders sagged but she glared at me. “Fine. But I’ll need that chain of yours. I don’t want to lose it in my hands or else I will have to pay you for it.”

I laughed at her as I handed her the chain. She ignored me by wearing the chain around her neck.

“How do I look?”

“Beautiful.” I said. It seems that my eyes are blind to everything. It can only see her. “Um… this might sound funny but… will you dance with me?”

The question unarmed her. But she let her guard down and she nodded with a thoughtful smile.

We positioned ourselves under the stars and into the night. I guided one of her hands on my shoulder as I slid one of mine on her waist. As I took her hand, I brought my heart with it.

“Did your girlfriend give you this ring?” she asked and I suppressed the urge to flinch.

“Is that your way of asking me if I have a girlfriend?” I cocked a suspicious eyebrow at her.

“Had.” She corrected me.

I rolled my eyes at her. Ms. Bossy. “No. I found it on my way back to my room. I almost died because I almost slipped on it.”

“You’re being ridiculous, Con.” She grinned at me.

“It’s true, Bri. Now my life’s in your hands.”

“So… aside from Halley, have you ever kissed a girl?” she asked. “That was past tense, Conleth.”

“Does kissing Halley really bug you?”

She rolled her eyes at me. “Why are you answering my questions with questions?”

“Why don’t you just answer the question?”

“I happen to ask first.”

“Fine.” I smirked down at her. “I’ve kissed a few.”

She snickered. “Aside from the back of your hand?”

I flexed my left hand. “Yep. And they were really pretty.”

She chuckled but I could see the pun and ulterior motive in it.

“I’m sure you like kissing Capt. Pigeon.”

“His name is Fygun Hawke. And yes, he’s a good kisser.”

“How sad.” I feigned remorse.

“Well, have you danced with anyone?”

“My mom.” I answered and she giggled. “But a week before I was sent here, I was supposed to take a girl to the dance. So you could imagine me very handsome in a suit and tie.”

Her eyebrows rose with amusement. “How charming. Does she know about you?”

“Nope.”

“Have you kissed her?”

I leered at her. “If I had taken her to the dance then I might have had.”

“Where do you think she is right now?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably with some guy she hooked up with because I dumped her.”

I twirled her around and when I caught her, I pulled her close to me. I guided her arms up, around my neck.

“Are you in love with her?”

“No. I’m in love with you.”

Our eyes locked and we stopped dancing. Suddenly my right to hold my equilibrium was gone and I succumbed to the magnet drawing me towards her.

“I want to kiss you.” I wished out loud.

She looked down at my lips and then back at my eyes.

“And I might just let you.”

I leaned in to her and someone shone his flashlight at us. It’s the Warden. He turned the alarm on and I’m pretty sure we’ll face dozens of angry Addonexus and soldiers tomorrow for waking them up in such a late hour. But I don’t care. I pulled Bri into a run.

We got off the ship before the Warden could even catch up. Well, teenage reflexes are more impressive than adults. We slipped at the back of the camp and found ourselves in the shelter of the repaired Sentinels. We ran through them and hid in a corner, letting the Warden pass and out of the bivouac. Once he was gone, Bri and I broke into a heap of laughter.

“That was the silliest thing I have ever done. I don’t even care if we get in trouble for this!” She said as she started laughing again. I just looked at her. Time just slowed itself making me savor the moment seeing her so happy. At some point, she managed to compose herself and the silence wrapped its arms around us.

I leaned in and kissed her. She opened her lips and returned my kiss. The world disappeared. She ran her hands on my hair and I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her closer. I was scared to talk. I was scared to breathe. I don’t want to do anything and let this be over. I’ve decided that this moment will be ours. No matter how brief, at least she had me and I had her. We’ve finally got to be together.

A sound in the background broke us apart but we stayed close to each other. My hands ached to pull her back to me. My lips longed to kiss her again. But I know it was over. It was a beautiful dream and we’ve finally waken up. When we registered what happened, we were too flushed and too breathless.

Bri decided to speak first. “We should head back to the HQ.”

I nodded dreamily. She forced back a smile as we retire to our respective place.

We reached the foyer when I decided I could not move on. She was a few steps ahead of me when I pulled her back. She didn’t turn to face me.

“Bri, I cannot forget about this.”

She looked at me from her shoulder. There was an unplaced fear in her eyes. It haunted me as it haunted her.

“Good night, Conleth.”

She started to walk away from me again. And with her, my heart and my mind.

AN: I posted a video of a song for Con & Bri in this chapter. Click the video on the right to listen to the song.

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