Chapter 18: Hard Choice

Talon and Thorn strolled side by side inside the garden of the headquarters. This wasn't a place where hunters came to admire nature's beauty, it primarily served as a site for poisonous ingredient prospecting. Nevertheless, a solitary oak tree stood in the center of the garden, a lonely bench beneath its branches.

Upon spotting it, they made their way to the bench and settled down beside each other. The rain began to drizzle lightly from the sky, the leaves of the oak tree offering minimal protection. Most of its leaves had turned yellow and fallen to the ground.

"It's almost winter," remarked Talon, extending his hands forward to feel the rain trickling down onto his palms. "Very well could be my last." he added, a sad smile crossing his face.

"What are you talking about? Ever since we arrived here, you have been acting strange," said Thorn, with a worried tone. Yet Talon remained silent as he gazed at his own hand that got soaked by the rain.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" asked Thorn softly.

"Do you think that I'm a monster?" This was the first time that Talon spoke since they sat down.

"We have always been called that, why would you care what they call you! " Said Thorn with a shrug.

"Answer the question, please!" Talon weakly muttered, his voice slightly trembling.

"Of course you are not! But tell me, what is this all about, A—" Before Thorn could finish her question, Talon interrupted. "It's Talon now, don't call me that disgusting name." A sharp pain struck him in his missing left eye, and he held it with his hand, but the pain did not subside. Thorn panicked at the sight and instantly hugged Talon.

"You know very well the things I've done… I'm starting to think that they are right—" Talon's words were cut off as Thorn interrupted him with an almost angry tone "They are not!"

"Please, tell me what is going on already, you are really starting to make me worry." Thorn's hugged Talon even tighter which made the boy start to began lightly sobbing.

"It's just… I start to feel that everything is becoming too much, things are getting out of my control. I'm just getting pushed around by everything." Talon was just burying his face in his own hands until now, but he looked straight into the eyes of Thorn with his teary eye.

"It feels like that I'm not alone in my own head!" Screamed Talon, with tears flowing down his eye.

Thorn just watched her friend break down with a shocked expression on her face as she hugged him even tighter. "Just let it out, I will always be here for you, just like you were always there for me."

Thorn offered a comforting presence as Talon poured out his emotions. Gradually, his cries softened, and the torrent of tears began to lessen, just like the rain that subsided into a gentle drizzle. "When did it began? The feeling that you are not alone in your head?"

"The first time I ever activated this god damn gift."

"That was almost four years ago? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Asked Thorn in an angry manner.

"It was just some weird dreams then, sometimes voices, now everything is just foggy. Every time I activate my gift, I meet someone in that strange hill, sometimes the one I meet is kind, the other times, the one there has the smell of someone that bathed in blood for months, it makes me gag." Explained Talon with slightly puffed up eyes from the tears.

"Wait? Are you talking about your gift? The hill with the graves and the church?" Asked Thorn.

"Yes, I'm talking about that. After I killed those wolves and the stag, for the first time ever, the doors of the church opened, and in the middle of it is a big stained glass that shows a figure, once it was a one eyed priest, the other time it was a soldier." Continued Talon.

"Are there people inside of your gift?" Thorn was more than shocked; she was terrified. In all of the history of the gifted, the only ones who told the same story were utterly insane murderers without a hint of reason—people who had lost control over their gift, the Haunted. Despite this revelation, she decided not to share her line of thought with Talon yet, not wanting to worry him even more.

"Just like the Haunted, right?" Talon asked Thorn with a knowing but somber smile that didn't reach his eye. "You just thought about this too… right?" Thorn didn't say a word, but she didn't have to.

"Fort Eger…" Murmured Talon. "That's where I will be sent two months later to die."

Thorn was just shocked at the revelation, with no words to say. Talon continued, "Paul told me that I will be known later in time as the catastrophe of fog, as a slaughterer that kills without remorse and reason. After everything happening in the last two days, I have no doubt about it happening anymore."

"Forget about it; you won't become a catastrophe or a murderer. I don't care about any of that. You won't go to a fort in the middle of nowhere just to throw your life away. We should run away again," Thorn declared with determination. To her surprise, Talon did not share her opinion.

"If I run away from this, the rest of the Special Gifted Division members will be sent there—"

"So what? We just get to meet them. I don't care what happens to them, but I will not lose you too!" Thorn exclaimed.

"It's not even about them; I have more and more questions about myself, my gift. And I feel like the only two people who are able to help me learn about these things are Damian and Paul."

"So I can't convince you to stay with me?" asked Thorn, her voice almost begging him to stay.

"I... I don't know. Maybe we should take some time, figure things out together, and then decide whether to run away or not," said Talon with a determined expression.

"So what? Should I just wait for you in a place where everyone I see hates my guts while the only one that is important to me will spend god knows how much time in the middle of nowhere, and I have absolutely no idea if he's alive or not?" It was Thorn who was on the verge of crying this time as she gazed at Talon with a mix of frustration and desperation.

"No, wait, let's not make rash decisions. We can stay for a while, gather information, and then decide what's best for us," Talon suggested, his tone calming.

Thorn hesitated for a moment, contemplating the compromise. "Fine, but only for a while. If things don't get better, we leave together," she agreed, her tone still firm.

Talon gently grasped Thorn's hands. "I just don't want you to get hurt."

In response, Thorn stared straight into Talon's eyes and said, "And I don't want you to get hurt either; that's why we'll wait and decide together."

"But—" Thorn didn't even let him start speaking as she gently put her hands on Talon's cheeks, then gently brushed away a small teardrop that hadn't dried up from his eye, then lightly touched the scar on his left eye which made him wince little. "Does it still hurt?"

"Not anymore… thanks!" Said Talon as he put his own hand on hers that was still staying on his scar.

The two silently gazed at each other with a warm gaze, the world around them seemed to fade and the rain did not seamed that cold anymore.

"I care about you, and I don't want you to get hurt for coming with me." Talon whispered, his voice soft but sincere.

Thorn's smile widened, and she squeezed Talon's hand gently. "I care about you too, more than I can put into words, that is exactly why I want to go with you.

In the quiet atmosphere of the garden, the silent drizzle of the rain tapped gently on the ground in a harmonious cadence. Beneath the giant oak three, the two of them leaned closer to each other, it seemed like the world around them blurred. However their moment was abruptly interrupted.

Rokara's voice echoed through the garden. "Talon, Quinn is not willing while Orion is a wuss, so we need to spar. Now!

The sudden intrusion startled them, causing both Talon and Thorn to quickly distance themselves. Both of their cheeks blushed with embarrassment as they exchanged a shy glance.

"I'm seriously going to beat that idiot up!" shouted Talon in an embarrassed manner as he jumped off from the bench and rushed at Rokara with his fist in the air while Thorn just lightly blushed and silently cursed. "Coward…"

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