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The room filled with smoke, blurring his vision. Hugo could hear Donella and her men rushing in, could hear his friends screams, could hear their pleads, could hear everything.
But he couldn’t move.
So he stood there, frozen in fear.
“Just be careful, alright?” Varian said, placing a hand on Yong’s shoulder. “No fires.”
“No fires,” the boy agreed, running off into the forest, most likely about to start a fire.
“You know he’s gonna start one, right?” Hugo said. Varian jumped.
“What makes you say that?”
“He always does.”
“Well… I trust him.” He paused, thinking. “But I should grab that solution, just in case.”
Nothing woke him up, nothing moved him, except one thing. Varian. Through the haze, he heard the boy scream, a new, horrible sound that he never wanted to hear again He tried to run, but it was far too late. Cyrus grabbed him, and the smoke slowly cleared. Nuru and Yong were trapped on the ground, surrounded by the rest of Donella’s gang. “No! I already told you! I’m out!”
“Not anymore,” he heard Donella say, trying to twist around to protest further, but Cyrus held him fast.
“Please!”
“It’s no use pleading, little one.” She came into view, dragging a half-conscious, stumbling Varian. Blood trickled from a small cut on his forehead, and his goggles were gone. “See, boy, Hugo here has been working for me the whole time.” The fog cleared from his eyes, giving way to confusion.
“Hugh..?”
“I-”
“Ha! He was never your friend-”
“Goggles, please, don’t listen to her, I - I never wanted to-”
“Hugo.” Her tone was quiet but dangerous. She let go of Varian, and he dropped to the ground like a stone.
The rock bounced across the surface of the lake, sending ripples off in every direction.
“You okay?”
“No.” Handfuls of rock were carelessly thrown as Varian collapsed onto the beach. “It’s all my fault! Everyone got hurt and it’s my fault!”
“How is it your fault?”
“I-well, if I hadn’t dragged the three of you along-”
“We wanted to come, Freckles. None of us blame you. Besides, it’s just a few scrapes and bruises, we’ll be okay.” The younger boy looked up at Hugo, his eyes shining with tears.
“Really?”
“I’m - I’m sorry, so sorry, please, I - I just, please, no, I’m so,” he rambled, not completely sure who he was talking to. Donella walked past him, signaling to Cyrus. He dropped Hugo and followed her. He immediately reached for Varian. “Var, Hairstripe, please, I’m s-” The younger boy scrambled away, leaving Hugo reaching for air, swallowing his words. They stared at each other for a moment. Finally, Varian stood. He looked down at the taller of the two, his eyes shining with hurt. Then he ran.
“Wait!” The three turned, to see Varian, panting and red, standing behind them. “I-I’m sorry. You were right. I made a mistake. Will you…”
Hugo smiled. “C’mon Goggles. We’ve got a library to open.”
It was his fault. They were both broken and it was his fault.
Don’t get attached
“Well, I failed at that one, eh Don?” Hugo muttered to himself.
“Yeah, you did,” came a voice from behind, making him jump. Donella herself was slumped against the wall.
He gulped. “I-I’m going in.”
She smiled. “Be careful.”
The next few hours were a blur. His struggle to enter the library, only to find that Varian had been possessed by some woman. His mother. Finally, they had fought her out of him, and she had peacefully passed.
“You came back.” The voice of the younger shocked Hugo back to the present, sitting on the scuffed library floor. He pulled Varian into his arms, both crying, not sure if it was from fear, shock, pain, or joy.
“Yeah, I did.”
“Why?” Hugo laughed, pressing their foreheads together and closing his eyes.
“I got attached.”