Chapter Text
Duke’s heart was racing like crazy. The second Nathan pointed his gun towards Howard Duke couldn’t move. What was he doing? Killing Howard wasn’t the solution and then shots were fired. Duke winced at the sound but noticed right away that Howard was still standing. In the next second he saw Jordan pointing a gun at Nathan.
No!
Nathan was still standing but not as relaxed as only a minute ago. He was definitely hit but this didn’t stop him. Yet again he raised his arm, ready to pull the trigger now, Duke was convinced about that but Jordan didn’t take that chance. She shot again, two times and finally Duke was able to move again.
“No, Nathan,” he shouted and rushed over to him. Duke steadied him a little and took the gun from him. Without hesitation he shot at Jordan. Duke knew that she didn’t deserve this. She only wanted the Troubles to end but right now in this moment she was a danger. To Nathan! And this was all Duke could think about.
She fell to the ground and Duke pulled his attention back to Nathan. He dropped the gun and put his hand on Nathan’s cheek to hold his head. “Hey, hey, Nathan.” They were still standing but Nathan’s legs gave in and he was too heavy to hold him up so Duke was gliding to the ground with him. “Hey, look at me.” Nathan moved his eyes until he found Duke. Duke smiled. “Yes, so is good. So is good. Stay with me.” Duke put a hand on Nathan’s back and immediately felt the rush of his Trouble. He pulled his hand away again. The barn was still here so were the Troubles. The only good thing of it was that Nathan didn’t feel any of his pain. “Talk to me, Nate.” Fear lay in his voice because he could see how bad Nathan was. He had trouble to keep his eyes open, he seemed unfocused and far away.
“Audrey,” was the only thing he was able to say.
Duke swallowed hard and was so thankful that she didn’t have to see this. “She is gone, Nathan. She went into the barn.” To save us, he wanted to add but couldn’t because Audrey didn’t go away to see Nathan die in the next minute. No, this wasn’t fair. His shaky hands patted Nathan to attract his attention again. “Don’t leave me too.” These two people were all that he had left. Losing Audrey was hard enough but losing Nathan at the same day. He wouldn’t survive this.
“I’m sorry, Duke,” Nathan whispered weakly. “I just wanted her back.”
Duke nodded and didn’t even fight the tears. “I know. I know. But please stay with me. Just hold on a little longer, okay?” Duke knew that it was wishful thinking but he hadn’t anything else left at this moment. He needed Nathan. He couldn’t lose him. “Please!”
Duke felt Nathan’s hand on his knee and a little smile formed on Nathan’s lips. “Keep the town safe.” Then he closed his eyes and his head tilted to the side.
Duke shook his head unbelievingly. “No, no, no, no, please,” he begged and moved Nathan’s head towards him and searched for a pulse. It was still there and Duke found a little hope again. “Come on, Nate, open your eyes,” he shouted now because he knew that touch wouldn’t do anything. The barn was still there.
And then it hit Duke. The barn was still there!
Howard was still standing a few meters from them. Immediately Duke laid Nathan cautiously on the ground and turned around. “Can you save him?”
Howard didn’t respond so Duke kept talking, “The barn saved Audrey’s son, right? He was dead and now he was alive again. Can it save Nathan?”
Finally Howard nodded. “It could save him.”
“But?” Duke got angry. They hadn’t much time left. Nathan was bleeding out and the barn would probably vanish any second.
“It will cost a price.”
Duke would have loved to just hit him. Couldn’t he just say what it was? “What is it? Does he have to stay in there for 27 years? He won’t mind.” He would be with Audrey when she came back. He would still be young. That was what Nathan wanted. Everything would be okay.
“No, the barn will stay long enough for me to pull him out again. The price are some of his memories.”
“Memories?”
Howard nodded. “All of the memories linked to one person. He has to have a strong connection to this person. For example Audrey.”
Duke swallowed hard and looked down to Nathan. He was dying and it was the only way to safe him. Audrey’s disappearance would kill him afterwards but if he couldn’t remember her everything would be okay. It was a good solution. Nathan would live and he would be mentally okay.
“What about me?” He asked suddenly.
“What?” Howard seemed surprised.
“Is his connection to me strong enough to take these memories?”
“Yes, probably but do you really want that? Audrey is gone and she won’t remember him when she returns. There is no loss in taking these memories.”
Duke shook his head. “I can’t take Audrey from him or anyone else. He loves her too much as I would have the right to decide this for him. Take the memories of me.”
“Okay.”
Duke helped Howard to carry Nathan to the barn and bring him inside. Then he was utterly alone as the door closed and the only thing he could do was waiting. He hoped that this would work. He couldn’t lose Nathan, not like this.
It felt like a lifetime until the door opened again and Nathan was stumbling out, totally okay. Duke smiled and brushed away his tears. He ran over to him, took his arm and pulled him along. “Come on, Nate, let’s get away from here.”
Nathan seemed a little confused but followed his lead before he turned around. “Audrey!” he shouted and tried to get back to the barn again. “Let me go. I need to get her.”
“I can’t let you do this.”
Nathan turned around, full of rage. “Who are you? And why do you think you can give me orders?”
It hurt more than Duke had expected. In these several minutes as Nathan was in the barn he tried to prepare himself but this was worse than anything he could come up with. Nathan looking at him as if he was a total stranger was painful like a thousand stabs to the heart.
“I … Dwight sent me to get you,” he finally explained with a lie.
“I don’t care.” Nathan broke free and ran back to the barn right in the moment when it disappeared. “Nooo,” he screamed, full of pain and fell to his knees. Duke wanted to go over, to comfort him but he knew he wasn’t anyone to Nathan, only a total stranger, no one he knew. No one you wanted to have around in a moment like this.
So he turned away and left him alone. Duke blinked away some tears. After all he lost Audrey too and he realized now that he lost Nathan in a certain way too.