Nyx (Complete✅)

Chapter 48

   "Trust me, it will work. Last time the plan was flawed, there were far too many things out of our control, but this time it has to work." Aaron was at the point of pleading now. Jacob frowned. He didn't think it would work. The plan was patchy at best, with so many details missing it was more of a vague string of goals than an actual plan.

   "I think it's stupid. We already tried helping as much as we could, and they didn't understand. They locked us up. They acted like we were criminals." He shook his head. He'd never been away from Ruth for more than several days at a time. Staying in that monotonous jail cell had made him realize how much she meant to him. Aaron's stupid new plan might drag him away from her forever.

   "No one will even find out this time, we can do it. I just need your help." His eyes were desperate, like a dying mouse backed into a corner, with nothing left to help itself but a pitiful squeaking cry. The plan wouldn't work, it couldn't work.

   Aaron had always been the leader, the most passionate about their mission. He'd put his heart and soul into the work they did. It was understandable that he wasn't willing to give up, that he would keep pushing until there was no more space to push, but Jacob wasn't as committed. His wife meant more to him than the mission. He was already sure that the colony would survive without their help, at least for a few generations. He would much rather live out the rest of his life with Ruth than help the human race gain a few more percents of a chance at survival.

   "I don't care. It's not worth it. I don't want to risk my life—or my freedom, for that matter, on something that might not work." He shook his head again, gently pushing Aaron's shoulder.

   "But that's not the point, it will work. I'm sure of it this time, I just need the two of you. You can't abandon me at this stage in the plan, we can do what we've always dreamed of doing for our race." Now he was trying to guilt-trip them into it.

   "Aaron, listen to me. I will not go along with this plan. Nothing you can say will change my mind, now leave. If you only want to visit me to convince me of some hair-brained scheme, then you can stop coming." Jacob pointed to the door.

   Aaron looked at him with a look of bafflement on his face, as if he couldn't quite understand what Jacob was saying. "But—after all this time, you're just..." he shook his head. "Giving up?" he took a deep breath, casting one more confused and almost-hurt glance at Jacob, then he walked through the door, not turning back once as he made his way back to the colony.

   Jacob walked through the door as well, but not in the same direction as Aaron. He took a deep breath. There were thick trees growing here, with only a small clearing of open space in which to put the small cabin. The colony was a few hundred feet through the trees in the direction that the door faced, and in the other direction, there was a large lake of brilliantly blue water, that flowed and ebbed in a strange pattern, pulled and pushed in a unique tide that only Nyx—or Viscordia, would ever have.

   Ruth was standing on a small outcrop of rock on the lakeshore, her sweater pulled tight around herself to keep out the cool breeze that blew gently across the open expanse of water. It tugged at her hair, blowing it into her face so that she had to reach up a hand to brush it away.

   Jacob walked up to her, putting an arm around her shoulders.

   "What did he want?" Ruth murmured quietly, staring out over the water at a distant group of dark shapes that looked like they might have been a gathering of huts—maybe a deserted village? The expedition team had yet to go all the way around the lake, so no one knew yet. Jacob pulled his eyes away from the view, remembering himself just in time to answer her question.

   "He wanted us to try again. To do dangerous and stupid things in the name of the human race." He shook his head. "It's not worth it.'

   "Was it worth meeting me?" she asked, looking up at him. She was referencing the fact that they had met during a meeting, a long time previous. Both of them had been nervous new recruits to the cause, not trusted with the sensitive and dangerous facts yet. It seemed like such a long time ago. Now they were some of the only members left. The thought filled him with sadness. For the first time, he realized what losing earth really meant.

   Yes, they were getting rid of so many bad things—corruption and crime, famine and hunger, poverty, and so many other things that it pained him to think of, but they also lost so much stuff of great importance.

   Thousands of years of heritage and history, so many millions of people that had been living their lives, tragically cut short by a disaster that they could have helped with. So many more people could have been evacuated, but they hadn't spread the news of the coming disaster, even though they'd known years in advance. They had lost so much.

   But at least he still had a reason to keep going. The dark thoughts didn't press in on him and threaten to crush out the light. He had Ruth.

   "It was worth everything." He hugged her a bit tighter.

   "Are you going to help him? I'll do it with you... if you risk your life for this, I'll be there next to you." She sighed, reaching up to rest her hand on top of the one that was clasped around her shoulder.

   "No. I'm staying here with you." He smiled. "If he wants to spend his life as the first human prisoner on Viscordia, then he can do what he wants, but I'd rather stay here with you."

   "Thank you, Jacob." She was still looking out over the lake, and tears glittered in her eyes.

   Aaron grumbled in frustration. Jacob was being unreasonable. He couldn't grasp the importance of what Aaron was suggesting, nor the fact that this time, the plan was foolproof. He kicked at a stray tuft of teal grass. Miss Cane would be more reasonable. She would understand what he meant to do, and why.

   He emerged from the woods, and onto the short stretch of exposed ground between the colony and the tree line. His shoes were stained from walking around in the blue-green grass, which had way too high a water content for its own good. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, trying to keep himself from getting too frustrated. Getting mad at Jacob was one thing, but the grass was an entirely different matter.

   He shook his head and stalked into the buildings. Already some people were starting to build additions and add customization to some of the huts. They all shared the same building material, but now some of them sported decorations, or covered porches, or squared out holes in the walls that served as windows. They still looked the same to him, and he wondered how anyone could tell the difference between one house and another. It was like a suburban area, the only difference being the lack of proper roads or any sort of pattern in which the houses were laid out. It was ridiculous.

   He huffed out a breath. Now he was getting annoyed at the houses. What next? The fact that the sky wasn't blue, or that the air sometimes smelled like mold when it was hot, because of the fungus-like trees? He shook his head, smiling ever-so-slightly. He was even getting annoyed at himself getting annoyed at things.

   He stepped onto one of the more well-kept, and often-used roads. There were a few people here and there, stopping to chat on their way to their houses after work, or meeting for trivial things like parties or dates. Everyone had settled in well—perhaps a little too well. They were letting their guards down, and who knew what kinds of beasts lurked in the shadows of the new world, waiting to pounce on the unsuspecting colony?

   He had to convince someone to join him. He had to prepare the people for potential disaster.