Shadow Angel: Volume 1

The Hawk Tower Incident: Part 1

"The man at the Support Lab had me strip out of my uniform so the machine could take my measurements," Cody said. He was back at his dorm, lying on the couch as he was talking to Scott on the phone. "The scan didn't take long. It felt like it only took a minute in there, maybe a little longer."

"Did you feel uncomfortable when you removed your uniform?" Scott asked.

"Was I supposed to feel uncomfortable?"

"Usually, people tend to feel that way whenever they have to remove their clothes so something like that scan could be done," Scott explained. "Remember your check-up?"

"Yeah. What of it?" Cody asked, raising an eyebrow.

"At your check-up, you had to remove your clothes to wear the gown that the doctor provided for you. Looking back at it, you didn't look uncomfortable at all."

"Oh! I guess I wasn't..." Suddenly, Cody heard the door open and looked up to find Milo walking into the dorm.

"Is everything alright, Cody?" Scott asked with slight worry. "You paused for a bit."

"Oh, yeah! I'm okay. Milo just came back. Nothing to worry about."

"Okay. I was checking on you." Scott paused for a second as Cody heard someone else's voice on the voice. However, their words were inaudible. "Okay, I'll be there."

"Scott?" The dark-haired boy raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, bud, I have to go. A helicopter spotted an aquatic Eldritch approaching the waterfront."

"Oh, okay. I'll talk to you soon," Cody said with a nod.

"You, too. Goodnight, Cody." With that, Scott hung up.

"Was that Scott again?" Milo asked, watching as his friend sat up to look at him.

"Yeah," Cody replied. "I was just telling him how it went at the Support Lab. Also, you took a while to get back here. What happened?"

"Oh, I had a check-up at the Morningstar DEA Agency."

"A check-up? What for?"

"Uh..." Milo trailed off as he scratched his nape. "I'd rather not say, to be honest."

"Oh, that's okay. I'll wait until you're ready to tell me."

"Thank you." Milo approached the couch so he could sit on the other end. "So, you good?"

"I'm okay," Cody said with a shrug. Though, he didn't give the other boy eye contact.

With a deadpan face, Milo sighed and replied, "Look, about what you told me last week, I just want you to know that your friend's death wasn't your fault."

Still, Cody didn't look at him.

"I didn't even know the guy, I know, but one of these days, you have to stop blaming yourself. There will be times when those people go away in our lives, and there's nothing we can do about it."

As he listened, Cody scrunched his face. Last week, after training with Evan, Cody told Milo that he felt that Real Cody's death was his fault. With a face of sadness, he told his friend that he wished he was there with his late friend, and by doing that, he would have prevented the Scissor Eldritch from killing him. Cody even said that he wished it was him who died instead of Real Cody. Of course, this made Milo mad but not too angry to the point where he screamed at him. So, he responded, "If you died that day, your friend would be just as devastated as you right now. The same goes for the orphans, Mrs. Finch, and everyone who knew you. Also, you and I would never meet at all."

What Milo said then made Cody's eyes glossy with tears that threatened to spill out of his eyes. But deep down, he felt horrible over the lie he told his best friend as of now. Even now, Cody resented himself, even if Milo and everyone he met so far believed in what he said. Squeezing his eyes shut and taking a deep breath, he tilted himself to the right until his head rested on the other boy's lap. Though Milo was surprised, he sighed and placed his left hand on Cody's head, letting his fingers move in his hair. The dark-haired boy let out a satisfied sigh at the feeling of it.