After The End: Alex Rider FanFiction

~Chapter Twenty-Seven~

      Mine died when a drunk driver smashed into the front end of our vehicle.

      They died on impact.

       I lived.

       And it was all my fault.

      If only we hadn't of gone to get ice cream after my soccer tournament. If only I hadn't insisted.

      It wasn't fair.

      But if there's one thing I've learned in my life, it would be this-

      Life isn't fair.

      And I'm still dealing with it from this day on.

      I blink rapidly, coming back from my deep thoughts.

      I give Alex my full attention.

     "My uncle....Ian Rider." He makes an odd face. "Took me in and raised me."

      So he has an Uncle.

      "My mother was a nurse in radiology. Both my father and uncle were Agents for MI6."

       They were spies?

      I can't help but look at Alex with awe.

      I mean, what person as a child doesn't dream that they're related to something as cool as a spy?

       "At the time I didn't know anything about my father and my uncles involvement with MI6." He continues.

        That doesn't seem right.

       "Then about two years ago, my uncle....." He stops, his voice getting a bit choked. "My uncle, he....he died in a car crash." He looks down at the ground.

       Time stops.

       Car....crash.

       Just like my parents.

       I feel my heart skip a beat, and a memory comes unbidden to the front of my mind.

     The sound of a car horn, bright lights

      A loud screech followed by a crunching noise

      Silence

      The smell of smoke and burnt tires

      A look of shock on my parents bloody faces

      I shake my head, heart hammering in my ears.

      Don't think about it.

      I look back over at Alex.

      We just might be a little alike. We've both lost someone we love from a car crash.

       He looks back up. "Our housekeeper, who was from the US.....Jack Starbright." He slightly winces as he says the name, eyes darkening.

       Speaking about all this must be tearing him up inside.

       But it would be worse to keep it all bottled up.

       Much worse.

      "Became my legal guardian after that." He continues.

        That must've been nice.

        "My uncles death didn't sound right to me, so I took it upon myself to figure out exactly what happened." He pauses. "One thing led to another, and eventually I figured out my uncles involvement with MI6."