Elliot: A Lucid Dream

26: Ahead

Locke's smile grew even wider. "Do you still think of yourself as a glorified hero, then?"

"Yeah, I do. I'm the hero of my own story and I don't need your input, so you can leave me alone," I shouted.

"You like to trick yourself. You do need things from me. There is a vast world of information out there. No human- not even I- could remember all of it. You, however, are especially lacking. No, you do know. You have had the connections to learn the whole story. And yet, you need someone else to help you put the pieces together. You could be ever so powerful if only you were not so unbearably stupid." Suddenly, he slammed his hand onto his cheek, a harsh metallic clanging ringing out. "If I were you- I could do anything! Luck- no, this whole world is on your side!" He squeezed his hands into fists, looking down at them. "Why does a person, a lowly human, even one as dumb as you, get to know?"  

I stepped back more. His sudden outburst broke my bubble of confidence, leaving me exposed and feeling very weak. I needed to get out of here. I needed to run-

"Y-You're unstable. You're all alone. You were like me, Sonnet said-" I managed to stammer out, trying to keep my voice steady.

He suddenly looked up, his sharp teal gaze catching my eyes. I swallowed uneasily. "All of that is a lie. They always tried to give me some Freudian excuse. Do you know how long they spent, thinking of some excuse that would garner me some sympathy? Humans," He snorted, "Try to make everything rational. Sensible. Logical." 

"I thought Gabriel removed your emotions. Y-Your uh, limbic system." 

He was quiet for a moment. When he spoke up again, his voice was much too quiet and sickly sweet. "Tell me. How did you not figure it out? Camille gave you the background information. Ashley taught you Mavian customs. Sonnet gave you the key to me."

"I don't know," I replied honestly. I didn't know why I was still talking to him, either. Curiosity, probably. He acted like everything was so simple, but I had no idea what he was talking about. He was talking about something. Vaguely my mind conjured up a mystery. It felt like there was something to be known and I just couldn't put my finger on it. 

"You said that Ar- Elliot. He brought you to Asteria." Suddenly, Locke reached out and grabbed me roughly by the shoulders, shaking me so hard that I couldn't even see shapes; the world was just a blur of different colors and lights. "Answer me." 

I kept silent. My head was spinning. I wanted to throw up. I felt the sharp sting of bile in the back of my throat. He was shaking me so hard that I couldn't even think up the words to tell him to stop. 

"Never mind. I know what he did. He is an idiot, trying to come back here. Missing his poor children. He could be exploring the real world, but no! Humans and their emotions! Ha! I have spent all this money. 100 years, just for you, Azure, to find A-21 in a couple of months? Why? And why a human? I am better than you. I am stronger and faster and smarter than you. So why can I not find A-21?" 

"The Maras," I choked out, trying to regain my thoughts, "Maras-" 

"The Maras. They led you to them, didn't they? The Maras- if only they did not exist. I would have known years ago! I would long be gone, if it was not-" He suddenly stopped. 

The shaking stopped, too. I buckled forward, my knees bending forward as I collapsed against the cobble-stone pathway. I could see a smudge of dark hair and two dark eyes. 

"If it wasn't for me," Someone said. Anger flared up in me immediately as I recognized the voice. Joel, something whispered. It was a low, quiet whisper that curled along the ground, like smoke. Joel...