Cridex

Chapter Twenty Six

"You have a brother?" I asked. Dane didn't answer, but he did walk out of his study.

"He's right there, sir. Right outside of the door," Etienne informed, a finger pointing towards the door. Dane raised an eyebrow and walked towards the door, opening it. He stared at the boy collapsed on his doorstep. I couldn't see his expression or the boy, so I tried to get a better angle.

The boy's face moved, and I finally caught a glimpse of it. Gasping, I stepped backwards as my eyes widened. If I was correct, the boy currently on Dane's doorstep was Gaige, the leader of the rebel group... who's claiming that his brother is Dane.

I could see the resemblance now, the dark hair and same shaped eyes. Same hair color and eye color. Their skin were both pale, and their facial structure was similar. The only difference was that Gaige still had that boy-ish look to him, whereas Dane had none left, his face was outined with hard edges.

Maybe recognition flickered in Dane's eyes for a second, but it was gone as fast as it came. He was just about to shut the door, but I quickly stopped him, sticking my foot to block him from fully closing it. "He's your brother, Dane, and he's just a child," I said, but Dane shook his head. I sighed emphasizing my next words, "He. Is. Your. Brother."

"Fine, fine," Dane muttered and let Gaige stumble into the house. I directed Gaige to a couch, and I could tell Dane was about to disagree since Gaige was covered in mud filth. Dane's phone in his coat pocket rung, and his eyes widened as he cursed.

"What's the matter?" I asked, alarmed.

"Hide him!" Dane hissed instead of giving me a straight answer, waving his hands franctically. "Hide him, now!" His voice was filled with panic and he continued to stare at his phone. I nodded and decided to question him later, taking Gaige up to my room, shoving him inside of the closet. Gaige turned his confused eyes to me.

I sighed, "I'm sorry, I don't know why I have to do this, but I think it's something for your safety, Gaige, so could you please just cooperate and stay in here?" I stated, and Gaige nodded. I quickly closed the doors and ran down the steps back to where Dane was.

He was now standing with a government official at the front door, which explained why we had to hide Gaige. I watched as they argued quietly over something, and disappeared into his study. I was curious, and pretended to be scrubbing the floors next to his study, trying to listen in on their conversation.

The study door was made of thick wood, so not everything was clear. "The plan..." the government official said, and the rest was cut off. Dane murmured something, and the official replied with, "The government isn't happy... it- no, but they are getting restless, they need something, Dane, they..." the next words were cut off with Etienne saying something to Rose in a nearby room.

"But what about the cyborg children?" I heard Dane say. "We need to do something, maybe-"

"Listen, Dane, the government needs results, which you aren't giving. And what about the cyborg children? Are you going to run a campaign for them, hold a rally? What can you do? Is your life really worth risking like that?" The official exclaimed. Then something in his voice changed, "Why do you suddenly care about them? Do you... know one?"

I could imagine Dane frowning at this point. "No, of course not, Mark." But the official must have heard something in his voice or sensed something was wrong, because he scoffed.

Etienne walked past me, shaking his head at me. "Listening in?" A small smile played on his mouth, and I nodded sheepishly. "Tell me what they're saying," Etienne whispered, and disappeared down the hall for his tasks. I stopped my scrubbing of the floor and then listened closer.

"There's got to be something, Dane. Something you aren't saying," The official accused. I bit my lip, knowing that he was right. Dane had to somehow convince him otherwise.

Dane sighed. "I'm sorry if you think I'm hiding something, but I'm not. The only reason why I brought up the topic of cyborg children was because I was curious, and I was one before. I'm just feeling a bit of sympathy, Mark, tell me, is that so wrong?"

The silence in the room must have been unbearable. "No, Dane, of course not," The official replied, but I could still hear the uncertainty in his voice. "I must be off now, I have other matters to attend to. Have a good day, Dane." His footsteps started approaching the wall, and I quickly disappeared into a neighboring room, scrubbing the floor as if my life depended on it.

The official left, walking out the front door. Dane stepped out of his study, rubbing his temple as he walked up the grand staircase, which reminded me of Gaige still hidden in my room. I walked up to my room, opening the door. Gaige wasn't anywhere in sight, so I supposed that he listened to me and stayed in his room.

Opening the door to the closet, I saw Gaige sitting on the bottom, his arms curled around his legs. "Are you okay?" I asked, and helped him out. He nodded, but I could tell he was shaking. I showed him down the staircase which Dane was waiting at the bottom of.

"Is he... okay?" Dane asked uncertainly, watching Gaige shake. I noticed that his skin was paler then usual, and he had started to cough. "Is he sick?" Right when he finished his sentence, Gaige threw up onto the ground. I stepped backwards, and Dane closed his eyes, irritation making his jaw tick.

"Sorry," Gaige said timidly.

"Etienne?" Dane's voice was slightly higher then normal as he stared with a dismayed expression on his now ruined shoes. "Clean this up, and bring me new shoes. Or rather, have Jonas do it." Dane winced as he stared at his shoes again, pulling them off as he sighed.

I could tell Dane was getting slightly angry, and I pulled Gaige backwards with me. "I, uh, will get him cleaned up," I stated and Dane nodded, massaging his forehead as he disappeared into his study. I would have matters to take up with him after I cleaned Gaige up.