The Metaphorical Key Book II- Forge the Path

XXII

It started without warning.

One moment, Prosper's corpse body had only just hit the ground, and then within the blink of an eye, some unseen force ripped the walls away, sending them flying away into the fields near the auditorium-esque room Aiden and the rest of The Ravens had congregated in to listen to Prosper's tale.

The room erupted into screams, curses in various languages and grim predictions regarding the survival (or lack, thereof) of everybody in the room.

Aiden turned to run - preparing to run out into the open instead of through the building - the building might have more safety if you got to one of the rooms designed to keep vulnerable members safe during attacks, but if he went that way he and the other Ravens would wind up packed together in the hallways like sardines.

Somebody knocked him to the ground, practically throwing him aside to get to the hallway. He crashed to the ground, his ears ringing and his head pounding. His mind screamed bloody murder but his throat closed up and he found himself unable to so much as whisper.

Aiden tried to shove himself back up but somebody kicked him in the face as they ran past. Several other people kicked him or ran over him as they ran off.

He threw his arms up to cover his face from the human stampede headed for the hallway. To his relief, a few moments later, a hand reached out directly above him.

Rico.

The older man pulled him to his feet.
"Come on," he said. "Let's go outside, less people out there, hmm?"

Aiden nodded and stumbled forwards, holding a hand over his bloody nose and split lip. Scratches from boot soles marred his jaw and his head throbbed, but he was alive.

"Hold on," Rico said. "I'm going to run in and grab as many people I can. It's quiet out here."

"What do you mean?" Aiden asked, tilting his head down and shutting his eyes so he didn't have to watch his the blood drip onto the grass.

Rico's voice became grave.
"It's quiet out here," he repeated. "The thing? Whatever it is - it's inside, Aiden."

Aiden had never realized that three words could shake him so deeply.

It's inside, Aiden.

It's inside.

Rico came in and out of the building multiple times, dragging out swaths of people and having them sit on the grass.

Aiden kept a close eye on them, watching vigilantly to ensure that they didn't get up and try to run back in.If they did, he'd sprint towards them and physically drag them back down to the grass. His arms ached and the soles of his feet throbbed but he kept going.

He thought "you're nothing special, you never have been," would have thrown him into pure despair, but... it didn't.

He thought of what Curtis had said, back in... was it September?

"It's just... I don't get it. Why let your life be dictated by what you might do, what you could do to help people? You can help people whenever. You don't need a call to action to do it. Anyway, wouldn't it sort of... be really bad to be in included in some sort of big thing like that? People are suddenly looking up to you and thinking you're the answer or whatnot and guess what?

They don't do a thing for the world. They're waiting for their call to action before they make a move. They think that the kid who got the "call" is going to take care of it for them. And guess what? Maybe they're not going to. Maybe whoever got the call just doesn't care. Maybe the person who got the "call" has no idea what they're doing. Or maybe, you know, whoever got the "call" is a freaking kid. And they're not ready for people to shove the world into their face and tell them to fix it. I care a lot about all of you. I know that I don't know you very well, but being under that kind of pressure... just... be careful. Don't let it break you, m'kay?"

Curtis was right, so much more correct than he could ever have imagined.

Aiden didn't need somebody to tell him to do something for the world.

He didn't need a reason, he didn't need some long heroic monologue or a tragic backstory or a pseudo-prophecy or an asshole lying demon to tell him what to do and how to do it.

Somewhere along the line, he stopped helping people because he was told to and started helping people because he wanted to.

It wouldn't break him.

He couldn't let it break him.

Rico ran in and out and Aiden bent and cracked and splintered and never broke.

There was a small crowd of people gathering by the time Rico ran back towards the building.

There was a bang.

The Ravens' headquarters imploded.

People scattered, running for their lives.

Anybody inside the building - at least half of the rebellion - would have been killed.

Aiden didn't have the courage to search for his friends in the fleeing crowd... or in the smouldering wreckage.

His head fogged up, his vision blurred and his brain crowded itself with images that he never wanted to see again.

It didn't even feel real.

Wake up, wake up, wake up.

He wasn't dreaming.

He ran to the nearest city and headed to Aevenia from there.

He found Ada's place.

He knocked.
She answered.

He fell into her, gasping and sobbing and stumbling through explanations in a storm of cuss words and hurt.

She didn't ask for questions or clarification.

She invited him in.
And she made him hot cocoa.

Sorry to leave off on such a downer note but that's the end of Forge the Path!
My current plan is to take a break for this universe until July 17th, 2019, at which point infrequent updates to the third (and final!) book, titled United We Stand will start. Updates will become more frequent after draft four of Call of the Raven and draft two of Forge the Path are completed. 

Thank you!