Slide To Open

Part Twenty-Two

   "Where is Axel?!" Drizzle shouted over the yelling going on outside the walls. She knew her adopted son wouldn't do well with his anxiety, and would most likely freeze up the moment he heard conflict of any type. The fact that it was between two humans...well, it only increased her worry to a tenfold.

   Both Drizzle and Jack were perched on the bookshelf, hiding behind whatever academic novel was balanced against the wood, and kept their eyes peeled for the little borrower. He never had a habit of getting into trouble before, but they knew how eager he was to prove himself.

   "I haven't seen him since breakfast!" Jack yelled back at the top of his lungs. He was slightly taller than his wife, and yet just as incapable of finding their son.

   "I'll go find him," Drizzle lowered her voice, taking up a confident stride in her step as she left to exit the walls. Before she could get far, Jack's hand reached out to stop her in her tracks, effectively giving Drizzle just enough time to glare back his way.

   "He's my son, too. We won't lose him. You stay here and keep an eye on the humans, I'll go find Axel."

   "But-!"

   "We both know who needs to stay out of danger, Driz. Stay safe, so you have someone to take care of when we get our son back," Jack cut her off with a firm fire in his nostrils. They both knew he wasn't referring to Axel, either.

   Drizzle and Jack thought of every possible situation they could to find Sam once again, even after four years of trying. The truth was that both of them knew it was impossible, and yet fantasies gave way to reality, and the parents spent countless agonizing nights dreaming of a reunion. And with every single dream so far, Drizzle's quick thinking led her to Sam first. She was the brains, and Jack was the brawn. Together they would find Sam, but Drizzle would be first.

   Both of them knew it. It's the reason Jack was always so keen on putting himself in danger when presented, and it was the reason he was willing to find Axel rather than his wife. She was necessary for Sam's retrieval, and he was not. Simple as that.

   "Alright," She quit resisting and allowed her husband to go off into the war zone. "But when you both come back, it'll be far more dangerous being stuck here with me, understood?"

   "Yes, Ma'am," Jack bowed his head, bending over to give her a peck on her cheek, before rushing off into the dark corridor and leaving Drizzle behind.

   "-el?"

   He could've sworn he heard his father's voice amongst the stale cereal piles, but Axel refused to believe it. Not while he was stuck there, head in between his knees, trying to drown out the noise of giants outside the box.

   "Axel!"

   "...papa?" The boy lifted his head just a bit, only to find a silhouette of his father's figure in the entrance of the box, crawling forward on all fours. His tail was whipping back and forth to navigate through the cereal, and he had a furious look in the way he moved.

   "Axel, where are you?!"

   "Ri-right here, papa!" Axel cried, lunging forward and attempting to free his leg from the open hole of a piece of cereal. "I'm right here!"

   "Are you alright?"

   "I'm-m scared."

   The moment his father arrived close enough, Axel leaped from his spot and wrapped his arms around his stomach, holding on with an iron grip. He could still faintly hear a loud banging from outside, but the voices were gone now, and all he could focus on was his dad in front of him. For now, at least, he knew he was safe.