Prodigy Eternal (book 2)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Following Mara’s lead, the troop exited the factory with over two dozen soldiers. The thick summer heat greeted them, even though it was late at night. There was hardly any light pollution in the small district of Yashio so the stars were in full bloom. Alex gazed up and thought about her dad, who was still somewhere in space. She wondered where he was and if he was still alive.

“What are you thinking about?” Milo asked, walking next to Alex.

“Just thinking about…” she paused. “Just admiring the beauty of the cosmos.”

“You’re not going to get all philosophical on me, are you?”

“I’m not sure I’m capable of getting philosophical. My mind is a mess right now. I desperately need sleep.”

“That makes two of us.”

The sound of marching boots, shuffling along the pavement, drowned out any chatter, but that didn’t stop Aris from trying to eavesdrop on Alex and Milo’s conversation. He was a few feet behind them, keeping a watchful eye on the two as he walked alongside the rest of the pack. It wasn’t clear to him what Milo being in Japan meant for his chances with Alex, but it couldn’t be good. Even though Alex was forthright with Aris, he wasn’t ready to give up on her just yet. He wanted to make sure Milo and Alex didn’t become anything more than friends.

Nearly everyone remained quiet as the group knew they were approaching a situation with an elusive adversary who was very dangerous. They needed time to mentally prepare. There was also the possibility they were being led into a trap, which weighed heavily on their minds. Mara had brought one of The Fox’s foot soldiers, Jaisu, who supposedly knew where The Fox was located.

As they walked through town, they saw another side of Japan that was drastically different than Tokyo. For the most part, life was fairly simple. Yashio didn’t offer much in terms of attractions since it was mainly a satellite for people who worked in Tokyo but didn’t want to live in the busy city. Despite being a small district, it was connected via bullet train, which ran regularly twenty-four hours per day. Mara and her squad walked to the nearest station and caught the midnight train heading to Tokyo Bay.

“I’m really glad you’re here, Milo,” Alex said. “I’ve missed you a lot.”

“The feeling is mutual.”

“Look, I…” she hesitated.

“You know what, it’s fine, you don’t have to explain yourself,” Milo interjected. “I get it, Aris is a cool guy, and I’m really happy for you… the both of you… you know, for finding each other, and stuff.”

“Milo, that was the most insincere declaration of approval I’ve ever heard.”

“Sorry, I tried.”

“Well, you don’t need to be happy for me because Aris and I are not together.”

“You’re not?”

“No, we got caught up in a moment when we were drunk, but that was all.”

“You got caught up in a moment? Since when do you get caught up in moments?”

“It’s happened one time before.”

Milo had an idea of what time she was referring to, but didn’t say for fear he was wrong. The two sat on the train in an awkward silence for a moment.

“So you two never…” Milo asked.

“No, of course not,” Alex assured him.

“That’s a relief.”

“I’m not sure if it’s the lack of sleep or whatever, but it’s really good to see you.”

“Yeah, you mentioned that already,” Milo said. “Alex, I’ve been around you long enough to know when there’s something on your mind. I know we’ve lost some ground over the past year, but we grew up together. You can tell me anything.”

“I know.”

“So what is it, what are you not telling me?”

“I didn’t want to mention it before because I didn’t know what it meant, but in my vision of the future, I saw something else… We were together,” Alex said, looking down, too afraid to make eye contact. Milo didn’t respond right away because he was studying her behaviour. Alex eventually looked up with her beautiful eyes.

“What are you saying?” Milo asked.

“It seems like some other stuff from my vision is coming true, so I just want to prepare you that another part of it may also come true.”

“Do you want it to come true?” Milo asked.

In her mind she wanted to shout out, ‘YES!’ but she didn’t. She just smiled coyly and played it cool. Milo wrapped his arm around her, allowing Alex to lay her head on his shoulder. She closed her eyes to get some rest, but the smile never left her face.