Genesis

Chapter 21

They look a lot older than I thought they would. Both seem to be in their early fifties with graying hair and small wrinkles on their faces. There's something eerie about them, though, and it sends a shiver down my spine. 

"Kaze Alio," says the woman. "I'd been wondering when you were going to join us."

"Ah, yes," the man says. "I suppose it was only a matter of time." 

Their words take a minute to compute in my brain. What do they mean, I'm going to join them? There's no chance I will ever consider being in cahoots with these people. 

"Wait, wait, hold up," I say, waving my hands in the air. "There's no way I'm joining you! I'm only here because this psychopath dragged me here!" 

I shoot Celethe a glare, who in turn rolls her eyes. The woman's cold, confident smile falters slightly. 

"Oh, come now, Kaze," she says. "Think sensibly. You do want to avenge your mother, don't you?" 

I hesitate before I answer, not sure if I should tell these people that my mother is actually alive. 

"I'm not the avenging type," I say. "In fact, I want to stay as far away from you people as I can. My mother trusted you and look where that got her." 

Before I can register what is happening, I am on the ground and Celethe is shouting in my face. 

"Don't you dare act like your mom was replaceable to us!" she screams. "We were like her second family. All of her best friends were in this group. All of her favorite memories were made here. When she died, none of us knew how to handle it. We had never lost someone so close to us before. At meetings, no one talked. Everyone was an empty shell for months." 

Her voice cracks and I almost feel bad for her. 

"Celethe, calm down," says the woman on the screen. 

Celethe seems to realize what she's doing and quickly scrambles away from me. I warily clamber to my feet, not wanting to trigger any more outbursts. I have had my fill of emotion in the past few days. Any more and I might explode. 

"Like I was saying," I say, choosing my words carefully, "I don't want to be part of your cause. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go back to living my life. Good day." 

I walk to the door, slam the "open" button, and walk off without another word.