The Fool

I glare Troy like the idiot he is but before I can say anything, Cruz steps forward. He reaches out for me, probably trying to help me up but Thane quickly turns to him and pulls out his knife! The low growl that came out of Thane has everyone in the room freezing. CheeChee watches everyone with large, round eyes but he doesn't move.

I quickly say "Woah, woah... everyone calm down and if you could, please step back." Conner's the first to step back. Clearly noticing the differences in Thane but he's quickly followed by Titus, Conner, and lastly, Cruz.

I watch Cruz with unease, especially when I see his hand hovering over the gun on his hip. If I can see it, I know Thane can. As soon as they're far enough back, I pat Thane's thigh. He's literally crouched over me in a protective manner. Protective or possessive? Possibly both...

Thane doesn't look happy but as he stands, he gently pulls me up with him. He still places himself between me and the others but when I hear Titus yell out "Where the hell... How the hell... What's going on, boy!? Why are you... what the hell happened to you two!?"

I pop my head out from behind Thane's tall frame and slightly wave to the others with a strained smile. I clear my throat and say "Thane found me that day I was taken and tried to save me but we ran into a Ghoul..." I pause, not knowing how to finish that story but Thane surprises me when he says "It chased us to a cliff. We both went off the cliff and in order to save Val, I allowed the Ghoul to eat me."

Everyone in the room looks at him with a mixture of shock, horror, disbelief, and even amazement. Thane places the blade back as he quickly glances around the room before saying "Val was hurt and lost. After a while, Val allowed a Ghoul to eat her in order to save me. We've been wandering the strange world together, searching for a way out when we saw the portal open."

Thane then glances back to me, eyes solid blue as he turns back as says "If it wasn't for her, I would have never made it back." The room is so quiet, you can practically hear everyone's heartbeat. Wait... no, I can actually hear their heartbeats!

It's faint... but I can hear it! Troy makes a weird squeak noise before saying "Did you just... did you just say 'Her'?" I grit my teeth, wanting to hide behind Thane again as Thane says "Yes, her. Her name is Valerie. Her bother's name is Valen. They're twins."

Titus looks to both of us, mouth wide open in shock as Troy says "Oh, so this is his sister? Where's Valen then? How did she get out here? I'm so damn confused." I feel myself sigh before stepping around Thane. This idiot was giving me a headache...

I take a deep breath and say "No, Valen is my twin brother. I'm Valerie and I'm the one who's been with you all the whole time. I... I had some situations that led me to being here and pretending to be my brother but... I... I hope you can still see me as your teammate."

Cruz curses under his breath as the other three look at me in shock. The whole room is silent but the silence is suddenly broken when Thane says "If anyone says anything to headquarters about her being female, you won't ever make it back to the City. Am I clear?"

I slowly turn to look up at Thane in surprise before Titus says "Calm down boy... No one's going to run off and squeal on one of our own and for the record... the City thinks you two are dead. You've been reported as such. This is just... a lot to take in."

Troy starts to nervously laugh before saying "This is a joke, right?" He looks to Thane and I before looking to the others and asking "Right!?" Cruz smacks Troy in the back of the head and says "Shut up." When Cruz tries to step forward again, Thane quickly lifts an arm and pulls me back behind him again.

The two are practically the same height, Thane only being a little taller but the two are now staring each other down in silence as the rest of us watch with silent confusion. I can feel the hostility wash over my skin like a prickly sweater.

Conner finally clears his throat and says "I'm really glad you two are back. Are you guys hungry or thirsty? We have both food and water. The City agreed to send out food once a month now so that we can stay out here and investigate the... portals. I guess we all just had a huge breakthrough. We should celebrate."

When I look over to Conner, I see his eyes slightly watering. My heart softens as I smile at him. He smiles back and says "We really all thought that you two were... we thought you were gone for good." At the end, his throat had tightened so much, I could barely make out the words.

I walk around Thane and right up to Conner before giving him a large hug. CheeChee even pats his head like he's trying to comfort him. He hesitates for a moment before returning the hug and nearly crushing me. He sniffs and says "I always thought you were too damn skinny..." I laugh a little and pull back to wipe my tears.

I reach out and lightly punch his shoulder before saying "Thanks to you, I had plenty of meat." He lightly chuckles before looking up to Thane with large puppy eyes. Thane sighs and walks over. Thane pats his head once and says "You've always been such a cry baby. We're alive." It's not 'We're okay'... It's 'We're alive.' We're far from okay...

Troy continues to stare in disbelief but when I turn to look at him, his whole face turns bright red. He takes several steps back and says in horror "I showered in front of you!!" I start to laugh as I say "Yes, unfortunately."

Suddenly, Titus burst into a deep belly laugh as he says "I finally feel like I can breathe again. Welcome back you two." He turns to the others and says "Not a word about this. Not to anyone." Everyone nods but I can't help but glance back to Cruz.

He hadn't said much but it's the way Thane is acting. Thane won't let him close. Even now, he's positioned himself so that he's between Cruz and I. Why? Was it because of his hand over the gun or was it something else?