Return

“Hey, Dad,” Charity said as she brought the phone to her ear.

Andrew, who had been wheeling Charity toward her new home where Leah and Uzziah were waiting for them, stopped dead in his tracks and nearly knocked Charity out of her wheelchair. He quickly ran in front of her and stopped her from falling while simultaneously mouthing, “Sorry.” Charity covered her mouth to suppress her laughter.

“Hey, sweetie. I was just… calling to check on you. I’m sorry I kind of vanished the other day,” Peter said.

Charity bit her lip, “It’s okay, Dad. You’re going through a lot. We both are.”

Peter took a moment to answer. Despite his best attempts to hide it, Charity could hear him crying. “I love you. I’m sorry.”

A tear trickled down Charity’s cheek, “It’s okay. I love you, too.”

Peter sucked in a deep breath and did his best to gather himself. “Anyway,” he began, “are you okay? Do you need anything?”

“No, Dad. I’m fine.”

“Okay. I’m probably going to be working some late nights at the office for a while, so I won’t be home much. But you call me as much as you want, and I will always make time for you, even if it’s just to grab dinner.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Charity smiled, tears still falling from her eyes. Andrew began wiping them away for her.

“I love you, Charity,” Peter said.

“I love you, too, Dad.”

Andrew watched Charity intently as she put away her phone. “Are you okay?” He asked.

“What do I do? What can I even say to my dad? We’ve been so close my entire life and now…” Charity trailed off, biting her lip in a poor attempt to prevent the sobs from escaping her throat.

“Hey,” Andrew said while gently holding her face with both of his hands. “It’s going to be okay. Let’s get you settled in your new room and then we can come up with a plan.”

Charity nodded, resting her face in Andrew’s palm for a moment before he pulled away and continued their trek down another long corridor. Charity did her best to wipe the tears and averted her gaze from any onlookers they passed, hoping no one noticed her puffy, red face. Charity utilized the long walk to compose herself, thankful that it took ages before Andrew finally stopped in front of a plain, wooden door that Charity hoped she could paint some time in the near future.

The glowing, stone lantern flickered as it illuminated the door frame, and anticipation traveled up Charity’s spine as the hinges creaked against Andrew’s hand. The moment Andrew wheeled Charity in, Leah practically ran over him in an attempt to take over caring for Charity. Andrew moved out of the way and joined Uzziah on the couch.

Leah kept talking to Charity, asking her various questions about how she was feeling and what she should do to take better care of herself, but Charity was too stunned to pay attention. Their new apartment was immaculate. The stone ceiling was peppered in luminescent rocks that sparkled brighter than the night sky. The living space alone was larger than the entirety of their old apartment, and it was filled with furniture much more lavish than their old, shabby couch and scratched coffee table that had decorated their previous home. Despite being in a cave and built out of rock, the kitchen contained a beautiful, marble island and a fresh array of fruits, vegetables, and fresh pastries that made Charity’s mouth water.

“Are you even listening?” Leah huffed.

“Oh, no. Sorry,” Charity muttered. “It’s just… this place is amazing. Is it really our home?”

“Of course,” Uzziah laughed. “You really think that just because you’d be living underground, you wouldn’t have something nice? We aren’t cavemen.”

“I mean, you kind of are,” Charity remarked.

“Maybe, but at least we have running water.”

“There is?” Charity raised her eyebrows in surprise. “You have plumbing this far underground?”

“Plumbing and some electricity,” Andrew commented. “It’s surprisingly easy to install those things when magic stone golems can carve out exactly where pipes are needed, and water valeri can ensure we always have plenty of clean water. The electricity is a bit more difficult. I don’t know the full logistics of it, but I’m sure Nolan could explain it to you if you’re interested. He handles all of the mechanics and electric work.”

“So there’s no electricity here?” Leah asked.

“No, there is. We don’t have enough to power the entire city, which is why we don’t use light bulbs. But you’ll have hot water, a way to charge your phone, and you can even use a stove top.”

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Leah sighed, unsure of what to think of all of this change, and moved Charity into the living room. Andrew stepped in to help her out of the wheelchair and onto the couch. Charity was amazed at how comfortable it felt, and it was large enough to easily fit all four of them at once, but Andrew and Uzziah were sitting on a separate, smaller love seat that perfectly matched the brown leather beneath Charity. Leah ensured Charity was comfortable and that she had water and pain medication before taking a seat next to her.

“What happens now?” Charity asked, tracing the wet rim of her empty glass.

“Yeah, what about the hospital? I can’t just leave my work,” Leah added. “How long do we have to lay low?”

“You don’t have to,” Uzziah began, “unless you want to. Right now, the Elite weren’t after you, Leah. They were after Charity. You should be safe and could go back to work tomorrow if you wanted, but I wouldn’t recommend staying very late or ever going anywhere that isn’t publicly accessible. Just in case. As for you, Charity, your situation has presented us with a very unique, albeit dangerous, opportunity.”

“What is it?”

“There’s a chance you could go back to your job and work for your father, after you’re healed, of course,” Uzziah replied.

“You don’t have to,” Andrew jumped in, “this is completely your call.”

“That seems like a really stupid idea,” Leah shouted through gritted teeth.

“Is there a benefit to returning? Is there something I can do for other people in doing so?” Charity asked, ignoring her friend’s frustration.

Uzziah moved to the edge of his seat. “You know that a lot of what we do involves rescuing people from the Elite before they’re killed, but there’s more. Sometimes, the Elite kidnap people and force them to work in some mines hidden in the mountains. We don’t know much about where they are or what happens to the people taken to them. We’ve been looking for ways to find out more information on these mines, as well as more effective ways to combat the Elite.

“With you being in the position you’re in, you could get us access to information we could have never found otherwise. Not only that, but you could possibly find out who may be next on the Elite’s hit list, and we could get to them before they do. It could make a huge impact, and we may never get another opportunity like this.”

“How would I even do that? It’s not like I can just ask my dad about it,” Charity replied.

“That part can be something you and I work on together if you decide to return,” Andrew said, “but you need to know that this isn’t something you should decide without really understanding what is being asked of you. There’s a lot we don’t know. We don’t know how much your father knows or is involved in. We don’t know if anyone, including Peter, is aware that the Elite want you dead. If there are people that are aware of this, it’s very possible you could be killed on the spot the moment you show your face in that office. It’s incredibly risky, and it could mean your life. But, if we find even a little success, it could mean saving the lives of countless people.”

“That’s all a matter of if she can even make it to the office safely,” Leah spat.

“Leah does have a point,” Charity conceded. “What’s to keep the Elite from attacking me the minute I show my face?”

“That’s highly unlikely,” Andrew stated, “the Elite are extremely dangerous, but they’re also incredibly patient and discreet. They will never attack during daylight hours, and if they do want you bad enough, time is something they have in abundance. They’ll wait for the right moment.”

“They also always tend to underestimate humans,” Uzziah added. “They don’t realize how familiar we are with their patrol patterns, and they’d never expect us to be capable of plotting anything they couldn’t easily thwart. They don’t see us as a threat, and because of that, they aren’t much of one to us outside of rescue operations. Your biggest danger is other humans.”

“However,” Andrew chimed in, “no matter what you choose, whether it’s to go back or to find new work here, we can always use your help; so if saving people is what you want to do, we can find a place for you here.”

“I’ll do it,” Charity said, “I’ll go back to working for my dad.”

“You’re not even going to think about it?” Leah’s voice quivered with anger. “Those things tried to kill you! What makes you think you’d even make it ten feet without them coming after you again!”

“If it means helping as many people as possible, what is there even to consider? If my mom was willing to risk her life to help people, why wouldn’t I? And you heard Uzziah. People are more of a threat than they’d be,” Charity retorted.

“Charity, this isn’t the only way you could do something useful! And there’s no way of knowing this risk is even worth it until it’s potentially too late! Don’t be so ridiculous. Please, for once, just think about the consequences!” Leah pleaded.

“Regardless of what she decides,” Andrew said, attempting to diffuse the situation, “We still have a few days before she can go anywhere. We can take that time to come up with the safest plan possible, and if Charity changes her mind between now and then, it will be of no consequence.”

Leah huffed, clearly still frustrated but choosing not to press the issue more. A tense silence filled the room, and Charity found it stifling. She knew Leah would want to speak to her about this more when they were in private, and Charity wished she could disappear into the soft cushions beneath her.

“Before we go,” Uzziah said, breaking the thick tension, “there’s one more thing we need to address.”

“What is it?”

“The night your mom died, she was attempting to recover a map from Abaddon’s tower. It’s a map that could change everything for us. Right now, we have no way of actually fighting the Elite. Normal weapons don’t even graze their skin, no matter how powerful it may be. Even grenades do nothing to them, so the most we can do is slow them down, usually through the help of himmelli or, in Andrew’s case, his now-totaled truck.” Uzziah stopped to stare at Andrew pointedly.

“But that map,” Andrew said, ignoring Uzziah and his heated cheeks, “could lead us to a vault of weapons that were used in the Great War – weapons the Creator himself made that are indestructible and unstoppable. Blades that don’t dull. Metal that won’t melt. The only material that could hurt an immortal being like the Elite. It could be our only hope of actually changing things here. Finding those weapons could maybe even give us a chance to take down Abaddon once and for all.”