Free Web NovelChapter 172: Ren’s Secret (1)
After his journey from the Polluted Zone, Ren ran into Luther inside the Tower. The moment Luther saw Ren, he was super excited and quickly walked up to him.
"You’ve done another amazing job in the Polluted Zone. Seriously, you make me so proud!"
"I’ve told everyone about what you’ve done. In just a few days, the big boss of the military is going to give you a special medal! And guess what? You’ll be moving up ranks too."
With a big smile, Luther put his arm around Ren, giving him a friendly pat. "Haha, moving up and getting a raise! Bet you’re feeling great. But hey, you’ve got to treat us all today."
Ren responded in the same cool and collected manner as always. He sounded as peaceful as a calm lake. "Thanks for the kind words, Commander. Tonight, I’ll buy drinks for you, Brandon, and everyone else."
But when Ren mentioned the name ’Brandon’, Luther’s hand, which was patting Ren, just stopped. Luther looked kind of shocked for a second.
Ren looked over with his deep eyes, reminding Luther of dark pebbles in a chilly pond. The usually loud and confident Luther seemed lost. He looked scared and puzzled and tried to speak a few times but struggled.
He knew they were in the Tower, a place watched by the "Holy Light."
After a little while, Luther finally spoke, "Um, about Brandon... He had something come up. He’s not here right now."
Ren just nodded, looking like the news didn’t bother him.
In Imperial Nexus, far from the Tower, there was a cool, hidden-away tavern. Later that night, a bunch of officers from the Royal Guard got together to cheer for Ren’s new promotion.
Ren was usually a quiet guy and didn’t really like noisy places. But today, since it was all about celebrating what he’d done, lots of people thought it’d be a good time to get to know him better. At the party, everyone lifted their drinks to cheer him on, and Ren was nice, accepting all the toasts.
After they’d all had a few drinks, everyone was chatting and laughing. The alphas, were now feeling super relaxed and comfortable.
"Ren, I’ve never had a drink with you before! You’re really cool, someone I know I can count on."
"Captain Sloan is usually quiet, but now we get to see the real him. We’re totally like brothers now." freewebnσvel.cѳm
"If Captain Sloan is paying tonight, I’m gonna eat and drink loads! Hey, barkeeper, can we get twelve more beers?"
"It’s too bad Brandon couldn’t be here to celebrate with Captain Sloan."
When Brandon’s name came up, Ren added in a chill way, "Yeah, Brandon’s always looking out for everyone. I really wanted to share a drink with him. It’s such a bummer."
Then, everyone started talking about Brandon.
Even though Brandon was just a deputy officer, he was super down-to-earth and always thinking of others. He never bragged or wanted attention but was always looking out for his team, especially the newer members. That was why everyone in the royal guard, from the top dogs to the newbies, really liked him.
"When I first got to camp, I was this clueless newbie. I messed up big time once, but Brandon stepped up and took the blame for me. If not for him, I wouldn’t be hanging out with you guys right now."
"Remember last winter when the money for our outpost didn’t show up? My team was short on warm gear and we were about to go North. Brandon actually faced that money-loving Minister of Finance and got us the cash. I owe him big time."
"Man, Brandon’s such a stand-up guy."
"It’s too bad he’s not here with us today."
"Next round, we better make sure he’s here to share a drink."
Everyone was talking about Brandon.
Luther, usually pretty good at handling his drinks, got really wasted that night. His heart felt heavy, and he ended up drinking way more than he should have.
His eyes all teary, he slumped over the table, rambling about the past. He talked about growing up with Brandon and the tough times they had.
Luther had a little sister, and Brandon had a twin brother. When the Polluted Zone crisis hit, Luther’s sister sadly didn’t make it because she didn’t have enough to eat.
Brandon’s twin, found out to be a beta, got dragged off to Imperial Nexus.
"You know what those jerks in Imperial Nexus did? They forced him into a heat cycle so that he had to find an alpha."
Luther, now super drunk, forgot he’s now part of the same group as those Imperial Nexus jerks.
"Brandon was hiding at my house back then. We could only watch from a tiny gap in the door when they took his brother away in a vehicle."
"After that... I heard his brother did something really bad and met a super scary end... haha..."
"He didn’t do anything wrong. He just wanted to make things right for himself."
Now, Luther was in the pub’s restroom, hugging the toilet and puking a lot.
Outside, the drunk alphas kept laughing and talking loud.
The restroom was dark and super quiet. The party noises sounded far away, like they were from some old memory.
Luther was in one of the stalls, leaning on the wall, feeling super cold. He had this feeling like he lost something super important but just couldn’t remember.
His head was all blurry from drinking - he’d been feeling confused like this for years. It felt like someone sneaky had messed with his brain, making sure he couldn’t think or feel right.
Suddenly, Luther heard footsteps. They stopped right in front of his stall.
Right outside the little gap of the bathroom stall, there stood a pair of shiny black military boots. Lots of the alphas partying tonight had boots like these on. These boots just stood still. They didn’t move, knock, or try to check if Luther was okay.
Through his half-closed eyes, all Luther could see was this big dark shadow on the ground, which looked even longer because of the faint light in the bathroom.
Suddenly, a super creepy voice cut through the silence, "Hey, remember how you got that scar?"
That voice was really deep and kinda scary, like something from the darkest part of a bad dream. It gave Luther the chills, and he just couldn’t find the words to respond. Only Brandon had ever talked about that scar, and it was a secret between them.
But Brandon being here was impossible. Brandon had messed up, turned into a criminal, and Luther had seen him get captured by the Queen himself.
"Who’s there?" Luther tried to stand, but his body was all wobbly. His legs slid around on the floor like they had no strength. He was so out of it because of the drinks. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
There was this weird smell in the bathroom, making his arms and legs feel even weaker, and his head super spinny.
"You’ve forgotten, haven’t you? Forgotten how everyone didn’t make it and how you ended up with that scar!" The voice sounded again, super cold, like a ghost was talking to him and making him feel guilty.
"I... I didn’t forget," Luther’s voice shook, and tears started running down from his eyes which had the scar, "I promise, I remember."
"Where’s Brandon?" The voice whispered from the other side of the stall.
Luther tried to say something but couldn’t. He cleaned his face from the mess and tears, then took a pen from his shirt and a small piece of paper from his pocket. Lying on the floor, his hand shaking, he drew a simple map on the paper and wrote a few words.
While writing, he messed up because of the tears and sweat dripping on the paper. He carefully cleaned it, and then, with more sweat on his forehead, pushed the paper under the stall door.
Doing that seemed like the hardest thing ever, and he felt super tired after, so he just lay down in the stall.
That weird smell kept making him feel dizzier, and then Luther totally blacked out. The next day, when he woke up, everything felt foggy, and he hardly remembered what had happened last night.
Outside the stall, a hand wearing a black glove grabbed the piece of paper Luther had drawn on, and put it in its pocket.
Everyone was having a great time drinking and really enjoying themselves. It wasn’t just Luther who had a bit too much and was found lying in the bathroom. Ren too had more than he could handle, and his friends had to help carry him back home.
