Godfire: The Split Soul-Chapter 180: The Titan Killer

"The one what?" Kai asked, stopping just at the side of the soldier with a scar.

The soldier smiled, then shook his head. "The one they’re already calling the Titan Killer."

The room gained its life as a ripple of whispers moved through from behind Kai.

Brann set his rifle down, then turned. "Knock it off, Vance."

Vance didn’t even look at him. He kept his gaze locked on Kai. "I’m just saying what everyone’s thinking."

He gave a subtle, eerie laugh, brushing his palms across his face. "Team Alpha gets sent out, nearly wiped. The Titanaboa turns up dead. And the only one who walks back without a scratch is the kid who wasn’t even supposed to be there in the first place."

Kai threw a sharp stare at Vance, his hands shaking.

"You think I wanted them to die?" Kai spoke in an angry tone.

Vance’s smile faltered for a second. "I think," he lowered his voice, "...that wherever you go, things seem to end up badly for the people around you."

Rockson stepped forward, a tight expression filling his face. "That’s enough."

Vance raised his hands, still smiling. He threw a sharp stare at Rockson, which made the boy’s movements slacken.

He pushed himself off the wall and walked toward the sleeping quarters, pausing beside Kai for just a moment. "Sleep well, Titan Killer."

Kai stood there, his hands still shaking. Thoughts of using the sword lanced through his mind. His chest kept on rising and falling in a rhythm he couldn’t control.

Rockson closed in with Kai. "Don’t listen to him. That’s how he is."

Kai remained quiet as Vance’s words replayed in his mind. ’Wherever you go, things seem to end up badly for the people around you.’

He walked to the bunk that had been assigned to him earlier. He sat on the blanket that was still folded at the foot of the bed. The bedframe creaked under his weight.

Rockson sat on the bunk across from Kai, watching. "You don’t have to tell me what happened. But Kai..."

He paused, lowered his head, and thought of his words, then lifted his gaze back to Kai. "The rumors about the Titanaboa are already spreading."

Kai pulled the necklace over his head, stared at it for a second, then placed it on the portion of the blanket he hadn’t occupied.

"What are they saying?"

Rockson cleared his throat. "That you killed it... and killed the soldiers that were with you also."

Kai closed his eyes as the thoughts of the dead soldiers rammed into his mind. First, he thought of MJ, James, and the others whose faces weren’t that familiar to him.

"I didn’t kill them," Kai exclaimed quietly. He opened his eyes and locked his gaze on Rockson. "I wasn’t fast enough to save anyone."

Rockson’s expression softened. But before he could speak, the door to the room swung open.

Three soldiers walked in, wearing dry uniforms. The first to step forward was a tall man with a thick beard. He stopped by Kai’s side, then squinted. "That’s him?" he asked, pointing to the boy.

The soldiers behind him nodded, smiling. "That’s him. The one from Team Alpha."

The bearded man drifted his gaze over Kai’s bloodied hoodie, which he was now removing. The sword, which he had placed on the bed. And the necklace on the blanket.

"He doesn’t look that old to do such a thing," he said, then turned toward his colleagues, doubting their words.

Kai watched the men walk out of the room, then lowered his head. Just as he raised his head, he picked up the necklace and slipped it back over his head, then stood up.

Lena’s face appeared in his mind as he moved toward the closed window. Her smile. The way she had looked at him when she gave him the sword: Go and help save the world.

Kai’s hands curled into fists around the glass window.

Outside the dormitory, the rain kept on falling. And somewhere in the compound, boots scraped across the floor after a door swung open.

In the dark section of the room that had been left open, a radio crackled with reports Merlin couldn’t capture.

...

Kai lay on the bunk, staring at the ceiling. The necklace remained pressed against his chest. The bloodied hoodie lay on the floor.

As the morning sun’s rays shone into the room, boots thudded against the outside corridor.

"All volunteers. All surviving personnel. Assemble in the main hall at zero seven hundred hours."

Rockson jerked up from his dreams and sat up. He rubbed his face with both palms, then turned his blurry vision to Kai. "What time is it now?"

Kai remained still, eyes closed, breath calm.

Around them, the room stirred to life as blankets rustled. Cots creaked.

From the corner, Vance emerged from the sleeping quarters, his face slack with exhaustion. He didn’t offer anyone a glance, nor did he say a word.

He simply walked past everyone and joined the others heading toward the door.

Kai’s boots felt strange when he sat up. He brushed his palms across his eyes, then began to follow the crowd.

Rockson watched Kai join and exit, then ran toward him as soon as he also exited. He pointed at the sword at Kai’s back, then prompted him to stop. "I’m not sure they will let you take this along. So, you should leave it behind."

Kai glanced at Rockson, then at the faces of those walking past them. "They didn’t take it last night."

"But today is a different day. You don’t know what they might do," Rockson insisted.

But Kai adjusted the strap across his chest, then walked toward the main exit of the dormitory, the sword resting at his back.

A wide concrete building stood before them like a long-lost warehouse as most volunteers stopped at the designated point, the Main Hall.

As soon as Kai entered, more than a hundred heads turned toward him, all staring at him with different thoughts flowing in their heads.

"The Titan Killer."