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One Character (5)
🕑 Added 2025-05-01 17:00:26 +0000 UTCChapter 5 - The Weight of the Past
Present Day…
Wes was slumped to the ground with his biological sniper rifle clattering against the pavement. The flashback hit him like a physical blow, the weight of past arrogance and the sting of subsequent humiliation crashed down with renewed force. He felt a knot of shame and anger tightening in his gut that was threatening to explode.
Seeing Wes’s sudden collapse, Dodo looked back, concerned. “Hey, Wes, you alright? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. You know Pretty Boy over there?” He gestured towards Duvalo, who stood watching Wes with amusement and disdain.
Duvalo laughed. “Know him? He was practically a legend back at the Academy. The entire class, me included, looked up to Wes Callahan. Until… well, let’s just say there was a rather explosive revelation.” He left the details deliberately vague.
Rackell and Maya exchanged curious glances. “Explosive revelation?”
Rackell prompted. “What kind of revelation?”
Before Duvalo could elaborate, Elizabeth Pellesh spoke. “Wes Callahan.”
The name sounding almost foreign on her lips. “I remember him. A prodigy. Top of his class. Until…” She paused and her expression became unreadable. “Until it all came crashing down.”
The weight of the unspoken words hung heavy. Rackell, Maya, Nala, and Dodo looked from Elizabeth to the still-slumping Wes.
Elizabeth’s memory stirred. She recalled the whispers, the sudden shift in social dynamics, the once-celebrated Callahan heir becoming a pariah almost overnight. Disowned by his family, shunned by his friends. A fall from grace so swift and complete, it became a cautionary tale whispered among the Academy’s elite.
Despite his current disheveled state, Elizabeth recognized the Callahan name still carried weight. Publicly humiliating him, even if he deserved it, could have unintended consequences for her own family's standing. She stepped forward and touched Duvalo’s arm lightly. Her gaze held a silent command.
Duvalo who was about to unleash another taunt, met her eyes and reluctantly let the bear claw Character recede back into his arm.
“Let’s go,” Elizabeth said to her team and they began to move.
“Wait, what about my truck.” The driver called her back.
“Jorn, I’ll cover the repairs.”
As she walked past Wes’s crew, she tossed a credit chip towards Dodo. It landed with a soft clink in his outstretched hand. The unspoken message was clear: she’d cover Wes’s damages as well.
Dodo stared at the chip in disbelief. “Whoa… She’s covering our repairs too?”
Maya and Nala looked equally stunned by the unexpected generosity. Only Wes reacted differently. He angrily rushed to his feet. He snatched the chip from Dodo’s hand and threw it at Elizabeth’s back.
“Don’t you dare look down on me, you arrogant bitch! I don’t need your charity! I don’t need your damn credits!”
Elizabeth didn’t even flinch. She continued walking with her back ramrod straight. She didn’t break stride, didn’t acknowledge his outburst.
Only Duvalo glanced back cruelly. “Next time, Callahan, you won’t be so lucky.”
Humiliation burned through Wes like acid. He wanted to lash out, to scream, to fight. He balled his fists as he trembling with rage.
“That stuck-up–!”
He lunged forward but Dodo and Rackell grabbed him and held him back.
“Wes, calm down!” Rackell yelled, struggling to restrain him.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Maya shouted, incredulous. “She just covered our expenses! You should be thanking her!” She picked up the discarded credit chip and stared at the amount displayed. Her jaw dropped. “Holy… This is enough to buy a new delivery truck!”
Nala, ever observant, looked at Wes with concern. “Wes,” she asked gently, “do you… know them? Her and that man?”
Wes just grunted in pure frustration.
Rackell sighed as she tightened her grip on his arm. “He needs to cool off. Dodo, push the truck out of the way. We’ll take a taxi back to the lodge.”
She pulled Wes away from the scene. She held him so close that his head was pressed against her ample bosom. His muffled curses were vibrating against her chest.
…
The rented lodge room was functional, if a little impersonal. Cheap synth-wood furniture marked the common area, and the air held a faint staleness. Maya pushed the door open first and stretched dramatically until her joints popped audibly.
“Gods, finally. I desperately need a bath to wash off that Unus stench and road grime.”
Dodo entered next, sniffing the air appreciatively. “Good idea, Maya! Maybe I’ll join– OW!” He yelped as Maya planted a firm kick on his shin.
“Ladies first, creep! Don’t even think about it.” She glared at him before disappearing towards the small bathroom.
Nala slipped in quietly, setting her pack down gently beside the door. Rackell followed; she tossed her own gear pouch onto a low table with a heavy thud.
Lastly, Wes entered. The explosive anger had subsided on the surface, replaced by a sullen, brooding quiet, but his eyes still held a dangerous spark. He dropped his gear pouch onto the kitchen counter without ceremony, then walked directly to the small refrigeration unit.
His hand hovered briefly over nutrient-rich juices formulated for Harmonic recovery, then bypassed them entirely. His fingers closed around the neck of a half-empty bottle of cheap, potent liquor tucked away at the back.
Nala watched him from the doorway. “Wes, maybe you should drink a Recovery Fluid? That confrontation…”
He ignored her completely. He uncapped the bottle and walked towards the sliding glass door that led onto a small balcony. He pulled out one of the weathered plastic chairs, slumped into it, and took a long pull directly from the bottle.
The sprawling lights of Aethelgard City glittered below; they were high up in the blocky residential tower. He lit a cigarette. He remained there, still clad in his dirty mission gear, drinking and smoking in silence.
…
A while later, the sounds of showering ceased. Rackell emerged, toweling her damp hair. Her usual pragmatic energy restored. She spotted Wes still hunched on the balcony and the liquor bottle noticeably lower. She scowled and marched over to him.
“Callahan, are you serious? Still haven’t showered? You stink like Unus guts and cheap booze.”
She prodded his shoulder roughly. “Look at you. Twenty-two years old, acting like a washed-up bum twice your age. You keep this up, smoking that trash, drowning yourself in rotgut… you’ll damage your Resonance pathways permanently. Is that what you want? To be even more useless?”
Wes took another defiant drag from his cigarette, then washed it down with liquor. He didn’t look at her. “My Resonance, my problem.”
Dodo, now clean and changed into casual clothes, came over with Maya and Nala close behind.
“Still sulking, Wes?” Dodo asked, though his tone was less mocking than usual. “Come on, man. Everyone’s got childhood drama. Don’t let those fancy guild types live rent-free in your head.”
Maya crossed her arms. “Seriously, Wes. How do you even know Elizabeth Pellesh? She seemed… surprisingly decent, covering our damages like that.”
“Decent?” Wes spat the word like poison. He finally looked up, his eyes filled with a bitter, venomous light. “You have no idea…”
Nala stepped closer and spoke softly. “What happened, Wes? Back then?”
The simple question, asked without judgment, seemed to bypass his defenses. His gaze drifted past them, past the city lights, towards a past he couldn't escape. The raw anger momentarily faded and he remembered pain and betrayal. His focus shifted inwards once again…
