Chapter 500 (2/2)

Ezekiel wanted more.

And he would fight to take it.

As Ezekiel followed Hank towards the source of the sound, he winced, feeling that strange otherness of the Class inside of him, still complaining of hunger. Truly, Ezekiel feared Hank in a straight up fight, and he didn’t think that Ghost would accept if Ezekiel arranged for an accident to befall the man; he was too useful a tool to let go.

No, for now, Ezekiel would need to find other ways to-

He froze, his jaw dropping. A young man stood there, kicking the ground and swearing to himself. He was tall and athletic, lean and powerful. His black hair was cropped short, only a few curls making it down to his forehead and around his ears. But most noticeable were his eyes, piercing and emerald, and seemingly luminous, even in the afternoon light.

They were his mother’s eyes. This was his son.

“Rand?” Ezekiel’s mouth moved without him even thinking about the action, or what might come next. All normal intelligence was smashed to the side by raw shock coursing through Ezekiel’s veins. He was alive. He was alive!

“Dad?”

They both moved, appearing before each other like apparitions, stopping about 1 meter apart, both searching the other’s face and body for hints of how they survived. To have reached this point, both had gone through almost unimaginable situations. Ezekiel had even felt he had lucked out in a lot of ways; a friend hadn’t told him explicitly that the System would occur, but was hosting a party and inviting over a lot of contemporary business leader. Ezekiel was lucky enough to be chosen.

For the first several hours, the man’s personal guard protected them, and they were informed about the System, what little was known. Afterall, the forewarning had been exceedingly vague, but it was enough to prepare some things. Unfortunately, they underestimated the power of the monsters that appeared, and after the first few hours, Ezekiel had to fend for himself. It was a hard thing.

To Ezekiel’s surprise, his son seemed none the worse for wear, even though his fitness made it clear that he was a fighter now, and a strong one if he was a member of this party from Zone 32. If anything, the kid was thriving.

When Ezekiel realized that the silence was stretching, he forced himself to raise his hand, half meaning to wave, half meaning to shake his son’s hand. Neither gesture was sufficient to convey the raw relief coursing through his body, but what else could he do? “You… you look good.”

Instead of reaching out to take his hand, Rand did something that completely floored Ezekiel, literally. Rand opened his arms and tackled him, hugging him to the ground. There was no malice in the movement, so Ezekiel just let it happen. But as soon as they touched, Ezekiel wondered if he COULD have resisted. The boy’s grip….

….it was sorta hard to breathe….

There were only two, one for each eye, but there were tears on Randidly’s face. “I can’t believe… I never thought I’d see you again.”

Ezekiel’s shock softened into warmth. Although they weren’t particularly close, they were blood. He should have known that would be enough to keep their bond healthy. Reaching out a hand, Ezekiel planned to pat his son’s head, even though he was probably 22 or 23 by now, but he didn’t see his hand, but the monster’s hand.

He saw the hand of a man who framed or blackmailed coworkers to rise to the top. He saw the hand of a man who had taken one life a week for a year. His fingers were gnarled and blackened, his nails were sharp and bloody. His hand twitched and stop, midair. Deep in his chest, Ezekiel felt a deep stab of fear.

Ever since the divorce, Ezekiel had pushed his son towards excellence, hiding his feelings of pride for his son’s accomplishments, for fear of making the boy complacent, like he had been. Could he truly let that all fall away and just… connect with his son. They had been so distant, for so long…

You are a coward, Hank’s voice repeated, and something in Ezekiel snapped.

He didn’t want that stuck up cowboy to be right, not about this, not about his son.

Hesitantly, Ezekiel put his hand on Randidly’s head. “I’m sorry.”

Randidly looked up, blinking, then grinned. “Well, it’s not like I was a great son. Things were hard after you left. But compared to all we are fighting against now… that stuff feels a little small, doesn’t it?”

“Yea,” Ezekiel said, feeling strangely overwhelmed and touched by the sudden intimacy between them now. It would likely pass, but this moment was a warm moment, and Ezekiel wanted to stay here for as long as possible.

For the moment, even his hungry was quelled, as though simply being in Rand’s presence was enough to sate him. It was… a relief.