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Buck
“So, you sorted things out with Brett then?” Mason asked as we left the chamber behind. I didn’t like leaving Kadie alone, but figured she would be alright.
“I think so. I don’t know if he’s ever going to be like he once was with me. I guess I burned that bridge when I stole the girl he loved.”
Mason shrugged. “She didn’t love him in the same way. I think he knows that, deep down. Maybe if you had stayed you might have been able to figure it out.”
“That didn’t seem like an option at the time,” I said, scuffing my feet against the ground. “Brett said that Dad missed me. Is that true?”
Mason nodded. “Of course, it is. He always had a place for you waiting here. He never forgave himself for driving you away.”
“I chose to leave.”
“I know, but Zeke took the burden on himself. He was your father. He said it was his fault.”
“I’m surprised he never came to find me.”
“It’s a big world out there. I guess he was never sure where to start looking, and that’s not to mention that he had us to look after. Tammy’s death hit everyone hard. It served as a reminder that we shouldn’t get close to the human world.”
I nodded mutely.
“Not that everyone listens to that. People change, and over time they start to get the urges again. In fact, I’m not sure that we’re going to be able to keep the thunder together. People keep looking outwards, always thinking that there are betteroptions. And with Zeke dead, well, it seems like the time for new beginnings to take place.”
I shot a sharp look at him. “It’s not going to happen though, right? They wouldn’t just disrespect Dad’s memory like that?”
Mason shrugged. “They have to do what they feel is right for them. Jade has already left.”
He added that last part in a somber tone and I sensed there was something deeper between them. “You were close?”
Mason nodded. “I wanted to be closer, but she had other ideas. I’m worried that she’s just the beginning. Without a leader here…”
“They have you and Brett,” I said.
Mason shot me a look. “You know it’s not the same. Zeke had a way about him, a way of inspiring loyalty and knowing what move to make next. He just… he was a leader. It’s not something that everyone possesses.” The words hung in the air. I had a sense of what was going to come next. “I’m going to say something that I just want you to think about-”
“No,” I said before he could utter another word.
“Buck, just think about it.”
“I have thought about it before, and I decided that it wasn’t for me.”
“You can’t know that though. Besides, you’re different now. You’re a man, not a boy.”
“I’m not my father,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Nobody is saying you are, but you are his son and that means you’ve inherited certain qualities. And look at this situation, you’ve come back just when we’re crying out for a leader. It’s always been your place to take. You were always supposed to take over when Zeke died anyway.”
I folded my arms across my chest and looked away. “I only came back because I met Kadie. If I hadn’t run into her then I would still be out there.”
“But you’re not out there, are you? You’re right here and we need a leader.”
“I’m not the man you’re looking for,” I snapped.
“Maybe you are, and you just don’t know it yet.”
I turned around and glared at him. My eyes flashed white in the darkness. “I’ve known it all my life. I’ve known it from the very first time he tried to tell me that I was going to lead the thunder one day. I don’t want it Mason, and that’s the end of the story. As soon as we figure this thing out and stop Ilvar from tearing the planet apart I’m going to go right back to living my life and that’s that,” the words burned my throat as they left my mouth. Mason looked hurt.
“It was just a suggestion,” he said. He always had a way of making me regret speaking to him harshly. Brett interrupted us though. He sensed the tension in the air.
