I'd lost count of how many years it had been since I last heard that voice. So long I almost didn't recognize its timber. It had changed and not for the better. Speech lodged itself within my windpipe, any movement crippled by the sound. God damn it, Logan, move! A fresh wave of pins and needles washed over my eyes in frustration. All I craved was to turn around and see her, to say or do anything.

Soft steps traveled across the chamber towards me until a hesitant hand brushed against my shoulder. One Touch. That's all it took to break the dam I had spent many years constructing brick by brick for my own protection. A single, gentle, caress, was all I needed to break the ensnarement I found myself in and throw myself into my mother's embrace.

"You were never meant to end up here sweetheart." Her hand found its way to my hair as she petted it with care. "He promised me you wouldn't." The words were meant to soothe but they did little in comparison to being in her presence. Contempt was the only thing that bubbled up to the surface at her statement.

I knew who she meant by he and despite him seeming hell-bent on my safe retrieval I still wasn't convinced he could ever protect anyone. Fuck him. I chose to keep my mouth shut though, he had no place in this reunion. Not when he had been so opposed to it. She was finally here, in front of me, holding me in her arms. At long last, I had reached my mother.

I found my mother.

I jerked away from her, my eyes darting around the room as my brain kicked into high gear. I was squandering precious time. This space was smaller compared to the last one, less light, and less polished. This was a true prison cell. I reluctantly turned away from my mother. Instinctively I began to glide my palms over the rough surface of the wall adjacent to the door. Isaac was somewhere outside, I knew he was. In here you couldn't hear the alarm but that didn't change the facts. I had to help in any way possible. Over my cold dead corpse would things end like this. Not now.

"There has to be a way..." I mumbled to myself as I examined the interior of the cell. There has to be. I didn't care what it was. At this point, it could be a pinprick of a hole. I'd make it work.

"It's not a normal ship. There are no circuits or power supplies here."

The pace at which my hands roamed the walls slowed. "How is that possible?" All ships had those, there was no way around it. Technology powered them. For a ship to lack the essentials was just ludicrous. If technology didn't operate it something else had to.

"It's alive."

I knew it. I could feel it as soon as I aboard the ship, like my body automatically reacted, sensed. Almost like when someone unseen watched on. Yet these chills didn't hold the predatory grime that others did.

Home.

The word echoed in my head for no apparent reason. A ghostly manifestation of conversations past. Ever since they took control of the Lawless the same phrase had been uttered in one form or another. You'll be home. Why now, of all times, did my subconscious fixate on such a trivial detail to the point I felt obligated to ask the only person who might have an answer.

"Why do they keep insisting I'm home?"

There was a pregnant pause before my mother spoke. "It's complicated," She said, her voice just above a whisper. It sounded pained, almost ashamed. Curiosity gnawed at me but now wasn't the time. The longer we stood here talking the chances of us making it out alive dwindled.

"As much as I'd love to demand answers we don't have time. Isaac is about to storm this place and if I don't do anything his ass is grass."

My mother's eyes went wide before they softened into a loving gleam. "So he is here."

I snorted and went back to groping the wall. "Yeah, trust me, I'm just as shocked as you are."

"He'd do anything for you," She murmured, the tone of her voice taking on a melancholy air.

My movement paused as my heart sunk into my stomach. Should I tell her? The truth was painful but just because it was painful didn't mean she didn't have the right to know. If my own flesh and blood didn't think I was worth saving I'd want to know. Even if it did hurt to hear it.

"He wouldn't come for you. I even begged him at one point but he always found something more important that needed his attention." My voice broke at the admission. His past actions would always sting.

"We agreed several years ago if it came to this, your safety had priority over my own."

Chills passed over my body at her words. Why do I feel warm inside? It was just another notch in his belt of lies and broken promises. My opinion of Isaac had been set a long time ago. Nothing she said could change it.

"Then why wouldn't he just tell me that then? Why pretend you weren't important? Why lie about any of it?" I asked twisting to face her again. Even casual conversation about my uncle left me in a tissy. Without being here he had already ruined what should have been a heartfelt reunion. It only made me wish I'd never met him more.

A sad smile graced her chapped lips as her caramel orbs became a swirl of emotion. "Oh sweetheart," She breathed, her eyes filling with unshed tears. "I wasn't sure he'd go through with it. His heart must have broke, keeping that promise."

I titter, unable to help myself. "Mom, I doubt Isaac has the capacity for that kind of emotional depth. I don't care what kind of promise he kept. He certainly isn't losing sleep over it."

"You have no memory of him. It breaks my own heart so I can't imagine what it's done to his."

I sign in frustration. The last thing I wanted was to hash out why I wasn't fond of uncle Isaac. There were no memories of him before being taken by the Yaemeran. I actually didn't recall much before my mother was taken. Even the events of that night were a blur. Things came in unorganized flashes more often than not. Asking me to recall anything was pointless, especially when it came to the uncle I forgot I had.

"I wouldn't know who he is if he hadn't told me he's your brother."

Her lips twitched up for a nanosecond as her eyes danced in the dim light. "Spoken like a true parent. A father would say anything if it meant keeping his daughter safe."

words- 1166
total- 17403
written- 04/28/2020
last edited- 04/28/2020