Chapter 64 – The Boy Who Hated Watchmen
The village was quieter in the morning.
For the first time since Xcution arrived, there were no screams.
No weapons.
No fighting.
Just people rebuilding what they could.
Brook stood near the edge of the village, watching two men carry pieces of wood toward a damaged house.
Henry joined him.
"You've been quiet."
Brook looked at him.
"I've been quiet for years."
"Not like this."
Brook smiled slightly.
"You notice too much."
"Someone has to."
Brook looked down at the small wooden figure the little girl had given him.
He had kept it.
Henry noticed.
"Sentimental?"
"Don't start."
Henry laughed.
Brook put it inside his coat.
"I just don't want to lose it."
Henry nodded.
"Fair."
They stood together for a moment.
Then a scream came from the other side of the village.
Both turned.
Brook immediately drew his sword.
They ran.
A crowd had gathered outside one of the damaged houses.
In the center stood a boy.
He looked about sixteen.
His clothes were torn.
His face was covered in ash.
He held a broken piece of metal in his hand.
A Watchman symbol was carved into it.
The boy stared at Brook.
Then his expression hardened.
"You."
Brook stopped.
"Me?"
The boy pointed at his sword.
"You're a Watchman."
Brook shook his head.
"No."
"You're lying."
"I'm not."
The boy stepped forward.
"I know your kind."
Henry moved beside Brook.
"He's not a Watchman."
The boy looked at him.
"You're one too."
Henry frowned.
"No."
"You all wear weapons."
Sera arrived.
"That doesn't make us Watchmen."
The boy laughed bitterly.
"That's exactly what a Watchman would say."
Brook studied him.
There was something different about his anger.
It wasn't simple hatred.
It was personal.
Deep.
He looked at the metal in the boy's hand.
"Where did you get that?"
The boy's grip tightened.
"My father."
Brook looked at the symbol.
"What happened to him?"
The boy didn't answer.
Brook waited.
Eventually, the boy said:
"They killed him."
Silence.
"Watchmen?"
The boy nodded.
"Three years ago."
Brook lowered his sword.
"Why?"
"They said he was dangerous."
"Was he?"
The boy's eyes filled with anger.
"He was a farmer."
Brook didn't speak.
The boy continued.
"They came to our house at night."
His voice trembled.
"My father told me to hide."
Brook watched him carefully.
"I stayed under the floor."
The boy looked at the broken symbol.
"I heard them."
He swallowed.
"They accused him of hiding a Source user."
Henry's expression changed.
The boy continued.
"My father kept telling them there was nobody."
"What happened?"
"They killed him."
Nobody spoke.
The boy looked directly at Brook.
"And then they burned our house."
Brook's jaw tightened.
"Did they find a Source user?"
The boy laughed bitterly.
"No."
He looked at the metal symbol.
"They were wrong."
Brook stared at him.
"They killed him because they thought he knew something."
The boy nodded.
"That's what Watchmen do."
Brook looked at the ground.
He understood now.
The boy wasn't afraid of them.
He hated them.
Crowley arrived.
"What happened?"
Henry explained.
Crowley looked at the boy.
"What is your name?"
"Kael."
Crowley nodded.
"Kael."
Kael stared at him.
"Are you a Watchman?"
"No."
"Then what are you?"
"Xcution."
Kael frowned.
"What's that?"
Crowley looked at Brook.
Then back at the boy.
"A family."
Kael laughed.
"Families don't exist anymore."
Brook looked at him.
"That's not true."
Kael stared.
Brook pointed toward the village.
"Look."
Kael turned.
People were rebuilding together.
Sharing food.
Helping the injured.
Protecting children.
Brook continued:
"That's a family."
Kael shook his head.
"That's temporary."
"Maybe."
Brook stepped closer.
"But temporary doesn't mean meaningless."
Kael looked away.
Later, Brook found Kael sitting alone near the river.
Brook approached.
Kael immediately reached for the metal piece.
Brook raised his hands.
"I'm not here to fight."
Kael didn't answer.
Brook sat several feet away.
They stared at the water.
For a while, neither spoke.
Finally Kael asked:
"Why are you helping us?"
Brook shrugged.
"Because you needed help."
"That's it?"
"Yeah."
Kael looked at him.
"People don't do things for nothing."
Brook smiled.
"Maybe I'm weird."
Kael almost smiled.
Almost.
Then his expression hardened again.
"You're still dangerous."
Brook nodded.
"Probably."
Kael looked surprised.
"You admit it?"
"I carry three Sources."
Kael's eyes widened.
"What?"
Brook immediately realized his mistake.
Kael stared at him.
"Three?"
Brook said nothing.
Kael stood.
"That's impossible."
Brook looked at him.
"I know."
"How?"
"I don't know."
Kael took a step back.
"You're one of them."
"One of who?"
"The people they're afraid of."
Brook frowned.
"Who?"
Kael looked toward the mountains.
"The people who come looking for Source users."
Brook's expression changed.
"What do they do?"
Kael's voice became quiet.
"They take them."
"Where?"
"I don't know."
Brook stood.
"Who are they?"
Kael shook his head.
"I don't know."
Brook sighed.
"Everyone knows something and nobody knows enough."
Kael looked at him.
"You shouldn't have told me."
"Why?"
"Because now…"
Kael looked at Brook's chest.
"…they'll come for you too."
Brook stared at him.
"Who?"
Kael didn't answer.
That evening, Xcution gathered inside one of the repaired houses.
Crowley placed the map on the table.
"We're leaving tomorrow."
Henry looked up.
"Why?"
"Because the village isn't safe anymore."
Sera nodded.
"The Watchmen will return."
Elias looked at Brook.
"And after what happened today, they may be looking for him."
Brook leaned against the wall.
"I can handle it."
Crowley looked at him.
"That's not the point."
Brook frowned.
"Then what is?"
"We don't know who is watching."
Brook became quiet.
Crowley continued.
"Those men in the forest weren't ordinary Watchmen."
Henry asked:
"Then what were they?"
"Trained."
Sera folded her arms.
"By who?"
Crowley looked at her.
"That's what we need to find out."
Brook looked at the map.
"What about Kael?"
"We take him with us."
Brook looked up.
"Really?"
Crowley nodded.
"He has nowhere else to go."
Henry smiled.
"Welcome to Xcution."
Kael didn't want to leave.
At first.
He stood outside the village with his belongings packed into a small bag.
Brook approached.
"You ready?"
Kael shook his head.
"No."
Brook smiled.
"Good."
Kael looked at him.
"Good?"
"Nobody's ever ready."
Kael looked toward the village.
"My father is here."
Brook understood.
"He is."
"I don't want to leave him."
Brook stepped beside him.
"You don't have to leave him."
Kael looked at him.
Brook pointed toward the ground.
"You carry him with you."
Kael looked down.
The broken Watchman symbol was still in his hand.
"He wanted me to survive."
Brook nodded.
"Then survive."
Kael swallowed.
For the first time, his anger weakened.
Not disappeared.
Just weakened.
He put the symbol into his bag.
"Okay."
Brook smiled.
"Let's go."
They left the village at sunrise.
Kael walked near the back.
Henry occasionally spoke to him.
Sera gave him food.
Elias showed him how to read the map.
Crowley watched him from a distance.
Brook walked at the front.
After several hours, Kael approached.
"Brook."
Brook turned.
"Yeah?"
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Are you scared?"
Brook smiled.
"All the time."
Kael looked surprised.
"You don't look scared."
Brook looked toward the mountains.
"That's because being scared doesn't mean you have to stop."
Kael nodded slowly.
Then he asked:
"Does the power make you scared?"
Brook's smile disappeared.
"Yes."
"Why?"
Brook looked at his hand.
"Because every time I use it…"
He paused.
"…I feel like something changes."
Kael frowned.
"Like what?"
Brook thought about his mother's voice.
"Sometimes I forget things."
Kael looked at him.
"Important things?"
"Very."
Kael was silent.
Brook looked at him.
"But I'm still me."
Kael nodded.
"Good."
Brook smiled.
"You sound like Henry."
"Is that bad?"
"Very."
Kael laughed.
It was the first genuine laugh Brook had heard from him.
Brook smiled.
That night, they camped beneath a rocky overhang.
Kael slept near the fire.
Henry and Sera argued quietly over food.
Elias checked the horses.
Crowley sat alone.
Brook stood away from everyone.
He looked toward the mountains.
Then he heard it.
A voice.
Not Michael.
Not Lucifer.
A whisper.
You saved him.
Brook froze.
He looked around.
Nobody was there.
Why?
Brook clenched his fist.
"Because he needed help."
The voice laughed softly.
Good answer.
Brook's eyes narrowed.
"Who are you?"
Silence.
Then:
Ask Michael.
Brook's heart tightened.
He closed his eyes.
The Archangel Source responded.
For a moment, Michael appeared in the white space.
He stood silently.
Brook looked at him.
"Did you hear that?"
Michael didn't answer.
"Michael."
The Archangel finally spoke.
Yes.
Brook's expression changed.
"You heard him?"
Yes.
"Who was it?"
Michael looked toward the darkness beyond the white world.
Someone who should not be awake.
Brook stared.
"Lucifer?"
Michael shook his head.
No.
Brook's heart dropped.
"Then who?"
Michael looked at him.
That is not your question yet.
Brook sighed.
"Of course."
Michael disappeared.
Brook opened his eyes.
The fire was still burning.
Kael was sleeping.
Henry was laughing.
Sera was complaining.
Elias was quietly humming.
Crowley was watching him.
Brook looked at them.
His family.
Then he looked at the darkness.
Something was coming.
He could feel it.
But for now…
he chose not to run.
End of Chapter 64