38. The Journals

3.15.20

Kody's POV

I opened my eyes slowly, and somehow Nick had a bullet hole through his chest. I looked around, but I couldn't see anyone else and Nick was collapsing onto the ground.

Suddenly, I looked down into James's beautiful eyes. He had taken the bullet for me.

"J-Jam?" I murmured sadly while falling onto my knees. He looked up at me sadly, and my arms curled around his back and legs. "Y-you'll be o-okay!" I begged while the tears flowed freely down my face.

"I love you Kodes," he whispered. His hand quivered while it moved up to my face, and James slowly wiped the tears from my eyes. He smiled softly before his body shuttered a final breath. His hand fell from my face, but I grabbed onto it and held it there. I frantically felt his neck for a pulse, yet there was none.

"I love you too, Jam. So much," I cried before setting him on the green grass stained red. I stood up on shakey legs, and a few people came running from the castle. I stumbled a few steps before putting on my mask. It's my fault that he died, so I need to take my own consequences whether or not I want to.

I stood up tall while my heart was slowly shattering inside my chest. I walked into the castle and up the stairs as if it was just an average day with James still beside me. The only way to kill a guardian is to take all of their energy, so what is this? Why does that bastard get to live while James doesn't?

I slammed my fist into the wall hard enough to leave a pretty sizeable hole in the plaster, but I didn't feel bad about it. I couldn't- can't- deal with this anymore. I threw some clothes into a small duffel bag before realizing that Koda was probably in that tiny room in the closet.

"Koda, it's safe to come out now," I called weakly, and the little boy leapt out of the hole in the wall.

"Where's Daddy?" the cute little boy asked. Strange how this would be the last time I saw him; the last time I saw anything from my old life if I could help it.

"Daddy's downstairs, sweety," I lied, and my heart twisted when the boy ran away from me. I undid the screen and sprinted away from the castle with tears cascading down my face. It hurts too much to breath or think, and I relied on the calming of the wilderness to take away my pain. Goodbye forever, world I used to know.

Koda's POV

I ran down the stairs to go find Daddy, but all I found was unfamiliar people. They looked at me like I was an alien, but I needed to find Daddy as soon as possible because I'm scared.

"Have you seen my daddy?" I asked an unfamiliar man.

He crouched down to my level before gently murmuring, "Sweetheart, your daddy fell into a very deep sleep, and he won't wake up."

"But my other Daddy told me he was down here!"

"Dear, your daddy is down here, but he can't talk to you or anyone."

"Why? Is he playing hide and seek?"

The man took a hold of my hands just like daddy used to before cooing, "Dear, you won't ever be able to see your daddy again."

Suddenly, someone came into the room carrying something with daddy on top of it. "Daddy?" I questioned. They set him on the floor, and I ran up to him. "Daddy!" I sobbed uncontrollably. He wasn't listening to me! "Why won't he talk back?"

"Dear, your daddy didn't make it. He's dead, Koda," a gentle voice spoke from behind me, and I turned to see Daddy's best friend. I know what the word dead means; daddy used it for my fish that disappeared. How could that happen to invincible daddy?

I cried loudly into the woman's shoulder, and she held me tightly against her body.

"It's okay, Koda. I'll raise you," she cooed.

"I want my daddy!" I screamed.

"I know... I know."

Sometime 13 years later

"And that's the story of how you aren't ours," my mother- or well, Natalie- concluded.

"So I'm adopted, my parents are dead, and you aren't actually my mother," I confirmed. This is how they celebrate my 18th birthday!?

"Actually, no one knows about Kody. We suspect that he's still alive, but we don't have factual evidence to prove or disprove our theory."

"So what happened to that guardian guy, and how do you know what happened before you met my father," I asked.

"Your father kept a very detailed journal up until the day of his death. Then, the last thing that Kody gave to the world was a published version of his life including the last part there."

"So if I was from their time, I would have a pairing?"

"Yes, dear. They say the moon still watches over us, but your generation doesn't even remember how it used to be. As for the sun guardian, he was also killed without any children, so all of the power was lost in an abyss."

"Wouldn't that give them to me since I'm the heir?"

"Possibly, but it wouldn't transfer until you turn 18 on the dot. No one knows the future."

"According to the journals I was born at 6:43pm."

"It's 6:40, just wait. We'll have to see what happens."

"Wait, how do people fall in love without the lunar pull?"

"Well, once people realized that they weren't feeling the pair, they were rightfully freaked out, but over time people forgot that it ever happened. Nowadays people like to choose who they fall in love with."

"How do you know of someone's the right person."

"You don't, Koda."

Suddenly, I felt something stirring underneath my skin. "What's this feeling?" I asked like Natalie knew what I was talking about.

"What is it?"

"It's like a tingling in my fingers."

"I have no idea. Kody always described his first time feeling the power as a blanket that pulls you under. Maybe it's just different because it's both solar and lunar? This is unfamiliar territory."

"Won't people freak out of they start falling in love with random people?"

"Yes."

The feeling spread all over my body, and with it it brought a horrible pain. "Natalie I'm scared!" I cried out.

"Don't be! Let the feeling drag you under."

I felt like I was being crushed, but when the feeling faded, I felt stronger than ever. "Mom, I feel..." I trailed off.

"Stronger?"

"Yes."

I moved my fingers slowly. "What if they hate me?"

"They probably will in the beginning, but you've got this. I believe in you because you're your father's son."

"What if I'm wrong and do something horrible?"

"Well, they do say that the moon isn't always right, don't they."

That appears to be the end... Let me know if you think I should do a sequel or something or not.