(BL) Hunting The Field Guide-Chapter 452: A suicide Mission

Kellen ended up going back to the conference room on his own. Rhys wouldn’t go with him. Couldn’t go with him. He just shook his head, waving Kellen away and looked as if the world was coming down around him.

Kellen headed back to the conference room with tear stains on his clothes that no one else could see since he was in his Field Guide uniform, but it was a heavy weight on him. His expression was grim, and unlike what Rhys expected and many others who didn’t know him thought he would say, Kellen came back with a sigh.

"We didn’t reach a conclusion." Kellen told them, and Sakura stared at Kellen. Her eyes were firm, and Kellen could see the same look from a few others. Hill especially.

"You did come to a conclusion, but you don’t want to break his heart." Hill muttered and Kellen shifted uncomfortably. Her gaze was hard, harsh. She liked Kellen, but she was clearly in the Rhys camp. He wasn’t going to fight her on this. freeweɓnøvel~com

It was her right to judge him like this.

Kellen didn’t feel good about this, which was the reason why he had said what he had. If he thought, for even a second, that someone else would step up to do this? He would probably take it.

The problem was, he didn’t think anyone would.

After the death of the other Field Guides and Espers who had gone into the gate, there had been a significant decline in Field Guides who wanted anything to do with the gate. He didn’t think this new development would change anything for the better. A lot of Field Guides were semi suicidal, but that didn’t mean they were ready to commit.

In their minds, going into that gate willingly was committing.

Kellen wasn’t dumb. He knew that was probably what they were all thinking, especially with Brent...missing. Their chances of finding anyone else who would want to do this was...low. Very low.

Kellen ran his hand over his face, the sigh leaving his body holding a piece of his heart. His soul.

"Let’s...see if anyone else wants to do it. Sakura, can you ask your team to make sure we have at least two up to date new suits? I’m sure they’re already working on it, but I can’t see more than two people saying yes to this." Kellen met everyone’s gaze, and he could tell that they had a slim shot of someone else saying yes to this. It was an awful job. An awful thing to ask someone who wasn’t directly involved. Sakura nodded, swallowing thickly as she typed away to someone. Kellen let out another sigh, his heart aching. "I’ll be...the last resort. That’s...all I can promise him." Kellen muttered.

The air thickened, everyone pretty much knowing that meant Kellen was the only option, but no one had the balls to say it. Lieutenant Fisher looked awkward, uncomfortable as he was the new face in a group that had worked with each other before now.

"We’ll make sure to get as much support as we can on our side. Is...Captain Thatcher coming back?" He asked carefully and Kellen glanced behind him at the door. He wasn’t sure.

"I...I honestly don’t know. Maybe after I leave the floor. I have...I have a lot I need to do, so I’ll do that shortly." Kellen said, swallowing. He needed to set up his other students for success, make sure that he had all the questions they could possibly have answered. Make a little cheat sheet.

Send it to Casper.

Kellen gulped.

"I’m...going to head out now. I need to check up on my parents." Kellen said quietly, and no one questioned him.

"We’ll talk later, Kellen." Hill said softly. Kellen nodded. She looked exhausted, but it was clear that the words that he had said only made it worse. This was a damn nightmare come to life, and Kellen hated that he was only adding more to everyone’s plates.

Kellen turned away from the large screen, his heart a mess, his head even messier as he left the conference room and went...up to meet his parents. To check up on them.

~

Kellen knocked on the door to the apartment that his parents had been given. There was a long, long pause before eventually Charlie opened the door. He seemed stricken. Unwell. Kellen couldn’t even imagine the night that he’d had.

"How are they doing?" Kellen asked and Charlie just shook his head.

"Your Mom just got your Dad down for a nap. She’s sitting in the living room." He whispered, and Kellen glanced over his shoulder, noticing that his Mom was there, but she had her back to everyone.

This apartment was like the one that Gunther had when he had been off his rocker. You stepped into the kitchen pretty much as soon as the door opened, and it opened into the living room. The apartment that Rhys had set his parents up in was slightly different since it had two bedrooms instead of one, and there was a bedroom on either side of the living room. The bathroom was to the left as well, and the bedroom on the right had an en suite.

Kellen turned his attention to the form sitting on couch with their back to them, staring out the window at the city below.

She looked small. It was the first time that Kellen had ever considered that Gwen was taller than his Mom, but she was. His Mom was...small. She wasn’t delicate, but at the same time...she was.

Seeing her silhouette against the window, Kellen felt his chest ache.

Kellen grabbed his phone, unlocking it and handing it to Charlie.

"Charlie, can you scroll through my contacts and call someone named Rene? You’ve probably met her. Can you tell her to come here? My Mom needs her support." Charlie’s eyes hardened, and he nodded. It was only then that Kellen noticed the two Espers who were also here. They were lingering in the kitchen, and they gave Kellen tight smiles and a wave when he noticed them.

He nodded, acknowledging them, but heading for his Mom.

She didn’t flinch as he approached, sat down beside her and took her hand in his. Instead, she sighed.

Kellen looked at her, getting her face in profile, committing it to his memory. She looked...tired. Old. Like all the years of harsh living were finally catching up to her. He hadn’t noticed it before, but today? Now? This was...this was a lot for any one person to deal with.

"How’s Dad?" Kellen asked carefully, quietly. As if saying it louder would make it hurt more. Her lips turned up slightly, but it was only painful to see.

"Broken. He’s shattered, Kellen." It was the worst news. The thing Kellen didn’t want to hear, but yet, there it was. The truth. His Mom let out a laugh, but it was only filled with pain. Fear. "I don’t know if I’ll ever get him back." She whispered. Kellen felt that this wasn’t something he was supposed to hear. That he should hear, but who else could she tell this to right now? Charlie?

There was no way she was going to be this vulnerable with him. He was a baby. Kellen was her baby, but he understood better than pretty much everyone else around her. Kellen reached out his arm, wrapping it around her shoulder and pulling her in. She went with him, leaning her head against his shoulder, her arm snaking around his waist.

"We’ll...all get through this." Kellen murmured. He meant his words, even if he didn’t really know how yet. His Mom’s soft laughter called him out immediately.

"How, Kellen? I know what’s going to happen. We’re going to lose both of our babies to that gate." The way she said it so calmly had Kellen jerking. "Why do you think your Father is crying so hard? He knows, Kellen. He knows what you’re going to do." Her grip tightened on him and he watched as her eyes watered. "I almost wish that you two hated each other, but I don’t think this would make this any easier." Kellen felt like he was being punched in the gut as the tears fell from her eyes.

"Mom, I-"

"Don’t try to lie to me to make me feel better. I know my son." She sniffed, wiping at her eyes. "I also know that gate, or the gate like it. I can’t, as your Mother, tell anyone that you’re going to make it out of there alive." She whispered. "I can’t...oh god, Gwen." The tears gushed from her eyes and Kellen turned, wrapping his arms around her fully as she sobbed. Kellen wasn’t able to keep himself under control either.

First Rhys, and then his Mom? There was no way Kellen was going to be able to control himself.

"We’ve sent out word." Kellen said, his voice raspy with the tears in his throat. "We’re asking around first." Kellen said and she laughed.

"You know that’s only you doing your due diligence." She said, her voice warbled from her tears. Kellen was desperate to look for anything, something that would lift this heavy atmosphere.

"I told the civilians who work for the city to go fuck themselves and that their monsters were off their leashes." Kellen blurted out and his Mom froze, before she started laughing.

"What? Why did you say that?" Kellen froze as he remembered why he said it. He had been so focused on trying to get her to laugh that he forgot the reason behind it. He froze. "Kellen? Why did you say that?" It was more threatening the second time she said it.

"They weren’t going to send in a party at all. They were just...going to let them all die." The sound that tore out of her had both of them looking towards the master bedroom. If anything would wake his Dad up, it would be the absolute anger of his wife.

Thankfully, after a moment, nothing happened. At least on his Dad’s side. His Mom tried to get up, but Kellen wouldn’t let her.

"I’ve already dealt with it!" Kellen hissed. "They are well and truly threatened!" Kellen told her and she glared at him.

"Not without my word, they aren’t." She growled. "I’m just going to have a few words with them." She told him and Kellen huffed.

"Pamela is already leaking the video call. It’s covered, Mom. It’ll only make us look bad if they suddenly disappear after I yelled at them." Kellen told her and she growled.

"Fuck. I deserve it." She told him and Kellen agreed.

"You do, but please wait. I...I’ll come back with Gwen." Kellen said and his Mom froze. Then, she melted, wrapping her arms around Kellen tightly.

"Oh sweetie." She didn’t agree or disagree with him, and that alone told him everything he needed to know. His parents weren’t just grieving Gwen. They were grieving him too.

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