Chapter 104: Sometimes a gentle touch is all someone needs

Kellen’s words seemed to have a good reaction with the rest of the Guides in the room, much to the surprise of the others. Kellen didn’t blame his father for his lack of understanding. As far as Kellen was aware, his father had never been kidnapped or harmed.

Kellen was very grateful for that, truly, but he also hadn’t spent that much time on the front lines either. He was a classic Guide. There were some things he wouldn’t be able to understand on a personal level and while Kellen was upset that these kids could understand and want pain for others, he was happy to be the one to give them that relief.

Plus, having a presence like his Dad in the room was a good thing too. Kellen’s Dad fought with his words, not with his actions. That was something that most of these Guides would need training in.

Taylor was too busy to come and speak to Kellen, especially when the second van arrived. There were less Guides in the second van, but that didn’t mean it was any less work. It was a good thing that Hill got the second room ready since most of the Guides from the second round were the ones from the lower levels, whatever the hell that meant, and they had more damage to their bodies compared to the others.

The first group had been composed of those who could run.

Kellen was going to strangle the E.A.G. members.

The most critical member wasn’t in this room at all. It was also a bit of a surprise to Kellen that he had forgotten about him in the face of all of this tragedy, but Kellen didn’t forget him. In fact, he was tucked away in the Medical Bay being tended to by a healer that Taylor and Hill trusted. That was also why Kellen didn’t see Casper around, because he had ignored his duties to be with Gunther.

That stung. There was no way around it, and it was clear that his Dad was angry with Casper as well, but he understood. Even if the two weren’t imprinted, their feelings for each other were anything but simple.

Now was not the time to be confronting him. They had too much on their plate to do that.

So, instead, Kellen and his Dad worked on getting the group of Guides fed and not as terrified of the Espers around them. It helped that when Esper Blake came back from the mission that the Guides recognised her as one of the people protecting them, along with the short girl that came with her. She was referred to as Esper Douglas and Kellen had seen her around a lot, just hadn’t put a name to the face.

The two girls were protective of the others, and the Guides seemed to relax around them. That made things easier for those around, since there was a built in trust with them. It did make Kellen feel a little bad since they might want breaks, might even need guiding themselves but Esper Blake brushed aside Kellen’s concern. She actually seemed to be glowing under the weight of the protection detail she’d been given.

“I’m alright, Guide Woods. I promise. There is no reason to fuss over us. How did the press conference go? No one shot at you?” Esper Blake asked, trying to be quiet but those around heard. It was clear that they had because they got worried immediately, but Kellen just laughed it off.

“No, I didn’t get to use my new gun.” Kellen commented. The two talked some more, Kellen being formally introduced to Esper Douglas, before Kellen had to move to the next room with his Dad to check on the Guides there.

Overall, it was chaotic, but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Because they had the use of four of the Espers who had been at the scene when the Guides were released, it made things a bit easier. Especially, in Kellen’s mind and confirmed by the quiet whisper of another Guide, that the Espers had left some of the bad Espers to die when the ground began to shake.

Kellen greatly approved of that move.

It was probably about two hours into the endeavour that Kellen heard anything from or about Rhys. He was tucking one of the younger Guides into bed after one of the civilian members of the medical team had given them an injection to let them sleep when Hill knocked on the door.

She had stayed present, but not noticeable to the Guides, so Kellen knew that she was always there. Her eyes were bright when she looked at Kellen, holding out her phone.

“Your boyfriend is on his way home.” Hill said in a singsong voice. Kellen should have taken offense to it, but instead such an overwhelming wave of happiness washed over him. He patted the head of the nearly unconscious Guide, wanting to do more for them but knowing that he couldn’t, and left their side to speak to Hill in the doorway.

Kellen’s Dad was doing much the same with the other Guides, while Charlie, who had been a silent workhorse this whole time, was with the worse off Guides. The ones who needed an extra soft hand. The ones who Kellen was sure unspeakable crimes had been committed against them. It gutted Kellen that Charlie could sit there and listen to them, not triggered, not breaking a sweat as he listened to them and responded to them calmly in turn.

He knew that his presence alone soothed them, but it did something terrible to Kellen’s insides to know that he was truly able to offer them comfort from a level of experience that Kellen would never be able to understand. Kellen knew it was true from standing and listening in on the things that Charlie would say to them.

It only made Kellen more certain that he needed to destroy this organisation.

“Did he say why he was delayed for so long?” Kellen asked as he approached Hill, pushing his hair out of his face. It was getting a little on the long side, and with the stress from the situation they found themselves in, Kellen was getting a little sweaty.

Hill’s humour was on her face, but not in her eyes. In fact, it looked like she should be a fire Esper, not a Physical Strength Esper.

“Oh yeah. He said why.” Hill said, not elaborating for a moment. “Also, Gunther is doing well. I know you haven’t had a chance to check up on him, so I thought I would give you an update. He’s unconscious, and he was in pretty bad condition when they brought him in, but he’ll recover. That’s the prediction from the team. Of course, Taylor hasn’t had a chance to look at him yet, but…I trust her team.” Hill told Kellen. That was one weight off his shoulders.

“Oh thank anything holy. I’m glad that he’s doing great. Is the reason something you can’t say here?” Kellen asked her as she stood in the doorway. She gave a sharp nod, and Kellen narrowed his gaze. There were only a few reasons as to why Rhys wouldn’t come back immediately.

There was no thought in Kellen’s mind that it would take him a while to deal with a few giant worms. Even if it was 50. He had faith in his Esper. However, there was one thing that could delay Rhys. Well, a few, like the safety of civilians, or the capture of some E.A.G. members.

“Was he at the Peach Guild?” Kellen asked. It was coded just enough that others who weren’t in the know wouldn’t know what he meant. Hill nodded again.

“Yeah. He is. He’s on his way back. Didn’t bring Sakura with him after I explained the situation. She’s keeping an eye on their guests.” Plural. Alright. So Rhys had been busy. He had left him some gifts.

“Oh good. I like hearing that there are several of them.” Kellen said darkly and Hill huffed. Her lips twitched up into a smile before she reached out, ruffling the hair that he had just pushed out of his face until it fell back.

“Alright, edgelord. Tone it down. You aren’t the only one mad. How are the others doing? Are they okay?” She asked, glancing behind Kellen at the Guides that she couldn’t directly go and help. Kellen knew that the Espers must be feeling helpless. The Espers of the Saturn Guild were, generally, very kind to the Guides around them. They liked caring for them, found pleasure in it.

Rhys was a good example of that, and the Guild was shaped in his image. Hill, as one of his Lieutenants, was no different.

“They’ll be okay. Some of them are going to need a lot of healing and work, but it seems most of the damage is mental and emotional.” Kellen let out a heavy sigh. “Thankfully, we have Charlie. He’s been a great help.” Kellen frowned as he said that and Hill slid her hand to his shoulder. She gave it a too tight of a squeeze.

“Hey, we can be grateful to have him and still upset for his sake. After all, we might have ’dealt’ with Guiding Center C, but we didn’t deal with the root cause yet. I am thinking, alarmingly, that Charlie and this hideout were connected in some way.” Hill said quietly and Kellen couldn’t help but agree with her.

“We’re going to have to take him out around town, see if he recognises anything. I’m going to hate to watch him get upset.” Kellen muttered. Hill gave him a look.

“Who said you were going to be here when it happens? Kellen, Charlie’s healing process is going to take a long time, same with the Guides we’ve just received. You aren’t going to tell me that you are going to prioritize them over Brent, are you?” It was a stunning revelation.

Kellen hadn’t even considered that. Not even once.

“Oh. I, well, I just thought-”

“-You just thought that because you are used to doing things alone like this that we were going to let you? Even though so many people are here helping these Guides right now, you thought about doing everything by yourself again. Tsk tsk, Kellen. The Captain would be very upset. After all, it’s not like your Mom couldn’t take him around the city. It would probably be best if she did. She can turn herself invisible, after all, and the things she touches.” Kellen felt like a damn idiot.

She was right. That was a smart thing to do, and Kellen hadn’t even realised that he was thinking that he had to do everything on his own. He had thought he had gotten used to relying on others because of the situation he currently found himself in, but it seemed that changing the way you thought took longer than that.

“Damn it. You’re right.” Kellen muttered, shaking his head at himself. “Anyway, how far away is Rhys?” Kellen asked before his body jerked, an awareness washing over him. He turned his gaze upwards, not needing much prompting to realise that something familiar was approaching.

The man rounded the corner, a big smile on his face. His arms were open and Kellen didn’t even hesitate. His body moved, letting the man wrap his arms around him.

“Hill delayed you just long enough for me to be able to sneak up on you.” Rhys joked, squeezing Kellen tightly in his arms. Kellen could feel how tightly the other man hugged him, and how his clothes smelt oddly fresh. Too fresh.

Kellen wondered how many times he’d reset his clothes today to keep himself clean.

“You’re back safe and sound.” Kellen murmured into his shoulder, his free hand hugging him tightly. Rhys chuckled.

“You ordered it and I hate defying your orders.” Rhys told him sincerely. Then, Hill started aweing loudly.

“Look at how cute you two are! Awe! What a sweet couple.” She made a lot of noise, so much so that Kellen was worried that it was going to wake those Guides who had been put to sleep. Instead, Kellen was surprised by the shift in the air, like some of the fear that had coated everything even after all that they had done was fading slightly. What did that mean?

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