Page 33 of Dust to Dust

Thump!

The exact opposite of what I thought I'd be doing today. I was trying to breathe life back into my father when I came to kill him.

"You're not dying, you fucker! I want answers!" I slammed my closed fist into his sternum, hearing the bone break from my force of compressions.

"I. NEED. ANSWERS!" Slam!

My muscles started to burn from the numerous compressions I beat down on his chest. I don't know how much time slipped away from me. Eventually, Nova perched on her knees beside me. Her hand rested on my back, "Titan." Her voice was soft and lacked the anger it should have been filled with. Her vengeance was taken from her, as was mine. Just because I had battled with the knowledge that I, Lucas King's son, was going to kill him, didn't mean I didn't have the courage to pull the trigger.

"He's dead," Nova confessed in a hushed whisper, "Your father is dead, Titan."

Chapter 26

Death was so final.

Was it now? Ghost joked.

I didn't think you'd be the one joking when Lucas King died, Ghost.I raised a brow; maybe my corruption was sinking into her too deep. Ghost was the voice in my head that grounded me. At least she tried to. She was the good angel, and the rest of me was just…bad.

How do you feel?Ghost asked.

I was merely a pawn Lucas King moved and molded for his son. Is this how a man feels when he meets his maker on judgment day?

My parents' death was a game for The Rites of Passage. I caught a boy's heart, and like the loving father Lucas never acted to be, he made sure his son got what he wanted.

Me.

Would I have died with my parents if Titan didn't love me?

I watched Titan cling to his father's shirt, and then he started to do CPR. I knew no matter what Titan did, Lucas would not take another breath tonight. Not because I was standing here with a gun and a bullet meant for Lucas King.

Nope.

You see, Lucas was too headstrong and stubborn. He knew he was dying today, he decided it, and so he did. I wasn't naive enough to think God was on my side and struck down Lucas. Lucas did something to spur this on. Once again, it was all planned just as he confessed to having plotted to break and mold me into the perfect doll for Titan.

A doll.

Kulka. What Anton always called me and told me I had to be. Hell, If I start to dissect everything Anton said to me in the past, it would all make sense now.

There were a lot of holes in our ship. So much so that we might need to jump ship and find a new mode of transportation.

Isn't that the coward’s way?Ghost whispered.

Fuck, she was right. A captain doesn't abandon the ship. I'd fight with Titan to get to the bottom of this.

Titan started to scream as he pounded on his father's chest, but what made me love him even more, was that he wasn't demanding his father come back to life; Titan wanted answers, not his father.

As I watched Titan’s useless attempts to bring his father back to life, I thought back to Ghost's question. How did I feel now that Lucas King was finally dead and not by my hands?

I felt…

Turbulence? Ghost responded.

If you already know how I feel, then why ask?I hissed. Yes, I felt shocked and deprived that I didn't get to see Lucas suffer; pissed off that he only left Titan and me more confused. I felt stuck on a plane without knowing where I was going and if we will land or not. All I could do was grab hold of the oxygen mask and breathe.

I heard the crack of a bone. Titan's golden face was red as he beat down his father’s chest. I watched Titan in his restless pursuit until the scene before me sunk in. Pain speared my chest, another hint that my love for Titan ran so deep within my body that I had no control of it.

Titan was suffering.