Part IX - Jax's Grave
The couple walked up the path to a brown cottage on a hill. It was Lynn's home, a place deeply familiar to the both of them. As much as Lynn wanted to burst in and hug her family, she knew she couldn't do that. It would place her family at greater risk if the Empire found out.
With tears in her eyes, Lynn peered through a window and saw her mother sobbing at the kitchen table. Her father's hand was on her mother's back and his head hung low. Her brother was cooking, something he did only when he was depressed. Tremors ran through Lynn's body as she struggled to control herself, to stop herself from charging in and comforting her family.
Xeno stayed by Lynn's side, eyes filled with tears. Lynn's family was as dear to him as Jax was. He and Lynn had been playmates since a very young age. After a few minutes, Xeno pulled Lynn away from the window and back to the path. They had to leave soon. As they walked back down the hill, a bang was heard and Lynn's mother shouted from the door : 'Lynn, you have to come back! Promise me!"
The couple kept on walking without turning back, in her heart, Lynn promised to do so, and in her mother's heart, her mother knew her daughter's answer.
They walked until they reached a cluster of white stones in the ground. Xeno told Lynn to wait and headed on alone. In the clearing where his home stood, now lies a pile of charred rubble. Xeno dug through the rubble and gasped as he uncovered Jax's body. Covered with slashes and arrow stubs, his body was almost unrecognizable.
Soundlessly, Xeno rummaged around for a shovel. He found one and began to dig out a hole in the ground. He dug until his hands started to swell, his body covered in sweat and dirty all over. He laid Jax's body into the grave and covered the hole back up. Xeno found a large rock, put it at Jax's head and carved words into it with his knife.
Jax Wenderson
Like a father to me,
A man amongst men,
You have fought for long enough,
Rest in peace forever.
With tears in her eyes, Lynn peered through a window and saw her mother sobbing at the kitchen table. Her father's hand was on her mother's back and his head hung low. Her brother was cooking, something he did only when he was depressed. Tremors ran through Lynn's body as she struggled to control herself, to stop herself from charging in and comforting her family.
Xeno stayed by Lynn's side, eyes filled with tears. Lynn's family was as dear to him as Jax was. He and Lynn had been playmates since a very young age. After a few minutes, Xeno pulled Lynn away from the window and back to the path. They had to leave soon. As they walked back down the hill, a bang was heard and Lynn's mother shouted from the door : 'Lynn, you have to come back! Promise me!"
The couple kept on walking without turning back, in her heart, Lynn promised to do so, and in her mother's heart, her mother knew her daughter's answer.
They walked until they reached a cluster of white stones in the ground. Xeno told Lynn to wait and headed on alone. In the clearing where his home stood, now lies a pile of charred rubble. Xeno dug through the rubble and gasped as he uncovered Jax's body. Covered with slashes and arrow stubs, his body was almost unrecognizable.
Soundlessly, Xeno rummaged around for a shovel. He found one and began to dig out a hole in the ground. He dug until his hands started to swell, his body covered in sweat and dirty all over. He laid Jax's body into the grave and covered the hole back up. Xeno found a large rock, put it at Jax's head and carved words into it with his knife.
Jax Wenderson
Like a father to me,
A man amongst men,
You have fought for long enough,
Rest in peace forever.
After he was done, Xeno knelt at the grave and cried. He turned when a gentle hand touched his shoulder. Led by an angel, he left the clearing, leaving behind a final prayer for the lost.
