Unity by Carl Stubblefield (epub read online books TXT) 📕

expert at family relations. Plus, bringing it up unbidden would tip her off that he knew things she would most likely want to keep personal and secret. Even if he had the communication skills, his hands were tied. Par for the course. Yet again, Gus was no good to anyone but himself.

Despite all her struggles though, Prime looked… strong, somehow. Like those lighthouses on small rocks in the ocean that are beat upon mercilessly by the waves, yet still resist the tide, day after day. Gus had thought he had felt alone at times, but his own struggles seemed to pale in comparison. It made him feel even more immature and weak that he couldn’t manage his own feelings and that he was so prone to magnifying how difficult his own situation was when there were people going through so much more. And they bore it with grace and determination.

Gus would never have guessed at the things that haunted both BoJack and Prime from looking at them, whether it was Prime’s stoic calm or BoJack’s easy smile and the good-natured camaraderie he showed everyone in the Crew. He hoped that he could wrestle with his own demons and keep them in line so he could do what he must. If they could, he should at least try.

“We’re here,” Seneschal’s voice crackled over the comm.

Gus pressed his face to the window and saw a large building, alone in the mists. High intensity lights burned back the darkness and illuminated every section of the large cross-shaped building. The central tower stood three floors higher than the rest of the wings. In each quadrant surrounding the building, there were areas to park.

One quadrant held all types of ambulances and other medical transports, another appeared to be for employees. Built up along one side of the property was a large hill festooned with all types of plants and a path that one could take to walk around outside while convalescing.

Had Gus seen the facility without any other info, it looked like a clean, well-kept hospital that took care of its patients. And perhaps it did for the most part, with the shady underbelly only applying to some of those within. There was enough traffic in and out of the parking area that they didn’t need to approach surreptitiously at all. Seneschal dropped them off and the two teams separated.

Tempest, Yuki, and Aurora circled towards the loading bays, and Gus and Prime headed up to get a better overwatch in the garden area above. There were cubbies near the path entry with umbrellas and Gus got one for himself and Prime and they began walking up the path. He was surprised to see others walking in the rain. The path they were on was lit up by numerous ornate lamps. The drizzle of rain highlighted as it passed into and out of the cone of illumination.

They continued walking in silence, the only noise the crunch of their steps on the gravel path amid the rain spatter. Along the path, there were covered benches that faced the hospital down below, while others were situated facing inwards, at the main fountain and carefully cultivated arrangements of flowers and trees. They sat and stared at the hospital down below.

“Gus, I have something to ask you…” Prime began, her voice hesitant.

Chapter Forty-Four

Demon Kitty Rag

“Do you have any reservations being stuck on a mission with me?” Prime asked while looking at the facility below through some binoculars.

“Not really, no. I’m a little curious because I’ve never met any hybrids until recently. I’ve always lived in one of the capital cities for Purple Faction, so my life has been pretty sheltered. I did wonder how you fit in with the Faction, being different and all. Was that hard? I still feel like a fifth wheel among everyone else.”

“Really? You honestly have no opinion?” She lowered the binoculars and looked at Gus, her cat-slit pupils widening as she assessed him.

“No, what’s the big deal? Everyone’s been walking on eggshells, but we’re probably more alike than different.”

“Oh? And how are we similar?” she asked, propping her chin up with the back of her hand, a wry smile on her face.

“We both have family issues, obviously.” Gus waved towards the hospital. “Apparently, my dad is a lot different when at Purple Faction, so you all probably saw a different side of him. Things seem to be changing, but that’s only since I got powers.”

“It could be that he realized some hard truths after his demotion too. Have you considered that?”

“I’ve been rethinking a lot of things lately. Things that I’d always assumed were true and how recently I’m seeing how limited my world-view was.”

“You’re right about one thing, Gus. Family is tough. They can hurt you more than anyone else without even trying, it seems.” She broke eye contact and looked down at the hospital. “Sometimes I wonder if some people are destined to be alone. I thought I had escaped all the drama surrounding my parents when I left Hinansho. Only to have my personal life spiral out of control as well.” She pulled her knees up to the bench and hugged them tightly.

“I have felt alone in a crowd more times than I can count. I never got the suspicion that you had anything going on. Hell, all of the Crew seem to have it so together, it makes me self-conscious. I don’t really know what the hell I’m doing half the time, just flying by the seat of my pants.”

“I’ll let you in on a little secret. We all do that more than we’d like to admit. We hide it well, but a large portion of Academy training is on controlling your physical reactions.” She relaxed her legs and extended them in front of her, letting the rain patter on her feet. “Can’t have the regs losing faith in us, that could result in chaos!” Prime said in a deep drill-sergeant voice, curling her arms like a bulldog and