Chapter 90: Which Course Of Action?

Chapter 90: Which Course Of Action?
Beta Maxwell's POV:

I didn't have words to describe what was happening at that very moment. To my honest surprise, the man standing there before me did not budge in his position as he stood there quietly. He did not even make the chains rustle as he stood there. However, I could tell from the look on his face that he was not sure whether he would be beaten for not moving, yet he remained completely still in his position.

I was surprised, honestly, and more so than my usual surprise when something like this happens when speaking with any sort of captive. One who is a captive would have at least taken a step back or two. I guess this man didn't think he had anything to fear from us. Then it really made me wonder who this actually was. What exactly were we going to be dealing with?

'I don't recognize that name, do you?' (My Wolf asked, rather intrigued, now fully paying attention to this conversation as well as the demeanor of the man chained in front of us.)

"Do you know who I am?" I asked suddenly, trying to take in his next reaction as I took yet another step forward toward him.

I wanted to see what his reaction would be as I was now closing the distance between us. As I watched him, I could see that he wanted to move back, but hesitated to move at all. Instead of answering my question verbally this time, he turned his head slowly from side to side, making sure not to lose eye contact with me. At this point, he no longer chose to look around at the others in front of him. This man seemed not to have anything to lose. Otherwise, his posture and demeanor might have been a bit different.

'He does not scare easily, does he?' (Marx said, somewhat impressed with his character.)

"Well then, Hemming, would you mind telling me why this man seems to recognize you?" I spoke, and at the same time, I turned to the side to point out Lawrence, waiting to see if he would actually answer me with another one of his one-word responses. "Do you even know his name if that's the case?"

"No, I do not know his name," Hemming spoke up in a plain tone this time. Before he spoke next, he stood there and paused, causing me to turn back to look at him before I looked over at Lawrence, who looked back at me before Hemming spoke up again. "I just know that I have seen him before, and his reaction earlier told me he knew me as well."

"If that is the case and he recognizes you, as you said," I started out, then made sure to say the next part in a particular manner. "How long ago might that have been?"

"Around 18 years ago," Hemming said bluntly with no hesitation, as he was seemingly getting annoyed with my persistent questions.

He didn't even have to think about his answer before he spoke. He just spit it out with no hesitation. There were low-level gasps from the Warriors around me. Wait, how could that be? Around 18 years ago?! Could that actually be right?

Wait, 18 years ago, was when, no, it couldn't be. I had to think for a minute. 18 years ago, His Highness was 15 years old at the time, and we just found out that His parents met their untimely death. That would have to mean that this man, no, it couldn't be.

'Is that an accurate date after all these years?' (Marx asked, just as shocked as I was.)

"How can that be?!" I asked, almost shocked at his previous statement.

"I was part of a small group of Warriors who were sent to the rival nation, The Land of Barren Meadows," Hemming started to speak plainly and without all emotion as he continued. "We were sent to find out if certain rumors were true or not. The rumors we were in search of were made against the lives of our Grand Alpha, His Royal Highness, and His family. We needed to know if they were true or not."

I didn't know what to think about all of this. I stood there in shock as I heard everything he had just said. Was it real? Was this man really one of those who left to gather information for His Royal Highness all those years ago? Something didn't seem right about all of this. None of this was making any sense. Just as I was about to speak up to ask if this was some kind of joke, one of the other Warriors spoke up instead.

"No one even came back from that trip, let alone alive for that matter," Maddux spoke suddenly, shock evident across his face when he made his statement as I turned to face him. "Everyone was killed, even."

"Not everyone," Hemming responded blatantly as he looked over at Maddux, then back to me once again.

'What did he just say?' (Marx was shocked at his response.)

I had to say I was shocked even by his words. Could this one man actually be one of our own Warriors from our own nation? From all those years ago, no less!? Could he actually be one of the original Warriors who were sent on the trip in question all those years ago?!

I didn't know how to process this thought, let alone let it sink in so that I could even try to explain all this to His Highness once we were done here. How was it that he was still alive? If that were even the case at all? Why didn't he come back sooner?

'Are you telling me you are falling for this?' (Marx started to question me within my mind, which didn't seem to help me as I was still trying to process all of what he just said.)

'No one ever returned and passed on the information we so desperately needed to be able to save His Highness's parents from their untimely death?! Marx, if he is one of those Warriors, I need to know everything he does, so that I can tell His Highness about it at once.' (I said in my response as I reached up and began to rub the bottom of my chin as I pondered this even more.)

'What I don't get is how he was still alive after all this time?' (Marx said in return.)

'I have to agree with you about that. This was not adding up, and I need to figure out why.' (I responded to him as I also thought about what I was going to say next.)

"Tell me this then. How is it that you're here and not dead right now?!" I asked with anger evident in my voice as I growled harshly at him, as he was still standing there unscathed. "No one from that trip has ever returned. How is it that you return to us after all these years? Why do you show up now!? Did you not understand the nature of your mission?"