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Chapter 26 – The Feather and the Truth

Jake sat under the tree behind the school, staring at the photo in his hand. The sunlight pierced through the leaves, casting broken shadows across the torn edges of the picture. Don, standing tall in a gang uniform… smiling—no, smirking—beside a man who looked like death in human skin. Reaper.

Gor paced nearby, frustration etched on his face.

“He lied to us. All this time. He pretended to be one of us, a normal friend—”

Jake cut him off.

“He is one of us, Gor. But that doesn’t mean he’s not broken.”

Gor stopped. “You think he’s still the same guy we grew up with?”

“I don’t know anymore,” Jake whispered.

---

In a secluded corner of the city, Don sat in a cafe with Kiru. Rain smacked the glass like a ticking clock, each drop marking the time he had left before the past caught up.

“They know now,” Kiru said, sipping tea. “Jake and Gor… they’ve seen the photo. The feather.”

Don didn't flinch.

“I figured it would come out sooner or later.”

“So what now?” Kiru leaned forward. “You going to run again? Or finally face what you left behind?”

Don lit a cigarette, the flame trembling slightly.

“I’m not running. I’m just… tired.”

Kiru nodded. “You used to be the only one who could shut Reaper up without lifting a finger. They still remember that.”

Don chuckled darkly. “And they still hate me for walking away.”

“Some of them, maybe. But not all.”

---

Jake and Gor skipped class the next day.

They followed Don after school, trailing behind him as he moved through alleyways and old streets—places none of them had visited since childhood. Finally, Don stopped in front of a rusted gate. He didn’t turn around.

“You're both terrible at hiding.”

Jake stepped out first.

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

Don took a deep drag, smoke swirling around his head like a halo of guilt.

“Because I didn’t want you to look at me like you’re looking at me now.”

Gor's fists clenched. “We deserved the truth.”

Don turned slowly.

“And what would you have done with it? Joined me? Saved me? I was drowning in that world. I still am.”

There was silence.

The only sound was the distant thunder.

---

Back at Gor’s home, the three boys sat in silence, the photo lying between them on the floor like a wound.

Don finally broke the stillness.

“You want the truth? I didn’t leave the gang because I was scared. I left because I saw what it was turning me into. Reaper was once my best friend. We built that group together—brick by brick, rule by rule.”

Jake looked stunned. “You were… you were the vice-captain?”

Don nodded. “And I kept it hidden because I didn’t want it to define me forever.”

Gor leaned back. “Well, too late for that.”

Don gave a sad smile.

“Yeah.”

---

Later that night, Reaper stood in a dark warehouse surrounded by shadows—men in jackets, all silent.

One of them whispered, “Don is starting to talk.”

Reaper turned his head slowly.

“Then it’s time we remind him where he came from.”

His eyes glowed like coals.

“Even if we have to drag his friends into the fire.”

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End of Chapter 26

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