Brought Down

39. The End of Night

Garrett

I know I'm late. One way or another, Burnface has murdered Julian, even if it was the last thing he did. There's no hope now. I can only find Burnface and make him pay—for my father, for Julian, for everything. His shuttle has never left the ship, so he's still here, somewhere.

As I run toward the laboratory, I meet our people heading in the opposite direction. Some are escorting groups of prisoners. We have made it, we have fucking made it, and judging by the latest information, the situation on other motherships is also developing to our advantage. We were just desperate enough to make it work. Julian once said they couldn't allow a bunch of cavemen to their space stations. Well, the cavemen came nonetheless.

He won't see it, though.

Another group is approaching. As they get closer, I recognize Angie, Wiggs and Leon. They escort two people in white medical robes.

"Are they from..." I stop. "Laboratory?"

"I got Burnface." Angie grins at me through the layers of dirt and blood covering her face. "He's all over the place there."

"And --"

"Walking after us." She gestures in the direction they came from, avoiding my eyes. "A crawling baby could move faster," she adds grumpily, then looks at me and sighs. "We'll wait for you at the bridge."

She moves away, and they start walking again.

I look down the corridor, and in the end of it, I see Julian.

He's limping in my direction. As I start moving towards him, he notices me and stops. Coming closer, I see his expression—an alert, anxious look full of expectation of—what? A punch? A kiss? Both?

The moment I reach him, I scoop him into a hug.

"Oh, wow," he breathes into my chest, sounding relieved, and his hands lock around my waist. "Garrett...I'm so sorry."

"I should be sorry. I didn't come in time. It's a good thing Angie did."

"I'm sorry that I was...I should have..." He sighs, his face still pressed to my chest. "I was wrong. About many things."

I only hug him tighter.

When we arrive at the central bridge, there's plenty of people, and the atmosphere is euphoric. People laugh and shout and talk. Dozens of tied up captives sit on the floor. As we pass among our people, I accept handshakes and back pats, and even Julian gets a few of those, even though he doesn't look very happy about it.

Ahead of us, through the huge window, the dark Earth is visible, its arched edge barely distinguishable against the black sky. I join the others admiring the view. Enclosed in black clouds, down there, is the world where I grew up. It's so strange to see it from above.

"What's this?" says someone.

The edge of the planet is getting more visible. It's as is a thin silver outline appears around it with a small golden dot on it. The dot grows larger, turning into a coin, then a ball, getting constantly brighter, like an ... explosion?

I break in cold sweat. What kind of attack is that? What other tricks have royals kept up their sleeve? I stumble back, my brain struggling with this new problem.

Julian's arms slip around my waist.

"Shhh," he whispers in my ear. "It's only the sun."

The last conversations die out, and we all stand in silence, watching the golden star rising in the sky. My father once said that I would see the sun one day. He was right. And it was worth waiting and fighting for.

This sunrise is so beautiful.

T h e    E n d