The Air Out Of [Wattys2018 shortlist]

40

Epilogue

LEO DANSTER WAS FREE.

He watched as Jess refused to tear her eyes of Avine's motionless figure. It had been done, after everything, there no longer stood a power-hungry dictator who was really a walking liability. Avine was gone. Forever. But the one thing Leo had noticed was the fact that Jess Walker couldn't accept it. She thought she could.

He noticed her expression, and the way it seemed like her heart was aching. She never had her father or her sister, and when she found them was also the time she lost them. Again, except this time, forever. She's seen it with her own two eyes.

Then, Leo took this time to evaluate himself: for the first time, he realized how he could finally breathe, the panting, restless energy subsiding into decomposed electrons that would eventually drift away. It would eventually be forgotten. He noticed how his hands stopped shaking once the blade had been thrown out of his grip, and when he wiped the beads of sweat on his palms and his forehead, they never came back. He watched as the Avinians backed away, and he didn't chase them. He made peace with himself.

A few moments later, Leo couldn't bear the thought of watching Jess shed another tear. He had stepped forward to embrace her in a hug that even she would forget someday. But today wasn't that day. Today, they had all been released from the iron grip that had them in place. Once fallen, we fall together. Today, they would go back knowing that they had changed someone's life.

Today would be the day they could look back on to reminisce in the future, saying they had done something good. For someone, for themselves.

He looked back in time to catch Jess touching the empty spot on her neck, covering the area with the palm of her hand.

Leo had caught the necklace that Jess had thrown to the side mid-battle to prevent it from being taken, he watched as it glistened in the palm of his hand, the faint light it had created contrasting perfectly against the dark features of the underground tunnel. The vignette surrounding it, caving against its light. By now, Jett had probably flipped the switch, but he had left the button pressing to Jess.

Whenever she's ready.

Suddenly, she tore herself away from his grasp, and he tried his best to hide the hurt written across his features, but later came to a realization that she was trying to address the group. She tried to be strong.

Jess didn't have to say much to make Leo and the others understand her emotions perfectly. After all, once an outcast, always an outcast, a hidden agreement drawn up by the members of the same stereotype. They were all cast in the same boat despite the differences.

But different can be better.

"Wow." Scar decided to break the silence, dropping his rifle to the ground. Though he doesn't come up with much, everyone seems content with a single word. The past events have left all their mouths zipped tight. A certain immunity, if anything.

But Jess knows better than to keep the group, the team waiting for hours, "One," she breathes, "Two," Leo realizes that she's making way for a chant, and the two lock gazes. "Three." the last word is almost silent, but they all imagine it loud and clear.

"To more adventures," Leo croaks, his voice rough and scratchy, the exact state the past few events have left him in.

They say it together, smiles throughout, whether it be soft, hard, big, or small. "Together." they embraced one another. Who knew you'd find your closest friends here, where a life and death situation had you bound against each other.

***

The lavine's had places to be. Particularly ones involving a detailed explanation on their vigorous disappearance to their parents, and likely a repeat of their senior year. Leo wasn't looking forward to it, but it had to be done, and the time was still ticking, believe it or not.

Though Aspyn had offered them a relaxed stay as long as they wish, the invitation had been politely declined, though they had promised one day they would all come back. Whether it be a visit or a cry for help, they would come back.

"Ralk will have my head" Leo muttered, placing his fingers deep into his pockets. He wasn't ready.

Jess shook her head, still completely lost, "I can't tell mom. I can't." she blabbered, unaware of her surroundings, "She'll down herself in alcohol. Perhaps until she's flooded the whole house with it." as she continued to mutter the words, she cracked her knuckles. Jess wasn't ready.

No one but Leo understood the feeling. The unwavering urge to tell a person something they deserve to know but have to live with the conscience of the fact that they would be better off not knowing. In a way, they were protecting them, something so big it was worth the risk of being forever resented. "Some secrets are better hidden." he nodded, "Trust me."

And she did.

Louis simply shook his head and took a seat on the ground. "This was the home I couldn't have. We didn't have. Sure, it had its flaws. Big flaws. But at the end of the day, it was something I never had." he ended in a whisper. Louis wasn't ready.

Everyone's thoughts were distraught. Somehow, everyone had a reason not to go back. Each had managed established a tie they couldn't just let go of. It was hard, but it had to be done.

It was okay until it just wasn't.

"We're not ready. None of us. But we have to be." Ellie breathed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "We'll always want what we can't have, but we'll learn to accept it, and we'll move on like it never existed," Ellie simply smiled, "I think the biggest fear is that we'll forget. About this, each other, everything, and I can't guarantee it won't happen, but hiding from our reality isn't going to do anything." she finished and no one argued. Not even Scar.

Leo nodded wordlessly. But in his heart, he knew that they were all thinking the same thing: We had promised to come back, but we were never coming back. Ever. They all took the final glances at the place, and for the sake of tradition, they had walked back to the cytoplasm tube lifting off a circular mark on the ground where they had first met Aspyn, on their first visit to Covia. It was a nostalgic memory.

So much has happened since they first stepped foot in an unknown territory, and met the most reserved and organized girl. And now, they were never going to see it again. Life didn't seem possible without Covia anymore, though just days ago they were complaining about the burden it had placed.

That was just how it went, and Leo accepted it.

He savored these final few moments, staring at the oblique surroundings, and celestial waters. It was a beauty in times of peace, and he enjoyed the serenity. A smile took over his face. It occurred to him that everything had finally fallen into place. For now.

A coronation was set to happen in the near future, and Aspyn had only managed to sneak a few final moments to be able to take a stroll with the five, as did Mason. Everybody enjoyed the silence. The calm, reassuring silence.

The two had offered a final hug as they watched their lavines exchange happy glances.

It really was goodbye, no matter how much they didn't want to believe it.

Jess reached for her necklace, her thumb hovering over the button as the tension began to grow. She looked okay, she looked okay. But no one would ever know whether she was breaking inside, or smiling inside out. But that was the beauty, wasn't it?

But when she pressed the button, Leo felt all the tension he carried left behind as they were transported back to Earth, the latter of which was now a foreign word, and he didn't seem to care, there would be repercussions to his actions, but in his mind, every ounce of effort he had put into helping Covia, it was worth it.

He had gotten more on the other end of the bargain. The friends, the home, the love, and he had shattered the cold, hard wall of outcast protection he had built. Because he had learned to trust.

Leo was free.

THE END