The Two Who Were Alone

After It All

Six months had passed since the sky incident that took over the world. Connie and I stand close to one another as proper burials for the thousands of victims that scouted this town were buried. I see the common names that we had come across during our journey: Richard, Adam, my mother, Connie's mother, Anastasia, Chief Diego, and...

"Aya..." I say out loud as her coffin is lowered to the ground. "Connie?" He hums in question. "Did we fail her? Did she really die in vain?" Connie looks at me, but I continue to look at her coffin with dry, tired eyes. I hear him sigh and he goes back to looking at her coffin. "I've told you a thousand times, Indi. You did everything you could to save her. You might not believe me, but there was nothing else you could do." He's right, I don't necessarily believe him. I should have tried harder, pushed myself to fight for her life. But in the end, I'm not a superhero.

As dirt covers her coffin, the priest makes a speech. Through it, I think back to what happened after we escaped the house.

--

Breathe, Indigo, breathe." Connie hugged me as I hyperventilated. I couldn't believe that this was the so-called finale. "All these sacrifices for what? So you and I could drop down to the two of us once again? It felt like all I did was use people for our own personal gain, Connie!" I break from the hug and look at him.

"And you don't think I feel the same way?!" I stop breathing for a minute, then go back to breathing almost back to normal. "Indigo, I know what I said back at the hospital. But it's over now." He looks at me with bloodshot eyes. "Please... we did the best we could." But that wasn't enough to convince me.

"Over there, look!" Connie and I lift our heads to see troops swarm the place. "You two, hands in the air!" We were obviously too tired and traumatized to fight back, so we complied. We stood up as the troop patted us down. He retrieved the gun in my pocket and Connie's bat from his belt. After that, he examined us further, probably to make sure we weren't Hellborns. I stifled a laugh. "What's so funny, ma'am?"

"If I ever was one of those creatures, dying wouldn't be the worst idea." Connie looked down at me with wide eyes. He was probably thinking the same thing I was. What happened to my optimism? Where did the girl go that would make everyone feel better in a dire situation like this one? For now, she left. All those sacrifices... just so she could live in the end.

--

"Let's go, I'm hungry." I start walking as Connie takes one final look at all the buried coffins. He hurries to me as I enter the passenger side of the car. Connie hopes in the driver seat as he starts the engine. Before leaving, however, he asks a question. "Indi, listen." I turn my head to him, taking in his features. His brown eyes practically shine in the sunset, his dark hair tangled and messy, but somehow still looks good, and his smile that for some reason used to always make me feel better, but right now is making me feel numb. "Hello? Earth to Indi?" He waves his hands in front of my face. I suddenly grab his hand and hold it in mine. His face becomes a pinkish color, making him clear his throat. "As I was saying--"

"Yes, I want to go to Frankie's Fatty Burger." Connie smiles even more. "But I wanna milkshake." His smile drops a bit, but he sighs. "Alright, but only because you're depressed." He starts to drive, my hand still holding onto his. "Hey, what is that supposed to mean? I'm perfectly fine! Besides, I'm surprised you're not depressed as shit right now!" He laughs bitterly.

"Don't worry, I am. I'm just better at masking it, that's all." He squeezes his hand a bit, making me look down. Our fingers are intertwined, making me grin a bit. "What I need to know is if you're going to be okay." I look back at his side profile. I sigh and try to come up with an answer. "I'll try, Connie, honest." I see his lips lift. "That's all I needed to hear."