Redemption

Chapter 24

She's gone Avery.

I'm so sorry.

It'll be okay Avery.

My ears pound as blood circulates. I scream, and I swear I rattle the world. I sit, in the exact place of my sister's fate. I cry. I die a little inside.

Meghan cries for her closest half, her only true friend. She holds onto me, grasping my shoulder.

Adalene stands shocked, speechless. I feel anger towards her, for not protecting Claire. I can't express it, for it was me who was lost in my own world.

I could've saved her.

Mac, the stern faced, gentle hearted rebel, silently weeps for the sorrow felt among us all.

I'm in absolute, utter shock.

My heart burns in agonizing pain.

My eyes cast flames from the salty sea, streaming deep into my dirt stricken cheeks.

My head squeezes into the tightest lump ever possible, as I ponder and question the will of Claire's life.

I am terrified.

I am lost.

This needs to end.

Claire is dead.

I'm not.

Claire is dead.

I'm not.

Claire is dead.

I'm not.

I. Am. Alive.

"Av-ery," Meghan sniffles, "Claire, she-she's," she bursts out in a symphony of tears.

"Gone." I mutter, my voice cracks.

"We need to go." Mac reaches for our hands.

My hands are bloodied from grasping at the shrapnel ridden ground. My knees are cut, flesh tearing away from my body.

Meghan screams, and when I look at her, she's the same Meghan from my recurring nightmare. I stumble backwards, tripping once more on the shrapnel.

I point at her face as her eyes turn dark and her smile shifts. Her eyes and moth begin to bleed a deep red, so deep it seems to come straight from the beginning.

You couldn't save her, and you definitely can't save me.

Say "bye bye" now Avery Rider.

Meghan's haunting voice echoes through my brain, trembling my throbbing veins.

I scream as I hallucinate.

You're scaring everyone Avery!

You'll murder them like you murdered your own sister!

"I di-dn't!" I whimper, "I wou-ldn't!"

A firm hand grasps my shoulder. He shakes me hard.

"STOP IT!" Mac yells into my face. "YOU AREN'T HELPING RIDER! YOU NEED TO TAKE A BREATH AND LET HER GO!" Mac's voice grows into a low whisper, "I know it's hard, but you need to. I had to. You have to. We'll end this."

"Fine." I mutter, wrenching myself away from his grip. "I have a plan."

There's something I have to do first.

I walk over to Claire's limp remains. My heart stops as I remember her last look, her last thought, her last breath.

I read about funerals once. Funerals were ceremonial and used to celebrate the life and to mourn of the late individual.

The society banned funerals long ago. They deposit the dead through Termination and the use of nuclear weapons in an unknown testing plant.

I want to give Claire a funeral. She deserves it. I pulled her into this mess. I'm the reason she isn't breathing.

I gently caress her body one last time as I dig a shallow hole. I softly plant ash and dirt atop her. I do it by myself as the rest watch. I wander into the destructed forest, looking for something of beauty. Anything.

A beautiful, fragile blossom buds from the ground. Part of me wants to leave it, for the future, but Claire needs something beautiful to keep her lovely hope alive in all of our hearts.

A tear trickles onto the white flower, leaving a bead of liquid in the brim.

I place the bright flower atop her grave, and back away slowly, dreaming of a final goodbye.

I turn back to face the mourners.

"I saw a drone crash over there." I gesture towards the north. "It didn't look too powerful. The main parts are probably still intact."

I feel the need to cry again. After all, crying is the body's natural pain reliever.

I tread off, keeping Meghan close to me. She softly cries into her sleeve, creating teardrop stains down her front.

"I am so, so sorry." I whisper.

"I don't even know what sorry is." Meghan whispers.

"Neither do I." I wipe hot tears. "Come on, we need to hurry."

It takes a quarter of an hour to get to the drone. Based off my observations, I was correct, it isn't bad at all. The pilot and co-pilot suffered though. Their bashed heads lie upon the dashboard. I feel a sickening pain for them, and the family they gave up on.

"I think I can fix it." Mac meanders around, looking for broken parts.

We don't rest until we believe it can operate in fair condition.

It's a newer drone, used for combat. It should operate fairly easy. The body of the drone is thick and tough. Bulletproof.

Mac and I are successful.

We sadly climb into the drone. Leaving all loss behind.

I not only seek redemption, and anarchy, I now seek revenge.