Final Truth

Chapter 45: Let The Healing Begin

Adam's point of view:

After the process of being swallowed into the endless void of my unconscious mind, waking up feels almost as strange. A light, hazy at first, fizzles behind my eyelids and taunts me to open them, and once I do, it's like staring at the sun. But soon, faces come into focus, friendly faces, faces of those I love.

"Good morning, sunshine," a sad voice says, Susan's, trying very much to radiate a little happiness.

My eyes have completely adjusted by now, enough for me to truly see the state of my friend under a white light. Susan's otherwise black hair has paled greatly under the ash mixed with it, and her fair skin tone seems ten shades darker under all the dust.

I can only imagine what I look like.

"The surgery went fine; bullet came out with no problems, and when it was gone, I healed the tears it made in your stomach. You might be a little sore, but otherwise, you're normal and have complete range of motion," Cassia tells me from by the sink in a far corner, taking off her gloves and washing her hands.

"Thanks Cassia," I tell her, finding my voice. "Although I should correct you on something I believe you said before I went under: there actually is scientific proof that says redheads require more anesthetics, so ha."

She only glares at me before Cade enters the room, looking anxious.

"Caleb and Jacqueline look like they're gonna wake up soon. If you want to heal them, now might be the best time to do it," he tells Cassia, looking almost sorry for her.

Cassia's shoulders sag a little, and she sadly nods her head before heading out of the room, muttering something like, "How am I going to tell them..."

"I'm coming with you. They'll need any happiness I can give," Susan says, following Cassia out the door.

I slowly raise a hand to my head, squeezing my eyes shut in an attempt to block out the despair of everything that has happened. That poor family, having lost both Evelyn and Victoria, and poor Susan. Even the mere thought of Kyle is enough to send my stomach plummeting, so I have no idea how she's holding up.

I don't cry, but for him I have.

"You doing okay, Adam?" Cade asks me, bringing me back to reality.

I shake my head to clear my thoughts, choosing to change the subject rather than answer his question.

"Let me ask you something, Cade, if you don't mind: why did you never turn us over to Will?"

"What?" He asks, caught off guard.

"I mean, why didn't you ever give us away in that bunker? Things would've been a lot easier for you if you had, so why didn't you?"

He takes a breath, pushing some of his hair out of his eyes. "There was a time, long ago, when I might have. I never agreed with Will and his methods, but when I first started training under him at sixteen, I would've done anything he said. I don't have a very good past, but as the years went by, I realized that I didn't want to become him. Turning you guys in is what he wanted all along, and I knew I couldn't give that to him. But I might as well have given you away; I think he knew what I was doing, where I was going all those times I visited you guys in the bunker. All this," he gestures to me and our surroundings "is my fault. If I had just stayed away, nobody would be dead."

"It's not your fault," I tell him firmly, but I can see in his pale eyes that he's not going to believe me.

"I thought you were supposed to be smart," He replies almost a little sadly, but before I can object again, it's his turn to change the subject.

"So what's your plan? What are we going to do now?" Cade asks.

I think for a moment, not entirely sure at that.

"For once, I don't know. I mean, we have to go after Julia; there's no question in that. But now that Will's dead, I'll have to reclaim my city, let all the citizens know they can come out of hiding now and that everything's okay," I ramble.

"We don't know that Will is dead. We haven't found his body yet," Cade reminds me.

"Then we'll have to keep looking. I need to find my sisters...they'll know how to help. I have to figure out where Julia and Peter are being held, the ruined prison will have to be rebuilt, we'll have to add to the memorial park here..." I keep going, my mind slowly coming alive again.

"Hey slow down, one thing at a time," Cade says.

But oddly enough, I smile.

"No, it's a good thing to have stuff to do. To be important, to finally be able to start cleaning up this mess that Henley and Will have created. My people won't have to be afraid anymore, and we can all assimilate back into life as normally as possible. The real healing can begin," I tell him, an unknown load feeling like it's slowly coming off my shoulders at the thought.

Cade looks a bit baffled at everything I want to do, but at the same time, a little invigorated himself.

"Well then, what'll be first?" He asks.

"First," I begin, pointing at a fresh hospital gown on a nearby table. "Get out so I can change."

Cade laughs, turning away from me and exiting the room, probably going to go find Cassia.

"Second," I say to myself as I lift the sheet off my body and ease my way off the operating table.

"I need to find my sisters. They'll know how to help."