The Certainty (Book Four in The Illusion of Certainty Series)

Epilogue: Sword & Arrow

Music Selection: This Is Your Life by Switchfoot and Hello by Evanescence

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We were the last to arrive, the last to check in. The new recruits buzzed around me like bees. I couldn’t help but want to squash them. All of them. I’d been in a horribly depressed mood since Michael left. Nothing I did could make it go away.

And worst part was he was still keeping me out.

I was alone.

In life and in my head.

My father arranged for all of my things to arrive before me, a day before to be exact. All except the luggage I’d started out with at the beginning of the summer. As I followed the escort to my room, I kept my eyes downcast, one hand held firmly onto Luke’s while the other gripped Michael’s tag like a lifeline.

I can do this. This will be easy. I kept repeating the two sentences in my head like a mantra. They weren’t true yet and I would keep saying them until they were.

We took the elevator down this time, instead of up. And I felt my body rocket down while my stomach churned like the ocean. I tried not to squeeze Luke’s hand too hard. He may be Immortal but he still needed circulation in his fingers.

The doors opened up to a dark hallway. It was cold and eerily silent. The escort led us down the hall which curved like the maze of a bee hive. I guess it was symbolic. He stopped suddenly in front of a door on the left, #34. I was new recruit number thirty four. Lucky me.

He unlocked the door and stepped aside so we could enter. I walked into my new “apartment” and paused just inside the door. Luke stood next to me, my hand still clasped in his.

I was suddenly filled with fear. I was scared to be on my own, truly alone for the first time.

“Welcome to Sword & Arrow,” the escort said, sounding completely bored. “This will be your home for the next year. You may decorate it anyway you like, paint the walls, arrange the furniture, anything you want. The apartment comes already equipped with one bed, one dresser, one bookcase, one desk, one chair, a stove/oven, refrigerator, dishwaster, and a microwave. If you need anything else: kitchen table, more bookshelves, couch, TV, etc, you must buy them yourself.

“Orientation is in an hour. Please excuse all guests and convene in the lobby with the other recruits. Good luck.”

The escort handed me the keys to the apartment and then left, the sound of the door closing reverberating through the room. Luke set the suitcase down and looked around the room.

“Gee…”

“I don’t think I can do this.” I turned to look at him, tears making him look like a blob. He released my hand and gripped my shoulder.

“Gee, you can do this. I know you can. You’re the strongest person I know.”

“Luke,” I took a swallow, “I don’t think I can. I feel like I’m drowning.”

He took my hand and led me over to the bed. He made me sit down and he took the chair from the desk.

“Georgiana, look at me.”

I looked at him, trying to see him through the tears. But I couldn’t. Everything was distorted. I blinked until he came into focus, rivers of salt water running down my face. He took my hands in his, gripping them like I’d done to his earlier.

“You can do this. Just try not to think about everything else. We need to get you unpacked and ready to go for tomorrow. Focus on that.”

“What about after?”