I Am Fictional Real

Chapter 17: To Be Immortal

        "Hold your fucking mouth, Esinna Valunett!"
     A hand went around my throat and yanked me back from Akalirng before I could get the chance. It was just another of his minions, but for some reasons he was strong enough to lift me off the ground by my neck alone. I began struggling for my own breath, reaching out in front of me as if that was going to help me at all. Akalirng simply laughed at my pain, grabbing at the Tethers and holding them tightly.
     "I"ll revive Attin, and I'll make him immortal," he grumbled to himself. "I will succeed."
     "OFF!"
     There was a force against the brute's back, making my body crumple into what I referred to as the popcorn kernel. I kept my eyes to the grass for a long moment before Rantorm leaned down to look at me. His arms and scars began to look so much more normal than his smaller form. But he looked deranged, though, like he was ready for everything to attack him all at once. Then, his scarred hands panted at Aka, who was leaning over Attin's electrocuted body.
     "No!" I screamed.
     Then, frozen.
     "Esinna!" Two started. He ran over to me, picking me up from the dirt and giving me a minute to breathe.
     "Two..." I breathed out. "Oh thank god you're able to stop time. Wait. I thought you couldn't move!"
     "The floor around us is white. That's where I can move. I can exude enough energy to cover the whole city, but I would die from that," he explained. "This is enough to make me pass out."
      I shut my eyes. "I'm glad you're okay. You care me the most."
     "Alinak and Rantorm can kill everyone here and then some, but you and I... IT is both recklessness and agility of a dumbfounded kind that leads us to hiding within ourselves. Everyone will die from your name. Whether intentional or just dumb luck, it will work."
     "I just... I don't understand. One minute the Tethers were working, and in the next-"
     Two grabbed my shoulder and pointed at someone farther away. My sister. "I saw her tampering with them last night."
     Lanien... I turned towards Akalirng and Attin, who were both so close to achieving their dream. I  shut my eyes.
     "Two, do you trust me?" I asked hesitantly.
     "I suppose," he replied.
     "I'm going to eat the Tethers. That's the only way to get rid of them, and I don't want anyone else to get hurt."
     "You don't know what that will do. I don't trust Akalirng to be truthful with the facts on this one."
     "I don't either, but we don't have that many options." My feet were beginning to move towards them, and I reached out to the Tethers. They were pulsing, an oddity that made me  shiver as they wrapped around like a blanket.
     "I hope you know what you're doing."
     I smiled and opened my mouth. "I don't."

     "What are we going to do with two of our best out right now?"
     "We focus on re-building. That's all we can do. By the way, you never said how you got back without being, I don't know, used as hostages?"
     "Akalirng revived us and brought us back to these ruins, but he never stayed. He never told us where you guys were."
     "Well, he's dead. We made sure to burn the bodies."
     I felt a voice, calling into the void of my mind and pulling me into the light. Some have told me that this is death. The color white is purity, and it is heavenly, but I felt a sting of reality kick in once my fingers touched the outer rim of this light. I felt the cold. I felt the pain, the memories, the friends. There was the sensation of weight against my chest as eyes looked at me in hopes I would wake.
      "I fear you have transcended death."
      I turned to the dark, but no one was there.
     "Leave. Before I change my mind."
      I turned back to the light, and inside I saw Alinak with sleepy eyes staring at me. He looked so peaceful, yet I knew he was restless to see me wake from the slumber I was in. I pushed myself into the light and let it consume me into my waking conscious.
     I opened my eyes, and focused on Alinak. He noticed me at first, rubbed his eyes, and then visibly froze in place like he wan dreaming. He then grabbed me into a tight hug, refusing to let go even to let me breathe. After a while, he pulled away, and I was stuck just looking at him again.
     "I'm so glad you're awake. How are you feeling?" he asked.
     "Well," I replied. "How long have I been out?"
     "Three weeks. Two was out, too but he woke up a few days ago. Said something about using too much energy or some other analogy I didn't quite understand."
     "Oh." Right. That happened. I remembered us fighting, but I couldn't remember the conclusion. We seemed to have won, but the circumstances of that were far beyond what I was reading right now.
     "So, you really ate the Tethers," he mumbled. "I can't believe..."
     "I did..." I remembered that I had, but... Why did everything after that become dark and blank? Did I pass out immediately after? What did that mean?
     "I"m going to get Two and Rantorm," Alinak started. "They'll be happy to know you're awake."
     I grabbed his wrist. "Alinak, wait." He looked me in the eyes. "Don't go anywhere just yet."
      He sat back down in the chair and kept his eyes on me for a moment.
     "You don't remember what happened, do you?" he sighed.
     "No. I don't."
     "Then you have to understand. You swallowed those Tethers, which practically means you're like me." He turned from me. "There was probably a better solution, but you acted rashly. That's why we're still recovering."
     "Alinak, are you mad at me?"
     Alinak laughed. "That would imply that this situation had any other way of being solved. I said you acted rashly and there was probably better solution, but you acted rashly. That's why we're recovering now."
     "Alinak, are you mad at me?"
     Alinak laughed. "That would imply that this situation had any other way of being solved. I said you acted rashly and there was probably a better solution, but I knew your thoughts. You wanted to save us. Well, I'm more nervous than anything. I didn't really want anyone else to carry this immortal burden."
      "What... What happened after..."
     "Well, it didn't occur to Akalirng at first that Toan stopped time at all, and he freaked out that the Tethers were gone. He tried attacking you, but Rantorm ripped Akalirng in half before he got the chance. After that, it was all surrender from the bad guys, and now they're with us."
     "Is-"
    "Your sister is missing. Two mentioned something about her turning the Tethers off before the attack, but she was anywhere when it was over. "Alinak scratched his head. "I'm sorry, Esinna."
    No, it was fine. Great, actually. I had so many questions for her, but at the same time it hurt my chest to see her standing there with that same goofy glow she always had.
    "So," I shut my eyes. "Is the fight all over with dictators?"
    "Yeah. It's all over now."