Chlorine Halos

Music & Lyrics

Pressing my hand against the cold stone, I felt the depth of the engraved name. My eyes burned, unable to shed any more tears. With my emotions completely depleted, I brought my hand to my lap. I focused on the partial imprint of the epitaph in the center of my palm: "S OS".

"You could've told us that you saw a scout," Anthony barked, storming out of the shelter, aggravation apparent and absolute. He charged up the hillside with Natalie as Maddie stood at the entrance, hanging her head. After a deep breath, she began shuffling down the slope, slowly moving closer to me.

"Avian, you okay?" she asked earnestly. 

"How did this happen?" I replied, my voice quavering.

She knelt down next to me. "I think you know."

"Mike."

"All things truly terrible can be traced back to Nicholas Michaels. He was a plague we fought for years. Some thought him to be immortal, invincible. But, those myths were shattered when someone made the god bleed." She cupped my hand with hers. "Care to venture a guess on who that was?"

A faint happiness curled the corner of my lips, but the chiseled reality in front of me quickly erased the pride. "Did they suffer?"

"I don't know. I wasn't there. But, you were. And it changed you."

"This is why I went back, isn't it?"

Maddie nodded. "You said you wouldn't let them die twice. Not like this."

My thoughts pulled me into a dark, depressing corner. "And now that I've saved them, I'll never see them again."

"What makes you think that?"

"A broken Valet." I shook the baton in my hand. "A scavenger hunt without any clues. There's no point in hoping for a happy ending. I mean, I know they're safe. That should be enough, right?"

I glanced back at the congregated gravestones, hearing a conversation with David echo in my mind. 

"...are you going to fight or surrender? Will it be an act of valor or a moment of self-sacrifice? Keep this in mind Avian: Martyrs never see if their plans work."

"You want me to fight?"

"No, I want you to win."

His voice wisped away as Maddie tightened her hold on my hand. "That's a beautiful memory," she said. "Keep it close."

"You heard that?"

"Sorry. I didn't mean to eavesdrop. Sometimes, it just happens."

I smiled, feeling the warmth of her fingertips. "It's okay. Really." I stood to my feet and tucked the baton in my back pocket. Slowly nodding, I whispered to the memorials, "We won. We won."

"Don't think that your story ends here," Maddie said, grinning widely and moving her head to catch my stare. "There's so much left that still needs to be written."

"But, what if I make things worse? I can't put them in danger again. I can't be that selfish."

"Yes, you can!" she fired back, breaking her calm composure. "I need you to be! I can't keep living in my yesterdays because you're not in my tomorrows. I need you to find your way back to me. I need you to find who you were so that we have a chance to be. I need you to finish what you started. That's who you are. I won't let you settle for halfway. I won't settle for halfway."

"I-I-I'm—"

"Guess who we found!" Anthony called down from the hilltop. Maddie stifled her sobs, sniffling, and walked back to the entrance of the shelter. The twins slid down the slant with a slim man dressed in denim jeans and a deep teal turtleneck. As I trailed Maddie, I began to recognize the twins' companion.