REANIMATION

[EPILOGUE]

Tree kneeled against the side of the boat, watching the water splash up as the boat made its way across the seemingly endless ocean. He felt the rising nauseous feeling the longer he paid attention to the scenery, but he couldn't manage to take his eyes off of it.

The takeoff had been relatively quiet. Few words were shared, but it didn't take long for everyone to go silent. He assumed most of them had been reflecting on everything they'd endured, and how they'd managed to end up on this boat even after everything. It had truly been a miracle this many people had been able to escape off the island. But it left so many questions buzzing in his head.

What will we do when we hit land? I doubt they'd react kindly to people escaping off the 'zombie island'. What if they kill us for safety measures? They never expected anyone to get out alive from our island. That's why they shut off transportation and doomed us all to die.

He couldn't help but feel resentment. He knew it was wrong, and that the entire wellbeing of the rest of the world far outweighed their small island's.

But try telling that to someone who lost nearly everything.

My closest friends...

Their faces began to flash through his head. Pen, Liy, Bottle, Remote...

I was so awful to them.

And I didn't even ever get to fully apologize.

"Tree?"

Black Hole's voice brought Tree back into reality.

By that point, the boat had begun to spark with noise once again. Everyone was starting to warm up to each other. Lollipop and Gelatin were near the back of the boat. Gelatin was laughing his ass off, likely over some joke that he cracked, while Lollipop's faint smile plastered on her face. Their companions, Bracelety and Saw, weren't too far away from them. Bracelety was leaning over the boat, the tip of her shoes barely touching the floor of the boat as she looked down in awe of the swiftly passing water. She dipped her arm down into the water, splashing water into the boat and all over Saw. She continued to grin and bear it, hand clenching tightly onto the end of Bracelety's shirt, occasionally tugging her back into the inner half of the boat to prevent her from falling into the water.

Then there was Flower, Bubble, and Basketball. A particularly strange trio if Tree was asked for his own input. Flower and Bubble obviously made sense, they were both connected through Ruby. It wouldn't be too far out of left field to see them interact. Flower was boasting about some sort of concept of a fashion line, from what he was able to pick up. Bubble and Basketball listened intently, either one of them occasionally interjecting amusingly.

Taco had somehow gotten a fish hook lodged into her finger. Blood was dripping from it as she whined the more Book struggled to rip it out, teasing her in a desperate attempt to lighten the mood. Pie was in charge of driving the boat, but occasionally flashed glances toward the bloody duo, rolling her eyes as Book squirmed around the boat in search of a first aid kit or some sort of bandaid. Pillow occupied the fourth seat, (the others being occupied by Pie, Bubble, and Basketball) and by that point had completely dozed off, her resting expression content and relaxed.

He hadn't expected it to take that shortly, but it was certainly welcomed.

"What's up?"

"How are you holding up?" Black Hole asked.

"Better than I expected I'd be," Tree laughed weakly.

He bent down beside him.

"So how do you think this is all going to turn out? Do you really think we'll be able to return to normal after everything?"

"Of course it won't return to normal." Tree sighed. "We lost too much for that to even be an option. I don't think this... empty feeling will ever disappear. But it will fade with time. We can go on for their sakes. I don't know how this confidence spiked so suddenly, but..." His eyes set on the horizon.

     "...I have a feeling everything is going to be alright."

REANIMATION

February 7, 2020
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February 26, 2021

Thank you for reading.