To The Stars And Back - Jack Dawson

Chapter 27 - Finale

Jack's POV:

Luna and I were riding next to each other on the train to Sacramento. I gazed out the window as the greenery whisked past the windows.

"Hey," Luna said, causing me to turn to her. "We're gonna find her."

"I know." I sighed. "You can say it now."

"Say what?"

"That you told me so." I said. She just stared at me blankly.

"I won't do that. I don't care about being right anymore. I just need to know that she's safe." She replied.

"I really hope she's okay." I said.

"Me too."

When we got off the train, we didn't have any luggage. We just came with ourselves, and I had shrugged off the fancy black coat that I was wearing. I bought a map of the local area to look for Lamey's Bakery.

"So, where is it?" Luna asked.

"Looks like it's a mile walk or so," I pointed to a nearby path to what looked like a town. "that way."

"Ugh, you might have to carry me."

"There's no fucking chance that I'm gonna do that, Luna." I said, folding the map.

"Jeez, someone's moody."

"Not moody, just... anxious. I don't know what I'm gonna do without her." There was a sense of vulnerability peeking through my tone that Luna quickly noticed.

She sighed. "Alright kid, let's get there fast." Luna lifted her skirt slightly so that she could walk faster and we began walking down the untamed path to the town. As we neared the village it was quiet. Too quiet. When we got there, it was obvious why. It was practically abandoned.

Incredibly unsettling. It was like a bomb had gone off, killing all of the people but sparing the buildings.

But there it was, Lamey's Bakery. It looked run down and horrible, but it was there, which meant that behind it had to be what I was looking for.

Untamed trees and greenery clouded the empty space behind the bakery. The stars shone so brightly above the abandoned little town. What Beth never knew, was that everytime she was reading the newspaper by the lake, I was drawing her. Even when I was angry.

Her curious and intuitive self experiencing news for the first time under the starry sky. Two of my favorite things combined. Of course, Beth is not a thing. No person is a thing, gender, race, sexuality, nothing like that can make someone an object.

She's always been unafraid to speak her mind on that topic.

God I hope she's okay.

Luna and I walked past the bakery and through the dark forest. It seemed like an eternity before we finally came across a bunch of stone and such, overgrown with grass and flowers. It was charred, like it had been burned.

Right. Beth burned down the cottage. Luna looked at me as if we were having the same thought. I nodded and we walked past the cottage, spotting what looked like water. A lake. That's when I heard that beautiful voice that I had missed so much.

Elizabeth's POV:

I sang 'Come Josephine' quietly as I attempted to keep myself from crying. I hugged my mother's scarf close to me, feeling myself grow weaker with every passing second. I hadn't eaten for seven days.

All hope felt lost, so much pain raked my body. But it was okay, because Jack was happy. I would do anything to make that happen. But I would give anything to see his face again, to hold his hand, to talk to him. Too bad that can't happen.

"Come Josephine in my flying machine going up she goes, up she goes..." I barely whispered, my voice echoing through the labyrinth of caves that surrounded me. Unallowing of any escape. This truly was torture. Everytime I did my favorite thing, sing, it would only remind me of the fact that I'm stuck here forever.

That's when I heard a voice. "Beth!" It called. It sounded like Jack. But I just wrote it off. I was just hungry, there's no way that Jack found me. He's with Rose.

"Beth!" a voice sounding like Luna's called. That's what got my attention.

"Beth!" Jack called again.

"Jack!?" I asked/yelled.

"Beth!" His tone was way more excited now, as if it was restored with hope. I didn't even care about the why or how, I just knew I wanted to be saved, more than anything. I stood up in my maroon gown, my legs sinking into the shallow dark water of the cave, only up to my calves.

"Jack!" I yelled again, running through the caves. "Where are you?"

"I don't know! This thing is basically a maze!"

"I know. I know." I yelled back, continuing to follow the sound of his voice. I ran through the caves, just searching for a sign of life anywhere. I got weaker and weaker with every stride. But I didn't care.

I continued running, following his voice that echoed through the caves. That's when I caught sight of a tall shadow at the end of a hall. "Jack!" I yelled. The shadow snapped it's head in the direction of my voice. I smiled and ran down the cave, turning a corner and spotting Jack, on a dry piece of land. His face lit up when he caught sight of me.

We ran towards each other desperately, me finally getting on dry land and we attacked each other with a hug. I missed being able to touch him. He pulled away, looking at me longingly. "I'm so happy you're okay." He said.

I smiled and he leaned towards me, finally doing what I'd wanted to do for so long. He kissed me. I'd always wondered what it would be like to kiss Jack, and it just felt like... fireworks.

After a long while, we pulled away and kept our faces close. "I love you." I said.

And for the first time, he said the words that I had wanted to hear for the longest time.

"I love you to the stars and back."