THRIVE: Book One

Chapter 113- Mortality

"Hina's right, it's not going to be possible." I sigh as I pull away from Dante.

"Are you kidding me?" Dante begins to shout aggressively "I can't just stand by and let you kill yourself!"

"What other choice do we have?" I shout back, my tears turning into frustration.

"Guys, calm down, this isn't helping." Valentina says calmly as she looks at Mahina "If we do this, Veronika can still come back again, right?" she asks hopefully. Mahina looks at me worriedly as she tries to find an answer.

"I'm honestly not sure." She sighs "If his soul dies and she's tethered to it, hers might perish along with him." she explains, trying to think of a solution.

"Are you kidding me?" Scara interjects "Hell no!"

"Break the tether!" Elias shouts.

"I told you, I physically can't!" Mahina says frustratedly.

"Try!" Eliana adds.

"She told you it's not possible, now back off," Valentina states aggressively as she defends Mahina.

"Then let's just let the bastard live, we aren't letting her sacrifice herself!" Dante yells.

"We can't just let him go, don't you understand how hard it was to get him to this point?" Mahina asks angrily.

"So, you want her to just die? What the hell is wrong with you?" Elias scoffs.

"Me? Do you really want to risk him bringing dozens, no, maybe even hundreds of people here without their consent?" Mahina shouts.

"We can lock him up, stop him from trying again," Scara states.

"Do you really think we could hold him for the rest of his life?" Eliana asks frustratedly "He would just kill himself so he'd be reborn and come back in twenty years."

"Then we'll just hold him until we find another way." Dante objects "Let's just get out of here and find a new plan." he suggests.

"If we let him wake up out there, he'll just kill us all. Do you really think we'll all make our way back here again?" Valentina explains, "It took us hundreds of years since the last time, are you really willing to wait that long?" She tries to reason with them, but everyone is fighting like a pack of hungry wolves. They were never going to be able to make a decision no matter how long we stayed here, it was an impossible choice; one that only I have the power to make. As I watch them scream at each other, I take advantage of the commotion and kneel beside Gael. He looks at me with curiosity as I stare into his cold eyes.

"Gael," I say boldly "Get them all out of here," I sigh. He looks at me with surprise as he begins to sit up. Suddenly, Dante looks terrified as he sees the expression on Gael's face.

"No!" he screams and suddenly, everyone turns their attention to me.

"Veronika, what are you doing?" Scara shouts as she begins to run to me, but suddenly, Gael raises his hand and they all became frozen in place.

"I'm sorry, but this is how it has to be," I say solemnly as I stand up, slowly making my way toward them.

"Veronika, don't do this!" Dante screams as he tries to fight it.

"Think about what you're doing!" Eliana shouts in terror as I step forward.

"It's going to be okay." I say calmly, "Don't worry about me, this is my choice."

"Don't be an idiot! We can try again, this doesn't have to end here!" Elias objects.

"We all know that won't be an option. It's now or never." I sigh as I approach Mahina "Take care of everyone for me, you always know what's best."