The Light in the Dark

Chapter 41

The next day we buried the dead. I stepped outside of the makeshift hospital for the first time in days and was shocked by the scene in front of me. I know for as long as I live, it will never be one I forget. Lining the street was row upon row of dead lying in neat lines. I looked on with dread at all of the people laying still on the ground. There had to be hundreds of them.

I looked down the rows and saw a familiar group of people crying above a boy on the ground. I walked slowly and joined them. I took a shaky breath and looked down. In death Greg looked oddly peaceful and still had the whisper of a smile on his face.

I wrapped my arms around Kylie who cried heartbreaking sobs into my chest. Her eyes were puffy and red and looked like she hasn't gotten any sleep. Carson joined us a couple of minutes later. All of my friends were here. All of them but one.

We watched as each person in the many rows was buried. If a family member or friend was present, they would say a couple words about the person. Many went down without any. Finally it came to Greg. His whole family was gone, but he still had six people to share with everyone what a great person he was.

I went first. I took a deep breath and faced the tired and broken crowd with tears running down their faces. "Greg was an amazing person," I started off. "He was brave and caring and smart. He did things on our missions that I could never have imagined from someone as quiet as him. On that last night, he fought fearlessly. He wasn't even afraid of death. He died reassuring us he's happy and left with a smile. He was one of my best friends, and I'll never forget him. Greg I love you and miss you."

I choke a bit at the end, and Carson wraps his arms around me from behind. Then he steps up and says his own goodbyes.

"Greg was one of the strongest people I ever knew. Even with everything he lost and suffered through, he managed to smile and keep on fighting. I've seen so many people give up, but Greg wasn't one of them. I'll miss you man."

Carson says the last part softly so only we can hear him. He looks down sadly at Greg and musters a small smile. Sam goes on to say how Greg was his best friend. He tells a quick story of how they met. Sam accidentally broke the air condition in the summer so that it started heating up the whole place. Greg came right on time to save Sam as he was jamming his fingers on all of the buttons.

Some people laugh as they remember the day when the place suddenly got unexpectantly hotter. Sam smiles but the sadness is still clear in his eyes.

Olivia tells the crowd how even though Greg was quiet, he always gave the best advice. She tells everyone how caring he was. Then Xavier goes.

"Greg became one of my best friends. I remember the first time I saw him in training, I wondered what this small guy could do. Turns out he can do a lot. In one of our missions quiet Greg blew up an entire Government building! Since then I knew I had to watch out. This guy could destroy me if he wanted to." People laugh, and Xavier smiles at the crowd. Then he looks down at Greg. "Over the past few months, he became not only my best friend but also my younger brother. I'll miss you bro."

He looks to the sky. "Cause a whole lot of explosions for me up in heaven okay?"

Xavier presses his lips into a hard line, glances down quickly at Greg, and steps back. He rubs Kylie's back encouragingly and whispers something in her ear. She nods, takes a deep breath, and faces the crowd.

"Greg was one of the most important people in my life. He held me together these past few months. We would talk and grow closer until we realized we loved each other. It wasn't hard to love Greg but it made me so scared. I was afraid I would lose him like this." Kylie chokes back a sob, and we all move forward to hug her. Kylie gently breaks from our grasp with a smile and continues to talk. "I loved him and always will. Greg will never be truly gone from my life. Thank you Greg for all of the great times you gave me. I'll love and miss you always."