Ashes of the Future

Chapter 8

The wind skimmed past Matt's ears as he briskly jogged around the block, in the early hours of the morning. He wasn't entirely sure where his body was leading him, but it was taking him somewhere.

Space was what he desperately needed after last night. Explaining that two of their friends and his father were dead was hard, but explaining that more people are going to die was even harder. And the fact that they now had no idea who killed either of them is what makes it worse. Someone is out there, waiting and ready. And there was nothing Matt could do about it, but sit and wait.

He bluntly stopped running when he realized where he had ended up. The cemetery. His father's grave.

He wasn't entirely sure why or when they buried him, or how they even knew his name. But right now that didn't matter. This was the first time he had been alone in a long time, the first time he had been left only with his thoughts, his grief. Tears began to flood out of his eyes, Matt helplessly wiping each one away as they fell out.

Matt wasn't going to talk to him, it didn't feel right, but he knew it would one day. He knew when all of this was over he'd actually be able to understand and feel his pain, with his sisters.

"It's okay to grieve the loss of your father, you know that right?" Avry softly spoke, as she stepped up behind Matt.

"How-" Matt twisted his gaze round to look at Avry, rubbing his eyes, but it only made them sorer.

"I saw you leave the house in a rush, didn't want to you being out on your own."

"So you've been following me this whole time?" He lifted himself up from his squatted position, Matt's body now over towering Avry's petite frame.

"Not following, just making sure you were okay. Are your friends not very concerned people or?"

"They know I can handle myself." Matt began to run again, hoping Avry wouldn't continue to follow him. Her sweet and bubbly persona was bringing too much joy to what his friends would call 'a parade of shitfucks.'

But she still kept at it, her speed and pace remarkably impressive. "Matt, stop running away from all of this please."

"I'm not running."

"But you are," Avry spun herself in front of Matt, placing her hands on his biceps in an attempt to stop him moving. She was a lot stronger than he expected, actually he wasn't really sure where she was holding all this strength, mentally and physically, "you're not the only one who's lost someone. Yes, the one you lost was your father, but no you didn't see his brutally mutated body like we did with Wade, and supposedly with Betsey. Please, just stop for a second."

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Nathly and Lela lay side by side in Nathly's bed, facing each other. With the news of Betsey and Wade being dead, loneliness wasn't an option. Grieving wasn't an option either, they were too on edge for that. Too scared of what was going to happen next.

"What do you think the boys are going to, now that Matt's father is dead?" Nathly propped her head up against her hand, lacing her fingers into the dark brown curls of her hair.

"I'm not sure." Answering weakly, Lela stay staring at nothing, her brain zoned out of the real world. She did begin to contemplate whether the boys would stay, or how they'd even get home, since the reason they came was to find Matt's father. But as recently explained, they also came to save their generation, and this was how it all started.

Lela zoned back in when she felt the warmth of Nathly's hand against her face, brushing her strawberry blonde strands out of her vision.

Nathly would've asked if Lela was okay, but she knew she wasn't. She didn't know if she would be ever again. "You want to go round to Elise's? Her and Vykter are having a movie marathon if you're feeling up to it."