Phase 43

Chapter 16 - Elliot

2 weeks later.

We left the city immediately.

It wasn't because we were scared, it wasn't because we were guilty. It was because Death rotted there like a sick, nasty cloud that wouldn't leave. Luckily, we were out of there before the sun had set on the second day we got back. We had come back for the bodies - my father, my uncle, and I, but Finn had only taken one look at them in the back of the truck and then stalked back up into the house and did not come out.

I helped my father and his brother bury the Bridgemans in the small cemetery near the city, but we never really came back. After sealing the spots with a small stone, we drove off, leaving their memories behind.

Finn had broken the news to her brothers a few days after we cleared the city. It was a heart-wrenching conversation to hear - the two boys had been asking questions for days by then. I had a feeling that Charlie already knew. We had left the city without their parents and older brother - Charlie had to be old enough to make the connection. Still, while Finn was telling them, the two boys broke into tears that squeezed my heart.

After Finn had tucked the boys in that night, she came in and collapsed on the couch. I had been re-lacing my shoes when she did so, and didn't notice that she was crying her eyes out until she actually sobbed. The rest of the night resulted in small conversations and a common avoidance of a certain topic.

We were now a few cities away, all of us trying to recover from the gaping hole that had been ripped in us. I was helping Ashley pack away food for the morning when I heard small sounds coming from the upstairs bathroom in the house we had inhabited.

"What was that?" I asked Ashley quietly. She looked up, her silvery brown hair tucked into a tight ponytail.

"Not sure, why don't you go check?" she breathed. I nodded, setting down the bag of apples I had just packed up. Ashley gave me a small smile before I walked off.

Walking up stairs, I found Finn sitting on the sink in the guest bathroom. Silver flashed in her hand, and long chunks of something had been strewn around her. I halted where I stood, my hand still raised from pushing the door open. Finn didn't even glance at me.

"What the-" I stuttered, trying to make sense of what was happening. Finn finally dropped her hand and turned towards me.

Her long, chocolate brown hair that used to reach practically to her waist now brushed the tops of her shoulders. It was jaggedly cut and messy as crap, but she had done it nonetheless. The lengths of her discarded hair littered the bathroom sink and floor.

"I decided it was getting too long," was all she said before turning back to the mirror and continuing with her hacking. She wasn't using scissors - instead she was using her small pocketknife. It's blade was sharp enough to slice through her thick locks, but I still didn't know why she hadn't just used the scissors from downstairs.

I stuttered to find a response. I will admit that I liked her long hair, but I didn't really get a say in the matter. I guess if she wanted it short then that was her decision, but it would take a while for me to get used to it I guess. It was short.

"Don't say anything," she finally said with a tiny smile when she glanced over again. I stared at her, wondering if I was more shocked about her hair or the fact that she just smiled.

She just smiled.

I almost hugged her, right then and there. I started grinning like a bloody idiot, my eyes for sure lighting up like a Christmas tree. Finn gave me a look before cracking a tiny smile. She turned back to her hair, hacking off the last few long pieces before slipping the pocketknife back into her pocket and shaking her hair. Her now wispy hair flowed around her head in chunks, sticking up this way and that.

"About time you got that grin back," I teased as she hopped down from the sink. She made a face at me before stooping to sweep up the long chunks of severed hair. She discarded them in the trash can, using a wet towel to snag that last few pieces. I watched from the doorway, waiting until she was finished to speak again. "Do you like it better now?"

"I actually do, to be honest. It was getting a little out of control," Finn breathed as she shuffled out of the bathroom. I followed her out, flicking the lights off when I closed the door. Finn walked over to the first bedroom door, pushing it open slightly. Her dark, now impossibly short, hair swung around her head as she peeked in.

I asked if she was checking on her brothers with a whisper. She glanced back at me, a lock of hair blocking her amber eyes, but she nodded.

"They're asleep," she muttered before closing the door with a click. After a moment of fighting with the lock of hair that had decided it's home was in front of her eye, Finn pulled a thin brown hairband from her wrist and hastily pulled the top half back. Strands stuck out here and there, but she seemed contempt.

"They're gonna get quite the scare when they wake up," I teased lightly. Finn blinked up at me, the ghost of a smile fluttering across her lips.

"You don't like it do you," she muttered. I immediately shook my head, assuring her that I liked her new 'do'. I really did, but I had a feeling that she was still skeptical.

We crept back downstairs, keeping quiet to avoid waking the boys. When we got down, I sat all three adults seated around the small table in the dining room. Upon our entrance, they glanced up.

"Where'd your hair go?" Darren called with a wink. Finn's lips tilted, another glimpse of a smile flashing across her face. I grinned at my uncle, taking a seat beside him as Finn slid into the last empty chair around the table. Ashley was beaming.

"I like the look, princess," she said, tugging on a piece of Finn's freshly hacked hair. After futzing like a mother for a moment over Finn's locks, she turned her hazel eyes towards me. "See, it's not that hard to give yourself a haircut. I think maybe Finn should give you a trim - you need it buddy," she said with a smile. Heat rushed towards my cheeks and I ducked my head into my hands, hiding, ironically, behind my long locks of chocolate hair. I heard my uncle chuckle and even heard the hint of a laugh from Finn. My father had cracked a smile.

"It really wouldn't be that hard. If you could just stay still, I could probably do it," Finn huffed, a grin finally, finally, spreading fully across her chapped lips. I raised my head, unable to stop a chuckle of embarrassment.

"Thanks, but no thanks," I muttered, still sort-of hiding my face behind my hands. Finn caught my eye, a rare twinkle in her gaze. But, when my father opened his mouth to speak, that twinkle guttered and went out.

"There was an outbreak in Idaho. North of Soda - a huge facility of miners was infected with suicide bombers. Hate to open up that can of worms with no warning, but they're headed this way and headed toward the Pristine. We need to get there fast."