Stonebrook High School

Chapter 62

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~*Ω*~

An hour had passed as the search team dug through the rubble. The command chip had been discovered by the Order and quarantined and the Wither cores were properly destroyed, removing any chance of another incident like this happening again.

Magnus and Ellegaard had been digging until their hands were bleeding, taking no time to put on gloves out of desperation. They hurled remains of cars and earth over their shoulders, practically swimming through the debris. The search team dispatched by Isa went up to the two and begged them to let them take over. Ellegaard grabbed them by their collars, growling, "It's been an hour and we haven't found her yet. She could be bleeding out right now, dying as we waste time trying to convince each other. Get back out there and leave us alone unless you see her."

Out of fear, the search team left to different sectors. Magnus groaned loudly and threw a rock in frustration. "I can't believe how much wreckage there is. For eight days, there sure is a lot of crap here."

"Well, that's what happens when you use military equipment for purposes unintended," Ellegaard grumbled, pushing aside a large pipe.

He rolled his eyes. "Where is Ivor, anyway? Shouldn't he be back by now?"

"I don't know. Soren was always a tough one to placate."

"Can you stop using all these big words? I'm already having trouble understanding what happened."

She sighed. "Okay, fine. I'll stop with the large vocabulary."

They dug through the rubble for another fifteen minutes, determined to find that girl. As they cleared out a whole circle, a Sky City first responder cried out, " Alpha found!" Ellegaard and Magnus stopped what they were doing immediately and ran over to the woman who was slowly pulling debris off the still body underneath.

Her arm was sticking upwards, protruding from the rock like a sapling freshly planted. All that was visible so far was the chest and hip area, covered with scratches and blood, the black Ocelot jacket torn over her waist.

"Oh, Jess..." Ellegaard frantically heaved rubble off of the girl's torso, motioning at Magnus for help. They eventually uncovered her whole body, carefully pulling her out and allowing the first responder to do her job.

She was airlifted by a helicopter once she was determined alive, the search team rushing to return to the hospital and stabilize the girl; they also had to record the data that had been discovered.

The two Order members watched as the helicopter flew away into the distance. As Ellegaard held her hands up to cover her face, Magnus suddenly doubled down in pain and clutched his chest. She kneeled down to his level out of surprise, exclaiming, "Are you okay?!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm good."

"No, you're not, Magnus. You're exhausted. You shouldn't push yourself too hard."

"Hey," he coughed, "I kinda had to run nonstop. Besides, if I didn't help find that kiddo, you'd yell at me for being a dick."

She smiled pitifully. "You're not rude. You're just unable to tell the difference between what's right and wrong. Now, come on. I can't have that happen to you again. You need to relax."

"I'm fine, Ellie. Really."

"If you're calling me Ellie now, something's definitely up."

"... Hey."

She helped him up by slinging him over her shoulders. "Hm?"

"I'm sorry."

"... It's okay. We're real heroes now, aren't we?"

~*Ω*~

An hour had passed when Isa and her associate received the message. She had to leave Jesse in order to tend to her job, giving him some time in trying to comprehend what had happened.

The trembling of the earth before the message... It was definitely the Witherstorm. It was deactivated somehow. Had Jess and the others finished it off? Did they succeed?

He thanked the existing forces in the universe, whispering "thank you" to himself. It was over. It was all over. There was no need to run anymore. They could return to their normal lives without any fear of being sucked up and forgotten.

But then there was Petra and Jess. Would they ever remember anything? His head filled with thoughts of black and he frowned. They might never be the same again. Neither would understand his inside jokes, neither would know him like they used to, and neither would know how much he loved them like before.

Of all people it had to happen to, it was the two who he found most dear. His twin sister and his childhood crush.

He finally admitted it to himself. He liked Petra. Maybe even more than just liked, as he said earlier. He loved her.

Only now could he realize what he wanted. The one moment he wanted to act on was the worst moment because she didn't know him that way. Not anymore.

Ugh. Life was so complicated.

"Jesse?"

He craned his neck around, not surprised to see his aunt at the door. "Hi, Aunt Isa."

"I have some news for you and you cannot panic, okay?"

With that last part, he felt his chest tighten and his throat choke up but he nodded.

"Your sister's been found in the remains of the Witherstorm."

"In... in the remains?"

"She stopped it. She deactivated the Witherstorm from on top and fell with it. She's in critical condition but alive."

He sighed. "At least she's alive."

"Jesse... she could pass at any moment. From thousands of feet in the air, it's a miracle that she was still breathing. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news but you mustn't get your hopes up."

"I know." He wiped his face with his scarred hands and smeared some blood on his cheeks. "I know. But I don't want to think about it. She's alive now, and that's what matters to me. I can live through all this pain and so can she. We can wait, Aunt Isa. In both endings, she'll be okay."

"Both endings," Isa mumbled to herself. "Heh. You're much too positive for my tastes."

"I have to. If I'm not I won't be able to face my parents if we both make it out of this."

"Hm. Explaining sudden amnesia would be difficult to someone like Belle. And the heart of Chris is much too soft. If it comes to that, I'll throw in a personal offer. I'll talk to them myself."

"Really? Even with the whole lawsuit incident?"

"Yes, of course. You've given me courage, Jesse, and I don't intend to waste the gift my sister passed on."

"Gift?"

"Yes. Love."