Maria gave him another hug, then she and her mother left. He did not react to Maria. He attempted to recall what had happened today. Was it yesterday? Attempting to think hurt his brain, so he stopped. He had never been alone. Desolation flooded his mind and body. He noticed his Betrothed and Mars or Bust bracelet and spun it around his wrist. He guessed that this was Bust.
He glanced over at his uncle that sat next to him. Then he noticed something digging into his lower back. He turned and saw a cold steel doorstop. That should have hurt. It did not. How long had it been there? The aroma of bleach permeated the air as a man appeared from around the corner with a mop and bucket, cleaning the blood and ash-stained floors.
His viewer vibrated. It was probably Hope. He pressed the play button.
A message displayed above his viewer.
Hope: Cole, I love you.
His viewer vibrated again.
Hope: Text me, so I know our connection works.
He did not want to, but Hope needed him. He spun the bracelet again. Then he typed a message.
Cole: I'm here.
He received her response almost immediately.
Hope: 😊
"Let's go," his uncle said.
He helped Cole to his feet, and they boarded a nearly empty jet on the other side of the docking station. They departed, and his uncle broke the silence by stating, "When I was in rehab, we studied grief because we wanted to be prepared to handle it and resist running back to our addiction. The first step is denial. That's easy because you can pretend that this didn't happen to help you through the early days."
Cole understood his uncle spoke to him. Yet, he did not process it or try to answer. He kept trying to wake from this nightmare.
He dozed off and fell asleep the rest of the trip home. No. This was absolutely not his home. He had rid himself of this plague and being here meant he was going backwards. Yet, his direction meant little when he had nothing.
He soared over Mars. He turned to see Hope next to him. They held hands and glided over Olympus Mons. He woke when the steward announced their return. Those dreams used to fill him with joy, happiness, and a longing to fulfill his goals. Now they filled him with resentment and despair. He would have to stop sleeping.
"You gotta get up." His uncle said, staring at him. "You're the last person here."
His uncle led him through the airport, to the parking garage, and then they left in his vehicle. He did not resist where he was going because this still felt like a horrible nightmare. There was no way that he was back on Earth. They drove to his uncle's house. He did not belong here.
Cole flew over Mars and approached the enormous Olympus Mons again, but when he shifted to see Hope, he saw the beautiful young woman with the purple hair. She descended away from him, and he chased after her.
"OK. We're here." His uncle woke him.
Cole opened his eyes. It was sunny outside, and steam emanated from the hot asphalt. His uncle lived in a trailer park, and they pulled up to a mobile home. He saw his uncle's girlfriend waiting for them at their front door.
He missed his parents, and he also missed Hope and her family. His parents were dead, but Hope's parents were alive. Why did he miss them if they were still alive? Right, because he should not be here.
"You have to let me go!" He blurted out in the car to himself, days after Hope asked him. He cleared his throat. His mind did not work correctly anymore.
His uncle was ahead of him, embracing his incredibly young girlfriend. She was much closer to Cole's age than his uncle. Then, she skipped to the car and knocked on his door.
"You don't have to be shy; our house is your house."
Shyness was far from the emotion he experienced. She opened his door, and he stepped out. His uncle returned to carry Cole's suitcases from his trunk. Those were the suitcases he had packed for Mars. What good would they do here? Cole would have left them.
He exited the vehicle and noticed many rusted cars in the surrounding parking lot.
"My name is Margarette," she embraced him and said, "but my friends call me Maggie. I am very sorry for your loss and wish we had seen you under better circumstances."
"You're the one from school last year." Cole stated. She appeared cleaner now with her brown hair combed flat and she smirked, which gave him a different opinion of her from the mad and screaming person he had met the first time. Her perfume smelled sweet, like orange soda, which cleared his nose of the smoke and blood aroma that had enveloped him until now. Her soft skin caressed his face. She seemed kind, but he still did not want to be here.
They entered his small house. The inside had large tiled floors and wood panel walls. The kitchen and dining table laid in front of him. He could not believe that he had ended up in the enemy's house.
"This is your room." His uncle said and motioned toward an opened door next to the kitchen. "Sorry, it's not that much. We were not expecting you."
Cole entered the tiny room. He believed it used to be a den that they converted and threw a single mattress in the middle, directly on the floor. A tall skinny lamp stood in the corner with a yellow bulb. A thin old brown carpet padded his floor, and a dull white coat of paint coated the sides and ceiling.
A single window against the back section lit his room, a faint breeze rustled the drapes, and the scent of somebody grilling meat permeated the house.
"You must be exhausted."
He nodded and yawned. He required more sleep. His eyes were heavy. Although, his current state allowed him to keep one foot in the real world and the other in a dream. It reminded him of a song his mom used to sing while cooking, Wide Awake in Dreamland. He had no desire to sing.
He noticed they did not have pillows on his bed, so he grabbed the one that Hope gave him with the picture of them together. He removed it from his suitcase.
"You have to change." His uncle said. He still had his blood-stained clothes on. The same that he had picked out to for their departure. His uncle handed him a pair of gray sweatpants and a white t-shirt.
"Go ahead. Get some rest. Let us know if you need anything." Maggie smirked at him awkwardly.
He stumbled into the room and touched his singed fingertips. They should have hurt. Cole shut the door and closed the drapes to eliminate any daylight. He should not be here. He removed the matching comforter from his suitcase and laid on the bed, pulling it over him. Then he closed his eyes.
His viewer vibrated, and a message appeared.
Hope: Did you make it?
He replied.
Cole: Yes
He closed his eyes again.
Thirty seconds later. His viewer vibrated again and announced, "Incoming message from Hope."
Hope: Watch my message!
Cole announced, "Play message."
An image of Hope's tear-streaked face. Hair in a ponytail. Parents behind her. She sat and leaned against her mother. "Cole, I have a six-month trip locked in here alone. I'm not going to make it unless you communicate with me. I know you're going through hell, but we can help each other." She glanced at her bracelet and cried more. Her father rubbed her back. Her mother sat motionless next to her. "I have to see you. Send me a message while the delay is still short."
"Record message," he announced.
A light illuminated above him. He put on a fake smile and waved at the camera. "Hey, Hope. I miss you and your parents. This place sucks. Let me give you the tour. Lamp, closet, window, bed." He paused for a second at each object. "It is tiny. I don't feel like talking, so I'm gonna sit here and record silence for a minute before sending this."
He heard a train whistle in the distance. What town did they live in? He did not read any signs on the way, nor did he care regardless.
"OK. I am done. I'm going to sleep, and I am not sure for how long. So, do not get mad if I don't send anything right away."
He announced, "Send message."
He had to find a way to Mars and Hope. Next, he found a hologram video of the six of them, him, Hope, his parent's, and Hope's parents and played it. Then he paused the hologram and positioned them next to his bed and pretended that they were in the room with him.
He fell asleep.