I pull away from Vanessa, unable to restrain a few tears from falling.
"Lets get you home," Vanessa says with a smile, grabbing my hand. Immediately the feeling of transportation overtakes me - one that I haven't felt in so long - and the next thing I know, we're standing in the middle of the planning room at the Base.
"It's been a while," I start, "tell me what's been going on around here!"
Vanessa smiles, and I can't tear my eyes away from her. Her beauty, her great personality, and her smile are things I've missed so much; I can't believe I finally made my way back to her.
"It has been a while! To start, after you were captured, I went right back to finding Celia during the days and searching for you at nights. I installed a tracker so I knew where you were, I guess, but I could never find the exact spot. I've been roaming those mountains for so man hours, searching underground and above ground but I could never find you. They must've hidden you well. Anyway, I found Celia quickly; she actually was in the spot that Rico pointed us toward. Once I found her, I immediately explained our plan. She was ecstatic. She helped me defeat Grey, actually, once I was able to figure out how to take down the spell that kept her locked in the cell no matter what. It was some pretty tough spells and puzzles to figure out, but I did it."
"Wait, so Grey's destroyed completely now?" I ask, sifting through all of the information I've been given. She has been busy. I wish I could've helped her with all of this but right now, all I'm concerned with is being with her once again, and also finding my family. I'm going to make things right with my father; I can't leave our relationship the way it had to be earlier; burned and destroyed.
"Yeah, Celia helped me see to that. He's spending some nice, quality time with the spirits. Luckily, Celia also knew a way to make sure he can't get into the real world; he's out of the equation forever," she answers, a fierce smile filling her face. I can't help but reflect the feeling.
Vanessa did it! She dealt with Grey once and for all.
I pull her into an embrace, squeezing her tightly.
"You did it, Vanessa. You're incredible. I'm so proud of you," I whisper. The fact that I was out of that damned cell and reunited with Vanessa, who I'd missed more than anything, feels surreal.
"Hey, if you hadn't thought of Rico before you got locked up, we would never have found Celia," she says, pulling away and staring into my eyes. I've missed those emerald eyes that glow the way they do.
"I can't take any credit for this," I answer, raising an eyebrow. Vanessa smiles and keeps her mouth shut. Her eyes roam around the room, leaving her hands balled up in my shirt as if she's scared I'll slip away if she doesn't hold on.
"Celia would like to meet you," Vanessa says with a sigh. "But first, you need to take me back to that facility that you were in."
My eyes light up and I can feel my body shake slightly.
"W-why do we need to go back there?" I stammer, leaning in to hear her answer. It's as if she just asked me to dive back into a never ending nightmare I'd been living.
"We need to kill everyone there before we assume you're safe," Vanessa responds, her face grim, her tone dark.
Taking a deep breath, I grab her hand and raise my right one. Imagining appearing in the facility once more, I close my eyes. I can't watch this; I just can't watch myself go back to a place where I'd been locked for so long, but my mind knows I need to. A large part of me also wants revenge.
Our feet echo as we slam into the floor. I peel my eyes open. Just being back here brings horrid memories of being locked up flood back through my brain.
"This'll be quick, but guard me," Vanessa orders walking away from me. I nod and look around, keeping my body alert.
Vanessa closes her eyes and holds out her hand. Her face shows concentration, but her body shows relaxation.
Suddenly, a gray smoke floods out of both of her palms, snaking it's way through the hallway and around our feet. Immediately it feels as if the oxygen is being sucked out of the air as the wave of smoke grows and expands. The speed at which the air is decreasing is hard for me to even put my mind to.
"We need to get out of here!" Vanessa shouts. Quickly I imagine appearing back and the Base and raise my hand, struggling to get air to my lungs.
As we disappear, a slight tingle appears in my arm. When we land back in the planning room, I wheeze, gulping in as much air as I possibly can, as if my lungs can't get enough.
The same gray smoke sputters out of the pores of the skin on my arm, floating into the air for a moment and dissipating.
"What was that?" I ask, walking over to Vanessa and snaking an arm around her, not wanting to let her go.
"It's the spell Celia taught me. Luckily, it only works in the spot you assign it to which is why it just disappeared off of you when we landed here."
"Is this Ryder?" a calm, high voice questions from behind us. I turn my head and see an old woman standing in the doorway, her gray hair barely reaching her shoulder. She wears a light pink dress, covering her arms completely. Her light blue eyes are just as calming as the rest of her.
"Are you Celia?" I asked, reality dawning on me. When looking for her, I pictured her as a younger woman, but it makes sense that she would be old; she's Grey's daughter after all.
She nods warmly, smiling.
I walk over and outstretch my hand.
"It's so nice to meet you," I whisper, trying to push the memory of her trying to kill me out of my mind.
"I'm sorry I look like this," she says immediately, not even looking at my hand. "I didn't in the cell, but the moment the spells on that cage were broken, my age came rushing through my body all at once."
Her voice is weak and her eyes twinkle with what I think may be nostalgia.
"It suits your personality," I answer, pulling back my hand awkwardly.
"Well, it's nice to meet you. I'm gonna go sleep," she says softly, turning and walking out of the room.
"All right, that was . . . weird," I whisper as I walk back to Vanessa.
"She's old; give her a break!" Vanessa exclaims with a laugh and a light slap on my arm. I smile and intertwine my hand in hers.
"Do you know where my family is?" I ask, roughly thinking about the feeling of fingers wrapping around my throat. I can't leave my thoughts of my father like this.
"Yeah, they've not really left their quarters at all. Luckily, no one really comes here anymore at all, so they haven't missed out on anything," Vanessa answers. She raises her hand and a moment later I'm standing in a room, my mother, father, and brother sitting on one of the three beds in it playing cards. My father and brother don't even turn their heads but my mother does.
Immediately she cries out, "Ryder!"
I jog over to the bed and wrap my arms around her. I can feel her tears spilling onto my meager, white shirt.
My father looks up vaguely, but his eyes light up the minute he sees me. My mother releases me, slumping back down onto the bed, staring at me as if I'm not real.
"Dad," I begin, but he cuts me off right away.
"I'm sorry, Ryder. I'm not sure why I did what I did and why I blamed you, but I was insane for it." He stands up and walks over to me, pulling me into a quick, tight hug.
"It's fine; you'd been tortured and your mind had been messed with. I don't blame you."
With a smile, I turned to my brother, a warm feeling filling my chest. It's about time to speak to him and act like brothers.
"Hey, Ryan," I whisper. He looks up at me uncertainly, his mouth hanging open slightly. His features reflect my own, creating a twelve-year-old replica of myself.
"It's been a while," he answers with a laugh, his eyes lighting up just like the rest of the family.
"It sure has," I respond, ruffling his hair.
"I'm sure you two have tons of catching up to do - go; we'll meet you in the dining hall for dinner," my father says, motioning to Vanessa. I smile and open the door.
"Thank you. I'll see you then. I've missed you so much," I say, fighting against the tears that were attempting to spill over my eyes.
They all smile, and we leave the room. Immediately, Vanessa transports us. The next thing I know, I'm inhaling the fresh air, the sounds of spring dancing in the air. The smell of flowers waft into my nostrils. Moist soil sinks beneath my feet as I walk hand-in-hand with Vanessa through the forest. We both make our way toward the field we first met in without talking about it.
"So, I guess we can just try to forget this whole journey, now, right?" Vanessa asks, the bright sun shining on her hair and illuminating her face. In this moment, I wouldn't change anything.
"No," I answer, "there's some things I don't want to forget."
"Like what?"
My answer is quick. It's been on my tongue for a while as if I had been wanting to say if for so long.
"I never want to forget the dangers of being uncontrollable."
~+ Uncontrollable +~
Here's the epilogue. I hope you enjoyed. I tried to tie up all the loose ends.
Long authors note in next part that's posted that will explain a lot about the quality of the book and my future names. I know it's long but you should all read it. It has my plans for the future and something exciting about what is coming off of this book (kind of I guess).