Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her walk away. He heard it only once.
“Goodbye, Simon.”
“Wait, Cynthia!” He stood and chased after her. “Wait!”
Chapter XXIV
Sunrise
“Please!” Simon sat up, gasping for breath. Where was she? Where? He sat back, temporarily dazed. When his vision cleared, he glanced around, finding himself back in the ship. A dull, incessant buzzing came from the comm. He brought it up, “Hello?!”
“Simon?”
“Cynthia….” You’re still here… alive.
Thank you.
More crackling from the comm. Whatever the interference was, they didn’t have much time. They were hurtling into the atmosphere. Flicks of flames licked the hull. It was gaining on them; the sides of the ships were glowing white.
A myriad of colors spilled into the cockpit. They scattered through the shield, shining like gemstones. The blue sun was only a speck in the sky.
In the midst of all this, he focused only on the sound of her voice.
“Simon?” Cynthia repeated. “Are you alright?” It appeared she hadn’t heard him the first time. So, when there was no response, he heard her grow angrier, yelling, “Answer already!”
That finally popped him out his daze, and he replied, “You don’t need to be so loud!” As there was another bout of silence, he amended himself, hastily adding, “But I’m fine, thank you.”
No reply.
He waited. And waited. And waited. By the two-minute mark, he was ready to turn off the comm when something came through, barely a whisper, and then louder again.
“You….”
Hmm?
“You!”
Simon nearly laughed; she couldn’t think of anything. Even though she was probably infuriated with him, she couldn’t say anything. That in itself brought him some relief.
She’s about to speak again, isn’t she? He prepared himself for the onslaught, but none came. For thirty seconds.
Then it came.
“You do know you’re an idiot, right? A giant one, at that. First off, you tried to save me again! I was just fine earlier, I didn’t need you! You didn’t have to keep on doing that! I… I’ve been doing fine on my own! You—!” She calmed herself, and then continued, “Ever since that day, you’ve helped me—so why can’t I do the same? Why can’t I—”
“You have! Of course you have! You’ve helped me more than you ever knew. In that respect, you’re an idiot too! We’re both idiots! Why couldn’t we just… stay together? You… you just ran off without me! And I accepted it! And—”
“I made my own decision! Is that so hard to understand? I made the choice to leave—”
“And it caused you so much pain! I saw it take its toll on you with my own eyes! Remember our reunion—”
“That wasn’t a reunion! That was a trap, a set up! I brought you there! I—”
“And yet, because you helped me escape, here we are, back home.” His tone had softened now. Cynthia stopped, speechless. The anger had all but dried up. All of the pent-up feelings had been expelled. That was….
“Do you want to hear my ingenious plan now?”
“What plan?” Simon flinched. He could hear the sarcasm in her voice. Most likely, she didn’t have faith in this, considering all of his other plans. But he still had to try. That’s what it was there for. “Do you even have one?”
“Of course I do!” He paused. “It’s just… not complete.”
“Not complete?”
“Yeah. So?”
He heard her sigh. “All right. I’m all ears.”
He proceeded. “Basically, I retract the wires and have you free fall. Then I slow the thrusters, catch you in my cargo bay whilst you’re falling—”
“Dropping.”
“Whilst you are falling, and I close the hatch and we fly right out of here.”
“Back into a war zone.”
“Precisely.”
Another pause. Simon waited patiently while Cynthia mulled it over. When she had come to a conclusion, she piped up over the comm, saying, “Horrible plan.”
He was taken aback. “Why?”
“As I am falling, how do you expect to catch me without, let’s say, pummeling my scrap-pile of a machine into itsy-bitsy pieces, and inadvertently killing me? See the flaw?”
“We’d be at the same speed!”
“You’re cutting the engines?” There was some surprise in her voice.
“Of course I am! That’s the only way, far as I know.”
“Simon… you’re supposed to be the smart one here…” she objected.
“What’s that?”
“Nothing.”
Perhaps he wasn’t thinking very clearly, considering their situation, but it was the best his mind could produce at this moment in time.
“Anything else?”
“A better plan?”
“I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“I just can’t.”
He heard her sigh again. “Man, what did the Crows do to you?”
“You mean, besides chasing me away to the Alliance?”
“I know that!”
“Yeah….”
For some reason, they’d run out of reasonable conversation points. His plan was ruined in an instant, and they were still out of options.
In fact, the two of them had hit a dead end.
Most likely, at any rate.
In the span of four minutes, the sky had darkened, obscuring the brilliant colors of dawn. Beyond the fiery mass that was his ship, Simon saw only a dull gray. It swirled around them in wisps, burning away when they passed, revealing patchy sunlight.
“Simon….”
“I know.”
They were almost there.
Time had passed, but the two had not escaped the cloud-like barrier that separated them from the outside world. This wasn’t here when they had originally fled. It seemed… no. No.
Arcadia was no longer their home. That was truer now than ever before. He hated to admit it, but this place had not been home for a very long time.
Wasn’t that right?
They tore through the clouds like a comet. The sunlight blinded them as the shields failed and the wires strained against the sudden rise in pressure. Several snapped, leaving Cynthia’s craft dangling by a thread. Communications flickered in and out. Even if the sun had resurfaced, it would have been blood red in color.
Listen.
The wind. It rattled against the hulls of the ships. A howling that never ceased.
Do you remember?
Remember… what?
Smog made it nearly impossible to see. Ash rained down from above. It dug into the cracks in the hull, rendering the sensors useless. In the distance, entire mountaintops had been sheared off.
What was this?
“Incoming!” The voice was crystal clear.
“For what?” Simon shouted.
“That!” She gave him the coordinates, and he turned his attention toward it.
There wasn’t anything there to see.
Why don’t you try to remember?
I… can’t do that.
Why not?
Why…?
“What are you talking about?” he replied, and checked the coordinates again. Still, there was nothing.
“I’m telling you, I just saw something!”
“What then?”
“I—I don’t know! It was—” The comm cut for a moment, and then her voice renewed, yelling, “There it is! Two o’clock!”
Still nothing—
What was that?
There really was something hidden in the clouds.
And it was heading straight for them.
They tried to evade it, but it was useless; it was already upon them. A hailstorm buffeted them from all sides, banging the crafts around like cans.
“Hold on!”
“I am!”
Simon gritted his teeth as the wind continued
its relentless battering. Would they even survive this? Of course, they’d been through worse, but at this rate….
They were spat from the storm and were going faster than ever.
‘You… still haven’t told me, right?’
‘No, I haven’t.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because….’
They were spinning like mad, the wires pulling and tugging, pulling and tugging. The two ships drew closer and then farther apart. Quick glimpses of land appeared, reminding them that the ground was getting closer and closer.
“We’re going to crash!” Cynthia’s voice came through the comm.
“I know that!” he replied, trying to regain control of the ship. Why wouldn’t the thrusters work?
Come on…. Come on! Not now!
The continents increasing in size.
Still nothing.
‘Please, just tell me!’
‘You should remember.’
‘Now’s not the time for that!’
‘I know, but still.’
They were goners.
Warning. Warning. The alarms blared in his ears.
“We… have to find another way out.” Simon was starting to panic. Had he done so earlier, or was he just hiding his fear?
“Yes, of course we do! We’re—!”
But, strangely, he was calm. As he examined the instruments, he found himself crying—there was only one solution.
We have to detach.
He calmed down and waited.
“Cynthia.”
“Hmm?”
“I’ve got something.”
“Yeah, what is it?”
“We…” Say it! “We have to detach.”
“What…?” He heard the surprise in her voice. The ground was nearing. Another short round of silence, and then: “All right.”
What? How is she…. no. How am I all right with this?
“All right?”
“Yeah, if that’s the solution.”
Why? Why were they both so calm? Simon was beginning to wrap himself up in something he couldn’t get out of.
“Why…?”
“Why? I guess… I’ve been through too much, all this time, that I… that I just want to go home.”
That’s your reasoning?
“Then why can’t I come with you?” he asked.
“Because, silly, everyone needs a mechanic.” Her voice cracked on those words. Was she trying to ease him into letting her go?
He was silent. But she….
“Please, I beg of you, just… just let me go!” Her voice rose in pitch. Why was she doing that?
And why couldn’t he come with her? It would be simpler, easier, in fact, just for the two of them to—
“Simon, do you remember?”
“Remember what?”
“What I said to you before.”
“Before…?”
‘I—’
It was on the tip of his tongue.
‘I—’
What was it? What—
“Simon! You have to make a decision. Please!”
Huh?
The ground was reaching for them, closer and closer and closer. He heard her screams, but… he didn’t want to leave her. Not now. Not ever.
But…
He….
He cursed himself—how come he couldn’t do one simple thing? How—
Before he realized it, his hands slid over the controls, retracting the wires.
Sunlight burst through the clouds one final time.
And then he remembered.
‘I love you.’
Tears flowed down his cheeks. How could have he forgotten? That hadn’t been a lullaby, or even a melody. That was—
The wires entered their slots. And—
“Thank you, Simon.”
No, wait! Please… please… don’t go.
Cynthia.
“Goodbye.”
Epilogue
The tree was in full bloom, unlike last time. Its petals fell with the grace of a ballerina. Still, even in the spring, it was freezing.
At least the flower was safe.
When he approached the two graves, he stopped and admired the tree’s leaves. They were sparkling with dew under the sun. He smiled.
“Hello,” he said.
Then he cast his gaze back down and he kneeled.
“Sorry I’m late.”
He had to be strong for both of them. He dug the flower out of his cold pocket and set it on top of the second slab of stone.
“Here. I still remember when you gave it to me. Must have been, what, ten years?” He knew he was making small talk to no one, but still, it was nice. “I kind of miss home. Do you? Never mind, I know you don’t. After everything, you must enjoy it. Perhaps you’re even resting on the cliff.” He didn’t know how much longer he could keep this up. His eyes were burning. He sniffled.
So, he patted the two graves, then stood and quickly wrapped up his conversation. He didn’t want them to know.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back, of course. You don’t need to chase me down or anything.” His hands were waving on their own. Why was he acting this way? His vision was blurring. “So, anyway, I—” It was no use. He was crying again.
The man kneeled again. “You know, Cynthia, you could’ve told me earlier. Though, I probably would’ve done the same thing: go after you.”
For the last time, he stood.
“So, I’m just going to say it now, while I’m still here, as I never returned your… confession.” Why was he being so formal? He had prepped himself on the way. He had kept telling himself the same words over, and over, and over again. But now….
No. As before, there was no going back.
“I love you.”
Wiping away the last of his tears and granting himself one final glance before he turned away, he said,
“Farewell.”
Acknowledgements
Thanks given to my family (specifically my grandfather and dad for helping edit). Also friends as well, and my editor, and any others that helped over the course of creating this novel.
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