by Tessa Clare
When I do, I see Roman, Tate, and Finn. All three of them are sleeping soundly. They’re hunched together, practically spooning each other. I smile. It’s been a long day for them as well, and I don’t know where I’d be without them. I’ll need to find a way to thank them for everything they had done for me – but until then, the only thing left to do is rest. I squeeze between Roman and Tate and close my eyes. For the first time in a long time, I drift into a peaceful slumber.
I’m the first one to awaken the next morning. My stirring causes Tate to wake up. I offer him a smile – the only thing I can give him right now – and motion for us to move outside the tent, so we don’t wake Finn and Roman. Once we do, I ask for him to explain everything that’s happened.
“Roman and Finn spent a day trying to figure out what was going on,” Tate explains as we snack on granola bars that Finn had packed in the trunk. Neither of us questions how old the bars are, as we’re too hungry to care. “As soon as we were within WiFi range, Roman was able to deactivate the BIONs to keep them from doing any further damage. The thing is, there was still poison in your system that was slowly killing you. They were trying to figure out how to reverse it, but what Roman figured out was that he didn’t need to program the BIONs to absorb the poison. They wouldn’t, as that’s not what they intended to do. What they’re supposed to do is automatically detect if there’s something wrong and help you. I guess he basically reset it to their factory settings – kind of like that one time when your computer broke, and we had to reset it.”
I nod in understanding, but I also understand the implications of his words. “I’m immortal, Tate.”
“Well, not really,” he says. “You’re not safe from injury – and knowing you, you’ll probably get yourself into trouble.”
“You know that’s not what I meant.”
Tate goes quiet, knowing full well the implications behind my words. I’ll never age, and I’ll be safe from diseases for the rest of my life. At the same time, I’ll never have children, and I’ll forever be twenty years young. Considering the age difference between Roman and me, the thought terrifies me.
Tate lets out a sigh. “I guess it could always be worse.”
We don’t get the chance to continue our conversation, as Roman and Finn emerge from the tent a moment later. Without a second thought, I run into Roman’s arms and pull him into an embrace. I want to cry. I haven’t felt this weak in such a long time. During my worst hour, Roman had come through and made me strong again. Twice, he had saved my life. At least this time, I can properly thank him for it.
“I love you,” I whisper in his ear.
Roman responds by kissing my forehead. “I love you, too.”
“I’m sorry that I said you hold me back. I was stupid and prideful.”
“It’s okay,” Roman assures me. Something about his tone indicates that it isn’t okay, and it’s understandable. I hurt him. But we have an eternity to work through it.
“Not to cut this reunion short,” Finn interrupts. “But we should probably try to put as much distance between the Midwest and us as possible.”
I pull away from Roman to look between Finn and Tate. Tears fill my eyes, and I’m overcome with gratitude. These three have risked everything to save me. I don’t know what I had done to deserve it.
“Thank you,” I say, tears threatening to spill out of my eyes. After everything they had done, those two words don’t seem to be enough. “You guys saved my life. I… I’d be dead if it weren’t for you three.”
Finn smiles. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Well, we probably should worry,” Tate points out, shuffling his feet. “What do we do now? I’m guessing we won’t be able to go back to our normal lives.”
Finn shrugs. “Normal is overrated.”
I glance between the three of them, an idea coming to mind. I don’t think I’ll be able to personally repay them for everything they had done, but I know someone that can. “I have an idea.”
Leonard is an early bird. The four us wait outside his office, expecting to wait for another few hours before we see him walking through the elevator doors – but it isn’t even seven o’clock in the morning before he walks by, whistling. His whistles stop as soon as he makes eye-contact with me. He glances between the four of us – our bodies sweating, aching, and bleeding – before he takes another glance at me. I open my mouth to explain, but before I can utter a word, he opens the front door and gestures for us to come inside.
“I hope you plan on paying me this time around,” he says with a huff as he begins his work.
By the end of the day, the four of us have new identities. Leonard gives the new identification cards to me, who writes three checks. The first is to Leonard, who had canceled his appointments for the day to help my friends and me out of a bind. The second and third are placed in the envelopes that Leonard had given me. One goes to Tate, and the other goes to Finn. Both of them nearly faint when they see the amount.
“Holy shit.”
“Who’s Elisa Meeks? I think she forgot to add a decimal point.”
I roll my eyes. “Did you think that I was going to give up my fortune when I went on the run?”
Tate shifts uncomfortably. “Well, isn’t that what you’re doing now?”
I think about what Gideon had told me: “Your father amassed a fortune selling immortality to some very dangerous people.” The money is tainted. If it weren’t a necessity, I’d burn it in a heartbeat.
“Consider it payment for everything you guys have done for me,” I say stiffly.
I part ways with Tate first, who insists that he doesn’t need to return home. He’ll be able to buy everything that he needs. I pull him into a hug and thank him for being the greatest friend that I’ve ever known. I hope that I’ll be able to see him again.
Finn is much more difficult. We’ve never met before him rescuing me from the bureau, but I still owe my life to him. I give him an awkward hug and tell him to take care of himself. During the car ride, Roman had filled me in on his story. I wonder if he’ll be able to leave behind his wife and older child.
I tell Roman that we have two last stops before we hit the road.
The first stop is to his apartment. He stays on the lookout to make sure that law enforcement doesn’t come chasing after us. I emerge from the building carrying Neville, who is squirming in my grasp and causing my entire face to turn pink. It’s a miracle that I can even breathe.
It’s this moment that Roman starts to cry. He’s stroking Neville’s fur throughout the car ride to our destination and whispers goodbye’s that I’m not able to hear. He murmurs, “I got him when he was a kitten. He was my best friend for the last four years.”
I look away guiltily. If I weren’t allergic, I would’ve been more than content bringing him along. The only thing I can do is the next best thing.
Our second destination is Darcy’s house.
I use a torn piece of an envelope to wrap a message in Neville’s collar: ‘Still not giving up on my promise.’ Once I catch a glimpse of Autumn playing in the garden, I let the cat hop out of the car. I hold Roman’s hand as we wait. It takes several minutes for Neville to realize that he’s no longer in Roman’s apartment. It takes even more for Autumn to take notice of the creature that’s in her front yard. When she finally recognizes him, she rushes over to him. We drive away before she has the chance to see us.
Once we’re on the road, I tell Roman, “You need to sleep. You’ve been up for a long time.”
Roman stretches on the seat, not needing to be told twice. “I will.”
“But before you do that, you need to tell me where to go.”
“Anywhere is fine with me,” he says with a content smile. He leans his chair back and prepares to fall asleep.
I sigh, wanting to tell him that his answer isn’t very helpful, but if I’m near Roman, I don’t mind.
“Hey, April?” Roman murmurs as he drifts to sleep.
“Yeah?”
<
br /> “Remember when you said that you weren’t capable of living a normal life?”
Feelings of guilt rush through me. “Look, I said I was sorry for that…”
“I know,” Roman interjects before I can beat myself up for it more than I already am. “I just wanted to let you know that I hope I could prove you wrong. We can be happy. We can live a normal life, now that everything is over.”
But it isn’t over – not in my mind. Our destination has yet to be determined. We can go anywhere and start fresh. We can live our lives under the radar, and we can be happy, but it’ll never be over. Our destination is the same place we’re leaving: The Divinity Bureau. But when I come back, it’ll be to bring the bureau down. That’s a promise I’m making to myself.
Still, I smile to myself. We have this moment of victory, and I’m not about to ruin it. I say, “I am happy.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tessa Clare is the author of The Divinity Bureau.
When she’s not writing, she’s the Managing Director of Asset Creative House, where she’s known for her enthusiastic speeches and being one of the few authors with a passion for marketing.
Throughout her early career, she was a concession stand attendant, a busgirl, a barista, a player’s club representative for a casino, and an administrative assistant. She also spent years working as a manager for Vacasa, whose business model and revolutionary marketing strategies would later inspire the groundwork for Asset Creative House.
The Divinity Bureau is Tessa’s debut novel about a forbidden love between a young activist and a government employee working for a corrupt bureau, set in a dystopian world. Originally self-published in 2016, the story was taken off the market when Tessa decided to retell it as a first person story.