Prime (Book 1 of the Godling Trilogy)

22- The Bittersweet Ending

The truth is; everything does not end up being happy. I can't give you this fun resolution where things turn out to be so much more frivolous and lighthearted than the events before. We'd suffered losses and it would take a lot of time for us to heal, even though we would never be completely ourselves again. There is no way for me to tell you: 'Everything turned out great! Yay!'. Because I had lost four very significant people in my life, four friends, in less than two days. The only way for this ending to feel truly happy and resolute would be them magically coming back to life and is West's case, not being evil anymore. I've been telling myself recently to not focus on the dead, and instead focus on the living.

Ava had become the strongest person I'd ever met, both emotionally and physically. Sure, just like the rest of us she was damaged, worn-torn, collateral but she managed to keep going and that's what made her so unfathomably courageous in my eyes. She'd lost a lot, more than the rest of us, and she was only fifteen. It seemed cruel for the fates to have chosen this for her, but she didn't seem to mind. She remarked to me, "Well, if it had to be anyone, at least it was someone who could handle the deaths of their closest loved ones."

There was a strange sadness in that comment, yet she still managed her sly smile. She had a point, though. If anyone else in the group had lost as much as she did I wasn't sure they would be able to keep fighting. She did, and she kept fighting for a long while after that.

Deedee and Sara hadn't changed much either. Seeing this made me think back to when Bash had told me of the two who had died the week before I came to Olympus. Perhaps it was an endless cycle of death and survival, some of us making it and some of us...not so much. These appeared to be the people who survived time and time again. Maybe that's how it would always be, a few constants; the people who knew how to fight for their life and the people who never got the chance to learn. I wondered what I would be.

 Deedee had lost her family before and friends, so seeing the way she clung to Sara like a life line made sense. The two had each other and that was pretty much it.

As we walked, well, more like limped away from Coit Tower we looked back to see it changing form. It reverted back to normal, piece by piece. The chessboard floor faded away and the spilled blood dissolved into nothing. Every remnant of us being there disappeared and the room shrunk back to normal size. The mortals would never know what happened there that night, but I would. I could never forget.

Just as we were about to reach the parking lot a figure appeared form no where. Instantly we all drew our weapons, except Sara of course, who was practically a human weapon. The figure held it's hands up in surrender and chuckled.

"Whoa ladies," he spoke, "No need to gut me."

It was Bash, and when I scolded him for showing up when he wasn't supposed to be here he replied with:

'Well, I figured at this point there had to be three possible situations; One: You had won and it was safe for me to come. Two: You really really needed back up at this point and even a sickly son of Hades would be helpful. Or Three: You were all dead and Nyx had won."

"And what would you have done if it was the last one?" I demanded.

"I would've died among friends, instead of withering away alone in the kingdom of Nyx," he stated matter of factly.

He didn't seem to think that this statement was dismal in the least, but something about it struck me. He would rather die by my side than live knowing that his friends were dead. It was chivalrous but undoubtedly stupid.

I punched him on the shoulder to show my disapproval.

But he just laughed and stumbled back, with a genuine but trying to act like it was fake, "Ow!"