Survival

XXVI: "Not Goodbye, Just See You Later"

Jason's POV.

My palms were sweating as I rested my head on my knees. My body still felt weak and flimsy, the poison still running through my veins, but whatever it was Jasmine and who I soon found out to be Anisha gave me was working quickly to heal my system. For the last three days, I think... I'd been passed out, waking up here and there to hear loud noises and conversations about god knows what. But out of everything that had occurred in the last few hours the one thing that rattled my brain the most was Sylvia... She was alive, she's here, she actually found me, and she had just kissed me. I seriously didn't know how to comprehend it all. How did she find me? How was she still alive? Was I going to lose her again? And of course, in the back of my mind, I couldn't help but wonder where Simba was and if he was still alive... He had been my friend and only companion for five years, he never left my side, and he always did everything possible to make me happy. I couldn't help but worry for him...
"You gonna make it there Jason?" Mikah asked, his question followed by a small chuckle,
"I don't know, depends on how quickly I can find some food," I said weakly, keeping the topic away from more personal subjects. Which I believe was a success as Mikah's chuckle deepened while he shook his head in amusement. We sat in silence for a few more moments before I couldn't take it anymore,
"Can I see that?" I pointed at a long stick a few feet away, I didn't trust myself to be able to walk over and grab it. Mikah reached over grabbing the stick before tossing it over to me. I grabbed it with both hands before planting it on the ground. I figured that I might as well try getting my legs working while I could,
"What's going to happen after all this?" I asked, taking wobbly steps while using the stick as support,
"Well, all that depends on what happens next," Asher glanced up at me from a small stick he'd been carving the bark off of. He had chosen to stay here with us after Sylvia had run off,
"Yeah, like whether the Ameeregas or Taipans win this fight..." Mikah joined in,
"Or who dies," Asher added, lifting his knife,
"Yeah, like for you, it'll really change your fate depending on who dies. For example, if Sylvia dies, what are you going to do? Leave? Stay with us? Or what if Nicole dies, then that'll change whether or not you're allowed to leave," I shook my head, sighing heavily, there was too much up in the air right now for me to even think about going over every possibility,
"I'm sure you'll know soon enough though, Liam likes pushing buttons that'll change everything," Mikah commented, flicking a pebbled at a broken car, the metal making a clinking sound,
"Yeah," Asher chuckled, "Like that one time when he pushed that button that turned off all the lights in that building?"
"Or when he pushed one that opened a door and let all of the raiders in?" Both Mikah and Asher started cracking up in laughter. I just shook my head, stumbling around on the stick. I didn't understand how they could be laughing while their home was about to blow up any second, or when the people who they had lived with for years were lying dead everywhere. For about ten minutes after Sylvia had left, Mikah and Asher had explained to me everything that had happened while I was out. Supposedly Simba was alive, but Mikah said he hadn't seen him since Corny and Anisha got the plant that saved me,
"Who would become the leader if Nicole died though? I mean Bach is a traitor and died in that explosion," Mikah stated, standing up and glancing back at the wall before turning his attention back to us,
"I'd guess Walker," Asher said, throwing the stick he'd been meddling with a few feet away. As I started to actually pay attention to Mikah and Asher's movements and actions I realized how nervous and concerned they were. They were simply trying to make jokes to distract themselves from the truth of what was happening. I mean, that was better than freaking out and making a mistake... I guess I could give it to the Taipans that they had learned quite a few valuable traits. I walked over towards the wall, trying to stand as tall as possible. I could see a small glow near the front of the wall where a fire was burning, and the top story of the main building and some other ones around it. Knowing that Sylvia was so close yet in such danger wrecked my insides. Especially since I knew there was absolutely nothing I could do but hope and wait. I took another step closer, the sounds of Mikah's and Asher's voices muffled as their forms weaved in with the shadows of the dark. I could hear the rain pouring over everything, trying to obscure my vision. Though even the sound of water falling and the crackle of fire off in the distance couldn't hide the explosive echo that shook the earth below my feet. At first, I couldn't see anything, then they started to go off in the building... The explosion lit up the night sky, breaking the darkness which had layered everything moments before. Behind me I heard Mikah and Asher run-up, overlooking the scene. At first, the building remained upright, but then its foundations started to break, and the building in which I'd spent the last couple of weeks started to collapse. I made to run forward, but Mikah grabbed my arm, holding me back,
"Wait until they all go off," I growled, but did as he said. A minute later Mikah and Asher helped over the wall before we carefully made our way towards the main building which was in piles of rubble on the ground. I felt my heart pounding in my chest as we neared the scene,
"I'm sure they're fine..." Mikah mumbled though I don't think he even believed his own words,
"Who's that?" Asher interjected, pointing towards two figures who were a couple of feet ahead of us,
"I think it's Walker and Lindsey!" Mikah ran forward, and I soon caught up to him and Asher. I still couldn't run, but I could still walk,
"We have to find the others," Walker instantly ordered, as we came up, heading towards the rubble,
"Asher, Lindsey, you guys look on this half. Mikah and Jason, you two look on the other side," We all nodded before heading in different directions. I tried pushing the idea of Sylvia being gone out of my mind, but I guess it was the only thing on my mind, so it made it rather difficult. I'd only known her for about one day, but my entire life had changed that day. She was just so different from everyone I knew... She wasn't someone to just simply let go. As I made my way over the rubble I noticed how the fire was dwindling, the dust from the building collapsing and the rain I guess was enough to kill it, that plus the fact that there wasn't much left for it to burn. On the other side of the town, the sun was slowly starting to rise, the bright light breaking the clouds apart, though it still continued to rain lightly. The smells of rain and gun powder were the strongest scents. However, if you had the nose of, say a dog, you would most likely be able to smell the blood, the ash, the rotting meat... All of the smells that were inevitably there. Ignoring the pit that was forming in my stomach I observed my surroundings. I didn't see any people, and all the ones I did see were dead and not anyone I knew. There was glass, wood, and concrete fragments everywhere. Imagining Sylvia, I would assume she would have started to run away from the conflict, so if she was still alive... She would most likely either be on the edge of the building or a little bit away from it, so I decided to do that. Trying to imagine the scene in front of me, I put together all of the pieces. Standing up on a piece of rubble, I assumed the flat concrete part where Sylvia went was probably about a little to the right of me. Looking around I noticed how behind me there were more buildings. If things were exploding around me, I would have wanted to get away from anything that could possibly collapse on me. To my right there was the spot where the main base used to be standing, I wouldn't have wanted to run towards there... And then on my left was where the fire was burning, which would also not be the best option. Which only left going straight out, so I went there. Climbing over the rubble as quickly as possible I started looking around, looking for anything that could be her, or perhaps Liam who would most likely be near her. All of a sudden something caught the light of the fire and reflecting brightly back at me. Not daring to risk it being something important I ran towards it. The metal surface was just out of reach of the ruble that the building had created. As it finally started to come into view I felt my heart skip a beat,
"I found them!" I called over my shoulder before running over to her, falling to my knees beside her. By the looks of it, nothing had hit her, and she didn't have any bad wounds... Other than the ones that everyone was carrying. A second later Mikah was by my side kneeling down,
"I think she just got knocked out... We'll need something for her head though," He grunted, pulling out a small knife before using it to cut a strip of fabric off his shirt. Around Sylvia was a small pool of blood, which I assumed was caused by hitting her head, which was most likely what knocked her out. I lifted her head up, allowing Mikah to wrap the fabric around her head to help stop the bleeding,
"She'll be alright... Right?" I quarried, looking her over,
"Only time will tell..." He then got up and moved over to Liam, who was a couple of feet away from Sylvia. I pulled Sylvia up onto my lap, brushing her shortened hair out of her face,
"Don't leave me now... Please... I need you, Sylvia..." I whispered into her ear, not caring that tears were streaming down my face. I thought she had died once before... I didn't want to go through that again... I looked over her, realizing it was the necklace I'd given her that the light had caught. I sniffed, pulling her closer to my chest and resting my head against hers,
"Please Sylvia... Don't leave me... Not yet... I love you..." I closed my eyes, not knowing what to do, or if there was anything to do,
"You sound so pathetic..." I nearly jumped out of my skin,
"Sylvia!" Her voice was weak, and she looked like she hadn't slept in weeks, but she was alive...
"What? You thought you'd be able to get rid of me that easy?" She said with a snort. I chuckled, wiping my eyes, "EW!" She yelped, pushing me away from her, "I think you got snot on my forehead!" She frantically tried wiping at her forehead. I just cracked up laughing shaking my head,
"That's what you get for pretending to be dead," I retorted,
"Pretending eh? Well, I guess I might as well just keep pretending if you don't mind me," She started laying back down but I quickly forced her to sit back up,
"You are not sleeping on my watch!" I grunted while trying to pull her up to her feet. We both used each other as support as we looked around,
"Is he okay?" Sylvia asked, looking at Mikah who was tending to Liam,
"Yeah, I'm fine," Liam answered himself while Mikah helped to lift him up,
"Good, because I would have traveled to hell and back if you died," Sylvia remarked, giving him a stern glare,
"Of course you would," Liam chuckled, before sighing and shaking his head. A couple of moments passed before Lindsey, Asher, and Walker ran up,
"Where's Nicole?" Was Walker's first question,
"He... He didn't make it. He distracted everyone while we got away and... And Cyrus got to him," Walker looked at the ground, nodding silently. Even though I still hated them... I could empathize with them. They had just lost their main base and lots of supplies, as well as their leader. I almost laughed, realizing the karma, they stole supplies from many people, and then they lost it all. Or at least a lot of it,
"Did the explosion really kill all of the Ameeregas?" Asher broke the silence, trying to change the topic,
"No, but I'm sure everyone who survived ran off, realizing they had lost," Liam answered. Behind us, the sun was finally starting to actually peak over the buildings, the golden light making everything glisten because of the rain,
"What happens now...?" Lindsey spoke up, her head was hung and her hands were held behind her back in a formal gesture,
"Well... Now I suppose we need to figure out who our new leader is," Mikah stated, glancing around. The Taipans who Corny and Anisha had gotten out was now coming out to look at the results of the night's events,
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I say, Walker," Asher instantly put in his opinion on the matter,
"I mean... Yeah, he'd most likely be the best person for it out of everyone," Mikah agreed,
"You won't want me as a leader, the first thing I'd order would be for all of you to start cleaning up," Walker said jokingly,
"Yeah, that's why you'd be best for the job because Nicole would have done the same..." Liam remarked, chuckling softly,
"What about me and Sylvia?" I added in, the question of what was going to happen to me ringing in my brain ever since I became conscious,
"And Corny and Anisha," Sylvia added,
"As much as we need it... I'd prefer not to keep you here. As far as I've seen, you'd be a formattable enemy and I know for a fact that you don't want to stay here," I snorted at Walker's comment, even though it was quite true,
"Okay... What about Liam though," Sylvia turned in my arms, looking at her brother. Liam hesitated, a mix of emotions crossing his face,
"I love you... But the Taipans need me and..."
"And you need to stay here and help them recuperate," Sylvia finished Liam's sentence, giving him a sad smile in which he returned,
"You're sure you don't want to stay here though...?"
"Positive! I want to get as far away from here as possible before sleeping for a week! Offense intended," She said to Walker with a grin,
"Offence not taken," He replied back, making me roll my eyes. Sylvia always seemed to be creating and defusing conflict everywhere she went from the time I've been with her,
"How long until you leave?"
"As soon as I can get some horses," Sylvia stated to Liam,
"Wait we're leaving!? Anisha's coming right!?" I nearly jumped out of my skin as Corny ran up from behind us,
"Corny!" Sylvia yelled pulling out of my grip and hugging him. From what Mikah told me, he was a friend that had been with Sylvia when she came here,
"Of course she can... As long as she wants to," Sylvia walked over to Anisha, who was shyly standing beside Corny,
"Anisha... Before Nicole died, he had been talking about you and Walker..." Anisha interrupted Sylvia, making some motions with her hands to Corny who then turned back to Sylvia when she was finished,
"She says she already knows, and that it was quite easy to figure out," Behind me, I heard Walker Snort in disbelief,
"You did?" Sylvia asked in shock. Walker looked equally as surprised,
"She says yes, and that Walker is a good cousin, but that she would like to travel with us wherever we go but to come back here every once in a while... Wait you want to come with us!? That's so cool! Sylvia, I'm ready to go now!" Corny exclaimed at the end jumping up and down like he was a kid who had just discovered what sugar was. Sylvia broke out laughing, and I smiled shyly, rather feeling like an outsider to the conversation,
"You will come and visit, right?" Liam questioned Sylvia, who just snorted shaking her head up and down,
"Of course you dimwit, I'll have to come here at least a couple of times a year to annoy the shit out of you," She remarked, giving him an evil grin. I noticed how Walker was talking with Corny and Anisha a few feet away,
"Wait did you say horse? You know what those are now?" I asked, realizing what she had said,
"Yeah... Obviously..." Sylvia said, her cheeks holding a tint of embarrassment,
"Wait you still didn't know what a horse was when you met Jason!?" Liam exclaimed in disbelief,
"Don't sound so astonished..." Sylvia grumbled while Liam just cracked up in laughter,
"Speaking of which, do you have an extra horse or two that we could have?" Sylvia changed the topic,
"No... I don't know what happened to them, either they got out of the building during the fighting or... They went down with it," Sylvia nodded sadly, understanding,
"So, how long is this reunion going to last? Because I seriously want to go and pass out already..." I shook my head, laughing at Mikah's comment,
"You'll survive," Sylvia retorted,
"But you see... That's the thing, what if I don't survive?" Sylvia snorted rolling her eyes,
"Then I guess you'll just have to deal with it," Mikah made a pouting face before walking over to Walker,
"So... Are you leaving like... Right now, then?" Liam quarried, using a hand to brush the hair out of his face,
"Yes... I seriously need to get away from everything for a while... But don't worry, I won't wait too long before coming back..." She paused, before adding, "You know until you guys are finished rebuilding everything," Liam made a hurt face lightly punching her in the arm. I cracked up laughing, I loved how they both got along so well like they hadn't been separated for years. Then, out of nowhere, Liam enveloped Sylvia in a bear hug. She yelped before hugging him back,
"Okay! Now put me down!" She screamed while Liam chuckled setting his sister back on the ground,
"Even though you've only been around for a short time... I'm going to miss you," He said, giving her a sad smile,
"I will to you dimwit. Make sure these guys don't make any stupid choices... You know for a fact we don't have to be heartless to survive in this world," He nodded, then, to my surprise, he grabbed my arm and led me a couple of feet away from Sylvia,
"She is the only family I have left, and I'm leaving her in the hands of you, a dimwit, and an almost mute, you better keep all of them safe or else I will hunt your ass down and give you a very slow and painful death. Understood?" Liam explained lowly in my ear. His voice wasn't loud or angry, but held a clear and distinctive warning,
"Understood," I answered, swallowing the lump in my throat,
"Good," He then turned back to Sylvia, who gave both of us a skeptical look before shrugging it off,
"I guess this is goodbye then," Walker said, walking up to us with Anisha and Corny,
"No... Not goodbye, just see you later," Sylvia stated, giving us all a small smirk,
"I like see you later better," Liam agreed, smiling brightly at his sister,
"Stay safe, and don't get into too much trouble," Walker said, directing it at all of us, before stalking over to a group of people. He would make a good leader for the Taipans,
"Hope to see you soon, Sylvia," Mikah said, giving her a wink before running up to Walker. I glared at him as he did so, before my attention back to Sylvia and Liam,
"You will surely be missed, and thought about and bleh, bleh, bleh... Just don't forget about me and always keep a watchful eye out because I'm still as mischievous as when I was seven," Sylvia stated, I could tell she was trying hard not to get emotional, but I knew it hurt her to leave her brother so soon even though she wanted and needed too. I was almost certain that if I could barely stop myself from killing the Taipans she wouldn't be able to control herself for long,
"See you later, beloved sister of mine!" Liam called back to us with a chuckle before slowly making his way back towards Walker. By now, the small amount of rain had almost put out all of the big flames, making it to where we were able to leave through the main gate. However, I could still feel the heat on the ground from the fire through my shoes. Not surprisingly, it was only a few minutes before someone spoke up,
"Wait! We have to get Simba!" Corny out of nowhere yelled, forcing us to a stop,
"Wait, you do know where he is?" I instantly questioned,
"Yeah, Anisha and I left him by a creek because he couldn't come with!" Then without any warning, Corny ran off in a direction,
"He's gotten quite attached to him on our way here..." Sylvia explained, staying with me, who still couldn't run yet, while Anisha and Corny ran up ahead,
"He's alright? He wasn't too badly injured by the Taipans?" I instantly started pestering her with questions,
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," She interrupted putting her hands up, "He was hurt, but I had a friend named Ben heal him, you met him I think from what Liam told me... And he's helped me on our way here, so no need to worry because he is perfectly fine," I couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped me from Sylvia's explanation. I had seriously missed him the past few weeks... It was only a few minutes later when Corny and Anisha came back into view with Simba jumping around them. When he noticed us, he instantly abandoned the others and ran towards Sylvia and me, his barks filled with excitement. I couldn't help but smile as he wrapped my arm in his mouth, a motion I found he did every time I left him for a while as if to try and keep me from leaving him again,
"Oh, who's a good boy? Yeah, you're such a good boy! I missed you so much!" He whined jumping up and down all around me, licking me from head to toe while still trying to keep ahold of my arm. I laughed, giving him a big hug. It was at least three more minutes before I was able to get him to calm down and he went to investigate all of the smells on Sylvia. After that for the next thirty minutes or so we slowly made our way to the Ameeregas base where Sylvia's supplies and horses were. On our way she expressed how deeply furiously she was that she had left her MP3 Player in the building and that it was now lost and she was going to have to make a new one. She also expressed her sadness at losing her parent's rifle, which I could empathize with, and pointed out that Liam could still possibly find it to try and lighten her mood. When we got to the Ameeregas camp there seemed to be no one there,
"I guess if there was anyone left, they left here pretty quickly after finding out what happened," We all nodded in agreement at Sylvia's statement, before going to find the horses. I soon learned from Corny that Sylvia's horse was named Maple and that his was named Mare. We searched through the Ameeregas camp, looking for anything useful like food, weapons, or new clothes that we could use. By the end, we all had different clothes that fit our sizes better and some new weapons. Then, just as quickly as we had gotten there, we were on the horses and heading towards the ocean as the sun rose higher up into the sky,
"Hey, where did Corny come from anyway?" I asked, my arms wrapped around Sylvia's waist, who had sternly stated she was sitting at the front, at least for now,
"Corny... Actually, I don't exactly know where he came from," Sylvia glanced at Corny, who was riding beside us with Anisha behind him. Simba was running at the horse's feet, his tongue lolling out,
"Oh well... Uhm..." Corny fumbled over his words for a minute before finally seeming to figure out what he wanted to say, "I come from this big city... It's like the biggest one that still has all of its technology and stuff..."
"Wait what!?" Sylvia and I both exclaimed at the same time,
"Yeah... And my parents are like the riches people there... And I just didn't like it anymore so I left," We all stared at him in disbelief,
"Is there anything else I should know?" Sylvia said, trying to keep from yelling by the sounds of it,
"No..." Sylvia glared at him for a minute and a second later he continued, "Well... There might be something..." He admitted. Sylvia snorted, shaking her head,
"Well, what is it?" She persisted,
"My parents... Might have put a certain type of chip in my neck after the first time I tried running away..."
"Wait, first time? You've done this before?" I spoke up,
"Yeah, I think this is... The tenth time I've gotten away from my father's "special" and most "strongest" and "smart" soldiers," Corny said, doing quotations with his hands,
"How do they keep finding you?" Sylvia asked,
"Well... That chip in my neck- It is a tracking device... I've been able to evade them for a year now because I've learned the best ways to keep moving and finding the best obstacles for them to get over to get to me," Corny said, smiling proudly,
"Wait... So, you mean to tell me this super-rich guy who is in control of one of the biggest cities to still have technology is your father and his soldiers could possibly catch us at any time?" Sylvia reiterated,
"Yep! Sounds about right, why?" Sylvia just groaned, resting her head on Maple's main without responding,
"What?" Corny asked three more times before I finally spoke,
"I think you might want to just leave the topic, Corny..." He scrunched up his face, giving a confused look in response, but took my advice. I shook my head, letting out a long sigh through my nose. I had a strange feeling I was going to be getting into a lot of trouble by sticking with Sylvia... But as long as we stuck together, I was perfectly fine with that idea.

So... Do you think it was a good ending? And YeSh- I just said ending- This is the final chapter of Survival! Mind you there will be an epilogue... But oh my garsh I can't believe I've finally finished my first book! Other than the fact that it hasn't been edited... But still, how did you enjoy this story? Was the ending anything like how you'd imagine? What outcomes surprised you if any did? Who was your favourite or least favourite character? Leave your thoughts down below! And stay tuned for the final update! :)