Brave Fear (boyxboy)

Chapter 42

As Zane tumbled through the air and his tears fell into the expanse below him, he screamed at Wawrzynski, curses he never thought he knew and insults that would be better left unheard.

Joseph was gone.

Out of his grasp.

I'll always be here for you, Joseph.

Zane couldn't save him.

He wanted to. He wanted to do whatever he could to save Joseph, but whatever he could was just not enough anymore. Even if he utilized this awful power Wawrzynski had given him, his cells would be lost in the rushing air around him, disembodied from his soul forever. He would sacrifice his own life and possibly not even get close to saving Joseph's.

He could do nothing but fall.

I'll always be here to help you.

And so he fell.

The sounds of fighting below had intensified, and when he looked down, the ground was far away, like a world that existed only in his imagination, like a world he could see but never reach. He felt so small, like his problems didn't matter.

But that was what Joseph had been trying to stop him from doing.

I can't live without you.

Blaming himself.

He promised to himself then that he would never blame himself again. It was what Joseph would have wanted. Wants, Zane told himself. What Joseph wants. He could not let himself believe Joseph was never coming back. If Joseph ever came back to Zane, Wawrzynski would be dead between them, the invisible barrier he held shattered, freeing Joseph to step through and come to Zane.

He promised himself that moments before he realized that in a couple moments, he could be dead and it might not matter anymore. Joseph was gone. He didn't know if, given the chance, he would save himself before he hit the ground.

I know that if you do this, I will too.

Thankfully, he didn't have to.

A figure sped through the sky toward him, and his tear-filled eyes struggled to make out the figure, but the blue hair was hard to ignore.

"Hold on, Zane!" Daisy cried. "I can't catch you immediately, or the momentum will tear you in half!" She sped past him, arms folded in at her sides, toes pointed downward. As she flew past, Zane caught a glimpse of her eyes, sad but determined. She too knew that Joseph was not coming back anytime soon.

He flattened himself out as best he could, spreading his limbs out in a starfish pattern to slow down his descent. The onrush of air swept into his lungs and he coughed, not expecting his breath to be stolen away by the sky. His eyes watered, this time from air smashing into his eyeballs instead of anger at losing Joseph.

His shirt rippled at his sides. His hair blew back, and Zane felt like Trip with his hair all flown back. The thought entertained him and distracted him from the events on the jet.

Soon, Daisy was falling next to him, her body upright in the air. She fell with her toes pointed, reducing the air resistance. She smiled sadly and put out her arms.

He decellerated slowly in her arms as she slowed their descent precariously, him perched in her arms like a doll. She gritted her teeth. "We'll get him back," she said determinedly. "I am not letting your romance fade so easily."

She chuckled, but Zane was not in the mood for her jokes. Instead he watched the ground as it sped up, seeming to rise up and threaten to swallow him whole. Daisy's uncomfortable laughter subsided and Zane focused all his attention on the scene below.