Meridian | The Second Life III [COMPLETED]

18 - Saltus Fidei

- M A R S E I L L E -

"Copy," I hear, sighing in relief. Usually, I'd be ecstatic our group is still alive, but tonight, no. The sky just fell.

"There you are, Zach," I mutter, handing Riko some water. "Look, dude..."

"We know," he sighs, and I dip my head. I feel a tear race down my cheek.

"How?" I stutter, wiping my eyes. Zach's side of the walkie-talkie remains silent for a while as I stare out at what's left of Battery from my lab/safe house.

"It's, uh," he sighs. "A very long story. Is, uh, everyone okay?"

"Everyone's gone, Zach," I cry, my tears accumulating on the radio. "Riko and Blake are here, but that's all."

Silence is all that responds on the other end. I lean back against the wall, failing miserably to keep it together as moonlight surrounds me. Questions bounce around like a pinball machine as I bawl like a child. Everything's gone. Nearly everyone that we fought to protect lies dead or infected on the grounds of Battery Park. We fought so fucking hard.

Before I realize what I'm doing, my fist makes a hole in the drywall. Pain shoots through my arm, but I don't care. My body slumps to the ground as I look at Riko and Blake. Both were pretty badly wounded since they were caught in the explosion. Blake had a third-degree burn across the left side of his back, and Riko caught a bomb fragment with his left ear, blowing it apart. Riko carried Blake here on his back, evading Z's.

"Uh," I vaguely hear on the radio, which sits oddly on the couch. "We're on our way back."

- E V A N -

I scream in frustration as my hand punches a table. We're in some riverside building now, though I don't remember which. To be frank, I don't care.

"We were fucking played," I snarl through gritted teeth. What the fuck have I done?

"Evan, there may be hope left," Catey says quietly.

"Like what?" I yell, twisting around and seeing Rivian jump into the corner of my vision. "He's got every sicko in New York at the Sanctuary! What hope?"

"I know Blake, Evan," she says with a loud sigh of frustration. "He won't go down without a fight!"

"Is Blake at the sanctuary?" I counter, and she huffs. The silence is deafening in this small room. "Whatever."

I sit down at a nearby counter. I think we're at an old cafe of some sort, or maybe a diner. The darkness makes it hard to tell. Zach stands at the back, messing with his gear. Catey turns away, sitting with Rivian and unable to counter my comment. I understand putting one's people first, but she never considers the Sanctuary. Then again, we don't have the best relationship.

"We leave at dawn," Zach says calmly, clearly on the edge of keeping it together.

- C A T E Y -

"Peake?" I ask cautiously, lightly knocking on the door to the small office she had retreated to. I can hear muffled crying on the other side. I quietly open the door.

She's sitting on a desk, facing away from me with her head down. Her hands grip the desk as if her life depends on it. I notice her fleece tossed to the corner of this cold and dark room. I close the door behind me gently; the hinges quietly squeal before the latch mechanism locks into place with a satisfying metallic click.

"Catey," she mumbles, unmoved and shivering. "I- I don't..."

"It's too cold," I say, walking to her fleece and picking it up. I approach her with a hint of caution before draping it over her. I walk to the other side of the desk, hop onto it and sit next to her. I lay my arm on her, my head on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she sobs, rocking forward in a fit. "I - I shouldn't,"

"Peake," I whisper, and she manages to turn my way. Her white hair is all over the place, with some stuck to the tears on her face. Her eyes are red; almost swollen from crying. I've never seen her like this before. "It's not your job to keep it together."

I hug her tight as she completely breaks down. Her body seemingly goes limp, and I struggle to hold her from falling to the floor. Months of pain and emotional torture all come out at once. It reminds me of when I lost Adam; the outside world had fallen months before, but when my world followed suit, I was just like this, curled up in my cold, dark room.

I do what she did for me: hug tighter. "Peake," I whisper in a feeble attempt to interrupt the storm.

"You're the only one that knows that now," she mutters, not bothering to wipe off the tears rolling down her face. "The name, now that... they're gone."

"Hey, we don't know that," I counter. "Maybe-"

"Don't," she interrupts quickly. "Don't give me hope."

I fall silent, her words catching me off guard. She turns her gaze from the floor to the window, looking at the dark alleyway outside. She seems to be taking a break from her crying- good. That's progress. Truth be told, I'm devastated too. I want to join her in misery, but I can't. I have to be strong for her.

"I don't know if I can do this anymore, Catey," she admits with a sob.

"I could hug you for a while longer," I chuckle sheepishly.

"Yeah," she mutters with a hint of appreciation. "I'm done running, Catey."

She continues to stare out the window. "I thought it'd be easier on the streets, not knowing many people. I thought it'd hurt less. It's... it's worse."

She finally turns to look at me. "I can't lose you. I won't."

"You won't," I confirm, my eyes meeting hers.

She gulps, nodding her head. "Thank you."