The Tenth Year

Chapter 4 - Reegan

The minutes seemed to turn to hours, as Zoe and I waited for sunset to come.

We were sitting at the common hall, a place where we usually hung out and played games with the other girls and guys our age. We weren't kids anymore, but once in a while a simple game of Charades or Truth or Dare was perfect to lighten our gloomy moods. Zoe was at her usual place, a comfy one armed chair that we got a few years ago while recruiting more people on the surface. It was love at first sight. She even made me help her carry the damned thing for a few miles until we reached our vehicle. That chair would have no place in this room once Zoe was gone for good.

I shook the thought away, trying to keep my head clear for as long as possible. "Are you ready for today?" I asked her, even though I was sure no one could ever be prepared to go through the Change. As if leaving your old life behind wasn't hard enough, after a few weeks from the eye change, the more physical changes started. When the angel took too much time to arrive people's appearances began to change. There were reports of people getting bigger and stronger, their skin draining from any color becoming porcelain white. Some say they even witnessed people having wings grow from their backs, but I wasn't really buying that. I couldn't believe that the two angel collectors took that much time to get their new recruits. The thought of those two monsters brought back memories of the First year. The day my father was pulled away from his family. I could never forgive them for what they did to me, to us.

I watched Zoe closely. She was nervous. I could tell by the way she kept on picking on her nails and the constant tapping of her foot on the steel ground. She was looking at me with her now white eyes. So foreign yet they still possessed the same spirit her old eyes did. No matter what her eyes meant, she was still human.

"I am," she said but there was no real conviction in her words.

I smiled however, and nodded. "I will be there with you until the end," I told her softly and placed my hand over hers, to reassure her but also to make her stop picking at her nails. Her nervous tic was getting on my nerves lately.

Her eyes grew wide, which only made them seem more unearthly. "You are?"

I was insulted that she sounded so surprised. What did she expect? That I would abandon her at her very last moments as a human? I hated myself for saying so, but the truth was I had thought about it. Maybe I couldn't go through with it after all. It was hard enough the first three times and it was bound to be even harder now. Also I knew that when I saw that white angel again, I'd sure feel all my bottled up rage resurface. Maybe I'd even try to nick his pretty face once more. With that in mind, I gave her a huge smile that reached my eyes and hugged her. "Of course, silly. I will never leave you alone."

I felt her relax in my arms, bringing her hands at my back. Her nails clawed to the fabric of my jacket but I didn't mind. I wanted to hold her as close as possible and never let go. How many more people would I say goodbye to, before my own inevitable fate manifested? I had no idea what to do to help her, but be there for her until the very end, even if I knew it'd hurt like hell. Her mother was right after all. She was right to not let Zoe go through the pain of waiting with her to be taken away, waiting for her existence to be erased forever. Now, I had to go through that same pain again. But I had made my mind a long time ago. I would keep my promise no matter what. Until the very end, I would take care of Zoe. But the fact that I couldn't do more was killing me.

I heard footsteps closing in on us and raised my head from Zoe's shoulder. I saw two figures walking toward us. One of them was tall and lean, and as I came to learn very fast too. The other one was short and skinny, but still walked gracefully. The two boys came to a stop a few feet away from us.

I pulled myself away from Zoe and stared at them. "What is it, Grayson?" I asked the taller guy.

Grayson had his hand on his little brother's shoulder, grabbing him hard like the boy was about to turn around and run away. I saw him straggle to find the words. He wouldn't look at me. Neither one of the Grayson bothers would look at me which made me feel on edge. I turned my attention to the smaller boy, who had his eyes locked on the floor. "What is it little Grayson? Did you do something wrong?" I asked him with a smile. I was only trying to lighten the mood, but when he flipped his head up and watched me with a terrified look on his face, I wished I hadn't opened my mouth at all.

His eyes were white.

I jumped from my seat. "When did this happen?" I asked his brother.

Grayson's gaze met mine for just a moment. Tears were building up in his eyes and he eventually looked. "This morning. Tommy woke up and his eyes...his eyes were white." I could hear the emotion in his voice, while he tried to keep the tears from falling. The knuckles on his hand turned white and Tommy shied away from his big brother.

"Ouch!" the little boy yelled and Grayson turned to him immediately apologizing from grabbing him too hard.

I was in loss of words. I couldn't believe that the same day I was about to lose my best friend, my other best friend was about to lose his little brother. I reached for Grayson but he took a step behind. For the millionth time for the day, I felt helpless. It was like everyone I cared about was either going through the Change or lost someone to the Change. Damned angels and their war.

Zoe pushed herself off her seat and came to kneel in front of little Tommy. The boy was now crying, constantly rubbing his eyes and nose. His sobs broke my heart but I still couldn't do anything to help him. I could start telling him that everything would be alright, that he would be alright. But he knew he was never going to see his brother again, at least not when they were both humans. Zoe took one of Tommy's hands and brushed his brown banks away from his cute face. It was the first time I saw her smile this day.

"Look Tommy we have the same eyes. Do you know what that means?" she asked and the boys attention was now fully on her. He even stopped crying. "We are going to keep each other company for the rest of our lives."

I bit my lip, drowning the sob that was building inside my throat. I looked at Grayson, knowing he was grateful for her words. I swallowed hard and turned back to little Tommy. "Okay," Tommy said to Zoe. "I will look out for you and you will look out for me." For a boy of ten, he sure talked like a grown up. Zoe hugged him and the tension in the room was lifted.

For a brief moment I let myself relax, I took a deep breath and unclenched my fists. I hadn't even realized I was once again digging my nails in my skin. A few drops of blood fell to the ground but I didn't really pay them much attention, I was more concerned about the people in front of me. The two nicest people that I was about to watch being taken away, Zoe and Tommy, and my best friend who was about to go through the worst pain he'd ever experienced.

Grayson kept his eyes locked on his brother. He passed a hand through his messy brown hair and let go of a sigh. I knew he had it worse than me. He wasn't only losing his brother, but at the same day, he was losing the girl he had a crush on for the longest time. A crush he would never get the chance to see brought to life. Honestly, I felt sorry for the guy. At times like things, we all had to learn to seize the moment. If there was something I'd learnt the past nine years, was that if I had something to tell there was no better time than the present. Looking at three of the most important people in my life I realized that there was something I had yet to tell them.

I put my arm over Grayson's shoulders and then moved us both toward Zoe and Tommy. "I love you all," I said to them with a genuine smile on my face. Still, I felt the tears running down my eyes as I wrapped my other hand around Zoe. "We can do this. Together."

We stayed there, in our big hug, for a few minutes, or it may have been hours. When Stefan's voice broke us apart, I was surprised to see the clock on the wall. It was just a few minutes before sunset.

"We have to load everyone on the truck," Stefan explained to us and we all nodded simultaneously. He took a few seconds to examine each of us before walking away, probably to inform the rest of the changed people that it was time to go.

"You are coming along, right?" Grayson asked me while we moved toward the headquarters' garage. I saw the expectation in his eyes. He didn't want to go through this alone.

"Of course." I smiled when I saw his eyes light up with hope. Truth be told, I was glad I didn't had to go through losing the people I loved alone, either.