The Free City

Ending

The lumbering passenger bus bounced down the road with the typical rumblings of a large water-engine vehicle. My backpack fell off the seat - again - so I left it there. We were almost there, anyway. The bus was full of returning refugees, and they were all hopeful and happy. They were returning, I was arriving.

I peered curiously out the window at my new home; Lonesome City. Despite the late hour of the morning, there was a misty fog in the air that made every sound seem muffled, and every sight a little hazy.

It was a city in recovery. Things were quiet, and people were somber. But there was a subtle air of relief that made things less grim. The city had been captured, but now it was free.

I'd left Johnson City quietly, in the night. Mr. Sato had tried to change my mind, but eventually he respected my wishes. I didn't say any farewells to anyone else. I'd never said goodbye to anyone before. I didn't know how. I pictured several different scenarios on the five hour drive to Lonesome City. In some of them, my friends were betrayed by my silent departure. In others, they were relieved to have me gone. In all of them, Kole and Sam were quietly glad that they could be together without hurting my feelings. It was better this way.

The passenger bus stopped just after entering the city's gates - which were being repaired. I climbed off with everyone else.

I was given directions and sent on my way. I walked through cobblestone streets, between houses that were all narrow and tall, across parks that had an ancient, unkempt vibe, and through crowds of people all trying to put their lives back together.

It took me another hour to find my way to my destination.

The Lonesome City Academy looked just like it had in my shared dream with Roman. It was somehow both pristine and foreboding, resplendent and cast in shadows; especially in the lingering fog and overcast weather. Spires crowed the rooftops like thorns on a rose. The grounds were not groomed like Johnson Academy; instead, there was a feeling that the weeping willows, thorny bushes, and leafy, overgrown grass had been there all along, and the academy had been built around them. I saw gruesome carved statues hanging above some of the arched windows, and I was glad I'd been introduced to statues in Johnson City, or they would have frightened me. They weren't people. They were creatures. Angry, snarling creatures crouched on knuckled claws, with bat-like wings. I shivered under their glares. How could they be beautiful and terrifying at the same time?

On the front step of the school, beside the oversized, ebony double doors, someone waited for me. When he saw me, he waved tentatively. I waved back.