The Anomaly Project

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

TODD

Colton and I stand side by side for a long time after the bomb detonates, staring at the ashes of what used to be Forrester Industries.

"Maybe they escaped," I say at last.

Colton gives me a look. "How could they have possibly escaped?"

"I don't know! It's Autumn and Tessa. They'd find a way. Don't you think?" I know I'm gathering false hope, but I can't help it. My mind is racing, trying desperately to come up with ways that they could have survived that blast.

I start toward the pile of rubble. Colton grabs my shoulder. "Whoa. What are you doing?"

"There's no proof they didn't escape," I say, ducking out from under his grip. "I won't believe it until I know they're dead."

I step through the ashes, looking for Autumn's, Tessa's or Erik's bodies. It's mostly chunks of concrete and rubble. Colton sighs and sits down in the grass, watching as I dig through the ashes.

"Oh, no," I say finally, dread seeping into me.

Colton bolts to his feet. "What? What'd you see?"

I hold up my find for him to see. It's a long, double-edged sword. Noah's sword. "There's no way Autumn would have left without this." I sink to my knees. If she didn't leave without the sword, then that means she was still in the building when it exploded. And that means...

My fingers are numb. I can't quite wrap my head around what this means. "They're..." I can't finish, so Colton does for me.

"They're dead."

Dead.

The word is a punch to my gut. Erik is dead. Tessa, my cousin, my last living family member, is dead. And Autumn...

Autumn is dead.

It sounds empty as I say it in my head. It sounds strange. It shouldn't be true, even though I now know that it is. They are dead. As the numbness dissolves, pain trickles in, replacing it.

"We couldn't have saved them," Colton says quietly. "There was no way."

"Yeah, I know," I answer irritably. "You've made that pretty bloody clear already."

Colton falls silent, and I right away feel guilty for snapping at him. He was just trying to help me. And he did save my life. "I'm sorry. I'm just..."

My voice trails off. I don't know how to finish my sentence. It hurts so badly, knowing that I've lost them. There's so much pain. Coursing through my veins, making my head spin. And the worst part is that I know I'll never be able to make that pain go away, not really. It'll always be there, lingering in my chest.

"There was this guy," Colton says slowly, "who found me and Haley outside, after we got out. He was dressing up like one of Forrester's guards. He told us about the bomb, and how it was going to explode. But he also told us..."

Colton hesitates, glancing warily over at me, like he's not sure if I can handle what he's about to tell me. When I don't say anything, he keeps talking.

"He told us that there was this organization," Colton says. "A resistance group, sort of, that was trying to find a way to bring down Forrester Industries. It was called Obsistum, I think. He said the base was in Utah."

"So what are you saying?" I ask. "Are you suggesting we go to Utah?"

"Well, what do you suggest we do?"

I don't have an answer for that. I know what I want to do – I want to stay here, because Autumn died here, and I want to be as close to her as I can. But I also know that's not logical. It's ridiculous to hold on to her. She's gone. There's no bringing her back.

"Todd?" Colton prompts. "What do you say?"

I think. We don't know where Brooke, Travis, Nina or Matias are, and we probably won't find them. As much as I hate to consider it, they may have even died in the blast as well, as David surely did if he was Forrester's prisoner. And Haley, of course, is also gone.

There is nothing left for me here but pain. And I've had enough of that to last me a lifetime.

After a hesitation, I nod. "Fine," I say. "Yeah. Fine."

"Yeah?" Colton asks, just to clarify.

"This is only one of the monster's limbs," I say, nodding to the ashes of the building. "If we want to destroy Forrester, we'll have to cut off the head. And we can't do that alone."

"So, we're going to Utah?"

"Yeah," I confirm, standing and sliding Noah's – Autumn's – sword onto my back. "We're going to Utah."

END OF BOOK ONE

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AAAAAND THAT'S A WRAP, FOLKS!

Took me two years to write, and the rough draft is FINITO

SOOOO????? Thoughts and opinions and suggestions and anything else, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

Also, SEQUEL!!! WOOP WOOP

(As previously stated, title suggestions are VERY welcome)

The sequel is most likely not going to be released for a few months, at least... probably more than that. Sorry, but I'm gonna make y'all wait. 

In the meantime, though, you can bask in Todd's pain of thinking everyone he loves is dead, and Autumn's pain of losing her family and not knowing where Todd is...

(Man. I am so evil.)

But I really do love you guys, and thank you SO MUCH for everything - for reading, and commenting, and voting; it means so much to me and just thanks so much

As always, please talk to me. Like, PLEASE. PLEASE

Thanks again for reading, and see you in the next book!!!!