chronometer

rewound

A/N: big chapter! sorry to keep you waiting! i remember saying it was going to come early,
but i ended up running into a huge writer's block and also dealing with a few tests as well. 

written to the song "unsteady" by x ambassadors bc i love crying
honestly i feel like that song is representative of the entire story itself,
but it was special for this chapter :-)

enjoy, give me all them comments and likes & don't kill me! 

TW: violence

Light filters through the blinds in the guest room, catching the movement of our bodies in the dim illumination. Mitch and I are already both awake, dressing ourselves and discussing very little. Unspoken words remain unspoken, but we both are conscious of the rising unease. Today we are going to drop off the capsules at the lending bank, which is the easy part. Nobody is around to tell us not to. The second part is the cause of our anxiety. After the capsules, we're going back to Houston. Back to danger, back to risk. My hands shake as I pull the cloth shirt over my head, and I glance over to watch the pained expression on Mitch's face. I want it to be okay.

We finish re-packing and doing laundry, setting our bags next to the door when we meet Avi in the front room. Mitch and I stare at the door in silence, awaiting the mystery outside. I do not want to go-- neither does Mitch. The decision to abandon this entire mission is available to us if we choose. We have enough time combined and stored away to hide forever, but selfishness is a terrible vice to develop. Despite doing terribly illegal things, Mitch and I are two in a million. Two very loud voices speaking out for cities filled with suffering people, forcing ourselves to be heard. We will not be silenced.

There are even documented theories in books, aging back thousands of years on circumstances when bad things are done for the greater good. Not all moral acts involve doing "good" things in order to get what's right. I think of a scenario in my head, to a possibility if someone were to ask me if I were hiding Mitch, and I know his dad was abusing him. I am just hiding him. We are not robbing banks, injuring anyone or causing chaos in a city. I would lie. I would tell them that I am not hiding Mitch. In most cases, lying is considered unethical. Bad. This time, the lie was for someone's safety. The greater good. That makes the dishonesty okay. We are in that type of situation. Admittedly, to a much higher degree-- this is not just simply lying. However, we are doing bad things for an end result of impeccable things. Thinking that way makes what I'm doing okay in my head. I can't risk second-guessing.

Avi stops us before Mitch opens the door, tearing me from my thoughts. We both look back at the same time as he sets his hands on our shoulders. "Shouldn't you guys eat before we head off? At least allow yourself the luxury of a small meal. It might take away some of the pressure." He speaks in a warm tone, and Mitch's hand relaxes off of the door handle. He looks up to me for my opinion. I grimace, nodding.

"Why not? Let's eat before we leave. Yeah, Mitchy?" I glance down a little to gauge how he reacts, and there's no hiding the relieved look on his face.

I help Avi make a small breakfast for the three of us; waffles, bacon and eggs. It's no gourmet cuisine, but it's much better than living out of a bag like we have for the past few days. To Mitch and I, this is a gift. We both thank Avi over and over again as the food is dished out. He insists he is doing all that he can to make this journey less painful on us. I wish it wasn't painful at all.

Avi finishes eating first and I ask him for a favor. We need a car to get to Houston, and a taxi is too risky at this point. I transfer twenty years from myself to my friend, trusting him to come back with nothing too noticeable but can blend in well in all timezones. He waves at us as he leaves through the front door, promising to be back by the time we've already distributed the capsules and prepared for the city.