The Five Unnecessaries

Chapter 26 - Part 1

Less than twenty-four hours later, Collin walked me to where Eva and Lynn waited. He whispered the new codes one more time.

After Eva had left, I was worried that Collin would focus on Alex, but he didn't. The night had started with a kiss on my hand and long stories told until the break of dawn. But it seemed distant. Collin now placed a backpack on my shoulders, squeezing them assuredly as he said I was clear. I turned to see him, torn between wanting me to stay and ordering me to go.

I reached out and hugged him. He wasn't ready for that. His broad soldiers tensed under my arms, and I wondered if he might push me away because of Lynn and Eva standing so close. But he leaned into me and clenched my back.

Lynn scoffed, but Eva elbowed her ribs and said, "You didn't see that."

Lynn looked at me suspiciously. "If you say so."

As he relaxed, his hands reached out to touch my shoulders again, his shaky breaths started to even out.

"I don't know what to say," I murmured.

Hesitantly, I reached up and touched his head. His eyes were red, still drowning in pain but holding a glimmer of hope.

"It's all been said, Aislyn. And now you have to go. I couldn't even ask you to stay. It's not who you are now. So go be everything you were meant to be. Besides, nothing is going to change while you're off saving the world. It'll still be the truth, when you get back. I love you."

I nodded, and with that last pull of my hand, he let go.

And I walked away. We could both live out our destinies for a little while longer. Someone's life depended on it. The same truth that drew me to him now pulled me back to the forest.

I whispered it as I walked away. "And love is real."

A week later, I stared at the shards of sunlight through the broken walls and windows of the abandoned warehouses. I had traveled to this sector to find an Unnecessary that lived in the warehouses that Megan had mentioned. Eva and Lynn had split off four days ago, leaving me headed north through the forest.

I missed Collin. And as shallow as it made me feel to complain about something so trivial, I missed real food. The meal bars tasted gross after about two days—flavorless sustenance that didn't sustain.

I looked up to the sun, trying to gauge the time without my MCU. It was strange that I played this little game with myself, almost certain it meant that I might be delusional or lonely, but it made me satisfied with my survival skills. My answer of 4:20 was close to 4:34 which was on my MCU display. I looked out over the hills and wondered if I should go for the border now. It was too late, so I set up my heater, trying to make my meal bar warm to see if that would help.

It was almost impossible to concentrate on any potential mission, with my brain continuing to spin. I stared at the dandelions growing, until a butterfly landed at the base of a tree;

the first butterfly I had noticed all spring. It was a fascinating clash of glossy dark blue and black. The sun hit me; the warmth coming in rays through the now-full leaves. Pieces of heaven in front of the grey abandoned stone and broken glass. I wanted the beauty to cut deep enough to leave some hope behind. I told myself to hold on to that moment, because at least it was mine.

At least I thought it was. But I was not alone.

Within seconds, I heard the things that told me I had company. A whoosh. A twig snapping too quickly. A breath. The small events that left me clues as they all seemed to happen in a circle, surrounding me.