How Many Heroes

Epilogue

The police easily pinned the charge of arson to the gang, most of whom were found wandering aimlessly by St. Monica's. I guess hypnosis was one of Amy's powers. Whatever it was, it faded soon enough for the cops to interrogate them.

Still, there were a couple of things wrong with the police report. Vaughn was sent to a youth detention center Ohio after being accused of being the gang leader. Vaughn immediately sold out his girlfriend to the cops, I was told, but no one could find Amy, so they assumed he was lying. The seven of us-Luke, Maria, Jesse, Hathaway, Jacob, Alyssa, and I- were never suspected to be a part of the fire.

Things tied up pretty nicely, except for one thing: St. Monica's. It still was burned to the ground, and Luke's torrential rain didn't help matters. The orphans we had saved had no place to go, and many of Pennies' ill patients were scared to so to St. Benedicts', where they knew people hated them. I still felt guilty about that, but I didn't know what I could do about it.

The news of the event was still airing on the five o'clock news a week later, as my mom answered the door.

I picked up Luke's voice instantly. "May I talk to Bethany outside please? It won't take long."

"Oh, of course! Feel free to come in when you're done," mom said, giving him a hug. She still thought Luke was an angel for saving me all those months ago and being so polite. Maybe she wasn't so far from the truth.

Not waiting for her to call me, I practically ran to the door, smiled at my mom, then closed the door behind us. I knew she was watching us through the peephole.

"What's up?" I said, trying to sound casual. I don't think it came out that way, though- I knew why he was here, and I was struggling to stay cool.

He leaned against the door. His cornrowed hair was hidden under a baseball cap, and he wore simple jeans, a simple shirt, and old shoes. A drawstring bag was in his left hand. He looked like he was going somewhere.

"I wanted to say thank you." he said.

"You already have," I said, smiling a little. He had thanked all of us endlessly for helping him save Pennies.

"But you in particular," he said. "For being brave enough to stand up to Amy. For not giving away my secret. For making Hathaway trust me. For always being on my side. For all the things you've done for me. Thank you." He took my hand. I laced my fingers through his. My entire body felt warm, like I was cozying up by a campfire. Why, after only a few months, was this feeling so familiar to me?

"You're leaving," I said.

"Yes."

I blinked back tears. Do not cry. Do not cry. I knew this was coming, but that didn't make it sting any less.

"Why haven't you left earlier?" I asked. "Amy's been gone for a while."

Luke's gold eyes smoldered. "I had a few loose ends to tie up."

"Including me."

"Yeah," he said, laughing a little. His eyes took on a sad glint. "Take care of yourself, Beth."

I almost asked him to stay. Almost. But instead I wrapped my arms around him said, "Thank you, Luke."

He hugged me back, and we stayed like that for a long moment. Then I let him go.

"Bye, Luke," I said.

He didn't say anything, just gave me one last smile. Then he turned and walked into the oncoming night.

******

We were on Carlo's bus again with the seats flipped so that Maria and I could face Hathaway and Jesse. We had no clue where we were going.

"They should've at least canceled school," Jesse said bitterly.

Maria rolled her eyes. "Jess, the fire was weeks ago. And no one even got hurt."

"No one got hurt?" Jesse lifted up his shirt, showing off long, purple bruises on his abdomen. Luke had only partially healed him to avoid suspicion. "I beg to differ! You even have a cast on your hand!"

"You know what I meant."

"Not really."

"Guys, shut up. I'm trying to think," Hathaway said, looking bothered.

"Oh, how the tables have turned," Jesse mumbled. Maria fixed both boys with a glare that could melt ice.

"We'll have raise money, obviously," Hathaway said, half to himself. "But will we have enough construction workers?"

"I'll help," I said. I colored slightly. "I mean, I can help gather volunteers. All the former gang members need to do community service anyway."

Maria laughed. "Making them rebuild the place they burned down? They're gonna hate us so much. It's the perfect revenge."

"It's poetic justice," Jesse corrected. "I'm in."

"Hold up," Hathaway said. "We're not some type of construction committee. We can't just waltz up-"

Maria cut him off. "Isn't your dad the mayor? Make him help us."

Hathaway shook his head. "You know how he is. He'll do anything to avoid helping Pennies."

"I trust your stubbornness," Jesse said. He smiled mischievously. "I bet reconstruction will start in three weeks."

"I say two." Maria said with a smile to match Jesse's. "He's on the goddamn debate team."

Hathaway looked at me. I saw hope in his eyes, hope for a city no longer divided. The community he dreamt of in his debate speech was closer than it had ever been, and he was determined to make it a reality. So was I, and so were Maria and Jesse.

"One week," I said in a challenging tone. I felt myself smile.

Hathaway laughed. "You're on."  

After seven months and 42, 000 words, this story finally ends. Thank you for reading, and remember to vote and comment. Happy new year~