The Glitch [Gawsten] >Completed<

28: The True Price Of The Cure

The ambulance didn't make it on time. Nothing ever makes it on time. He's gone.

It's all my fault. He was murdered.
He was murdered because we broke the rules.
He was murdered because he gave Geoff his life back.

We all know that's why he's gone.
Geoff looks like he's going to fall apart. More than he already has.

It's all my fault.

We're all to aware that this is most likely is what the cost was.
You can't cheat death with out a price. A life for a life.

There's no way of knowing.

Now we're all standing here watch his face being draped in white cloth. Its the last time we'll see that face.
The paramedics wheel his body into the ambulance and drive it away to where all things go when there skin becomes cold.
To the almost same temperature scalpel.

It's all my fault.
He knew how much I loved Geoff.
I go back into the house I  step over the horrifying pile of blood and retrieve one item.

I find myself being pulled away from the horror scene and being sat in the backseat of Ottos car. It all happened so fast.

All so fast.

"We can't stay here anymore."
Otto declares in the drivers seat.
"We have to go home."

No one had the energy to protest.
Too much has happened in the past week, good and bad.

The only thing that is calming me down at the moment is the fact that Geoff's warm hand is holding mine.

At least Jawn didn't die for nothing. If he was alive I never would have been able to thank him in words. There are no words.
Now I can't even try.
I can't try to thank him with those words that don't exist.

Through all of that it seems normal to say something seems off.
Something is off.

I think I've known that since after getting out of the place where it all began.
Something's off but I can't tell what.

I feel my eyelids getting heavy as I drift asleep.
That's enough of today.

~~~

Hey Awsten! Do you wanna come over and play Legend Of Zelda? I just got the original!"

Geoff offers approaching me on his blue bike. He rides that thing everywhere. I wonder if he'll abandon it once he's old enough to drive?

"I hate video games Geoff, you know that. Plus I need to finish walking this devil that my parents call a dog."

"Come on please! It'll be fun I can teach you how to play, or you can just watch! You can listen to some Blink."

"Please?"
"Please!?"

I look down to the little chihuahua mix puppy, I swear it has rabies.
"Fine I still need to finish walking this thing though."

"Yes!" He triumphantly shouts.

Geoff's such a weird kid. "Nerd."
We make it to the small building in the large suburb that I call home. Its not bad. I have friends here, nice parents, a Satan dog.
Scratch the Satan dog part.
Life is fine how it is.
I can see myself chugging orange juice living in a suburb kinda like this.

Maybe I want to be in a band when I get older?

How did my thoughts get here?
Right Satan dog.
I unlock the door and step inside Geoff not to far behind, "is this an overnighter?"
"If you want, I don't know."

After searching my overly messy room for anything decent to bring over to Geoff's I'm ready to go.
One item in the room catches my eye.

"Okay ready?" He asks with anticipation.
"Yup."

I grab my yellow bike from the garage and we're ready to go. Why did I agree to this?

We reach Geoff's house which looks exactly the same, guess that's what you expect out of a suburb though.

We find our way inside in his neatly kept room, besides the Pokémon cards that are thrown about the space.

"Oh yeah I brought you something."
I pull out the item that caught my eye earlier.
"I think my uncle thought I was into this type of stuff so he gave me this. I won't wear it but it obviously is just your style."
His face lightens up seeing the thing I think he's called a 'triforce'.

"I can't."
"Well you are. I'm not over here playing this dumb video game with you without knowing you love it."

I reach and put on the little necklaces.He's obsessed with Zelda it looks great on him, it suits him perfectly.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome Nerd."

~~~

"Awsten, Awsten it's time to wake up."
Geoff's sweet voice brings me to reality.

"We're home."

I wasn't  sure I would ever step foot in this place again.
Turns out the only person who won't is Jawn.
We got here quickly, how did I sleep for so long? Its the middle of the night now.

"We're really already here?"
I question Geoff smiles and helps me out of the car.

"We let you sleep, you needed it."

He already seems better. The fading still hasn't cleared but he's acting more alive.
He's acting more like how he did in that dream. We were only thirteen then with no worries.

It's a different world now.
But I think the change is finally going to be better.

The night drifted away and it became morning.
Otto was sleeping in his room he said he needed to be left alone, leaving Geoff and I laying on the couch like we did before Geoff was cured. The place where he first kissed me.
Our first true morning of our new life.

"What now?" Geoff questions as I stroke his hair.

"First I think we need to capture what we have."

"Knowing how things have been going who knows when things will get bad again."

I retrieve the item I took from Jawn's house earlier, his most prized possession.

With a flash of the black camera the first picture was taken where everything was okay, the first time in four years.

I lay back on the couch and snuggle up next to Geoff again, "we're finally going to be okay."

And for the second time in my life I heard a pain filled cough that Geoff had went through all those years ago.

Sitting on that hospital bed.

During his first fade.

But this time he wasn't the one coughing.

It was me.

It hurts like hell.

Now I know the price of curing the glitch...it goes onto another.

I have the glitch.