Breathe

Chapter 48 - Only Us

 I listened as her breathing slowed and soon, her heartbeat stopped. In my hands lay neither my mother nor the one I considered to be my sister—all that lay there was the corpse of someone who I used to hold dear, someone who did all they could to understand me, someone who I never fully understood but cared deeply about.

Holding back the pain in my chest, I gently placed her body on the floor. Then, through the dense mist of green, I finally noticed the line that stretched all over the room. It was a seemingly glowing line filled with red that flowed back to the source of it all: the machine.

I stood up and walked over to it and examined it. There were more pulleys than I could count, and they were meticulously flipped: some fully, some not at all, and some only slightly. Eyeing it over, I saw something that hadn't been switched: the timer. It was set to thirty minutes, yet it hadn't been triggered. It was as though it was waiting for someone—a certain someone to let curiosity overwhelm them—to walk over and turn it on. Looking downwards, I noticed that there was a circle in front of the machine, almost as though something was missing. On top of the switch, there was a knife placed on the screen of the timer. Somehow, it looked like it was pointing at me.

It was almost as though it had been waiting for me.

I took it into my hands and looked at it. The blade was made of metal and plated with gold. From the looks of it, it was old with some of the gold already rusting off. On the handle, there was a phrase inscribed: "For John Sansoucie, my one and only love."

Sansoucie, huh? Why does that name sound so familiar?

I shrugged it off. No matter—it wasn't going to matter soon.

I pointed the blade towards myself. I remembered what Katherine told me: "You know what to do... see you soon."

Knowing what I had to do, I closed my eyes. Slowly, I inhaled. I let myself enjoy the feeling of oxygen filling my lungs for the last time. Then, I exhaled. I was ready to take the plunge. 

Then, someone tackled me. I tumbled onto the floor. The blade flew out of my hand and it landed on the ground somewhere.

Opening my eyes, I saw none other than familiar sapphire ones looking back at me. Exasperatedly, through clenched teeth, he more so screamed than stated, "Al, don't tell me you're going to do it!"

"This is my destiny, Phillip."

Laughing, he asked in a wobbly voice, "Your destiny? Al, when have you ever cared about your destiny? When have you ever wanted to go with the reigns, and...just do what people told you to do?"

"There's no use fighting it."

"If there's no use fighting it...why did you bother fighting for anything?" Shaking his head, he furrowed his eyebrows and bit his lip. "If you don't see the point in fighting your destiny, why did you even bother joining the Liberation Alliance? Why did you even bother...bother becoming my friend?"

"It was because that was a part of the story that had to be told. But now, it's coming to a close. I can't fight it. I've never fought it."

He shook his head. "No... no, no, no! If your story is coming to a close, what about me? You can't honestly believe that I could survive without you. Life without you...it just wouldn't be the same! You're my one and only friend. And now, you're going to kill yourself. How do you think I feel about this?"

"This is for the best; no one else will die after I do it. This is for the city, the Liberation Alliance, the Liberalists, Katherine...and you, Phillip. I am doing this for all of you." I pulled back a strand of his graying hair. "You can't see it, but you're already succumbing to the virus—it's already at your doorstep. If I don't give up my life, you won't be saved."