Death Is Strange

TWENTY-SIX

By the time the police had finished questioning Mr. Armstrong and Danny, along with Frank, Gerard and Ben, it was past midnight. Apparently Bert's body had been found and so had the dark room, because Danny and Mr. Armstrong were both handcuffed and taken away.

The party died down when the police showed up, and many kids just stood around with blank stares on their faces. "Go back to what you're doing," Frank snapped at a group of girls, grabbing Gerard's hand and half-dragging him back to the dorms.

"I need to see Bert," Gerard whimpered after sitting in silence on his bed for several minutes.

"Gee, there's not much to see," Frank said bluntly. "He's been dead for over a month."

Gerard buried his face in his hands. "I hate this."

Frank sighed, sitting down beside Gerard, putting his arms around him. "I hate this for you."

"It doesn't feel real," Gerard whispered.

"To be honest, baby, I don't know if anything feels real at this point," Frank admitted.

But eventually, he didn't need any more reality than what he had: Gerard curled against him as they fell asleep.

Frank dreamed of the tornado, and this time, he was standing between the tornado and Gerard. It was frozen in front of him, and a voice was hissing at him: "Choose."

He woke up covered in sweat, his pulse racing.

Gerard was slumped against the pillows beside him, staring at his phone. Frank rolled over, leaning his head against Gerard's shoulder. "How are you?" he whispered.

Gerard sighed. "I'm alive, and I'm coping. And I have you. I think I'd be dead without you, Frank."

Frank glanced at who Gerard was texting. "Dan Whitesides?" he asked.

"Yeah. One of Jeph's friends. He's the only one who really knows about Bert's family and what's up with them. Apparently they're religious freaks who disowned him when he was eighteen and he was alone in the world when he came here. He got a scholarship, I think. Long story short, they don't care that he's dead since he 'wasn't doing the will of God' anyway." Gerard sketched quote marks with his fingers, disgust in his voice. "The only thing I hate more than homophobes are religious homophobes. I'm glad I at least have a mom and brother that care." Gerard swallowed hard. "I can't imagine having no one. Jeph and I were his only family."

"Is there a funeral?" Frank asked quietly.

"That's what I'm trying to find out," Gerard said. "Jeph tried to find out what the cops are doing with Bert's remains and they were kind of brushing him off like they weren't sure yet. Like, how are you not? He's dead, and he deserves to be honored." Gerard's voice was starting to choke up again. "Frank, I just... it's all so surreal."

"I know, baby, I know..." Frank reached up clumsily, stroking Gerard's hair. "I just hope you realize how strong you are. You have shown so much bravery, in real life and in the alternate realities I've seen you in. You're absolutely incredible, Gerard."

The darkened room lit up with a flash of lightning. "Damn," Gerard whispered. "That happened all of the sudden. It was kinda sunny when I woke up."

"Yeah." Frank winced at the crack of thunder. "That was really nearby, too."

"So much for a fun-filled Saturday, right?" Gerard said sarcastically. His text tone sounded and he glanced back at Dan's messages. "He said Jeph literally called the sheriff and cussed him out. No wonder they're not listening to him."