Come So Far

Death is Sweeter than Life

It's always been me. Just me, myself, and I. After all, when you never knew your mother and your father was killed in a fiery explosion, who else do you have there with you to pick you up when you fall down? I was an only child, so I dealt with the tragedy on my own. Oh sure, the foster parents I was handed to at first told me they loved me, then ditched me back at the orphanage only three weeks later. Guess they couldn't handle the full package.

Gary Goodspeed. The freak whose father was killed on live television. The coward who quit the Infinity Guard only during his second month. The irresponsible moron who tried to impress a woman by impersonating an Infinity Guard pilot and destroying ninety-two cruisers and a family Mexican restaurant.

The oblivious fool who had no clue Mooncake was a planet destroyer. The failure who would have died floating in the dark abyss of space had my newfound friend/weapon not rescued me. The coward who always laughed and thought everything would turn out alright in the end. Even after I witnessed my best friend sacrifice himself to save his son's life, I still laughed and joked during serious situations.

I'm wishing I could go back. I've made so many mistakes, so many horrible choices. I am a failure.

...

As I lie here, I wonder though. Would I go back? Before Mooncake came smacking into my helmet on the day that changed my life forever, I was a nobody. Seriously. Zero friends, zero family, no career. What was I? Alone and running away from my problems. Who was I? Spending five years in isolation had given me an opportunity to rethink my choices. And I worried that once my sentence was over, I would return to my old ways. But no. I was given a second chance. A chance to become a better human being. A reason to help others. A chance to have people that I cared about...and a chance to have people who cared about me.

...

The ground is freezing. Even colder than that time I was running out of oxygen after the battle with the Lord Commander. But her tears are warm drops of sunshine against my face. She wraps her arms around me and pulls me into a hug, and I'm already warmer. I couldn't return it though. I couldn't speak to her either. It was driving me insane but I hoped she knew I could hear her talking to me.

The sweetest voice I've ever heard, even though it was scattered with sniffles and chokes.

"Gary...Gary please. It's finally over. W-we can just live our lives now...No more running, no more fighting..." She sniffled.

Oh Quinn. I want to. I want to so badly. I want to tell her that I'm going to be fine, and that we will get home. We'll find her family and we'll live in a house and Mooncake and her dog will get along so well. Lil Cato will stay with us until he's older, and Tribore and Shannon will be our neighbors. We can download H.U.E into a robotic body that can move around. Maybe he'll get to see Paris finally. Sure it may be half destroyed since the Earth was taken into the rift. But it's worth a shot. And KVN...The idiots who saved me when I was floating around in space after the fight had rescued KVN as well and fixed him. I made a plan to get them back for that. I never got around to it. And now I know I never would.

...

Their voices are getting quieter. Either they're starting to whisper or my mind is fading. What would they have to whisper about? Surely any secrets the could tell me. Okay. Getting off topic here a little...

I feel Quinn hold me closer, her chin rested on my head.

"Gary, stay with me. Please. We're going to get you help. Just hold on."