Mark My Grave || Twenty One Pilots (AU)

6: The Gravestones.

"Tyler, are these-?"

"Gravestones? Yeah." 

Beth and Tyler walked through the many lit up graves, and suddenly Beth wanted to get out more than ever. She'd never thought of death before, but she didn't want to end up like those people there. She couldn't help but walk around the graveyard. She'd never even been there before. 

She read each name in whispers, each one breaking her heart ever so slightly. 

"Eliana Joy, Nina Kallendrine, Kimberley Hood, Charlotte Hummel, Jeremy Jo-" Her heart stopped. Tyler noticed the silence and looked to her. He walked up to her and read the name on the grave. 

"Jeremy Johannes." He mumbled. His heart broke for Beth, what a sad way to learn. 

"And the next one.. Alyssa Johannes." Beth pointed out. 

"Beth, I am so sor-" 

"It's fine. I don't remember them. At least I know their names now.. We should go." Beth started walking away from the graves. Tyler looked at them for a second longer before catching up to Beth. He grabbed her wrist again, causing her to stop.

"You're going the wrong way." He told her. She nodded, and smiled slightly. It made Tyler smile too before he led her the right way. 

They walked in silence for the rest of the time. Each step was a step away from where Beth's parents lay, making her again wonder if she was doing the right thing. She didn't know if she was doing the right thing, or if her parents would be proud. She was worried about that. 

But then it all vanished. 

There was green all around and the sky looked so incredibly blue. There were birds flying in the sky peacefully and there were flowers. Flowers. 

"Try touching the grass." Tyler encouraged. Beth did as told and leaded down to feel the grass with her hands. It was wet, unlike the grass at Dema. Dema's grass was always dry and pretty much dead. 

"This... this is insane." Beth told Tyler with a smile on her face. She couldn't really explain the area if she tried. It was so big and spacious. She could run around if she wanted to. She could pick flowers, she could lay on soft ground. She could see some mountains in the distance and she could do whatever she wanted. She was free. 

"I know, right. I wish I could explain it to Jenna, but it's so.. huge." Tyler agreed, looking around. 

"She would love to see this in the real. I can't wait until we finish the plan. It's gonna be amazing." Beth told Tyler, her eyes wide as she tried to take in the world around her. 

Beth lived in the sunshine for a few moments, before the two lay down in the grass. They both knew that they needed to talk about the discovery at the graveyard. 

As the grass tickled their skin they both pondered of ways to start the conversation, and Tyler found a conversation starter first. 

"They were Banditos." 

Those words lingered in the air for a while before Beth even tried to understand them. They seemed to be more than just three words. They would forever be more than three words to Beth. 

"How do you know that?" She asked Tyler, turning her head to face him. He was staring up at the clouds above, but that didn't bother Beth. She just wanted to know that a real human was saying this and that it wasn't just her mind tricking her. 

"When a Bandito dies.. Other Banditos mark their grave. Both of them had Bandito markings." Tyler explained before looking at Beth. Their eyes met and Beth had never felt so vulnerable. She simply nodded and maintained eye contact. 

"If I don't make it.. Mark my grave?" Beth asked Tyler for the simple favour. 

"Of course." He replied. He wasn't going to promise her that she'd make it, because it would just be an empty promise. He knew the Banditos could win, but not everyone could make it. He saw Beth as someone who would risk her all for other's freedom. She escaped to help Jenna. 

Beth looked back up at the sky, satisfied that Tyler agreed to mark her grave. She also knew that people would die in the battle with Dema, and she was glad he was honest enough to not make promises he couldn't keep. She appreciated how real Tyler was, she appreciated who Tyler was. He could've let her go out on the journey on her own but her went with her. 

"I'm gonna go pick some flowers.. I'll be right back." Tyler told Beth as he stood up. 

"Okay.. I need some time to think anyway." Beth answered, and they both knew it was true. 

The clouds moved by slowly, but they were still very fascinating in Beth's mind. No matter how slowly the clouds rolled by, they were better than the darkness that always seemed to loom over Dema. They were freedom either way. 

The fluffy looking white in the sky was such a reassurance, yet Beth couldn't figure why she thought so. They were just groups of steam, but they were more to her. They were almost everything to her. 

She felt more important out in the new place. She didn't know if Tyler had given the vast landscape a name, but she felt like it was home. She was a being of her own and she had her own story. She had something new. 

She sat up and saw Tyler picking flowers with a slight smile on his face. 

"What's this place called?" She called out to him. 

"I call it Trench!" He answered. 

Trench. It seemed so fitting. Trench. 

Beth no longer belonged to Dema. No one would make Dema feel like a home again. She had discovered Trench, and it was forever her home. No matter what was to come, she belonged to Trench. Her whole soul and being had decided to claimed the land as her home. It was a safe space for her. 

It was a safe space until She looked back and saw a red hooded figure coming their way on a white horse. 

"Ty! They're coming!" She informed him of the nearing Bishop. 

"Well then. Say bye to Trench for a while. Our time is up." Tyler shrugged before tracking over to her.

"Tyler.." Beth mumbled his name once he'd gotten closer. 

"Yeah?" He asked. 

"I don't want to forget.." She told him, looking him in the eyes. She was scared, and she hoped she would wake up again. The back of her mind was telling her that she would never wake up, she would never remember. Tyler, Josh and Jenna would be criminals to her. 

She didn't want that to happen. She wanted to stay with them, she wanted to carry on. She wanted to help the Banditos. 

"Stay with me. You don't need to run. We're gonna be okay." Tyler reassured Beth. She nodded slightly but knew her eyes were full of tears. Slowly, but surely, the salty liquid escaped her eyes and dribbled down her cheeks. She was petrified.

"Tyler, I'm really scared." Beth admitted as the bishop came closer. 

"You can close your eyes if you want. Sometimes things are less scary." Tyler told Beth. She looked to Tyler and saw that his own eyes were closed. She looked up to the sky and felt her eyes close slowly. "I'll be right here." 

"Thank you, Tyler." Beth answered. 

"Are you ready?" Tyler asked. 

"No, but it's not as scary anymore."