Keeper and Protector (Joshler) ✔️

42

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"You've got to get busy living or get busy dying, and I'd hate to see you left behind."

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"I can't wait to feel the sun on my face again."

Yet another late-night conversation between Tyler and Oliver, sleep escaping the both of them as they contemplated what laid ahead in the hours to come.

"How long has it been since you've been outside?"

"Too long," Oliver replied. "Almost a year and a half, I think."

Binding up his arm for what he hoped to be the last time, Tyler gave Oliver a sympathetic look. "That's awful, I'm sorry."

"You get used to it." He sighed. "But right now, all I really want is to see Fynn."

"I have a feeling he'll be speechless." Tyler smiled a little. "Which, for him, that'll be a miracle in itself."

Oliver chuckled. "That's Fynn, though. A big mouth but an even bigger heart."

"He loves you a lot. And the two of you deserve to be happy together again."

"So do you and Josh. I always thought he'd make a really good Protector and now he's yours. That's amazing."

"All mine." Tyler smiled. "Oh, Oliver, I'll have to introduce you to my other Keeper friend, Annaliese. We'll have to explain the whole story to her, though."

"Yeah, it's not every day you find out someone wasn't quite as dead as you thought they were."

"She's pregnant too. We wouldn't want to make the baby upset."

"Aw, that's so sweet. Fynn and I were thinking about becoming foster parents... but then I got sick."

"You still could." Tyler laid a hand on Oliver's knee. "Everything starts from tomorrow, right?"

"Right." Oliver leaned over and pulled Tyler into a hug. "You've been through so much, yet you're still so positive. I admire that about you, Tyler."

"Thanks, but it hasn't always been that way."

"I know. But hey, tomorrow is your 21st birthday, right?" When Tyler nodded, Oliver smiled. "I guess this will be the best birthday present ever, huh?"

"For all of us." Tyler's eyes traveled to the already blood-soaked bandages on his arm and he sighed. "I think it's time for all of us to heal."

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What a beautiful day for making a break for it.

"Keep your heads low and stay alert."

The plan was simple: Wait for one of the bishops to drag someone off for X, gang up on him with their razor blades, take advantage of the unlocked door and then...

Run.

It took almost all of the energy they had to escape, but even as they made their way through the underground passageways of Dema, they knew they couldn't slow down, not even for a second. Time was not on their side and if they stopped, Nico would be right behind them, ready to drag them right back and never, ever let them go.

This was a game where they had to stay one step ahead.

A long time had gone by and Evan and Rhea were struggling to keep up. Violet and Margo tried their best to help them along while Nicholas, Oliver and Tyler tried to navigate the darkness of the seemingly endless tunnels.

"How do we know we're going the right way?" Nicholas asked after what seemed like forever.

"They said 'follow the first tunnel until you see the light.' So this has to be it," Tyler replied, trying his best to sound confident in his words.

"I can't believe we made it out," Margo said. "Who would've thought there'd even be tunnels like this?"

"Maybe they were meant for us," Violet responded.

"Vi..." Oliver turned around to look at her. "They were never going to let us go."

Nobody wanted to admit it, but deep down, they knew he was right. It was either submit to NATN's rule or face a painful, untimely death, as the bones hidden away in the darkest depths of Dema could testify.

But on this fateful day, they were taking matters into their own hands and carving out an entirely new future for themselves:

Freedom.

Tyler knew that he, along with everyone else, would feel the aftereffects of their ordeal for the days, months, and probably years to come. But there was hope for them and their fragile-as-glass Time Keepers...

And right now, hope was all they really needed.

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Just when everyone was on the verge of collapsing, a tiny sliver of light appeared, a signal that maybe, just maybe their long fight was coming to an end.

"Come on, we have to keep going," Tyler urged everyone, trying his best to ignore the voice in his head screaming at him to stop and give up.

Slowly, the sliver grew bigger and bigger until it became a giant wall of light, one that held a symbolic, almost spiritual meaning.

"It's so bright," Evan said, joining the others as they shielded their eyes.

"But it's beautiful," Violet mused.

They know that it's almost over...

Squinting, the seven Keepers finally stumbled out of the tunnel.

"Where are we?" Nicholas asked.

Tyler looked around at the towering clifftops surrounding them. "I don't know. But I think we escaped, Banditos."

After struggling against the steep elevation, the top of the horizon came into view, revealing a group of people making their way towards the dirty and weak camaraderie.

As soon as Tyler laid eyes on the person at the front of the group with a yellow bandana wrapped around their face... he knew.

He always knew.

Tyler took off running before his mind could even stop him. "Josh!"

"Tyler, watch out!"

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Stick with me, frens, I appreciate you.

Would you like to have kids one day?

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