An Entire Year of You

Chapter 33: Packing Up

Carlos was the last out of the lab that night after his short-lived bid for freedom put his clean up efforts behind everyone else. Luckily, or unfortunately depending on how you wish to look at it, he didn't have much to put away anyway since he'd absentmindedly given so much of his equipment to the others. In a better timeline he would have got rid of everything but the bare essentials and bought more Night Vale appropriate supplies when his new source of income came through. Most of it would be radiation based.

After the final box was home, he headed back to the building for one last look around. When he'd first arrived, the place had already been buzzing with his team's distressed activities. He'd never seen it empty before. It felt so big, so cold. The space was suffocating. He left in a hurry and locked the door behind him.

"Carlos." An all too familiar voice called from down the street. Cecil was hiding towards him, waving cheerfully with that beautiful goofy smile. Nausea filled Carlos' body. He hadn't even thought about how he'd say goodbye.

"Hey Ce." Carlos smiled weakly. He couldn't show his sadness in front of Cecil. He couldn't shatter that poor man's happiness.

"Do you know what day it is tomorrow?" Cecil asked excitedly.

"No, what's-"

"It's the year anniversary of you moving to Night Vale. You know I'm impressed at that you survived this long. I mean, I never doubted you would. A smart man like you can survive anything."

"Well, I'm not so sure about that."

"Well you must be doing something right. Most people barely last a month before either dying or freaking out and locking themselves away. I guess you were just destining to live here." Cecil smiled.

"Yeah." Carlos sighed.

"Hey, swing by the office tomorrow. I might have a little something for you." He winked.

"I'll try." Carlos nodded.

"Okay. Well I'll let you head home. It's getting dark and I'm sure you don't want to be out here when-" Carlos wasn't sure what came over him. It was like his logic stepped out of his body and left him alone with a storm of emotions. One moment he was listening to Cecil speak, the next his arms were wrapped tightly around Cecil's chest, as hanging onto him would some how prevent him from leaving and the day from ending. Cecil was speechless for the first time in their year of knowing each other. He awkwardly patted Carlos on the back, clearly unsure of what to do, but Carlos was unable to force himself to let go. "Well this is nice. What brought this on? Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine." Carlos replied as he finally made himself push away. He wiped away the tears rapidly welling up in his eyes and tried to force a smile. "I'm just so happy I met you."

"Oh...I'm...happy I met you to."

"But you're right, it is getting dark." Carlos nodded. "We should probably get inside."

"Yeah..." Cecil gulped. "Well, see you later, Carlos." He started to walk away, clearly shaken.

"See you late..." His voice trailed off. A memory surfaced. He'd said 'see you later' to a receptionist when he'd first arrived in Night Vale and he'd turned out to be wrong. That time it had been an honest mistake, if he said it this time it would be a flat out lie. He wouldn't lie, not to Cecil. "Goodbye, Cecil." He whispered to the now empty street.

He didn't sleep much that night. How could he? Knowing what he was about to leave behind, not fully knowing what was about to come. What would become of Cecil and Josie and everyone else he'd learnt to live in harmony with when Strex Corp arrived? Would they be happy, the way the double on the radio seemed to be happy? Did they even want that kind of happiness? He would never know for sure. He spent the night checking and rechecking that he'd packed everything.

Carlos looked at his few belongings, neat and folded, and at the small collection of knickknacks that he'd accumulated, packed away in perfect disorder. Pictures and bowling trophies, his own bowling league trophy. Those random objects would be the only reminders he'd have of a town that's he'd never visit again.

The car would arrive the next day in the middle of the afternoon. Apparently, Mr Markson didn't want him driving back in his own car, which he'd been forced to abandon. Somebody must have told him about his little escape attempt. Perhaps he didn't want him pulling anything. There was no other way out, since Josie's prophecy seemed unlikely to come true within less than 24 hours. Part of him was disappointed. At least if she was right, he would have died in the town he loved. Soon he'd be back on the road, Night Vale fading from his life as quickly as it faded from view. He would hand in his last remaining scarps of research, the few parts he was willing to share, and go back to his job at The University of What It Is, where everything was exactly what it was. Maybe he would meet a man, a nice man, a normal man, who would give him a normal life. He would do all of that without ever thinking about the fate of the strange town in the desert. He wouldn't think about Josie, with her angels and her prophecies. He wouldn't think of all the other people, who he learned to share a cautious co-existence with. Most of all he wouldn't think of Cecil, a man so caring and yet so confusing that Carlos had learned to love him the way he loved science. He was unsolvable not in a way that was frustrating, but in a way that meant there would always be more to learn. Carlos wouldn't think of him at all. Instead he would rest and think about his plan for the morning. He planned one more bit of research, a scientific goodbye to a town he'd only just said hello to. All he would think about was lane five and the town that sat below it.