The Chosen Ones.

2.

Aylin's POV:

This world is so different. The Faro Plague destroyed everything.
I was so lost in thought that I didn't realise we were standing in front of a wooden gate. From behind it, you could hear people talking, going about their day. I took a deep breath and followed Aloy inside.
I looked around as the people surrounding us started staring at me. I lowered my gaze to the ground, not making eye contact with anybody.
Suddenly, Aloy spoke up. "Teersa, Jezza, this is Aylin. I found her trapped in a cryo pos, while exploring some ruins." I glanced up and saw two elderly women looking at me. "She's one of the Old Ones." The women, who I assumed to be Teersa and Jezza, gasped. "How is that possible?" One of them asked. Aloy shrugged, turning to me. I figured I had to explain, so I did.
After I was done, they looked at me in disbelief. Suddenly, another woman, who looked their age, walked towards us. "Oh, the outcast is back..." She said under her breath. "And she's got a friend now!" I swallowed the lump in my throat as my eyes went back down, to the ground. "She brought another curse to us!" I heard her say. "No, Lansra! She's one of the Old Ones! She knows everything about these machines and will help us defeat them."
My eyes burned with an all too familiar feeling. Tears.
"Don't listen to her." Aloy said. She put both of her hands on my shoulders, but I pushed them away. "No, it's fine. I've been through this kind of stuff a lot. I'm used to it." I said, looking up at her while wiping my tears away. She sighed.
I turned my attention to the other people in the tribe. They were so many... Adults, children... I let out a sigh. I don't belong here... I thought. The people in front of me kept talking, but I didn't pay attention.

A few moments later, I felt a hand rest gently on my arm. I looked up to see Teersa smiling at me. She told me that I was welcome in the tribe. I nodded and smiled, thanking her.

~Time skip~

I sat down on the grass, thinking. About everything that's going on. About my parents... and Lis... I tapped my focus, choosing a file of memories and tapping on a video. I saw a colored hologram of myself and Lis, sitting on the couch, her head in my lap. We looked so happy.

Aylin: He's an asshole. A smart asshole, but an asshole.

Elisabet: *laughs* True. I don't know how he thinks he's gonna get out of this. There was a glitch in his "peacekeepers" and now he's trying to cover it up.

I saw Lis roll her eyes.

Aylin: Project Zero Dawn is gonna be a success. I'm sure of it.

Elisabet: I hope.

Aylin: I can't wait to see Ted's reaction!

Elisabet: It'll be priceless!

We both laughed. The hologram ended, leaving me alone, in the grass.

"You looked like you were really close to her.." I heard a voice say. I turned around to see Aloy standing there, smiling slightly. "Yeah, she was my aunt. We were like best friends." She sat beside me. I opened up another file. This one was from my 17th birthday. It showed me sitting on the edge of the pool, talking to Lis once again. I smiled, sadly. The hologram stopped.

There were a few moments of silence, before she spoke up again. "We should head back to the house." I nodded and stood up, walking behind her.

A few moments later, I found myself laying down on the bed, next to her. I sighed, staring at the ceiling.

I turned on my side , falling asleep in a matter of seconds.

The wind blew through my hair, a slight breeze danced with the ends of my dress. The calming sound of a few cars driving by. The sound may have calmed me, but it only added onto the pile of why's rather than why not's. I was coming too short with why nots, as I realized that people weren't going to stop me. My feet anticipated the fall as I danced on the edge of an inevitable end— death. There was no stopping me now, the tides crashed against the shore, willed by the moon. The stars that once resembled hope only reminded me of burning stars that would soon lose their spark, a dying star like me. The tears that had previously cascaded my face, the doubts and the rational part of my head that begged me not to do it had waved their goodbyes and taken the next taxi. My sadness was long gone, and all I could feel was emptiness. Golden was the bridge yet I felt nothing colorful, I felt empty. My emptiness spread and soon took control of my nerves, and finally, as I looked back once more at a city full of lights, I let myself free. Free of everything that had happened to me before, free of all worries and all feelings. I felt the strong winds carry my lifeless body and rest me into the calming sea. My body, fully alert, struggled to take one last breath, but my lungs filled with water, and I soon drowned deeper into a deep blue, never to be seen again.