UPRISE

24.5

Something is wrong. There are branches snapping up ahead, and the sound of a boy cackling, and otherwise, the air is thin and cold. It has stopped snowing, but the white fluff that has coalesced on the ground crunches beneath their feet. Though their toes grow numb, they continue to trek through the forest.

Wren wonders if he actually is a Clear and if he froze to death in the arms of the Clear girl that night, and all of this is a fever dream. After all, his hand is in Reagan's, and Reagan is squeezing so tightly that the pleasure has become pain. Wren is ready to be hurt by others this time, rather than to hurt them.

Next to him, Reagan can feel his heart. It's difficult to tell if its thumping or fluttering, or some odd combination of the two. Is it this petrifying to fall in love? Reagan feels himself warm from the inside out. He is frightened, but perhaps, he is free.

Rinn hopes that Connery tagged along tonight and that he will be there to greet her. Something about him feels right to her, so incredibly right. The stars above them (which are always visible given the lack of light) seem to be aligning above her. After all, she and Noah seem to have feelings for different boys, and the Clears seem to have retreated from the woods due to the snow, favouring instead to set up their tents in front of the Blue houses. Since she is from California, she rarely sees snow. How beautiful the night is.

Harper is more pragmatic. More frustrated. He tries to walk alone, needing a second to breathe. He is angry with the others, but really the fire burns and it licks his insides until he is a collapsing building, and he is crashing. Is this why things didn't work out with his ex? Were his expectations to high, he to controlling? How could he hate someone so much, and yet, want more between them?

Oblivious to his ponderings, Jasmine strokes the bracelet around her wrist. It feels colder than usual since all the activity from within it has been destroyed. Only in the quiet does she live with the consequences of her actions. Her cheeks tinge pink when she thinks about her recklessness, pushing her to fiddle with a necklace that isn't on her neck. Yet, she doesn't regret saving those girls, because they saved her right back.

Viola likes the cold air. She feels like she blends into it. She begins to accept that she has lost these people with her. Yet, why does she still spend time with them? Her lips are still stained with an apology she means to give to Rinn but hasn't yet.

Finally, Pluto is smiling. Apologizing did sting, like wax ripped off her skin to create the smooth arms her parents forced her to have in her pageant days, but she is happy. Her eyes glance at Jasmine, and she no longer feels the heartache she felt so long ago.

Corbin, on the other hand, feels panic. It claws at him from the inside out, like he has swallowed a feral cat that is trying to scrape to the surface. He feels chunks of his throat scratched away, like when he screamed at his mother's dead body, begging her to come back to life. It's on him to save everyone. It really is.

They finally arrive, and Noah sees Edison, lying on the snow. The ground is stained with his blood. Red flecks along the otherwise pristine surface. His chest shudders with every breath.

Though they all dart forward, Noah is the one to kneel down next to him. Edison is stained purple, with blotches around his eye and on his jawline. His nose drips crimson blood. As Edison's eyes flutter shut, he manages to lift his hand and place it in Noah's.

Edison barely rotates his wrist, and as Noah runs his hands along Edison's band, he realizes it is a different texture than his. Noah scratches the band with his nail, and the red paint chips off.

Revealing gold beneath.

~~~~~

Now we shift into act 3. Most plays have five acts, and this will be no different (although, the next three acts will be very, very short). I'm quite excited to see where things go from here!

Are you surprised by Edison's band? What do you think happened to Edison?