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EIGHT THE FULL STORY
The walk back to town was one of the worst things Wes had ever experienced. Grizz and Luke were talking about something, but Wes couldn't bear to walk near him while he was carrying Emily -- it was too horrifying. The reality of their situation didn't hit him until he watched Emily take her last breath and that was weighing heavy enough on him without having to watch Luke carry her. He opted to back up their pack, walking behind everyone as he kept his thoughts to himself. He still didn't want to believe that Emily was dead. It made everything too real.
The moon was set high in the sky, breaking through the trees more and more as they got closer to town. Wes just wanted to be home right now -- with his parents where everything was normal and made sense. Not this world where it stopped and started with West Ham.
His phone dinged in his pocket with a text, causing him to jump a little bit because he hadn't realized they had reception again. For a brief moment, he thought it would be something from his parents, that things had somehow been solved while they were gone, but it was just a text from Winona asking when they would be back. He texted back that he wasn't sure how much longer they had before pocketing his phone once again.
They reached town after hours of walking and Wes was slightly relieved to see the familiar buildings once again, but it wasn't the same. The group approached the church and Wes took a deep breath.
"This is gonna change everything," Wes mumbled as he took a place next to Grizz, facing the doors.
Grizz's expression was unchanging, "It already has."
The two of them pulled open the doors, being met with a group of people leaving, but they all stopped. There were gasps and murmurs as Luke stepped into the church with Emily in his arms. Wes couldn't tell if it was biblical or blasphemous, but something in the air stood still. Whispers lined the pews as the group entered the church completely silent. What could one say in this situation?
They followed Luke as he carried her up to the altar, the boy exclaiming, "Somebody clear that table."
People jumped at the direction, throwing the leftover beer cans and bottles to the floor as they rushed to give Luke a place to put Emily's corpse. Wes forced himself to look at her face, there was still a ghost of a smile on her pale lips. He swallowed the lump in his throat. Luke placed her down on the table down gently while everyone stared in silence -- not knowing what to say. Winona came up behind Wes, clutching him desperately as she pulled him into a fierce side-hug, clearly worried at the sight of Emily dead on the table. He looked amongst the crowd and met eyes with Sahar, Daniel by her side. He nodded, glad to see that they were safe since he lost track of them last night.
"She died from a snake bite," Luke finally explained, his voice rough, "Her whole body just shut down. We did everything we could, but we couldn't save her."
"So, we're gonna bury her tomorrow," Grizz announced, "Before it starts to smell. So, I'm gonna need a couple of guys. Clark?"
The boy in question nodded, his face solemn, "Yeah, no problem."
"Wes?" Grizz asked, turning his head to face the blond. All Wes could do was nod.
Luke spoke next, the fear rampant in his voice as he spoke, "There's nothing out there guys. Just a whole bunch of... just woods that go on forever. We're all alone. This isn't our home."
Everyone fell silent, students going up to look at Emily. Wes hadn't known her well, but he was still grieving. No one deserved to die the way he had. He wondered if he would die a similar way -- crying for his mom. He gripped Winona a little tighter at the thought.
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. My cup runneth over," Helena whispered as she gently stroked the girl's face. Wes wasn't particularly religious, but something in the gentle fragility for which she spoke and handled Emily brought tears to his eyes. Looking over, he saw that Grizz was crying as well. Without thinking, he reached out and gave Grizz's arm a squeeze, pulling the boy into a small side-hug of comfort. They could put aside their differences in a time of mourning, Wes supposed.
He watched as Helena walked over and cried into Luke's shoulder. Everyone's eyes were tearful as people finally began to leave. Even as people began to head for the church doors, Wes found himself rooted to the spot.
Someone gripped his shoulder and he turned to see Amaya standing there, tears in her eyes. She spoke softly, "I'm sorry you had to go through this. No one should have to watch someone die."
Wes couldn't bring himself to come up with some biting remark, he just nodded, offering a meek thanks before the girl left the church. Soon enough, there were only a few people left. Winona gave him another hug.
"I'm gonna head home, do you want me to wait for you?" she asked, concern prominent on her features as she looked at him with worry in her eyes.
He shook his head, "No, I think I just kinda wanna be alone for a bit."
She nodded and left. Sahar didn't say anything as she and Daniel just gave him brief hugs before leaving as well. He understood, Sahar had always been queasy around the subject of death, and standing in front of a dead body was probably driving her crazy. He could always talk to them later.
"Thank you for coming with me," Grizz broke the silence and Wes realized it was just the two of them in the church now. "I don't think I could have done it if it was just Luke and me. I needed another person with their head screwed on tight, so, thank you."
Wes swallowed, "No problem. You're giving me too much credit, though. I was losing my shit, I was just quiet about it."
"You being quiet... that's a first," Grizz mumbled, a small smile on his lips. "I don't wanna be your enemy, Wes. I wanna be the furthest thing from that."
"Grizz..." the boy whispered, but he didn't know what to say, "you know how much you hurt me. I mean, yeah, Amaya hurt me too, but part of me at least knew that relationship wasn't gonna last, high school relationships never do, but you..."
"I know," the boy muttered, "I know. I just wish you knew the full story, but it's not something I'll ever be able to bring myself to tell."
"What do you mean, the full story?" Wes scoffed, "I think the full story is pretty obvious."
Grizz just shook his head as he moved to exit the church. Before he did, though, he stood in the aisle and faced Wes, saying, "Wes, I just wish you knew that you broke my heart long before I broke yours."
"What are you --" Wes began to ask, but the boy was already gone. Wes stood in the empty church for a moment, not sure what just happened. He let himself stay there for a moment, his mind reeling, trying to figure out what the hell Grizz meant. After a few moments alone, he stepped out into the moonlight. Taking a deep breath, he took in the night air and let himself cool down.
He just wanted to go home.
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