Love Conquers All _The Sequel_

Chapter Seventeen - Alive

Mary's POV:

Michael and I are now husband and wife. It's a strange thought, considering we've known each other for a short time, but I already know it'll last forever, because it's true as my own spit.

We've just made the marriage official, sealing the deal with a kiss, and the guests are cheering. But Michael noticed, just as I, that their voices have somehow changed. We both look out toward the audience at the same time.

And they've returned to normal.

I recognize some of them, because of the way I killed them. There's one guy with thick curly red hair who I killed with nothing but a dead chicken and some rope. And that older woman to his left, I drowned her in her fish's bowl. It's hard to forget a person's face when your the one who took their life.

The thing is, they're cheering for us. Why would they be cheering for the person who brutally murdered them? Do they not remember? Why aren't they questioning their location? Surely they must be confused as to why they're not at their homes...

I look at Michael with a terrified gaze, and I can feel my cheeks getting hot and my throat tightening as I fear that they will prosecute me for their killings.

Michael pats my hand which I assume is meant to calm me down, but it doesn't help in the slightest bit.

The crowd's clapping dies down, and I decide to speak up.

"Uhm... Refreshments at the back, we cut the cake in ten minutes!" I yell, trying hard to mask my terror.

The guests begin to chatter as they make their way towards the food, and they seem nonchalant. What if they actually don't remember? That would be a massive weight off my shoulders, but I'm skeptical for now.

Michael pulls me to the side, and begins whisper-yelling at me.

"What is happening?" He asks, gripping my forearm tightly.

"I don't know! I honestly am so confused!" I respond in a hushed tone. He lets go of his grip and a puts his arm around me as we turn to face the group of people. I can see Julia, and all of her side affects from the poison of the bullet are gone... She's back to her old self. I wonder if the clones still have all their memory of events before their deaths.

It must have something to do with this whole "my love resurrected Michael because it's so powerful" thing.

"Mary, what if this has to do with the fact that we're married...? What if it was us?" Michael says.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... We kissed and then bam, they're back to normal. What if it was because of our marriage that this happened?" He switches his focus from the people to me, and looks me in the eyes.

"You mean like, by making our love eternal, it fixed them somehow?"

He nods. The explanation seems plausible...

"Let's just get through the reception," I say, "then we can go find Tex and talk to him about this."

"Alright," Michael agrees, and he takes my hand as we walk towards the people crowded around the refreshment table. We cut the cake and everyone applauds. After serving everyone a slice, we are forced to walk around and talk to people.

After a few minutes of idle chatting, Julia approaches us.

"Congrats!" She says, and hugs both of us. "And thanks for healing me Mary."

"What?"

"You fixed me! Don't you remember? When we were in the theatre, and all that gas started floating in? It healed me!" Her smile is wide and my mind is trying hard to process all this.

"Uh, oh yeah...!" I say, faking it.

"Anyways, congratulations!" She says again, the. pats my arm and turns to walk away.

"Okay here's my hypothesis," I say to Michael. "They haven't lost any past memories, but their minds have been switched up so that they remember my killing them as some sort of positive thing, like fixing Julia for example. The others probably remember it as me inviting them to the wedding."

"That's it!" Michael says excitedly. "That has to be what's happening."

"Okay, let's go find tex."

"Hey, everyone! Thanks for comin' out! We'll see you again sometime!" Michael shouts out to the guests. They wave at us as we begin to walk to the theatre.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the theatre, there is a swarm of people. They're just talking to each other, but the room is overcrowded. I walk onstage with Michael.

"Everyone! Go home!" I shout. "And Tex! Please come onstage!"

The people look at us, and then murmur to one another as they begin to exit. Tex trots up to us, smiling.

"Hey guys! How was the wedding?" He asks excitedly.

"Great, now Tex... We've got a lot to explain to you," I say and he nods.

"Let's go to the house and talk things over," Michael suggests.

So, Michael, Tex, and I start to make our way back to the mansion, through the crowds of stirring people.

Just as we're about to walk through the door, I am greeted face to face with one of the last people I ever thought I would see.

It's Niall.