Chapter 28 #2
Dino left this morning, and although I’m used to not seeing him for long stretches of time, this goodbye was harder. I take comfort in knowing I’ll be speaking with him a lot more from now on. We have business together.
“You okay?” Josh asks.
“Still a bit dizzy, but it’s getting better. Are you over the shooting-me thing?”
“Don’t make fun of that.”
“So you can keep beating yourself up? Give it a rest, Joshy; I would’ve done the same.”
“Yeah?”
“Hell no. I’m a good person.”
He punches me hard. “Fuck you.”
I wrap my arm around his shoulders. “I didn’t leave you much choice, and you could’ve blown my head off.”
“Well, you do use your shoulder more than your head.”
I laugh. “True.”
“And heads up that River is telling people your fight ended in a tie.”
“A tie? I fucking kicked his ass!”
“He has a fragile ego; play along.”
I no longer have the same strength I had when I fought River, and I’m not eager to test the powers I have left.
They feel unreliable, and the last thing I need is more fighting.
But I do wish I could have fought in the great War of Denver.
I’ve been waiting for that moment most of my life, and I ended up bleeding and delusional for the entirety of it.
“Can you still hear things from afar?” Josh asks as we walk on the dirt road leading to town. It’s peaceful here now that the place has emptied.
“Yes, but I can tune them out most of the time. Still heard you two having sex last night.”
“You were on the same floor as us, and I could hear you and Finn going at it just fine without superpowers.”
“We had some catching up to do.”
“Have you told him that Dino offered you to work for the Assembly?”
“How do you know about that?”
“Guess.”
I shake my head. “Not yet. It’s a strange job.”
He stops walking and turns to face me. “Is it? There are mutants out there in hiding, and Florence can become their safe haven. There’s enough space around here to build a small city.”
“Yeah, I get that; I just didn’t see myself as the ambassador type.” Or the mutant type. I still wake up in the mornings and touch my face, hoping I’m back to my old self again, but the scales remain the same, although the yellow in my eyes has dimmed some.
I’m not only worried about the new role, but about the implications for me and Finn. The Hive is only a few days away, but Finn’s demanding work for Dino will swallow him whole. With time, the distance between us will grow like it did before, leading us to the same shitty ending.
It makes everything feel even more unfair.
As we walk, I catch another group of people heading out of town. When I notice who is walking among them, I ask Josh to wait for me.
“You look healthy,” Elijah says as I approach him. He’s wearing plain gray clothes, unlike the fancy burgundy outfits I’m used to seeing him in.
“I look like a mutant.”
“It could’ve been worse, Caden.”
“I try to tell myself that.” I cross my arms. “Did the rest of your house get out in time?”
“Some escaped with me, but most stayed and fought for Denver. They were allowed to make up their own minds.”
I’m not surprised to hear he was fair until the end. Despite our circumstances, he was fair with me as well. “Where are you off to?”
“Blue Moon. I have connections there. I’ll be fine. You’re heading back to your Hive?”
It’s a reasonable question, but it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. “I’ll be staying here for a while.”
“Good.” He squeezes my arm. “I’m glad that you survived him.”
“We both did. Take care, Elijah.”
I return to Josh, who asks, “Ready for dinner?”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
The sun is slowly setting, coloring the cloudless sky in orange and purple.
We make our way toward the mayor’s house, where I’m staying for the time being.
I find myself appreciating Buck’s company and guidance, although we once tried to kill each other.
He knows of different mutant clans around Colorado, some hostile and some that might be open to talk.
He promised to join me when I officially start reaching out to potential allies.
Dino and the Assembly wish to prevent another situation where mutants seek to conquer, and since we’re not about to go randomly hunting out of fear, we’re going to try to offer peace and security instead.
There’s a campfire in front of the mayor’s house, with Finn, River and Timothy sitting around it. I can smell the roasting meat from afar, and it makes my stomach grumble.
River’s hair is back to being red, so he can finally stop acting like dyeing it was the end of the world. Timothy’s head won’t ever look like before, but he doesn’t seem to mind. I sit next to Finn, both of us facing the dancing flames. “Can we talk?” I ask quietly.
Before he can answer, River says, “Josh and Nanny Spider, come help me with the rest of the food.”
I nod my thanks, and the three of them walk inside.
“What’s up?” Finn asks and slides a bit closer, his shoulder resting against mine. I can smell the traces of soap in his hair, mixed with the scent of burning wood.
I struggle to speak. After everything he risked to find me, I feel like I’m about to betray him. I let out a long breath and say, “I had a talk with Dino a few days ago. He wants me to—”
“—stay here and work for the Assembly. I know.”
“You do?”
“Yes.”
That makes things easier, though he seems more nonchalant than I expected. “Are you okay with that?”
He shrugs. “It will take some getting used to, but it makes sense for me to go out on diplomatic missions from here. Most Free Cities are closer to Florence than they are to Unity.”
“What are you talking about? I’m staying in Florence.”
“And so am I. You think I went through all this trouble just to end up alone in the Hive? I’ll stay here between trips, and some delegations will come over. There’s one from Blue Moon that’s supposed to be arriving next week.”
I rub my face, taking it all in. He might act like it’s not a big deal, but I know what the Hive means to him, and how hard he fought to find a place there. “You love Unity.”
“I also love fresh air and sex with you, so I’m going to be just fine in Florence.”
I can challenge him further, but I trust him to do what’s right for him. I lean down to nibble on his earlobe. “Sex with me or fresh air… which one’s better?”
“Sex with you in the fresh air.”
“You really are a diplomat.”
The rest return shortly after, with River holding a pie.
I can smell every ingredient, which is also something I should learn to control before it gets annoying.
Buck joins us as well, sitting on the other side of the fire.
I have more in common with him now than I do with most people.
If he minds us taking over his house, he doesn’t show it.
“Both of us are staying here,” I tell Josh as he sits close by. “Sneaky Finn is also stationed here.”
“And sneaky Timothy as well,” Timothy says.
I nod. “Didn’t think otherwise.”
Josh crosses his legs, looking thoughtful.
I remember the conversation we had back in High Hope, when he mentioned wishing to settle down, but he worried about River’s reaction.
I can see in his eyes that he wants to bring it up now, but it’s River who ends up saying, “If everybody is staying here, we should stay too, Josh.”
His eyes go wide. “You want to stay?”
“Yes, but we must have a house to ourselves with a big garden. Buck can find us one.”
“I can?”
“Yes. Be polite. I’ll return the favor when I’m the king of Florence.”
Josh shakes his head. “You’re crazy.”
“It’s fair! Lyla is queen, and she’s very competitive.”
Buck raises a bottle of beer. “To the king!”
We eat around the fire, and then River takes out his harmonica to play for us, with Josh joining in. I nudge Finn and ask him to come for a walk.
It’s dark between the trees, even though the moon is bright in the sky, but I can see almost everything, including the little animals that run around. If they’re close enough, I can hear their little hearts beating.
“Don’t let me fall,” Finn says, holding my hand as we make our way to a clearing between the trees.
“You won’t fall.”
We sit down on the soft grass. The full moon is visible between the treetops, and despite the breeze, the air is not cold.
“We should also find a place to stay,” Finn says. “I want a house for us.”
“With a garden?”
“Doesn’t matter, but maybe a spare room for when Dino comes to visit.”
I’m assuming he would rather stay with Josh when he visits, but I nod. “A spare room it is. And a big bed.”
“For your cock or for your ego?”
“They’re similar in size, so for both.”
He laughs and leans against me. Someday, I’ll stop being angry at myself for how I treated him during our last days in Denver, but I’m not there yet.
“The idea of turning Florence into a sanctuary city makes me wonder if that should have been Hector’s plan all along,” Finn says. “But he turned his grief into revenge.”
“He was a madman.”
Finn shakes his head. “I don’t think he was, just very hurt.”
I don’t want to dig into my soul in search of compassion for Hector, but I also don’t want to judge Finn for choosing to do so. I love his roughness as much as I love his softer side.
“I can’t stop thinking of something that Hector said before he died,” Finn says.
“What was it?”
“That history always repeats itself and human instincts never change. He said that even if this war ends, a new one is only a matter of time.”
It sounds like something Hector would say. “He was right. There will be another war someday, and we’re either going to prevent it in time or fight and win.”
He sighs. “I’m tired of fighting.”
I’m tired too, but I have things in my life worth fighting for, now more than ever. I pull Finn back to lie on the grass beside me. “Whatever happens, I can promise there won’t be any fighting tonight, and there’s peace in that.”
He rests his head against my chest. “You’re right. There’s peace in that.”
The End