Is burning out a hole in me.
My guilty heart
Lies here in ruin.
-- Jann Arden
Her hand brushed right past the lighter in her bag, willing it to disappear. That lighter would end everything. Five minutes left until all that she stood for, all that they stood for, was reduced to a pile of dirty ashes. She bit her lip to keep from crying.
"Isabel?"
"Please, Max, do we have to?"
"I'm sorry, Isabel."
He placed his hand on her shoulder, though it was little comfort to her. Michael stood by a large stone; his mouth was curled its usual angry scowl. She noticed a small metal object between his fingers.
"What is that, Michael?" Max asked.
"It's nothing."
A look of pity crossed over Max's face, and it made Isabel's heart heavier.
"Michael, you have to give it to me. You know we have to. Please don't make this harder than it already is."
For an alarming second, Isabel was afraid that Michael was going to hit Max. He didn't, but he did throw the object at Max. It hit him in the chest, and bounced onto the floor. Max picked it up.
Nasedo's ring. The small silver ring he used to wear on his pinky. He'd given it to Michael shortly before he died. Isabel had forgotten about that.
With one last glance at the enormous pile of memories, Michael stormed off.
"Michael! Michael, don't leave! We need you." Tess shouted after him, but he ignored her.
Isabel hugged Tess, who had started to cry. Tess whimpered like a puppy when she cried. It was the most awful sound. Even Max's lower lip trembled from the noise.
"Hand me the lighter, Isabel. We have to do this before we lose our nerve."
She fished it out of her bag again, and gave it to him. She spotted a bottle of gasoline and picked it up. She could hear it sloshing around in the container. Unscrewing the cap, a few drops splashed onto her shirt. The heavy smell assaulted her nostrils. She sneezed.
"Bless you, " Max said.
"No, Max, it's too late for that." Max shook his head sadly, and took the gasoline from her. He poured every last drop onto the items. He lowered the lighter to the soon to be funeral pyre, but Tess grabbed his hand.
"You can't. You just can't."
"Tess, you know the rules. We can't be human with all of this in our possession. It won't work. We can't go home because Antar is dead now. They managed to destroy an entire solar system. All of this has to go. We have to forget, move on with our lives. We are just like them now. No more powers. You all promised not to use them again. This is all that's left. It's going, too. Accept that."
She just shook her head and continued crying. Isabel ignored her tears this time, as she'd finally succumbed to her own.
It was a pile of junk, one might say, but it was so much more. A few rocks. They'd used those to save both Michael's and Nasedo's lives. A necklace with a symbol similar to a spiral on it. Isabel had worn that around her neck for five years. She had only removed it on her twenty-third birthday, as per Max's request.
'It's time to take that off now, Isabel. It's time to let go.'
'But I like it, Max. It's my only connection to...'
'It means nothing anymore, Izzy. Nothing.'
Her twenty-third birthday had been a week ago. Just two days after Antar had been destroyed.
A drawing filled with other symbols from their planet laid in the center of the pyre. The symbol for four caused an ache in her chest so strong that she sank to her knees. Various other items surrounded it, each one holding their own meaning or connection to what they'd never be a part of.
'We're all that's left.' Yes, Max, Isabel thought. We're all that's left.
Max's hand seemed to move in slow motion. The closer his hand got, the slower it seemed to move. Isabel took one last glance at the treasures, and then turned away.
Max lit the pyre.
END