Chapter XXXIV: The First Goodbye

STOPPED...IT STOPPED...THE AVALANCHE STOPPED...THE AVALANCHE STOPPED AND IT'S FINALLY OVER.

It's rather bizarre, seeing Hidden Summit almost entirely covered in snow. The avalanche seemed to have completely lost momentum the moment it reached the town, as there's a noticeable slope of the heavy powder that gradually declines in the avalanche's direction, although the snow managed to completely overtake the buildings near the back of Hidden Summit.

After about half a minute of resting in complete awe of my harrowingly-close brush with getting buried alive, I shoot back up into the air, doing my best to stand above the snow. Needless to say, I no longer had my snowboard, let alone most of my equipment, and if I wasn't so exhausted from the past twenty minutes of strenuous snowboarding, I'm sure I would be shivering; short shorts and a button-up short-sleeve shirt are not the best protection from the current temperature.

"SAVE THE PUMPS! SAVE THE PUMPS!" I shift my attention to Marisol, who is yelling something almost incoherent to another person waist-deep in snow within the buried town. It turns out to Seeiah, raising a clothing bag above her head as she trudges through the shifting white ground.

"Don't worry, sweetie!" She shouts back. "I got 'em right here!"

I turn around to see what is behind me and beyond the visible remains of the Hidden Summit town. It appears that I'm standing on a section of a wide hill, untouched by the avalanche. It's a very flat area which, considering the past hour of my life, is nothing short of a godsend.

"Whoo! I see you've made it as well," Allegra says to me, appearing from my left. "You doing okay?"

I expect to reply quickly, but it isn't until now that I'm aware of my out-of-control breath. I take a moment to nod my head and reply, "Yeah," before I reserve myself to controlling my breath as I take another look around my surroundings. Along with Allegra, there is Moby, Zoe and Psymon near the edge of the hill, resting down on the snow. Kaori is standing in the center of the area, and all of the store owners I met besides Seeiah and Marisol - Brodi, Luther, and Eddie - are also nearby.

I knew there were more that were missing, but I just assume they were nearby; I see Elise, for instance, with one arm each around both Viggo and Griff, coming from the right side of the town. She appears to be injured, as she does her best to keep her left foot off of the ground. I walk towards towards the three to find out what has happened, along with Moby, Eddie and Allegra.

"What's going on here, Elise?" Moby asks." You gonna be alright?"

Elise winces as she continues to step forward. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Just sprained my damn ankle is all. That avalanche really hounded at me near the bottom of that - ah!" She stops in place, and the two men carrying her help rest her on the snow. "I could really use a hospital right now..."

"That won't be a problem at all!" Eddie interjects, "Before the snow slide hit, I signaled a helicopter to stop on down just a short while from here." He gets down on one knee, his eyes directly at hers. "I can take you down there, if you want."

"Oh, Eddie!" I notice Elise's eyes light up; it's easy to see that she's in a better mood now. "I would really like that."

Eddie digs his arms into the snow under Elise's back and legs and, being wary of her injured foot, scoops her up to his chest level as he stands back upright. "Right on! Don't you worry girl, our next stop is-"

"WAIT!" Kaori shouts from the middle of the level ground area. All of our attention is turned to her. "Has anyone seen Mac-kun?"

Mac. He's the last person of our group who hasn't yet appeared among us. Despite the impossibility of one of the best riders in all of SSX succumbing to Peak Three, it quickly flashes over everyone else's faces: an assumption of the worst.

Kaori notices this too, but refuses to imagine such. She calls out, "No, no! Do not give me those looks!" She faces back at Hidden Summit, facing away from the edge of the hill as the majority of us stand around her. "MAC-KUN! Where are you! This isn't funny, Mac-kun! MAC-KUN!"

I cringe at the ultimate despair of it all, but no one says a word. Kaori keeps shouting, addressing Mac as if he was actually there. "Mac-kun, how could you do this to me! Four years of us apart...and now that we are together again, you go and leave me alone? I refuse to believe this! MAC-KUN, WHERE ARE YOU?"

As Kaori keeps purposelessly yelling towards Hidden Summit and Peak Three beyond. I cannot help but begin to assume the worst myself. How could Mac be so careless? I TOLD him that doing Uber tricks during an avalanche was terrible idea! And now that he isn't here, Mac has no one to blame except for-

And now I want to slap myself in the face, for just as I begin to doubt him, Mac appears over the horizon of the hill, behind where Kaori is facing.

I oh, so desperately want to say something, anything to end this soul-crushing moment, because the only person that doesn't see Mac walking towards Kaori, and is now relieved by Mac's presence, is Kaori herself. Everyone else, however, seems to be in on the same cruel irony, so I keep my mouth shut.

Meanwhile, Kaori continues her forlorn-fueled rant, as she lacks the common chance of simply looking behind her back. Finally, she pleads, "And you want to know something else, Mac-kun? I...I hate pizza! I've NEVER liked pizza! Every time we went to a pizza parlor after a race, it felt like my stomach was doing a back flip after having a slice! But...every time you would ask, the pizza was never on my mind! I wanted to spend time with you, Mac-kun...so my answer...my answer never changed."

"I never liked pizza either, Kaori." She immediately turns around, tears clinging to her cheeks, as she stands frozen in complete shock. Mac, staring back at her from a meter away, fills the gripping silence with a most affectionate plea, "But whenever I would ask, you would never say no...so my question never changed."

'Overwhelmed' is an understatement. Kaori lunges at Mac, and the two interlock for an inconceivably passionate kiss. For the next few moments, I entirely forget to breathe; on top of being half-dead from surviving the avalanche, I'm uncertain how to react to this unbearably emotional scene. Had I not known better, I could almost swear that I see Zoe wiping her hand across her nose.

After a lengthy period of time, Kaori and Mac separate their lips from one another, each still tightly held in the other's arms. Mac teases, "So...you wanna grab a bite? We can skip the pizza this time around..."

"Eat?" She exclaims, "Mac-kun, I do not care, as long as we are going together!"

With that, the two rush towards the edge of the hill, hands interwoven, and exit the area.

Elise, still being held in Eddie's arms, watches Kaori and Mac depart. "Aww, what a sweet ending." She turns her attention to Eddie. "Now how about that helicopter you were talking about?"

"Oh, right!" He declares. He turns around to face the downhill slope. "We'll be there in a jiffy."

After Eddie and Elise have left, Viggo shyly walks up to Allegra, saying, "Y'know, Allegra...I've been thinking about what you said, back at the Tower, about us...I know that was when were supposed to be dead and stuff, but...you still mean that stuff now, right?"

I see the answer on Allegra's face before she speaks it. "Even after you almost blew us up, you lovable idiot. Of course I still mean it." After the two embrace, she adds, "I gotta say, it's too bad that the race was all a farce. I was looking forward to riding through Jupiter City."

"Hey, who says we still can't?" Viggo asks, "I know this cool diner overhanging the finish line section. Race to see who picks up the bill?"

"You're on!" She replies, and the pair hop on their boards and vanish over the horizon of the hill, heading towards the racecourse section that begins beyond Hidden Summit.

Around the same time, I notice Moby and Psymon are speaking to Zoe. From what I pick up, it's definitely something about the 'relationship issues' Zoe talked about a long while ago.

"...and we've had with it, Zoe," Moby says. "You gotta choose someone. You can't just keep teasing the two of us forever."

Zoe scratches at her forehead. "Yeah, you both got yourselves a point. Dang, just when I thought there weren't any cons to surviving this death trap of a tournament..."

"Yes, hilarious," Psymon blandly remarks. "So who is it gonna be?"

A moment of contemplation draws a wicked smile unto Zoe's face. "Okay, how about this? The both of you spin around and...wait a second. Have either of you ever see the movie "Catch That Kid"?" The two guys shake their heads. "Alright good then. So the both of you spin around, and stand apart so neither of you can see each other. Then, while you're both facing away, I'll make my choice and the two of us will silently escape, leaving the loser here, in total depression!"

"I'm game!" Moby declares, "After all, I already know the outcome!"

Psymon scoffs, "Well then, that makes two of us!" Both Psymon and Moby turn around, each with their hands crossed.

I didn't know what movie Zoe was talking about, but it is little surprise to me when Zoe, instead of choosing either Psymon or Moby, immediately turns around and lands on her snowboard, doing her best to silently flee the scene.

Not even a second after she's started to slide away, the two men, simultaneously recognizing the trickery in Zoe's game, look at each other in astonishment, then down the hill at Zoe, who has gained quite the head start away from their location. Both Moby and Psymon do their best to jump on their snowboards and chase after her.

"OI!" Moby shouts out, moving further and further out of earshot. "YOU GET BACK HERE, YOU CONNIVING..."

As the trio disappears, Brodi, who has walked up fairly close to me, talks to Marisol and Seeiah.

"I have to say," He says, "it's rather a shame that the town has been covered in snow. I can only assume that our stores' equipment has been lost or damaged beyond repair." I see that the two girls are noticeably disparaged, but Brodi's laments are recognizably half-hearted. He continues, "Oh well. Such is the way of material pleasures. They are easily replaced."

"REPLACED?" Luther objects, trudging through the thick snow toward the four of us. "That's easy for YOU to say, Buddha Boy! While y'all are sappy over yer gadgets and girly-gams, I've gots countless rare-earth elements buried under this snow cover. It'll take weeks to recover my inventory!"

Marisol scoffs, "As if we'd expect you to understand the finer things in life!" She turns around, "Come on, muchacha, let's get out of here."

Seeiah lifts the bag of shoe pairs up to her chest. "I am right behind ya! Brodi, you coming along?"

"Yes, but I need one second first." Brodi catches me by surprise by turning towards me. "My, my, Roxanne, you certainly have changed! I trust that you've found some answers to your troubles?"

It takes me a moment to recall the last time I had spoke with Brodi. "You know what...yeah! I think I can say that I really do feel better since we met." It isn't until just now that I realize that I feel somewhat lighter than I could remember. Perhaps the weight of such a deep secret was more straining on me than I thought.

"That is wonderful to hear. May you go in peace and safety, especially after such an...unsettling hour." He motions back to Marisol and Seeiah, who follow his lead as they start the trek downhill. I'm about to say farewell, but Luther catches me off guard:

"Y'know, Ms. Schultz, I still got that Rhodium rock of yers back in the shack." I spin around to face him, as he scratches his head, "It'll take a while to get it back to ya, as you might reckon."

Incredible. What was before the single most profound thing on my mind all day yesterday has completely left my mind altogether. I think to myself for a minute; chasing after this precious metal has nearly cost me my life one time too many, and now that I've set myself on going back home to my family, only one opinion remains...

I don't care how rich I could be. I couldn't care less about the stuff now.

"...You know what, Luther?" I speak, knowing fully well on what I was giving up. "Why don't you keep it? You seemed to know more about it anyways. I'm sure you'll know what to do with it more than I ever could."

Luther's eyes widen, and he says, "Oh, well, wow then, that's mighty generous of you right there." He begins to shuffle his way away from me, with a bit more energy in his step than usual. "In that case, I better get on started with the digging. If you'll excuse me..."

As Luther walks away, with Marisol, Seeiah and Brodi far ahead, Griff stumbles up to me, looking over the damaged town. "Hmm...well, I guess it's just you and me now," he says, noticing that we are the last two left from the big group before.

"Yeah, so it seems," I say, although I have trouble focusing on him alone as my mind still swims in thoughts and emotions, although I've calmed down considerably since my mountain escape. "Of course, I don't think anyone wanted to stay much longer after everything that had gone down."

He nods, "True, true." An ironic smile appears on his tired face. "So! Your very first Advanced League SSX Tournament!" He raises out his hands to signify my achievement. I match his enthusiasm with a blank stare. "Is it too obvious to say it was your last?"

I mean to instantly say yes, but I hesitate. I decide to say, "I'm...rather confident that today is the last day I touch a snowboard." I break out into laughter - did I ever think that I'd ever get to say that? "Yes, I think one death-defying race from an avalanche with a broken board is enough for one lifetime."

"I understand that...but are you sure-" suddenly he pauses, holding his hand over his M-comm earpiece. He starts again, "Sorry, I gotta go. Elise wants me to see her off. I probably shouldn't keep a hospital helicopter waiting. Are you gonna stay here?"

My eyes linger before I reply, "Yeah, I...need some quiet time for myself. To think, and other stuff, you know?" I extend my hand to his. "Wow, I can't believe this is it! Will I ever get to see all of you guys again?"

"Relax, dude," he states, shaking my hand. "This is just the first goodbye, you got that?" He begins to step backwards, taking his board back out of his backpack. "And don't you dare think you're getting off this easy! We'll all find a way to get you back on the slopes! Don't you forget it!" With that, he jumps down the snowy hill, landing on his board and sliding out of sight.

Now here I stand, completely alone, surrounded by half-covered buildings and a lingering silence. It's only now that I realize that it was really only to Griff that I had bid adieu; Kaori, Mac, Elise, Allegra, and the rest just left in the mess of it all. I never got to say goodbye to most of them.

And what about Peak Three, and Hidden Summit, even SSX in its entirety? Tedd Batty is going to flip out when he finds out about what was really going down with the race, Jack Nichols and his ulterior motive behind the SSX Tournament Spectacular. Does SSX even have a future at this point?

I sigh to myself, thoroughly exhausted with the day that has transpired. Everyone else seemed to know where they were headed, but I have no idea how I should start my trek back to Arizona. What in the world do I do now?

A short while later, I see a man, a couple meters from me, fumbling towards me through the snow from the right side of Hidden Summit. Despite all of the snow, it isn't extremely cold outside, so his plain jacket and snow boots are suitable for the current condition. What is so surprising is that he seemed to have come from nowhere, and he's heading straight for me.

He stops a few feet in front, looking directly into my eyes. It feels a little odd, since I don't recognize this man at all; he's a nearly a foot taller than me and looks no older than 20, with messy brown hair and mellow green eyes. The rest of face is very clear and bright, and I can't help but stare back at him.

I muster the courage to ask, "Um...sir? Sorry to ask you, but, what are you still doing here? Did you not see the avalanche just tear through here like, ten minutes ago?"

The man starts to smile, laughing to himself before saying, "You know, I should have figured." Immediately, my eyes widen - how could I ever forget that voice? "You tell a girl that you love her, and she completely cuts you out of her life!"

"Ash Morris, is that you?" I shout, but I don't wait for an answer as I race to him and attack him with a hug, nearly pushing him over as I bury my face in the side of his shoulder. I pull back out, and say, "Oh my goodness, I'm...I am so sorry for not recognizing you! Not that, uh, I ever did see you before. You can't blame me for that, can you?"

He glances down at the ground, heavy with the mountain snow. "No, I guess I can't." His eyes race back to mine. "Well, well, well...so this is what overnight snowboarding sensation Roxanne Schultz looks like in person! It's quite the sight to behold."

I let out a chuckle, "It's not too bad on the receiving end here, Ash. I'm quite honored to meet the man who...who kept me going, after I had given up on making it off Peak Three alive." I start to tremble in place. It had slipped my mind, since it was, in fact, Ash who had triggered my confidence comeback. How could I ever repay him for that?

"By the way," He inquires, drawing the conversation away from my discomfort, "what happened back there, on Peak Three? You sounded like you were talking to me, but then I lost complete connection to your M-comm..."

"Oh, Ash, you wouldn't believe it! There was this explosion and..." I start to trail off. I wasn't too interested in backtracking over the most stressful minutes of my life. "You know, it's not really important. I'm here, with you, and that's what matters."

It's a weird moment, but I recognize that he's still holding me with both hands just above my waist, as I rest my hands on his shoulders. An unfamiliar color washes into my face. "Actually Ash, I need to tell you something. What I was trying to say into the M-comm before I was, um, incapacitated, was that I really do love you too...but, maybe it was only because you said you loved me, and I could tell you really, really meant it, and I wasn't sure what to say back...but now, as I stand here with you, I truly know that I share the same feelings as you do..." I begin to tremble once more, a terrible tension building up in my joints as I start to lose my train of thought. "It's just that, I've never been in, you know, in love, with anyone before...I'm not entirely sure of what should follow, now that we, uh..."

"Well..." He starts, bridging the lull in my voice, "if it makes you feel any more secure, I plan on kissing you, right now." I don't know why, but all of the tension inside me is let out in a forceful laugh, one that I immediately regret. "Only if that's okay with you, of course."

I shake off this bizarre feeling of hilarity and respond, "Ash, it absolutely is okay with me. I...I want nothing else but that."

"That's good," He states, moving his hands up to the sides of my face. "I really am in love with you, Roxanne." With that, he starts to move in, closing his eyes as his lips approach mine.

"No," I say, moving my palm in front of his lips and pushing his head away from mine. It isn't that I've suddenly lost desire to kiss him, but...I realize now that, for all of this time, I haven't yet fully committed myself to going back home as soon as possible. It's time to end this, once and for all.

Still holding Ash's shoulders in my hands, I close my eyes and overcome the unbearable anxiety in my throat. I think back on the dream I had the night before, the wall of snow reflecting a state of myself I had long since abandoned...

I'm no longer running...

...I have nothing to run from.

"My name is Evelyn Prowwel." I slowly open my eyes and stare attentively into his. "Please, call me Evelyn."

I had no idea how anyone, let alone Ash, would react to my real name. It's the first time in four years I dared utter those two words - they sounded so heavy and strange, yet so relieving to release from the depths of my repression.

He seemed to be a little distant at first, perhaps confused about the sudden rejection and the name switch-up, but after a moment he smiles all the same. He answers, "Of course...Evelyn. It's a wonderful name." And at that, he pulls me closer, and I, no longer resisting the impossibly forceful rhythm within my chest, reach up to his lips and connect with him in a maddeningly fulfilling interpretation of the only physical act of love that I have ever so far taken a part of in my life.

In my mind, however, I knew that no matter how great our kiss would end up being, it would surely pale in comparison to the display of love Kaori and Mac had shared. Finally, even as I lose every single fiber of my being to the moment before me, one titanium thought remains, exponentially growing, ceaselessly screaming, filling my head with happiness...

I...am FINALLY returning home.

END CHAPTER