PART FOUR: REGRET

Chapter Fourteen

| THE LAST CITY, PUBLIC SECTOR 3 |

The sun did not rise this morning. As it hasn't for weeks.

When this first began, the time could be guessed and for the most part, the city's daily routine remained as it was. Now it has become a matter of preference. The people are becoming more anxious; more sensitive, angry, and volatile. They've become a time bomb and the Vanguard's recent decisions have activated the timer. This city has already changed. How the presence of daylight or lack thereof can make such a difference? I don't know. It could be as simple as confusing the psyche. It could be more. Perhaps it isn't just about the lack of sunlight.

I currently stand in the public sector of our city streets; usually filled to the brim with life. This isn't the first time I've stood here. From this spot you get a handful of everything: you can see the children play and laugh, you can hear the musicians sing, you can feel the upbeat nature of the surrounding crowds. But not today. Today there are only a handful of us wandering around in the dark.

The people address me with standard formality as they pass. But it's not one of our civilians that I'm here for, and certainly not for one of those fallen they're keeping in the Botza district. Recently a tip was given to me about the frequented location of a Guardian. 'You wouldn't think it if you saw her,' they had said. And I didn't. Because I had met this guardian before, in the wind and rain of an incoming storm. I had dismissed the thought in an instant. We had also met in my ship, but she was unrecognisable under the coats of mud. She had been on my papers, written all over my orders, in front of my eyes. Never once did I make the connection. That is until she walked through my door looking for Leo. My answers were very unsatisfactory at the time. She wanted to see him again. I didn't want to let that happen.

Only weeks into her revival she was careless enough to fall into Tartarus and lucky enough to crawl out. But instead of crawling out into the light of the traveller she crawled into an endless night and was stripped of the one person she had come to know. What do you do when you're in a place like that? She must be lost. I've seen situations like hers. And I've seen people like her. They need someone there for them and I don't think I'm the right one. But that doesn't matter right now. I'd be making another mistake if I didn't try. My hope is that I can lead her the right way. My fear is that I'm too late.

I walk through the gates of the Memorial Sector and greet the security. They allow me to proceed further and so I wander the perimeter of the courtyard. A dozen stone pillars reach out from the ground, surrounding the erected monument of a titan - the Iron Lord 'Jolder', with a crack in her helmet. Each pillar has outward-facing metal plates containing the edged names of fallen Guardians and people of the city. The result of the endless sieges against us and our traveller. Behind one of the pillars stands a young woman, with her eyes glued to the engravings. She's the Guardian I'm looking for.

"It's good to see you again," I comment as I approach.

"Atlas," she recalls, detaching her focus from the memorial.

"It's strange to see you in here: at a place, built before your time, to remember those before your time."

Her finger traces the indents of the names and dates on the metal surface. "Most of this wasn't that long ago," she notes.

"No."

The gentle breeze takes its time to fill the silence between each sentence.

"How did we survive?"

"The light," I say, raising my chin.

"So then why does everything want us gone?"

I take a deep breath.

Her eyes squint slightly at my hesitation.

"For the very same reason, I suppose."

She nods her head.

Her finger reaches the name in the centre of the pillar. "Cayde-6... was he important to you? His name is engraved in a different colour."

"In a way." I recall the handful of interactions we had over the years. "His death just had more of an impact on the people here. But there are other names written on these pillars that mean more to me. Many feel the same."

She raises her eyebrows, now noticing how I held the small trinkets chained to my neck.

"Excuse my reluctance to share. I didn't come here to remember the dead."

"So then why…" She waits for me to finish her sentence.

"There's a lot at play currently; some of which the people of the city don't know about, and most of which you don't know about," I answer. "But it's affecting everyone. And I was making sure a new friend of mine wasn't entirely falling apart."

"I'm managing fine."

Her words had come out bland. I addressed them nonetheless. "Good. That's good."

I pick up my own sentence. "Apparently you've been through a lot this past month. It had never come to my attention until recently that you were a Guardian."

"I'm not a Guardian," she remarks.

"Of course you are." I quickly react.

"What makes me one? A ghost? A gun? The light? I'm sure there's plenty of reports on your desk about my skill set."

I say nothing. There were many reports. After the Vanguard's evaluations of her missions and based on her ghost's personal recommendations, they've decided to qualify her as "A threat to others and herself, and too inadequate to leave Earth and The City. Recommend training for intra-city support."

"What do you want," she adds.

"A Guardian…" I begin, responding to her first question. "You are a Guardian the moment you're resurrected. Regardless of your decisions. With or without your light. With or without your ghost."

She looks away from me.

"Where is yours?" I ask.

"We had an argument," she mumbles. "He was shouting and I just wanted to hear myself think."

"I see."

Even through the darkness of the endless night, I had seen how pale her face was. Her eyes were sunken and red. It makes me wonder how long she had been awake for, and if she had been crying. Her ghost was clearly upset with her - she needs to share the problems she's having with someone who will listen.

"You weren't prepared for this. That was a task designated to me to solve and I've failed it," I admit. "You've been alone, and things outside of your control feel like they're getting worse."

"They are getting worse! And I don't even know what they are." She looks back at me. I could see the blue reflection of this vex simulation in her watery eyes.

The breeze became cold and quiet. "I know."

Immediately, she launches forward and embraces me. I rest my hands around her and she burrows her head, sobbing into my uniform. The wind had died. Now the only thing I could hear was her. It felt terrible. She was willing to fall into the arms of what must feel like a stranger to her.

If I had not made the decision to see her tonight, then who would have?

She continued to cry, and so I stayed quiet. I was comfortable with the silence. Often it's all that is needed. Her embrace gave me nostalgia. For a time I can't remember. It felt like I had lived that life one hundred times over.

"I feel so alone," she whispers.

"I'm sorry." I take a deep breath. "There's something you need to do for me. It's important. I need you to meet me somewhere."

The Story Continues... 15/09/22