Be careful what you wish for
By
Rowe
Alec stared down at Seattle from the roof of the observation deck. The tears trickling down his face went unnoticed. The chilled wind whipped his hair wildly around. He had never felt so desperately alone. Not since he had seen Manticore burn had he felt that his life was so adrift and his future so murky. He had needed to escape TC, to come here and remember her. It had been her sanctuary.
They had successfully weathered the siege. As a unified nation they had become strong. It hadn't lasted all that long in the end. Now, nearly a year had passed since it had begun. It felt like a whole different lifetime. The attention span of public opinion had finally wavered and they were left pretty much to their own devices. When the familiars had made their move and exposed themselves to the public arena, the tide had turned even further. They had become the allies rather than the enemy to the norms.
The war, which was truly what it had been, had been brutal but thankfully brief. They had lost many good soldiers but finally the breeding cult loonies had been defeated and their plans for world domination permanently put on hold. White had been finally put out of their misery, thankfully without getting his hands on Max again. Terminal City was in recovery and re-establishment mode. There were always things that needed to be done. It kept them all busy, but not busy enough to let him forget.
After the dust of the war had settled, he had finally thought things could actually be just and sane in his world. Silly Alec, for no sooner had he thought it, it had all been violently whipped away. It had been so unexpected, so sudden, that he was still reeling mentally trying to come to terms. They had all been so unprepared for that outcome. How could something so beautiful be so deadly? After all, how can you predict when all the hopes and dreams you had are going to turn to ash?
The end had been swift but excruciatingly painful. One minute he thought it was a perfect world then hell had descended to snatch Max away. Nobody had predicted this could happen, and help had come too late. Renfro had been the final nail in her coffin in the end; all those experimental treatments had done lasting damage. Unfortunately, no one had foreseen their impact.
Hands had held him away from Max's body as they had tried in vain to resuscitate her. He was inconsolable, like a wild animal but his friends had held him back. When the medic had finally pronounced they could do no more he had let out a roar of desolation that echoed through the streets of Terminal City. They had taken so long to find each other and so quickly she was gone. Joshua had enveloped him in a bear hug and held him as they had both sobbed in pain. That had been a little over a month ago, and still it tore at his soul.
Looking down in his arms, he took in the fluffy dark hair and large chocolate eyes. They looked up at him with concern at his distress. He ran a forefinger tentatively over the baby soft cheek. Attempting a smile without it turning into a grimace, Alec softened his expression. He had good reason to live on.
"Pull it together soldier," he admonished himself mentally, "there a people that still depend on you."
She was gone but that didn't mean that life stopped, far from it. This was the future and he better start dealing with it pronto. Taking one last look at the Seattle skyline, he shed his final tears of good bye. He cradled the small body closer to his chest to block out the wind and rocked gently to put his daughter to sleep. The daughter Max had died to bring life to. Her living legacy.