21. Goodbyes
Medic's log,
Dr. Saanvi Ghosh
Nine hours after Giulia Incident
It is early afternoon now. Mostly everyone's drifted off to sleep, the male scout included. After Miss Pauling's awakening, she collapsed and required a heavy dose of morphine to sedate her. It seems the serum, while healing a decent portion of her injuries, sapped her strength to an extreme degree and she requires several days of bedrest.
On a related point, it worked. It fucking worked. It wasn't perfect, it nearly killed her, but the serum… MY serum was a success. In the next few pages I will detail the exact procedure used and who knows where it can go from there! When we return home I'll be able to continue this, see what may be improved.
We're returning home this evening. I'm leaving detailed instructions for Miss Pauling's care, but it's pretty basic stuff. The engineer did some last checks on the teleporter, so once everyone who's… who's left wakes up and says their goodbyes we'll be returning. Who know's what that'll feel like, returning after all this. I should probably get some bag time in before we go but everytime I try and shut my eyes I see her. Her, with her head gone, body slumping, while blood and sewage fill my nostrils.
I think we all lost a lot in those tunnels, even if it wasn't our lives. Something feels missing, like I've been hollowed out and the others look how I feel. Something's been broken that I don't think can be fixed, not even with a last ditch silver bullet. Whatever it is I know a piece of me is never coming out of that stretch of sewer; it'll always be in the dark hell where we left Lucy and Giulia to rot.
…
" Yew're doin' wha'?"
" Oi'm stayin'." Aoife crossed her arms. She'd found Tavish sitting ruefully outside his liquor closet, resisting the urge to binge. " Oi've just been ta' hell an' back with those gerls an' oi'm not goin' any furthar. Besoids, sambodies goin' ta haf to keep yue on the wagon." She plopped down next to him and detached her prosthetic leg, massaging the stump where her thigh ended.
" But yer team-"
" Oi thought yue wanted me to stay!" Snapping, she turned to him.
" Ay due! Ay jus' want to knoe why. Ya' were reluctant in tha' tunnels an' now yer awl gung-ho abou' it."
" Oi told yue, Oi went ta' hell an' back with 'em in those tunnels. Half moi team's dead, the othar half is never comin' out of there, not really. Oi'm no different in tha' respect, but after awl tha' shit oi don' want ta' go back home with 'em only to keep killing and doiying til' oi can't do that no more. Oi got no one there; they've awl got paeple but oi got no one." Her voice tapered off at the end, quivering dangerously, and tavish wrapped his arm around her.
" Okaey."
" Jus' okay?"
" No, there' mar. Ay should get out of this business teu. Ay reckon if yue an' mei hit the rued now, steal a truck an' jus' get out of here, they won' even notice. We can grab mai mum an' be on a plane to somewhere they'll never faind us before you can sei 'Edinburgh'."
" Now?"
" Why no'?" Aoife strapped her leg back on, and kissed Tavish's cheek.
" Oi think oi love yue."
" Ay was hopin' ya did." He chuckled. "Aye'll meet ya in the courtyard in ten minets with a gettaway car of some kind. Thare's alweys a few vehicles layin' aruend."
As he sprinted off in the darkness, Aoife realized she had one thing she needed to do before she left. Ten minutes would be plenty of time if she started now, she'd better get moving.
…
Saanvi felt her father prodding her shoulder, but she didn't want to get up. Still half asleep she muttered, " Babu, leave me alone. It's Saturday,I don't have to go to school." and tried to shrug him off. Didn't he understand the concept of weekends?
" Saanvi!" A female voice urged, most definitely not her father. She flung herself up to sitting and saw Aoife slouching over her bed. She wasn't home, this wasn't a weekend, and she certainly wasn't young enough to be woken up for school in the morning.
" Aoife! What is it? What's gone wrong?" She checked her watch and saw it was 6:30 in the evening. She'd been asleep for about five and a half hours.
" Nothing's wrong." Her sentence was quick, and quiet. Like she didn't quite know what to say.
" Why the hell did you wake me then? Look, I appreciate you wanting to spend time with me and all but I hadn't slept in over twenty four hours-"
" Oi'm leaving." Aoife cut her off.
" What?"
" Tavish knoes. About the asexual bit, and awl. He's leavin' here now and oi'm goin' with 'im."
" Oh." Now it was Saanvi's turn to be quiet. She and Aoife had spent a lot of time together, working on her research. They'd shared secrets, stories from the past, and a lot of feelings along the way. She was leaving, just like that?
" Don' be angrey."
" I'm not angry. I'm just… I'm worried about you."
" Oi knoe. S'why oi'm sayin' goodboi." Silence fell between them.
" Good luck." Saanvi finally said.
" Thanks." Aoife turned
" Aoife?"
" Yeah?"
" Never think he's the best you can do. I'm sure he's great but if anything… anything ever happens don't stay just because he accepted you. There is always someone who's okay with who you are, don't settle just because he's the first." Another pause.
" Oi'll keep tha' in mind." Aoife edged out the door, but as she started to swing it shut she tossed out, " Aromantic."
" What?
" Tha' term fer wha' yue are. It's aromantic. Goodboi."
" B-bye." Saanvi stuttered out still processing what had just happened. Her door was shut, her friend was gone, and in place of her she had a word.
Saanvi wasn't quite sure how she should feel about that. She didn't bother trying to puzzle it out as she fell back to sleep.
…
" Ya awl set?" Tavish said as Aoife slid into the shotgun seat. She nodded. He'd managed to procure a beaten pick up truck, not too flashy but it would get them where they were going. Giving one last look back at the base, he turned the key and heard the engine sputter to life.
" We've gotta grab mai mum before we dash, but aftar tha' is' wide open."
" Oi'm up fer anythin."
The car rolled out of the courtyard, engine protesting a little at first but slowly warming up to the idea of motion. Neither person spoke, the silence almost tangible over the trucks complaints. The future was open, there was no need to speak. No need to repeat what was already understood.
That was the last anyone on either team ever saw of the demolitions. Perhaps they found another purpose in life, perhaps they didn't. Either way in that moment, sober and with an endless sheet of possibilities unrolling before them, they were as close to it as some people ever get.