Chapter Nineteen:

Last Moments

Kayce Grey

I woke up, groggy and disoriented. My hands felt wet, and I was sure some of my armour was broken. I looked up off of the floor and saw my assault rifle lodged in the barrier. If only I could get there and pull the trigger...

The minute I moved, a foot slammed onto my hand. I cried out in pain, too weak to do anything else.

"I'd hoped that you'd be mine for a little longer, but you're more stubborn than I thought," Bishop said, distaste evident in his voice. "But that doesn't really matter. You put the dog down. That's what I cared about."

My eyes widened. Nick? Nick, what happened to Nick? Why don't I remember how I got onto the damn floor?

Bishop got off of my hand and kicked one of the bodies, which groaned painfully in response. "Still alive? You're resilient, I'll give you that."

My eyes adjusted to the darkness again. Nicholas was slumped against the wall, had a pole through his chest, and he was covered in blood. I knew enough about the Human body to know that the pole had gone through his lung.

Nicholas coughed up some blood and weakly grabbed onto Bishop's shirt. Bishop kicked Nicholas' stomach, forcing Nicholas to let go and wheeze whatever breaths he could muster.

"You'll be dead soon, anyway. I wanted to see you suffer. You stole from me what I deserved. Because I was born to a woman our father wasn't married to, I was shunned. I deserved that birthright! You, little brother, have stolen it from me! But it doesn't matter; I'll take it for myself."

I clenched my fists and forced myself onto my knees. Bishop saw me and laughed, spewing insults and other things I didn't care about. I just needed to get to the damned assault rifle and end this.

I glowed blue, hoping my new powers wouldn't fail me. Bishop laughed more as I struggled to my feet.

"You're going to try anyway," he said. "You're going to try and—."

I ran at him, ignoring the burning pain in my body, and tackled him to the ground. I punched him, as hard and as fast as I could. I kept seeing him smile, and I wanted to get it off of his face.

I suddenly levitated him and launched him into a wall. I heard bones breaking, but I didn't stop. I didn't want to give him the chance to use his powers on me again. I heard Nick groan as he pulled the pipe from out of his body, which made me angrier. I didn't know what had happened. I didn't want to think that it was me who hurt him. It was all. Bishop's. Fault.

I slammed him to the ground and then put my boot on his throat. He struggled against the pressure, but to no avail. He tried to use his powers on me, but I focused on the only thing that seemed to matter at that moment; making Bishop suffer.

"P-Please...!" he finally choked. "Let... me go!"

I glared at him hatefully. Here he was, begging for his life, when so many before him had done the same. Nicholas had finally gotten that pole out of himself, so I used my powers to bring the blood-soaked pole to me.

I raised the pole above my head and looked at Bishop with nothing but the hatred for him I'd had since waking up in the hospital bed days ago. And immediately, I knew what I would do.

"No," I said to him. His eyes widened as I plunged the pole into his heart.

Trish MacGrath

I saw a figure limping towards us. Well, not so much limping as hopping. I thought for a moment that it was Kayce, but I recognized the figure, and even though it made me happy to see her, I was disappointed that my first guess wasn't right.

"Mina! It's Ellie!" I exclaimed to her.

Mina leapt out of the truck and ran over to Ellie; her best friend, ever since Ellie had been a first-year, and Mina a second-year.

Ellie collapsed on the ground. I followed Mina over to her, and saw that Ellie was missing one of her legs. She'd literally hopped over to us on only one leg.

"Ellie! What happened?" Mina exclaimed.

Ellie wasn't breathing well. We helped Ellie onto her back and waited patiently for Ellie to answer.

"Julian... We fought one of Bishop's people..." Ellie's face contorted in pain. "Julian's dead... I lost my leg... Mina, I'm dying. There're more of her coming..."

"More of who?" I pressed.

At the same time, Mina yelled, "You're not dying! You're not dying, okay?"

Ellie chuckled. "She fought us... She was really strong... More are coming... Get out...!"

Mina clenched her fists. "Dammit, Ellie! We're not leaving you!"

"You have to! They're... coming!"

Mina pulled out a pistol and handed it to Ellie. "We'll both hold them off, then. We'll buy time for everyone else to get out."

"N-No! Mina—!"

"You're an idiot if you think I'm going to leave you behind," Mina said firmly. "And anyway, there's no one else waiting for me. My family's dead, Ellie. They've been dead for thirteen years. You're all I have left, and by God I'm not gonna let 'em have you without a fight!" Mina looked at me, the grim line of determination back on her face. "Get to the truck. If everyone's not back by the time whatever the things Ellie's telling about are here, then you drive, and you don't stop driving!"

Kayce Grey

I limped over to Nicholas and fell down beside him. I held my side, which I'd realized was bleeding, and sighed contentedly.

"It's over," I told him. "Bishop's dead."

Nicholas' head lolled back and forth for a moment before he finally managed to nod. "He's dead... But there's still... one last thing..."

With an effort I'd never seen before, Nicholas stood up and made his way to the barrier, and my assault rifle. He clasped his hand around its grip, his finger on the trigger.

"When... I pull this..." he gasped. "It'll... end..."

I stood up and limped beside him. "Nick—."

"Go, Kayce..." Nicholas' eyes were hard as steel. "I... I can do this...!" My eyes, however, were leaking tears left right and centre. "Go. You... have family waiting... for you."

"But—!" Nick, no! Don't do this!

"I owe this... to everyone." Nick smiled at me one last time and gently kissed my lips. "I'll take a rain check... on that date, okay?"

I hugged him close to me, as tightly as I could without hurting him. "You'd better be there. I'll never forgive you if you're not!"

"Have I ever lied?" Nick smiled and held me just as tight before releasing me and pushing me towards the door. "Go, Kayce. Get out. Live."

I wiped my eyes and limped to the door, and then walked, and then ran, with everything I had left. I ran past Julian's body, I ran past Mr. Nelson's History class, and I ran out the doors we came in. It wasn't far from Mina and Ellie that I collapsed from pain, both of body and mind.

Time passed relatively slowly then. I didn't understand why Vi and Trish were lifting me into the back of the truck and leaving Mina and Ellie behind. They smiled at me, and despite the blood and dirt that covered them, I remembered the first time they'd smiled at me. I saw Mr. Nelson and remembered his lessons. I saw Ms. Thatcher and Mr. Wallace, and remembered their warm welcome to the school. And then I saw Nicholas as he brushed past me to go onto the stage, his cloudy-grey eyes boring into mine, his laugh and his smile, and the look he gave me when he told me to run. When he told me to leave him.

I couldn't pretend that I was strong anymore. I started to cry as we drove off. Mina and Ellie's shouts were heard as they fired against an enemy I couldn't see. I was lying on my back, looking up at the sky and the barrier. Suddenly, there was a huge flash of light, and the barrier started to disintegrate. I cried harder as I realized that our rain check would have to wait until I was dead.

There was relief all around the truck as the barrier fell. The survivors cheered, and I could hear as we went past the town the praises they sent us. I didn't feel like a hero in the least.

Of the survivors, I was the only one who was still afraid. I was the only one who was balling my eyes out in self-pity, wondering if there was anything else I could have done. Wondering if I could have saved just one more life, rather than leaving three people to die.

The only one who was afraid... was me.

Even as I was hefted by helicopter to the nearest hospital, I still felt nothing for what I'd done. What had I done? I most likely killed Nicholas. I killed Bishop. I killed students. I left people to die. I was a murderer. I was a renegade to society.

Joan Grey

"Four weeks after the deadly terrorist attack on the Conduit Academy, workers have begun to repair the school. After reporting-in with many of the survivors, they seem to be healing, though, after what they'd gone through, it will undoubtedly take some more time. And now, onto sports—."

I shut the TV off and place my eyes at the heel of my hands, rubbing them furiously. Three weeks ago, Kayce had been released from the hospital. Since then, she'd barely said a word. She rarely ate, rarely slept for fear of the nightmares, and only seemed capable of drawing.

I wondered what I could do. Her friends had been buried. Some students who'd been there came and thanked her for saving their lives. The same went with Trish, and Violet. And yet, Kayce was in a depression so deep, I was afraid that she'd never be happy again.

Before Lance had gone to work, he'd told me that it'd take a lot of time. She wouldn't magically be all right overnight.

I'd hoped that it was the case. I hated waiting. I didn't know what to do. I felt powerless all over again.

Jace visited with Kayce the most, sometimes helping her with her drawings, sometimes trying to get her to play his games. It rarely worked, but he was trying so much harder than I was. He was just as persistent as his father was.

I laid down on the couch and sighed. Kayce would recover. And when she did, I would tell her all about me, and how I became a Conduit. I smiled as I remembered the false story I'd handed to MARVEL Comics, wanting to tell Kayce and Jace about me myself, rather than them having to learn it from a comic book.

Jace lumbered down the steps and poured himself a glass of orange juice. "She's drawing again," he said as he sat down beside me.

I sat up. "Not really a surprise."

"She told me that a friend of hers was drawing when they'd first met," Jace continued. "I think it's helping her out a bit."

"I hope so."

Jace smiled at me. "Don't worry, mom. She'll come around. Kayce's just as stubborn as you are."

As much as an insult it was, I took it as a compliment.