A/N: Thanks to Princezzshell101 as per usual for the reviews!

Well, lookie here, I'm up here. By now, you all know what that means. Also, this will be the last big 'twist' in the story, so to speak. That's not to say there won't still be shocking moments, but this is the last 'game changer' in the story. And boy, is this story slowly reaching its finale. Only fourteen more chapters to go until the true Final Destination. And I am loving every moment of it, truly. Now, enough rambling! Read on dang it!

Chapter 86

Saviour

"Would you like some flowers?"

Richard paused his walking, eyebrows raised as he turned to the lady selling flowers from some kind of push-cart. There were all sorts of various colours, all kept in one large tray of water. He was confused that the woman had asked him. He wasn't the usual type of guy to buy flowers and certainly didn't look like it. Richard simply raised a hand in denial, shaking his head. "No, thank you."

"Are you sure?" The woman pressed, her eyes razor sharp.

"Yes, I'm sure, thank you." Richard nodded his head before fleeing in a quick walk, feeling an odd feeling in his chest. It was unusual for two reasons. One, not many people pushed along carts of flowers to sell. And two, why would you sell flowers in the middle of a storm? Richard looked up to the sky, rain falling in heavy pellets, stinging his cheeks. The clouds were like great beasts, black and roaring. He saw a flicker of blue far away.

"You have a nickel?" Once again Richard paused at a voice and turned to look down at a sodden homeless man in the base of an alley, beard and hair plastered with rain. "A nickel, c'mon man, you got to have at least a nickel."

Richard patted his pockets but he didn't have any lose change. "Sorry, I don't have anything anything."

"Pah! Cheapskates! The whole lotta you!" The man shouted as Richard hurried off. That feeling in his chest didn't disappear, and Richard was so distracted by it that as he turned the corner, he practically walked straight into a police officer.

The officer put his arms up, stopping Richard from tipping over. "Woah there."

"Ah, sorry." Richard paused suddenly as he noticed the nameplate of the officer, which read, 'H. Nicholson.'

"Something wrong?" The officer asked, his brows knitted in concern.

"No, sorry, I was just deep in thought." Richard forced a chuckle. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

"Okay, just keep your eye out, okay?" With that, the officer left Richard standing in the rain. Richard didn't move, his brain remembering something Lisa once told him.

The clues are always there, you just got to know where to look for them. They're obvious, really. Most people see them as normal everyday thing, and not as clues.

Starting to move again, Richard crossed his arms, wondering why that thought had come to him.

"You have a nickel?"

'H. Nicholson.'

"Nicholson… Nickel… Nick…" Richard straightened. "Nick." He repeated. There weren't any coincidences when it came to Death, not to mention the feeling in Richard's chest. Somehow he knew, just knew that Nick was next. And it was going to be soon.

By pure chance or luck, Richard's eyes caught three figures walking across the road ahead of him. One, a girl almost skipping in skimpy clothes, unaffected by the rain. The other, a hulking man constantly glancing at the girl, and finally Nick. "What are the chances?" Richard mumbled to himself before his gaze turned to a clay pot hanging by a black metal rod next to a high window. The pot was filled with dirt and plants and the metal rod was swinging left and right dangerously in the wind.

"Would you like some flowers?"

The clues are always there, you just got to know where to look for them.

Richard's eyes widened and he pushed off the ground, sprinting towards Nick, who was only a few meters away from the metal rod. He wasn't the fittest man, but he could handle short distances, and easily covered the crossing to Nick. Nick turned slightly underneath the plant pot, noticing Richard for the first time.

"Oh, he-" Nick started but was interrupted as Richard grabbed his collar and pulled him forward. At that moment, the metal rod came undone from the wall and it and the plant pot tipped through the air, smashing on the ground where Nick's head would have been. Hearing the smash, Nick turned around to see the pile of dirt and clay shards, his eyes blinking rapidly. "Oh…"

Derrick snorted. "You were almost killed by a plant pot. That would have been a respectful death…"

Nick let out a breath. "That… you got here just in time… I didn't even see that…"

Richard just shrugged, trying to catch his breath.

"Hey, how's your nose?" Derrick said to Richard, a smug look on his face.

"Der!" Grace had come back from ahead of the two to see what the delay was. "Stop being so mean."

"I'm not." Derrick smiled innocently. "I'm just asking how his nose is."

"It's fine…" Richard said quietly, his finger lightly touching the tape on his nose.

"So I guess I was next on the list, huh…" Nick ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't even consider that I was next… I guess that's what happens when we have no idea what the order of the list is. I don't suppose David has figured out any of the list?"

"I haven't talked to him. I've been on my own… you know." Richard said, his eyes telling Nick about dealing with Lisa.

"Yeah, I know." Nick said softly.

"It's actually good I saw you, short of saving you, I mean." Richard leaned forward and whispered quietly in Nick's ear, out of earshot of Grace and Derrick. Nick listened before his eyes widened dramatically. He pulled back, his face etched with anger.

"No! No way." Nick shook his head. "That can't be… she wouldn't have…"

"It makes sense, Nick." Richard tried calmly. "He knows Death. And he'll know how to beat it."

"I refuse!" Nick exclaimed. "I refuse to believe that. After all the effort, all the lives lost, she could not have brought that man back." In his anger, Nick saw a car speeding far down the road, but didn't register it properly for what it was. "So just… just scratch that idea, okay? It has to be someone else."

"But who else knows, Nick? Think about it, we want to defeat Death now, and he is the only one who knows how."

Nick just shook his head without another word. His gaze turned to the road and he saw the car still speeding down the road, showing no signs of stopping.

"Am I guessing this is yet another secret?" Derrick shook his head and stepped back into the road. "You guys need to start telling us these things. You told us about Death, now who the hell are you talking about?"

"No-one important…" Richard said unconvincingly.

"Oh sure." Derrick rolled his eyes. "You sound desperate, not to mention it sounds like this man is who you are relying on. So who he?"

"The car…" Nick muttered.

"….The what?" Derrick raised an eyebrow. "Was that some kind of title?"

"The car's not stopping!" Nick said just as the others heard the squeal of the engine. Derrick turned around and had just enough time to notice that it was some kind of young street racer wannabe, his eyes filled with terror as the car skidded sideways as if it had lost control. And it was heading straight for him. Derrick had no time to even move, staring blankly at the rapidly approaching car.

Nick came out of nowhere, smashing into Derrick, knocking him to the side and out of the path of the stray vehicle. It was like ramming into a brick wall, but nevertheless Derrick fell and Nick landed on top of him. There was a high-pitched squeal as the car braked, turning in a full circle before crashing front first hard into a lamp-post. Instantly, black smoke burst from the engine, engulfing the front of the car. The scared young man stumbled out of the vehicle, looking at the group in horror.

"I-It's on fire… it's… It's…" With that, the young man sprinted away, not wanting to be caught for crashing the car.

On the floor, Derrick pushed Nick off of him and stood up as Grace ran over.

"Are you okay, Der? Are you-" Grace started but was shushed by her brother.

"I'm fine." Derrick said lightly, ruffling Grace's hair. "I'm fine." Derrick's gaze turned to Nick, who was also now on his feet. Derrick stepped forward, extending his hand towards Nick. "Thank you." Derrick said; his voice quiet. "I would have died then. I guess that's… I guess that's what you people were talking about. The list. I was next, huh?"

"But now you're at the end of the list." Nick breathed hard, massaging his ribs from crashing into Derrick. He was literally built like an ox. Seeing the hand still extended, Nick reached for Derrick's hand when there was a bright flash and a roaring sound from behind them.

The car had exploded, bursting in a bright shower of fire and metal. The explosion was so powerful that a large piece of the roof snapped off and spun through the air like a vicious saw-blade. Nick had turned at the sound and he saw the deadly piece of metal spinning as in slow motion. His gaze turned to its path, and saw Grace right in the way.

Without another thought, instinct took over. Nick took two running steps and a final leap forward, diving through the air. He tackled into Grace just as the piece of metal span over where Grace's waist would have been. They both hit the floor hard.

"You saved me…" Grace breathed out, her lip wobbling. Their noses were almost touching, and both were staring into the other's eyes.

Nick was about to respond when he heard a sound which caused his stomach to drop. It was a wet squelch, followed by a faint gasp. Nick hesitantly turned around, still on the floor, to see Richard standing oddly in the middle of the street, a thick red line developing across his waist. The bottom of his coat dropped to the floor, torn from the main coat. Richard blinked, blood spilling from his lips as the piece of metal roof lay on the floor, momentum stilled.

Richard seemed to fall backwards and his back hit the road, but his legs were still standing.

He had been bisected right through the waist, the piece of metal cutting through his stomach and splitting him in half.

Nick looked on, shocked, as intestines spilled from the vicious wound. Skin was ripped apart and his spine was severed violently. It was not a clean cut by any means. Richard's top half was already lying in an increasing pool of blood. Nick then noticed that Richard's right arm was moving weakly and this made him pop to his feet, realization hitting him.

He's still alive!

Those are my legs… those are… are… my legs… they shouldn't… they shouldn't be there…. Why am I looking at… Oh… oh, no… no, no… I've been… I've…

It hurts! It hurts bad! I can't feel my legs but I can see them and it hurts… it hurts! No, it doesn't hurt… this is, this can't be happening. You're just imagining this, you are just…. Just imagining this… c'mon Richard, those aren't your legs, stand up! Come on!

They are… they are mine and that means that… Oh dear God…

Think rationally, c'mon, think rationally! This is bad, yes, this is bad but people have survived worse… war wounds, when a mine explodes. This is the same, right? No… no, this is different… this is… I'm not coming back from this. Not this time. I can't be coming back with this wound. I've been cut in half! Cut in… cut in half! I've been goddamn cut in half!

Okay… okay, I've been cut in half but I'm still alive. I'm still thinking. It hurts but that's good. I'm alive. Sure, I can't feel my legs because they aren't attached to me anymore, but I'm alive. Think rationally, Richard! Come on!

So… so I told Nick. I told him about who Lisa would have brought back, that's good, that's… that's good… Lisa…

Oh Lisa… I thought I was given another chance! I thought I was brought back by Fisk and I thought I could fix it all! But you were surprised and you were killed and… and that's like me, isn't it? I was surprised and… and… and I'm not coming back, am I? Because this is the list. You always die by these accidents… this is… There isn't any survival in this situation! Oh Christ… oh Christ, I was brought back just to die? I was brought back and I just… I'm gone again?

But it's not all bad. I told Nick about that man… I… I told the survivor's about Fisk's theory… I did what I did and I'm happy about that… and that's the weird thing…

I'm… I'm not scared. I was scared last time. I was scared shitless last time but this time… this time I'm not. Is it because I did die before? Is it because this is the second time? I know what comes after… - Richard! – I know that it's nothing… just blankness… after the initial injury; there wasn't any pain after I disappeared, after I died. So… so there's no heaven, sure, but there isn't any hell either… - Richard! – That's why I'm not scared… because I know what's coming. I'm not ignorant any more…

"Richard!"

Who is that? Nick? Where are you? I can't see you… now I think about it, I can't see anything…. Oh… oh no, I can't see anything that means… it's near but… but… Think rationally! Come on Richard, come on!

Nick was completely out of his depth. He had never even seen an injury such as this. He had no clue on how to deal with it. He couldn't put pressure on it, he couldn't do anything. Nick felt so weak and hopeless and useless that he felt as if he had been the one cut in half. But Richard was alive, somehow, someway, Richard was breathing. His chest was rising and falling. His arms were moving ever so slightly.

"Richard!" Nick crawled to Richard's face, his hands and feet getting coated with blood. "Richard!" But there was no response. Richard was alive, that was for sure, but he wasn't responding. Somewhere deep inside of Nick he knew that Richard was going to stop breathing soon… "Richard!" Nick tried once more but there was nothing he could do. Nick choked back tears of hopelessness and stood up shakily. He turned to see Derrick cradling Grace, keeping her from looking at the grotesque scene in front of them. Even Derrick was pale, his eyes trying to avert from the scene but always going back to it.

Then Nick fell to his knees, a crushing weight on his shoulders. He realized, for the first time, that there was no-one else with experience to help them. No-one else to lead them. Lisa was dead, Joshua was probably dead, and now Richard… anyone who had the knowledge was gone. Nick was scared… he was more than scared, he was terrified. He couldn't see any way to proceed, how could they? Richard was gone, Lisa was gone, Joshua was gone… no one left, no one was left and it was all so… so hopeless!

"…Nick…"

The voice was so quiet it took Nick a few seconds to notice Richard had spoken. He got up off his knees and approached Richard, crouching down next to him. "Richard, I'm here, I'm listening." Nick said, grasping Richard's clammy hand.

"…Find him…"

Him. Nick stiffened. He couldn't do it. Richard couldn't ask this of him. They had lost so many people to him. Jake, Dylan, Jennifer… Alexander and Jay… Jason and Tyrone… Gregory Fisk. All of them were a result of him. And if Lisa had brought him back, Nick didn't want any part of it. He had shot him dead for Christ's sake!

"…Find Gerald Myers…"

Richard's hand stiffened in Nick's before it went limp. Nick looked at Richard's face and saw only glassy eyes. There was no more life in Richard. Nick stood up, gulping. He turned around to see that Derrick had gotten closer, still shielding Grace's eyes.

"Who is that? Who is Gerald Myers?" Derrick asked.

Nick's head was spiralling out of control. He didn't answer Derrick but stepped slowly past him.

I shot him! I shot him dead because I had to! I shot him dead in front of two children and I was torn but he was dead… now he's back!? Now those children were… were witness to something that didn't even matter? I shot him and that doesn't matter? Lisa brought him back… he can't be back, he can't! It took every ounce of my humanity to pull that trigger! I can't do it again! I just can't, otherwise I won't be human!

"Who is he!?" Derrick repeated. "Nick, tell me, who is Gerald Myers?"

Nick turned slowly to face Derrick. "A murderer…" He croaked. "A… a… twisted man… an evil man… pure… pure evil man…" Nick felt the floor spinning underneath him, buildings leering down at him. And he could see in the sky, the grinning bespectacled face of that monster. He put a hand on his forehead, teeth gritted to try and force out these emotions. "…He… he…" And Nick realized. He realized it and he hated it. He hated it with every ounce of his being. But it was true. "…He's our saviour…"