"Jonathan? I found him! Jonathan!" Footsteps crunched through the snow. The treetops swayed in the cold wind. Jonathan's eyes opened slowly, taking in the falling snow. Craig was suddenly there above him, kneeling down beside him. "Are you okay? We've been looking all over for you." Craig said worriedly. Jonathan's brow furrowed, wondering how he ended up laying on the snow. Jonathan wanted to say something, knowing that there was something very important that he had to do.
"Jonathan?" Lui reached them, helping Craig get Jonathan to his feet. "What happened?"
"I-I...I just...I just went to feed the ducks." Jonathan said quietly.
"A storm is coming. We have to get back to camp." Lui said, looking up at the clouds and the falling snow. The three boys hurried back up the slope, wanting to get back into shelter before the storm came in. Instead of struggling with two tents, they took down Jonathan's tent and all huddled in one, the green floor a mess of blankets, sleeping bags and snacks.
"We'll head out once the storm clears…" Lui said quietly, the tent shaking in the wind.
"We can't." Jonathan shook his head. "We have to go back."
"Are you joking?" Craig's eyes widened.
"No. We have to go back...We can't back home just yet." Jonathan sighed. "Everything we've been through...What Evan, Brock and Tyler died for...It'll be for nothing if we go back home. We have to stop Ryan ourselves."
"We'll die if we go back, Jonathan! Then it will all be for nothing!" Lui cried. "Are you out of your fucking mind?"
"I know what we have to do! We have to shut down Ohm's program and then we bri-"
"I can't believe this. We are not going back, Jonathan. We will die." Lui snapped, laying down and pulled the sleeping bag over his head. Craig met Jonathan's gaze, uncertainty furrowing his brow.
"Craig, I know what to do. We won't be killed...I know it's a risk but it's what we have to do. If we don't...Everything we have worked for will be gone."
"How do you know, Jonathan?" Craig whispered.
"It's a long story...You just have to believe me."
"Everyone we cared about is dead, Jonathan. Believing what you are saying...just isn't enough for us want to risk our lives again. We're tired. We're cold. I know you might not feel those things because you are a machine, but you know what they mean." Craig looked away from Jonathan, tears welling up in his eyes. "We're not going back."
Snow drifts piled up against the tent and the tipped over truck. The morning sun rose slowly into the grey sky, the fresh snow glinting in the light. As the sun rose, footsteps appeared in the snow. Blood appeared from nowhere, blooming like spring flowers on the snow. The tent shook, the zipper sliding down. Lui looked around the snowy world, fighting back a shiver. His attention was caught by something red. He looked down at the snow and the footsteps that surrounded the tent as if someone had been pacing, had been waiting. Lui glanced behind him at the two sleeping boys then quickly pulled the tent zipper back up to hide from the ghosts he feared too.
"One...Two...Three. They won't listen to me."
"Four...Five...Six. They want to."
"Seven...Eight...Nine. No." Jonathan's eyes fluttered open. He stood among the glowing trees, large snowflakes falling from a grey sky. Or maybe they were ash. It was hard to tell. Evan stood beside him, his red jacket looking brighter against the snow. "They don't want to listen. They want to go back home. How can I convince them? They don't have you."
"In their own ways, they do." Evan said, glancing at Jonathan with a slight smile. Jonathan met his gaze before looking away. Among the trees were doors.
"Which one did you pick next?"
"One where I'm in control. I'm sick of being tossed around like I'm no one. I picked a world where I became someone."
As the sun started to reach the middle of the sky, they dug themselves out of the tent and struggled to get a fire going again. Jonathan sat beside Craig as he struggled with the last lighter they had, the wood too wet for it to spark. He looked up at Lui who seemed to pace, following something around the camp.
"Lui? Are you okay?" Craig finally asked, breaking the heavy silence that hung over the small camp.
"Jonathan...You said a long time ago...or maybe it wasn't a long time ago, it feels like it was...But you said that you were having dreams about Evan. We got mad at you, I got mad at you. But...I couldn't stop thinking that you told us not to go into the Wasteland. It was like you knew and we didn't listen to you. How did you know?" Lui seemed overwhelmed, his brow furrowed. He grasped for words, seeming like he was unable to find them.
"Lui...I-"
"Tyler told me that you said that Evan was haunting you. What did that mean, Jon?" Lui demanded. Jonathan didn't know what to say.
"It means that there are ghosts...And Evan has been following Jonathan." Craig said, answering for Jonathan who was grateful. "T-Tyler…" Craig's voice broke. "Has been following me." Craig suddenly burst into tears, a wail escaping his throat. Jonathan and Lui stared at him as he broke down, tears streaming down his face. It was both of them wanted to do, scream and cry till there was nothing left. Between Craig's agonised wails, a heavy silence hung over the forest and the train wreck. Jonathan felt like he had seen this before. "They are all gone! Everyone is gone! Gone! Gone! Gone!" Craig kept repeating the word frantically, his hands curling into fists around the snow, gripping it tightly. "Gone! Gone! Gone!" Beside Jon, Lui let out a stifled sob, his shoulder's suddenly shaking violently.
"Gone." Lui said, his eyes welling up with tears. He suddenly dropped to his knees beside Craig pulling him into a hug. Jonathan stared at them, noticing how cold it was.
"What the fuck is the point of going home if there is nothing to go home to? No Tyler...No Evan or Vanoss-III...Or even four. No Brock…" Craig let out another wail, clutching at Lui tightly. "Jonathan is right...We have to go back. We can't go home."
"They...They aren't really gone." Jonathan said quietly. "Do you really think that they would leave us?" Craig moved away from Lui, looking up at him. He shook his head. "They wouldn't be upset if we went home...But they would say that we have to do what is right."
"One, two, three." Snow fell through the trees. A fence topped with barbed wire snaked through the trees. On the other side of the fence was that hellish base. Jonathan stared at the fence. "If we do this...not even if we succeed, just if we do this...will this be the last time I dream of you?" He turned to look at the soldier that stood beside him, the owl patch glinting on his lapel.
"I suppose it will be." Evan said sadly.
"I'll forget your voice...your face...you. I'm a machine, I'll live forever or until my wires fry or something." Jonathan said, his voice shaking. "I don't want to live forever."
"If you know where to look...You won't be alone." Evan met his gaze and smiled. "Goodbye, Jonathan."
"Goodbye."
The darkness hid the three pairs of footprints making their way through the trees towards the fence. Gun in hand, Lui led the way, the two others staying low and as silent as they could be behind him. They breathed in quick, quiet inhales, their packs and coats weighing them down as they tried to move quickly. Over the course of their walk back, they came up a plan. A very stupid plan, Tyler would say but a plan nonetheless. Once they were close enough to the fence, Lui stopped, looking back at Jonathan who took a deep breath.
"Remember what the signal is?"
"Three consecutive shots. Wait an hour. If you haven't heard it-"
"We run." Craig said quietly. Jonathan nodded and hugged him. "Good luck." Jonathan wished them the same and stepped out of the trees onto the road where he walked to the gate, putting his hands up. He didn't dare lower his gaze to the spot where Evan collapsed. A spotlight shown on his face, making him squint.
"My name is Jonathan and I surrender. I have nothing left...I'll help you, Ohm!" Jonathan called out. After a moment of silence, the gate opened and two guards stepped out, each grabbing onto Jonathan and pulling him inside, the gates closing behind him. Jonathan had to be successful or he would be unable to get Lui and Craig inside to help him. With that weight hovering over him, he took a shaky breath as he was escorted back into the white building. The lobby had been cleaned up, the bodies now were gone. They stopped there, the far door opening.
"I'm surprised. I never thought that you would come back like this, Jonathan, especially after what happened." Ryan said, seeming genuinely surprised but Jonathan didn't let his guard down. He didn't move, didn't say a word as Ryan and Four Zero came into the large room. "What made you change your mind?"
"There's nothing left for me...You were right. Lui and Craig left me. They wanted to go back home...but I don't even know what home is anymore. After a fight, they left me. I woke up and they were gone. They had taken everything." Jonathan explained. Ryan sighed and offered his hand to Jonathan.
"I'm glad that you've finally realised that your home is here." Ryan smiled. Jonathan nodded, forcing a smile on his face. "Come, I have something to show you." Ryan motioned for him to follow him back into the long white hallway. Jonathan glanced nervously at Four Zero as he passed who watched him till the door behind him was closed. "I'm sorry that Lui and Craig left you. I thought they were better than that but I suppose that desperate situations call for desperate measures. Why should they worry about you when it's your fault they were in this mess, to begin with?" Ryan wondered aloud. Jonathan's hands curled into fists. He had to maintain his calm for just a little bit longer so he let his anger go. "I'm glad they aren't here if you ask me. They wouldn't be able to handle what I am about to show you. You...You'll be happy. No one is gone, Jonathan."
"W-What does that mean?" Jonathan stammered, dreading what was at the end of the hall. "What have you done?" Ryan looked back at him only to smile. They reached the far door which Ryan held open for him, ushering him inside the lab. On two tables lay bodies, trays around them full of bloody instruments and mechanical pieces. Jonathan found himself reaching for the first table where Tyler lay, full of stitches. "Oh god...Oh god...You didn't...You didn't turn him into a machine!" Jonathan suddenly yelled, whirling around to face Ryan who only smiled. "Tyler never wanted that! He would rather die a million times over than live like this!" Jonathan screamed. "You're a monster!" He turned away from Ryan, seeing Evan on the next table, his eyes still open and the wound on his head now patched up. Ryan was going to bring him back too even after Evan said that he was done. Rage overwhelmed Jonathan, his hands shaking as he tried to think. He couldn't wait anymore.
In a flash, he had grabbed one of the metal silver trays, silver medical tools falling to the floor, and swung it at Ryan's head, sending him falling against the cement wall. Ryan let out a cry of shock, for the first time caught off guard by Jonathan. Ryan managed to get to his feet, leaning his hand against the glass wall that separated the lab from a smaller room. Jonathan didn't wait for him to get back up, hitting him again with the tray. Ryan fell to the floor, blood oozing from his broken nose.
"You didn't come here to give up...did you?" Ryan laughed. "I had a feeling…"
"Shut the fuck up." Jonathan aimed a sharp kick to Ryan's side, forcing him to double over. "I don't plan on killing you. I just want to shut your whole program down. Everything...done." Jonathan snapped, kicking him again.
"That'll never happen." Ryan suddenly grabbed Jonathan's leg and pulled, sending him sprawling to the hard floor. Jonathan winced in pain, kicking at Ryan as he tried to pin him down. Jonathan stretched his hand out for a fallen scalpel as he struggled against Ryan who managed to get his hands around his throat and began to squeeze. Gasping for air, Jonathan gripping the scalpel tightly, swinging it at Ryan. Blood splattered from the thin line that ran down his face. Jonathan kicked him off as he cried out in pain, rolling away from him to get to his feet. Blindly, Ryan reached for something to help him up, his hand reaching for the tablet on the table beside Tyler. He pressed his weight on his hand as he got up, not noticing which buttons he had just pressed and he didn't care. Blood began to flow back into Tyler's veins. "You got some fucking nerve! After everything I did for you!" Ryan yelled. "We could have made a great future for everyone!" He suddenly lunged at Jonathan, throwing him against the glass that shattered around him, the two falling onto the glass-covered floor. Jonathan let out a cry of pain as shards stuck into his back, small pieces digging into his hand that he had thrown out in an attempt to stop his fall. Dazed, he managed to hit Ryan who had managed to grab the scalpel, trying to stab it into Jonathan's chest; instead, it dug deep into his wrist. Metal scraped against metal. Jonathan grit his teeth, pulling his arm away from Ryan. Blood splattered to the glass. A sudden kick to his back made him cry out, falling face first onto the shards. Jonathan took a deep breath, his hands curling around longer shards of glass. As Ryan grabbed the back of his collar to pull him up, Jonathan spun, stabbing one of the shards into Ryan's shoulder. He let go of Jonathan as he screamed in pain, staggering away from him. Jonathan took the opportunity to get to his feet, heaving for air. Both were bloody and bruised. Both wanted to end the other.
"This isn't going to end until you give in and do what I say, or you kill me." Jonathan spat blood out of his mouth. "Your choice." Ryan opened his mouth to say something but was stopped by a sudden gasp for air. They turned to see Tyler heaving for air, overwhelmed with fear and confusion. Jonathan suddenly ran towards Tyler, only to be tackled to the floor before he could reach him, a sharp, searing pain exploding from his shoulder. He fell, his chin hitting the hard cement as Ryan pulled the scalpel from Jonathan's back.
Though his ears rang, he could still hear Tyler's frantic breathing. Jonathan rolled, wincing as he did to block a hit from Ryan and kicked him off. Ryan fell back onto the floor, blood oozing around him. Jonathan got to his feet slowly, every movement making him want to cry out in pain. Ryan looked up at the machine that stared down at him, too in pain now to get back up.
"J-Jon...I-" He didn't get to finish his sentence. Jonathan brought his foot down on Ryan's head, knocking him out cold. Jonathan let out a small cry of pain and relief that it was done, his hands slowly uncurling from their bloody fists. Blood dripped to the floor from the deep cuts in his palms. He looked up from Ryan to see the soldier of himself standing on the other side of Ryan, blood that wasn't his covering his hands and clothes.
"J-J-Jon…." Tyler spluttered, bringing Jonathan back to the present. He turned and gently pulled Tyler into his arms, tears welling up in his eyes. "W-What happened to me…?" Tyler cried. "What happened to me?"