< HSoS 96 | High School Of Scenes | HSoS 98 >
< HSoS 96 | H So S Timeline | HSoS 104 >
Furud glances nervously over his shoulder as he tears down the road in his slightly dented car, towards Trudeau bridge. He pulls to the side of the road, scattering gravel beneath the tires, then stops to breathe for a second, before climbing out of the car, and running towards it through the trees. As he reaches the edge, he slows, trying to still his heart. "Antares?" he calls softly.
Antares is out in the middle of the span, standing balanced on the railing with arms outstretched and head tilted up the same way she had on the church roof almost a week ago. She doesn't seem to hear Furud.
Furud stops for a second, watching her. He scrubs his hands against his jeans again, which succeeds in little other than making some of the dried blood flake off. He walks forward again slowly, letting his footsteps be heard. He tries again, a little louder. "Antares? Hey... are you...?"
Antares Closer, he can see that she's breathing hard, sweat or tears dripping off her chin. She hisses and goes up on her toes, arching her back a bit. "Don't touch me."
Antares "Did they... is Maia...?"
Furud stops several feet away, on the rusty rails. "She... she was ok when I left. Not ok. But alive. I had to... to go before the EM Ts? you know. With the gun and everything. But she was alive."
Antares "I can barely hear you," she murmurs. "I can't--I want to let go. Johnstone, those fuckers in that warehouse--why do any of them think they have the right to fuck around with us? Why should they be healthy tonight, while Maia's--" She cuts off, swaying, and Furud can feel a warm gust of air on his face.
Furud shakes his head, and moves to the railing, still some distance from Antares , and leaning against it heavily. "I wish I knew." He grips the rail in white-knuckled hands. "Fuck. Nothing makes sense."
Antares "And what about us? I should have checked on Maia today." She draws a shuddering breath. "What am I waiting for? She wasn't supposed to go ahead of me."
Furud "Don't..." he chokes out, anguish in his voice. "Please..."
Antares "Or what?" she turns to half-shout at him, swaying again. "They know everything, we know shit. We can't even tell our parents we don't sleep at night, but they can make up any fucking story they want to explain when they haul you away again. What does it matter if I'm here when they come back for you?"
Antares nearly falls and drops to a crouch to catch herself, the railing hissing where she grabs it.
Furud makes an aborted gesture towards her as she almost falls. "Because... " he looks at her helplessly. "Because I can't do this without you. I love you."
Antares Her shoulders shake in a silent laugh. "You sure you wanna say that to me right now? It didn't work out so great for Maia." She grips the rail harder, and the air is thick with the smell of warm iron. "I can't make it go away. The music--the light--it's so loud, and I feel like my head is going to explode if I keep it in."
Furud "Life doesn't work out how we want, fuck, I don't think it ever did. Some things make it worth trying though." He looks down, the rail beneath his hands beginning to feel the first trace of radiated heat. "So do it. Let it out. Let it fill you and light the sky, and show the stars what burning is! Just... don't jump."
Antares is silent for a bit, still breathing heavy, her hands white-knuckled and her hair hiding her face. "You better go away now."
Furud nods cautiously, and backs off the bridge.
Antares Distant to his ears now, there's a scream, and a moment later the first licking tongues of fire go racing up the rusted struts.
< HSoS 96 | High School Of Scenes | HSoS 98 >
< HSoS 96 | H So S Timeline | HSoS 104 >
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