Aaron's P.O.V

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Bryna actually gave in. 

To my horror, I realized it's because I had yelled at her for her reckless stunts. She promised she would work on it. This is her way of avoiding bloodshed.

Marcus laughs. "Brilliant, Bryna. Brilliant." He motions for his men to let us go. Lea grabs Brian as he's dropped, and Alex grabs his other side.

"Bryna, you're insane," Justin hisses, grabbing her arm.

Bryna yanks her arm out of his grasp. "No, I'm making a sacrifice."

She looks over at me as I stare at her. I imagine how I must look, eyes wide, jaw slack, staring at her in utter disbelief. 

She strolls over. "Aaron, you've gotta go. Get everyone into the red minivan behind Justin and drive away. It's a straight shot to Rhode Island as long as you stay on the road." She smiles simply. "Our journey together ends here."

"Brie..."

"No, don't worry about me. Marcus is right; what else do I have to live for?"

"You have Brian, Alex, Justin. Lea. Me."

She shrugs. "It's better this way. Less chance of me screwing things up with you all. That's all I'm good for, isn't it?"

"I thought you forgave me for that. It was a heat of the moment thing."

"I do forgive you. But you were right about some things, Aaron." She tilts her head. "This is my calling, Aaron. It's what I'm supposed to do. Maybe I'll see you again soon."

"Brie, you can't just-"

She cuts me off by placing a small kiss on my lips. "I care, Aaron. For the first time, I care about whether or not I'm hurt. This is the best way to avoid that. Please don't let my efforts be in vain."

"I..." I'm still momentarily stunned by her bold act, but she shoves me towards the car, handing me her backpack.

"Bye, Aaron." She turns and walks towards Marcus.

I walk towards the car, and Alex, Lea and Brian follow suit, looking equally numb to the situation.

Any minute, Bryna was going to pull out her gun and shoot Marcus in the head and help us escape. Any minute and she'd put bullets into as many people as possible and leap into the car with us so we could all escape together.

Any minute and she'd laugh and tell me that I'm so unbelievably stupid for thinking she'd actually give in to this douche so easily. 

Any minute, and she'd call out my name and smile beautifully, telling me that it was all a joke, and that we're actually set to head out for Rhode Island for the happy ending we all deserve.

I wait in the backseat of the minivan as Justin searches for keys, and as Brian is put into the back with Lea for assistance, hoping that Bryna would pull one of her last minute tricks.

But as we pull out of the gas station with what meager supplies we have,  I'm forced to realize that she may be serious about this decision after all. And the last memory I'll have of her for years to come is of her kissing me curtly before shoving me towards my safety while she goes to start a war of her own.

The silence in the car is deafening, and I can't even reach back to hold my sister as she sobs for the loss of the only best friend she's ever had.

"She's jesting, right?" Alex croaks. "This is some scheme of hers? She's going to save the day and then laugh at us for being so sensitive, right?"

No one answers him, and his tears spill, because we all know very well that this might be the last time we see Bryna again.

~~~

We turn around after we're sure we're not being followed, and Alex goes into our base for antibiotics for Brian. 

When we're on the road again, it's completely silent. No one says anything and everyone sits rock still as we drive to our salvation, without the leader that should be there to take us. Time for crying had past. We're all just numb and trying to persevere the last few miles  to Rhode Island. 

I now know what everyone felt when Bryna and I disappeared from the face of the earth. It's like your heart has cracked into two, and you're unable to forget about them, no matter how much you might want to, because they are the majority of your life and your time and your emotions.

 And being attached to Bryna is so simple, so easy, because she is such an attractive person. She's sarcastic, brave, trusting, loyal, bold, kind, intelligent, amusing, and level-headed. She will take the weight of the world so that others can find some peace that she wants but knows she won't get. She takes her place as leader unwillingly, but willingly at the same time because she knows she's the best person to do her job, and she knows that everyone looks to her for guidance, because she is the natural moral compass. Bryna is the one everyone turns to because she while may be sixteen, she is intelligent, and she knows exactly what to say to make sure her point gets across. Not to mention she's gorgeous, despite her saying otherwise. Her cropped hair gives her an edgy look and her icy eyes portray either so much or no emotion, and it makes her beautiful.

Someone like that is dangerous to care for. And when you lose them, it tears you apart because of how much time you spent with them, how many hours you spent in their company, getting to know and understand them, only to have them torn away from you in such a cruel way. It kills you inside and quite literally feels like you're being ripped apart inside and out because you can't believe that they're not there when you turn to make some comment, or when there's that perfect moment for them to make some clever remark, and then it's ruined because they're no longer there to make the comment they should have made.

And, especially, when you've spent so long around one person and put your life in theirs. They finally go through and save you, only to lose their freedom or life in the process. And it kills you even more when you realize that you will never get to show them the extent of how sorry you are for making them cry, when all you wanted to do was hold them and tell them that it was okay, because you were there for them and you always would be, but you didn't because you were pissed and upset and horrified at yourself at the same time for being the cause of their tears.

It eats at you, even when they say they forgive you, because you want them to know that you really intend to never do it again, and that you never want to be the cause of their tears or their pain, because it really, truly hurts to see them that way. When you can't truly show them that you regret ever speaking to them in that manner because they're no longer around to hear and see you do it, it's the worst feeling you could imagine without anyone actually dying. 

And then finally, it's just an empty hole in your being that they had filled with their presence, and it leaves you numb to just about everything. Even your oncoming freedom. 

The worst part about it is when you're not sure you'll ever get to see them again. That alone is enough to tear at the coldest of hearts, because not being able to see someone who so easily made your entire world better hurts. A lot.

So yeah, I know what they're feeling, and it's not pleasant.

The entire ride to Rhode Island is wasted in complete silence. When we finally get there, no one is in the mood to rejoice. When we're cleared and allowed into the state, no one says anything. Everyone is too busy thinking about how this journey should have been made with Bryna to think about how we're finally free. 

We're given money and a temporary apartment to wait in until our guardians could be found and contacted. Everyone goes to bed early that night.

~~~

Bryna's P.O.V 

If you had asked me four months ago, I would have told you the worst goodbye I had to sit through was when my brother died. We sat down in some room, his head resting in my lap as we both sobbed, him for me and me for him while he died his brutal death. I didn't have the heart to end it for him, even though I should have.

"Bryna," he had told me, "I want you to do something for me when I'm gone."

Now, this is the part where reassurance would come into play and I'd tell him that he was going to be okay, that he wasn't going to die. But we both knew he was going to, so there was no use in pretending. So I just said, "Anything, Bryan. Just name it."

"You're not to fight the States, you're to stay safe. Do whatever you can to change the world, but do it passively. Change someone's life, and make sure you go down in history. I want to be known as the dead brother of that woman who changed the world. Avenge us all by showing this world that you don't have to take over to be known well. That resilience instead of rebellion is the best way to make your goal. They'll rebel, and they'll think it's their best option, but most times it's waiting for the best moment that leads us to greater things. Be the one to show them that, Bryna. And take care of yourself. Can you do that?"

I had cried harder, and I had wanted to kill the people who did this to my brother, but I promised him I would do as he wished. He died with a smile on his face, reassuring me that everything would be okay so long as I remained resilient. After the rage past, I had gone numb, but I realized he was right; rebellion against this society was futile. They were prepared for it. The best thing I could do would be to steal from them and change the world by freeing myself. 

He died bleeding out his favorite color. I think that made it worse, because he loved the color so much, and yet it ended up abandoned him in the end.

That goodbye should have been the hardest of my entire life. 

Now, however, watching my team leave, I realize that I'm both betraying my brother by rebelling, and my team by not fighting for them. Watching them get into that car had to have been the hardest thing I've ever done since I watched my brother die.

Vincent turns to me. "Well, looks like you're one of us now." He smirks.

I smile. "And you're still a pesky little minion, whereas I owe no loyalty."

He sighs, slinging an arm over my shoulder as we walk to their vehicles. "I think you and I are going to become friends in good time, Bryna. You'll warm up to me. Everyone does."

"Adam didn't," I point out.

"Yeah, well, look where he is now."

I grab his hand and step under it, moving behind him. A large crack, and then Vincent's yelp. "Don't ever touch me again," I growl into his ear. "It won't be your arm next time."

I move away from him and stroll along with everyone else.

One man grins at me. "You've got guts," he remarks. 

I look at him, eyebrow raised. "Yeah, and?"

He chuckles, shrugging. "No one really tries putting Powers in his place. It's kind of an unspoken thing to just let him be an asshole. You, though... You're something different."

"I also currently want to put a bullet through everyone's skull here, so..."

"In your situation? It's expected. But you're the first female to actually be part of the productive aspect of our establishment. Feel accomplished."

I shrug. "I'm the first for a lot of things," I reply. Mostly the most pathetic attempts at trying to remain passive, but whatever. "And yeah, I suppose it's an accomplishment, but I also just broke out of the place, like, four days ago, so..."

"Right. You're that girl that almost killed Adam. I don't think anyone would have expected that."

I shrug. "He double-crossed us. If you knew anything about me, you'd know how annoying it is to be double-crossed... again."

"Eh, we've had our share of traitors."

"Then you can sympathize."

"It's funny. I expected you to bite my head off when I made my first comment."

"I want to shoot everyone here," I point out again. "But you're fairly decent."

He grins again. "I'm Richard."

"Bryna."

"Pleasure to meet you, Bryna."

"I'd say it's a pleasure, but that'd be saying that I'm actually glad to be here."

Richard nods. "You'll warm up to it."

"Meh. At this point I really couldn't care less. There's nothing left for me, with my friends safe." I shrug.

"Well, maybe you'll find a new purpose with us."

"Maybe."

But I doubt it. I'm going against everything I promised my brother in his dying hour, and I had to abandon the five people I was willing to fight for. This is going to be one hell of a time.

:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:

So. This is the official end to the book, and I know it's kind of anti-climactic, but I still have to publish both parts of the epilogue.

What did you think? Was it worth reading? Feedback, opinions, critiques, questions? 

The second book is being written, but probably won't be out for awhile, because I've gotta plan it out a bit more. 

Anyways! I will post both parts next Saturday/Sunday. Perhaps one part each day, because I'm like that.

Off to plot a new book and kill more characters!

-Musical_Author