Song of the chapter: Annie LeBlanc - Utopia

https://youtu.be/onbOTge0coU

ad infinitum

/ˌad ɪnfɪˈnʌɪtəm/

adverb

Latin:

to infinity

"I'm home!" I yelled out loud and walked up the stairs to my room.

"How was school?" Mom asked me.

"Better than bad," I replied.

Instead of throwing my backpack near the bin, I took it to my room. I put my backpack down on the floor, and bounced onto the bed, next to Jack. A silence fell between us. I was staring up the ceiling and enjoying the peace.

He broke the silence, "How was school?"

"Better than bad. You know my answer. Why do you ask?" I smiled at him.

"I don't know."

"What do you know?"

"All I know is that you called me your puppy. I don't know anything else." Just as he said that I started blushing.

"Alright, I'm gonna go change," I got up and moved to the washroom. I don't want to show him that I was blushing.

I don't remember when but maybe a month ago, I called him my puppy. I had just awoken, and my eyes landed on his cute face. He looked so cute and calm that I couldn't control myself and whispered softly, "My puppy!" Jack immediately opened his eyes, "I'm awake." I was so embarrassed.

Just as I was heading out of the washroom, I heard Jack groan. I found Jack was in an uncomfortable position on the bed. I put down my clothes and asked, "Hey, what's wrong?"

He was silent.

I took his hand in mine, "Can you talk? You look like you're going through a lot of pain."

He still didn't answer. He only groaned and twitched.

I look around his soul-y body to figure out what's wrong. I found nothing except his AI. So I held it towards him. I saw a 'Scan' button and immediately pressed it. Blue light emitted out of the AI and started scanning him, supposedly. A moment later, the results came out:

Subject: Jack Jones (Male)

Address: D43

Body: a package filled with soft material

Situation: Body in extreme pain. It will soon recover, but the subject has to return to his dimension. Otherwise, the subject's soul will dissolve in the current location.

Wait, what?

I kept thinking about what I should do. I didn't understand what the AI told me. Suddenly, I felt a soft squeeze on my hand.

"Yeah? What's wrong?"

"A...I... I, need it."

"Here you go." I handed him the AI. He pressed some buttons. A few seconds later, he stopped groaning.

"What happened? Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

"Uh, no, I don't need anything."

"What happened?"

"Nothing. I'm fine."

"Jack, you know how much I hate it when you lie. What's wrong?"

"I'm dying."

"What? That's not funny, Jack."

"It's the truth." Tears poured down my eyes.

"How is that even possible? You said you'd be here for 2 years. You can't..." I couldn't complete the sentence. Sobs broke out of my throat.

"Hey, it's okay. Come here." He pulled me into a hug, "It'll be fine, Ava."

"No, it won't be fine! I won't be fine."

"Hey, please don't do this. If you cry, I won't be fine too. Look, my brother mistakenly sent me here. But it was the best mistake he ever made. You know why? Because I got to meet you and spend a perfect year with someone so special like you. All my life, I only feared death. But after living with you, I don't fear death anymore. This year has been the best time of my life. But now I have to go. I couldn't want more."

I burst in frustration, "If you leave who's gonna scold me for not finishing my food? Who's gonna tell me that my eyes are like the ocean, my smile is as sweet as sugar, and my breath is like a fresh winter breeze? And my heart was made for you? Who's gonna tease me for calling you my puppy? Who will take care of me?"

I looked at him, and his eyes were filled with artificial tears. He had a warm smile on his face. I put my head on his chest, his chin resting on top. Both of us stained each other's clothes with tears.

Our memories flooded my mind. I still remember the songs we sang together, the games we played, and the times we messed with his AI, joked around and kept laughing until my stomach hurt. Later on, we cuddled till we fell asleep.

Sometimes, he would flirt with me by saying a long monologue, "Your eyes are as deep as the ocean. Your smile is brighter than the sun. Your breath is sweeter than the winter breeze. Your lips are like scoops of strawberry ice cream. Your hands are softer than marshmallows." His words flattered me, but he would make it even better by finishing them off with, "And your heart was made for me."

Now, all those days are over.

A few minutes later, we pulled away from each other. Asking him this was important, "Why is this even happening?"

"You see, this dimension has nitrogen. This gas decays souls from D17, D23, D42 and D80. It has already decayed most of my soul. I'm currently running on Life Function Protocols. But it won't last longer than 5 hours. 6 hours max."

"Please don't leave me like this," I pleaded.

"I don't want to. But I don't have a choice."

An idea hit my mind.

"Is there a way to recover your soul?"

"Yeah. It can only be done in D42."

"Then go back home. I can't see the person I love die in front of me."

"I can't go back. My transporter is damaged. See?" he pulled his transporter out.

Wait, I can fix it! "Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Then, give it to me. I can fix the circuit. It's pretty simple. This tech isn't that advanced."

"Well, uh, okay," he looked uncertain.

"Now, promise me this. The moment it's fixed, you'll go back. You won't turn around. Just walk away."

"What? No-" I glared at him. He was trying to give the puppy eyes, but it wasn't working. He sighed, "Fine."

While wiping my tears off, I ran downstairs to the garage. I brought the toolbox back to my room and started working.

Jack was not talking much. He only asked me a question, "How do you know all this stuff?" He generally wasn't that quiet.

"My dad is a mechanic. He taught me somethings." I answered.

Three hours later, I was done.

Jack held the transporter in his hand, along with the extractor in the other. He looked really depressed. According to Jack, leaving here wasn't the best option. But I couldn't live with the guilt of losing him.

He held his arms out and pressed a button on the extractor. Soon, his soul came out of my pillow. It was mesmerising to see the soul float in the air in front of me. But it was sadder that he really was leaving. He took a deep breath, putting the extractor in his pocket.

A sad and depressing ambience engulfed the room. Water was running down my cheeks. His emotions were disguised by a sombre expression. He pressed some switches on his transporter until a large navy-blue portal appeared. He was about to walk into the portal but instead, he closed the portal with one click.

"I'm sorry, Ava, I can't do this. I can't leave you."

He was breaking his promise. As much I wanted him here, he had to leave. "No, you-you have to go. You'll die!"

"I can't leave you, Ava." Jack pleaded. I was tempted to listen to him. But I didn't.

"Listen to me, Jack. You're the only person I have," I explained. "My parents abandoned me. My friends don't believe me. The only family I ever had wasn't even mine. But you're more than my best friend. You're my family. You are the only one I truly have. And if you die, I'll have no one in this world. You have to go back."

Jack was annoyed. He folded his arms and said, "Only if you come with me."

I was outraged at that point. He was acting like a child. "What? No, no, that's not possible." I shook my head.

"It's possible."

"No, it's not. You were the one who told me that nobody can enter D42 except the ones who were born there. I was born here."

"Were you?"

"Wait, what? So, no, uh... the truth that I was adopted wasn't the only thing you saw, was it?"

He nodded.

I raised my eyebrows, "I'm from D42?"

"Yeah."

"What?! And you're telling me that now?! But how is that even possible? I should've melted by now!"

Jack put his arms out "Okay, calm down. I'll tell you everything."

"When?!" I was livid.

"Okay, okay. Right now."

"Start talking before I strangle you."

"Okay," he took a breath, "In D42, your dad died before you were born. And after your birth, your mom died as well. Then, someone managed to send you to this dimension. Meanwhile, in this dimension, two parents abandoned their child. That child died and you entered her body. That's why the child and you are one and alive. A living body is way more powerful than a non-living body."

I was speechless. The only thing that I could think about was my three sets of parents. My biological parents had died. My body's parents had abandoned this child. And my foster family. A sweet mom, a perfect dad, an idiotic brother, and an evil stepfather. Wow, what a family!

"So, I can go with you?"

"Yeah."

"But if I leave, mom would be broken. And if I try to explain to her, she won't believe me."

Jack grabbed a notebook and a pen and put it on my lap, "Write a letter to her. She'll understand."

I wasn't sure. But it was worth a try. "Okay. Give me some time."

Within half an hour, I finished writing the letter, "Alright, I'm done. Let's do this."

"Okay. I'm gonna extract your soul from your body. You might feel a bit uncomfortable as it's your first time. Also, as soon as I do it, try to come closer to me. I can hold onto you. Otherwise, you'll float away. Got it?"

I shrugged, "Okay."

He started doing something on his device. I tapped my shoe on the floor. I looked around the room for the last time. My eyes fell on our family pic. I realised something, "Wait! I gotta do something before we go. I'll be back in, I don't know, soon. Just wait till I get back."

With that, I ran downstairs and got my bike from the garage. I heard mom ask, "Where are you going, Ava?" But I ignore her and cycled. I took me fifteen minutes to reach his house.

I parked my bicycle and rang the doorbell.

A man with a beard opened the door. He had wrinkles along his forehead. He was tan, which showed that he was a labourer. He was unhealthily skinny. It couldn't be my dad. Right? "Hi. Uh, does Mr. Myer still live here? I need to speak to him, it's urgent."

"I am Mr. Myer. Who are you?"

"¡Papi!" I hugged him. After so many years, I was in his warm arms again.

"Avalory Mary Myer? Is this really you?" he asked.

"Sí, Papi. Soy yo." It was not surprising that he didn't recognise me. I mean I couldn't either. (Yes, dad. It's me.)

"It's been so long, kiddo!"

"Dad, you can't call me kiddo anymore. I'm 17!"

"Oh Lord, you've grown up so much! Come here." He pulled me into another hug. After a while, I asked, "Dad, you've changed so much since the last time I met you."

"Look at what you've become, you look so gorgeous! You resemble a princess!"

"Oh, por favor. Avoiding my question won't help," I shout after him as he walked inside. He looked back and winked at me. We both sat down on the couch. Most of the things are still the same as it was eight years ago. "Looks like you added a bit of brightness in here," I observed.(please)

Dad shrugged it off, "Eh. It's nothing. So, how are you? How's Ned?"

"Oh, Ned has changed so much. He's always on his phone or PS4, but don't worry, he's still a f*cking idiot." I relaxed on the couch.

"Ah, Ava, he's your brother!" he scolded.

"Well, well, well. Semantics." I rolled my eyes. He didn't change much.

"How's Elizabeth?"

"She's... She's not the same person anymore. She loves Richard."

"Well, that ought to happen." He gave me a knowing look.

"Dad, I need to tell you something." I joined my hands together on my lap.

"Yeah, go on."

It took me about 20 minutes to explain dad. It was worth it as he seemed to understand. "So that's it. Do you wanna know anything else?" I asked, clapping my hands.

He gave me a mischievous smile and asked, "So, my kiddo found her prince?" It didn't take me much time before I turned into a tomato.

"It's not like that," I was just making excuses.

"So, what is it like?" he wriggled his eyebrows, teasingly.

"Dad, stop!" I yelled. I continued turning red.

"¡Bien!" he raised his hands in a defensive stance, "I'm gonna miss you so much."(Fine!)

"Me too. Te quiero tanto." (I love you so much.)

"Te quiero también, kiddo." (I love you too.)

We talked for a short time. We hugged and I took my leave.

The moment I entered the house, mom came yelling at me, "Ava, where were you?"

"Mom, I haven't got much time to explain to you. So, listen to me. I went to meet dad. Now, do me a favour and promise me that after 10 minutes you will go to my room and read the letter on the bed. Te quiero, Mami," I hugged her and left her confused. (I love you.)

I went to Ned's room and hugged him. I kissed him on his forehead and said, "Adios, Ned. Recuerda que te amo." (Bye, Ned. Remember that I love you.)

I quickly went to my room and got ready to be extracted.

"You might wanna lay down on the bed, it's gonna be easier that way," Jack told me.

I laid down on the bed, and Jack started doing something on the extractor. Shortly, I started floating. I looked back to find my body still on the bed. I realised that I was gliding indistinctly. Jack quickly took my hand and pulled me closer. He had swung his arm around me so that I don't go floating into oblivion.

"Thanks."

He opened the portal, and we walked through it simultaneously. I found myself in a park on Earth of D42. I looked around. I was still holding onto Jack. I felt my cheeks burn with humiliation. If I had a body, I would be blushing.

"Okay, you stay here. I am bringing you a body."

I looked at him as if he lost his mind, "You're gonna bring a dead body for me?" Is he f*cking demented?

"No, I'm gonna customise a body for you. Yeah, it's possible. Don't worry, you'll look like the same as before." He turned his back towards me.

"Hold on!" I had to tell him.

"Yeah?" He turned back.

"I need to tell you something. I've been thinking about it a lot, and I feel like this is the right time. Jack, I-"

"I love you too."

"What?" He knew! That sh*thead.

"You were going to tell me that you love me. So, I said it back. I'm hungry. Can we be done with this now? I wanna eat." He smirked. He f*cking smirked.

"You cocky bastard." I laughed.

"Well, that didn't go exactly well." He laughed along with me.

"Me neither. We can make it a bit more romantic later." He was walking away again.

I quickly grabbed his hand and pulled him closer. We kissed. Jack smiled against my lips and joined his hand behind my waist. I put my arms around his neck and said,

"Loving you isn't that bad, I guess."

*The End*

(2687 words)

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