CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE:
TIME TO COME HOME

AFTER GOING THROUGH TWO MORE groups of HYDRA men, Celeste finally found the doors that would lead her to the exit. She pushed through the double doors, running down the three flights of stairs before finding another door and shoving through it. She was expecting it to lead her to another floor or to another group of HYDRA men, but much to her surprise and her relief it lead her to the outside. She didn't hesitate to go running, letting her legs go as fast as they could. The woods were just right there. She pushed herself up the hill, ignoring the gun shots as they fired at her. When she made it to the edge of the woods she found herself stopping and turning her head to look at the building that Bucky was still inside of. She would never forgive herself for leaving him, but he would never have forgave her for not leaving him.

She turned away from the building before running once more. She ran as far as she could before she could feel the adrenaline begin to wear off and she fell to the ground from exhaustion. She laid there on the ground floor, breathing heavily as she let her eyes close. Her back was pressed against a tree, her gun still at her side. She wasn't sure when she fell asleep, but she remembers waking up and being confused as to where she was before the events a few hours before had played in her mind. The events in which she escaped and made it out alive and she left Bucky behind. She pushed the thought away. Thinking like that was seriously going to send her into a state of insanity.

She was still weak, her powers were still not prominent. She really needed to get up and go find food and a water source but her legs refused to move so she just stayed there in the same spot, dozing off once more. She was awoken only when a hiss could be heard, making her snap her eyes open and look around. For a moment she thought a snake was near her and that was going to be the way that she died, but instead she saw a blurry image in front of her. She blinked a couple of times, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and sitting up a little straighter. First it was just a bright light before it formed into a person and Ariel was standing in front of her. Celeste almost wanted to roll her eyes.

     "Are you actually here this time or a figment of my imagination?" Celeste grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest in annoyance.

     "No. I'm not there." Ariel answered, rolling her eyes at Celeste's attitude. "I haven't been able to reach you in days, but the signal suddenly got much stronger." Ariel paused and looked at Celeste, turning her nose up to the air. "You look awful."

     Celeste smiled sarcastically. "Thank you, Ariel. It's not like I just escaped a HYDRA torture chamber or anything like that." Celeste scoffed. "And to think, I actually thought you cared about me for a second. You Angels are all the same. Stuck up brats. This is why I'm the favorite you know."

     "Yes because being a rebel is something to be proud of." Ariel argued. She scoffed. "This is not why I got in touch with you. I'm not here to argue with you, Celestial. I'm here to, I don't know, save your life."

     Celeste narrowed her eyes. "I don't need you to save me. I can take care of myself."

     "Clearly not."

     "Ariel, either go away, or actually be helpful!" Celeste snapped, completely fed up. One things for certain, she did not miss the other Angels at all, and she was sure that they felt the exact same.

     "Geez." Ariel muttered. "Alright, listen to me, I need you to make it to the edge of the woods, okay? As soon as you're at the edge, I'll be able to come down and bring you home. I know you want to go back for your little boyfriend or whatever he is, but Celeste right now you need to come home and you need to heal. I know you don't want to, but you need to."

     Celeste stared at her for a moment, running a hand over her face. "I want to come home," Celeste whispered. "I want come home, but I don't want to leave him. How can I leave him knowing what cruel things they're going to put him through? How is that fair, Ariel? How is that fair at all?"

     Ariel frowned, kneeling down so that she was right in front of Celeste. "It's not fair, Cel. It's not fair at all." She looked at Celeste and her heart broke slightly. She really hated seeing her sister like this. She couldn't stand it. "But it's not fair for you to go back in there and risk your life for him when all he wanted was for you to live."

     "I can't live without him, Ari." Celeste's voice cracked as the tears finally came. "I can't."

     "You can and you will." Ariel told her sternly. "Cel, look at me." Celeste did so. Ariel gave her a gentle smile. "This is not going to be the last time that you see him. I promise."

     "You don't know that." Celeste shook her head.

     "I do." Ariel assured. "I swear to you, on Father's name, that this will not be the last time that you see him. You will see him again someday, Celestial. You can hold me to that." Celestial just looked at her. "Get up, Celeste. It's time to come home."

Celeste stared at Ariel for a few more seconds before finally nodding her head and pushing herself up from the ground. Ariel disappeared.