The End of the Road

Waves lapped up against cold stone beaches, the rhythmic humming echoing in William’s ears as he pulled his legs up to his chest, watching the sun slowly fade behind the edge of a dimly lit ocean.

It would be dark soon and the Scavengers’ time to rise was quickly approaching.

It was a disturbing thought to be sure, however as William sat there, his eyes gazing stubbornly upon the fading sun, he couldn’t find it in him to care.

Nothing mattered now. The Arc had already won.

With his chin placed between his knees, William sighed and reached for a small object hidden inside his jacket’s pocket; his fingers brushed across the cold, metallic surface as he pulled out a silver, heart shaped locket with rust beginning to form around the edges.

William scoffed, flipping the locket open, staring hazily down at the empty slot in the middle, as all those bitter feelings rushed through him all over again, realizing for a second time that his entire life had been fed by lies from both the Arc and the Sparrow.

“William!”

In the distance, a girl called out his name and he hurriedly shoved the locket back inside his jacket. He knew who it was, he knew how this was going to end, and as light footed steps padded closer, he steadied himself for the conversation ahead.

“William, I saw you at The Nest, you...you left, what happened? Where’s Brady?” Alura asked as she tried to catch her breath, her long hair falling into her face, slowly steadying her breathing until it was back to normal.

Silence followed her words and William tightened his grip on his legs, gulping through the rock that had formed in his throat.

“...William?” Alura asked again, this time her voice soft and hesitant, as if she already knew what had happened.

Finally, William sighed and looked up, catching sight of a distant “star” in the darkening night sky, a cruel reminder of the Scavengers’ awakening. “We failed, Alura,” he said in a shaky, fragile voice. “Brady’s dead...” His voice broke as he admitted out loud, what he had been secretly hoping wasn’t true.

“Brady’s dead...” he said again, this time letting the anger flow through his body as he curled his hands into fists, gaze hardening as he fixed his eyes on the darkened water in front of him. “He sacrificed himself for this stupid locket!” William snatched the silver locket out of his pocket and threw it as far as he could.

“No, no, wait-“ Alura’s cries were made in vain; the locket flew through the air and within mere seconds it fell into the depths of the ocean, sinking far below either of their reach.

A certain stillness filled the space between them as the reality of what he had done sunk in, regardless on if the locket truly had been their only hope or not, it didn’t matter now.

“Will...why, why would you do that?” Alura asked, her eyes wide and her voice hollow of emotion as she stared at the ocean.

William looked away, unable to bring himself to meet her eyes right now. “It’s a fake, Alura, it’s all fake, just a made up lie the Sparrow told us to give us some false sense of hope,” he growled out bitterly. “That locket doesn’t do anything, it’s a trinket from a dead time,” he spat out his words, the foul taste of loss still lingering in his throat. “Too many people have died, believing we had a chance of defeating the Arc, when in reality, we’ve already lost, we lost the moment we tried to fight back.”

As William’s words sunk in, Alura slowly sat down beside him, unblinking as she continued to stare at the ocean as the last of the sun’s welcoming light sank below their sights.

“I’m sorry, Alura, I know how much you wanted it to be true,” William said, glancing towards the girl as he watched her accept the reality he had given her.

Alura exhaled, her breath becoming visible as the cold of the night crept in. “So...this is it then? The end of the road?” She asked in a hushed whisper.

William nodded. “Guess so,” he said, turning his gaze back to the ocean.

“The Scavengers will be here soon,” she spoke softly.

“Yep.”

Finally darkness overtook the sky and as the first screams of the Scavengers echoed in the distance, neither of them bothered to move.

They failed, the Arc had won, and soon the Scavengers would find them.

However, despite everything else, William finally felt free for the first time in his life. Free of the control of the Arc, free of the lies the Sparrow fed him, free of the locket that had succumbed his existence for far too long; and in those final moments of clarity before the Scavengers overtook him, William decided that perhaps the end of the road wasn’t the worst place to be after all.