by Amanda Rose
Fast on his feet, Vince scuttled down the stairs. Suako’s eyes began to roll back. “No, no, no! Suako, stay with me… Stay with me Suako…” he cried as they plummeted down the wall-hugging spiralling stair case. Talking to Suako constantly as they went, to keep her conscious, he prayed for her to stay awake and alive. The twenty floors seemed to vanish in a blink of the eye.
Running out through the lobby, Vince tried to glimpse the time on his watch once more, but the bounce of his step as he ran blurred his sight too badly to read the numbers though. The suction release of the door sounded as Vince kicked it open. Out into the parking lot, they left the C.D.F.P. headquarters. Most of the lot was empty, but ten feet ahead Koto’s black sports car was parked. Vince thought the boy had looked high enough up on the food chain for it to be his, so he checked the keys in the door, and sure enough, it opened.
Laying Suako carefully down in passenger seat, Vince secured her safely. Now scuttling over to the driver’s side, he hopped in and put the key in the ignition. The engine growled loudly as it was revved up. Vince burned rubber as he screeched free of the parking spot, and the tire treads imprinted themselves into the asphalt.
Through the parking lot they sped at full speed. Pulling into the lamp lit city streets, Vince continued to speed away. He squeezed the steering wheel between his puffy fingers, while dodging the regular city traffic. He peered over at Suako worrisomely from time to time, her color was draining away and she was turning a pasty white. Honking horns screamed at his fly-by driving.
Moments later, Mack and the others had escaped out of the building with Okichi in tow, and they trudged to the back of the C.D.F.P. parking lot by foot, before taking cover behind a stone carved company sign. There they waited for Vince and Suako to regroup with them, as planned. They also were on the lookout for Koto. Tamiko had come with them; Yu-Lee had forcefully dragged her along. Behind the company sign they watched and waited, as the seconds counted down…
In a straight arrow they went to the edge of grid one, where Vince bulldozed through the barrier fence. The front tire was impaled on a piece of rebar, so after busting through, the car spun and looped around in the dirty garbage yard they’d emerged into. Vince put the car in park, and then got out of the car and ran around to Suako’s doors. He pulled her out and cradled her in his arms as he sunk down to the muddy terrace. He gently and lovingly rocked her back and forth in his arms.
They sat facing the C.D.F.P. building, and it looked dim in the early evening sky. Vince looked down at his timer, there was only thirty seconds left on the count down. Suako rested her eyes closed, her energy clearly gone. “Suako? Suako open your eyes… You have to see the show sweety…” he told her in desperate hope. Nervously, he entangled his fingers in his long hair. Suako moaned, opening her darkened eyes, she looked out into the world, and right away she fixated her vision on Vince. He smiled, fighting back the welling build-up of misery from expression. “Look!” he said pointing over to The Company headquarters. Suako’s eyes lowered down to see it.
Seconds later it began; great waves of bursting flames exploded, shattering windows into millions of tiny shards. They tinkled like the clinging of the Champaign glasses in Tomakomai on Suako’s birthday. The lower part of the building was writhed in flames of bright brilliant orange shades. It lit up the surrounding area with it’s bright emitting light. The life-filled flames searched for escape from the chamber of the building, and it pillared upwards.
Next came the sound, like the thunder following lightening, the explosion finally caught up to them. Suako’s planted bombs had all gone off simultaneously, erupting to create one massive fireworks show. For several seconds the building just stood their, never looking as good as it did with whisking flames to wisp about the shaking structure.
The otherwise quiet night air was disrupted by the chaotic demise of a fortress of evil. Moments later began to collapse in on itself, and the rumble of the falling building shook the ground. The tremors could be felt from miles away, and it had been deeply satisfying. The gratification of a life’s devotion turned into success was indescribable. Black and grey smoke climbed, billowing into the plush pink of the early evening sky, up from the rubble of a fallen empire.
Vince shed tears of joy and of despair, his heart fearful for Suako. Suako was mesmerized with the sight of the destruction. Her nightmare was finally over, her soul could rest, and she took from it a sense of closure. Vince's heart guided his eyes back to Suako. In her own time, she pulled her eyes away and looked upon her lover’s face. “Vince…” she smiled. “I’m here,” he fought the lump in the back of his throat. “We did it…” a tear streamlined down her ghostly white cheek. Vince swept up her hand in his. She squeezed it with what little strength she had retained, “Yeah… We did…” Sorrow afflicted his very soul.
“Vince, I’m sorry…” she tried to apologize, but Vince hushed her. “Suako don’t. You didn’t do anything wrong...” His voice cracked. Vince pressed his lips against her bloody hand to kiss her reassuringly. Suako once again smiled, the blood in the corner of her mouth twinkled in the light. They sat solemnly, just being with each other. There was so much to say that nothing could come out. A sudden worry broke Suako’s silence. “…Renee?” she wondered what happened. “Don’t worry. She’s safe. I took her to the hideout,” each word was a struggle to produce.
“Vince, I need,” Suako coughed, choking on her own blood. She pushed through it bitterly, “I need you… you to do me a favour…” Her hand now squeezed his with some strength. “Anything,” Vince wept. “Tell Mack, thanks… thanks for everything…” she said. Vince gasped, not wanting to admit to the morbid truth of reality. “Suako,” he shook his head fearfully. Suako simply nodded with pleading eyes. For a minute Vince had to stop, he wanted time to stop, but it refused to comply. He nodded his head for her to continue.
“Tell Mei, and, and Kato… Be strong…” she paused. “Vince… remember in Yokutan… We bought Mei the pendant?” he nodded. “… I’ve carried it with me since… It’s in my pocket… Make sure she gets it…” Vince nodded vigorously. “…Let Kairu know he’ll be… he’ll be a great, great chief… Tell Jenko to keep travelling…” she coughed again. The blood bath she lay it was growing. “Yu-Lee… tell her I’m sorry… so sorry I couldn’t study magick with her… and take care of Renee…” Suako started to shiver, her body was going into severe shock. Her hand had gone cold. “Suako no…” Vince was losing his voice.
“Vince, I… I love you so much… I’m sorry we can’t be together… I wanted so much for that…” her voice wheezed out. “No, Suako… no…” Vince’s voice cracked up. He couldn’t bare the thought of loosing her. “I’m so… so cold… Please… Vince… s, sing for me like you used to…” Suako was getting drowsy, her time left was short.
To the best he was able, Vince tried to fulfill Suako’s request. His voice was shattered, but with all of his strength he tried to hold it together:
“Come my love,
Let’s fly away,
Into a never-ending day,
Where I’ll be yours,
And you’ll be mine,
There we’ll stay,
For all of time…”
Vince couldn’t continue, his voice fell flat, and tears overcame him. “Thank you…” she looked up gratefully to him. Vince pulled her close and kissed her salty lips one last time. He wished this moment would stretch on into eternity. He could barely breath. The pain in his heart was so great it felt as if it would kill him inside. He dreaded to pull away, but desired to look upon her gorgeous face.
Their eyes locked, staring into each other’s souls, Vince came to accept her coming earthly departure. Suako’s eyelids came down slowly, and when they reopened they twinkled, and saw past Vince to the horizon. “Wow… Look at that sunset…” she said dreamily. Vince turned to see it, the sky was a dusty rose above followed a pale yellow. A pillar of rising black smoke dissipated into the blue of the darkening sky, where the first sta
rs of the night had come out to shine. The top rim of the sun was just dipping beneath the horizon line, making the few tiny tufts of cloud in the sky glow like threaded gold; it was a heavenly sight. Vince’s eyes welled up with tears, he looked back at Suako, and felt his heart skip a beat.
Like an angel she lay in his arms. Closing her eyes, she let out one final breath, and her body became heavy in his arms. Suako’s grasp on his hand went limp, and her ribs collapsed. As her last breath swept across Vince’s body, he swore he could feel her spirit pass right through him. A rupturing pain, horrendous, worse than any physical wounding, burst inside of his being. A piece of his soul was dying.
Vince began hyperventilating, and started to gasp for air, as if it were being denied to his very being. Mournfully he wailed, as the excruciating anguish inside him searched for a release. Vince held Suako tight and rocked back and forth, and the motion helped to soothe his broken soul. He kissed her forehead and stroked her head. She was still warm to the touch. Incoherently he whispered to Suako, “…I love you… Don’t go… I didn’t get a chance… Oh god, please, god, no! …” Up to his heart he lifted Suako’s cold dead fingers and pressed them against his chest. Suako looked like a porcelain doll.
Sitting there alone, but for Suako’s lifeless body, Vince stayed with her for what seemed to be forever. He didn’t want to let her go. Nothing else in life mattered to him now. Suako, his beloved Suako, was lost to the wind. He grieved late into the night. When Vince finally lay her down, he wiped away the blood from her mouth. He could still taste it in his mouth. Respectively he folded her arms across her stomach, and there he stayed, by her side, until the morning light.
In the parking lot of the C.D.F.P. building, watching the building explode and burn was much more intense. The shattering glass was ear piercing, and the heat from the blasts were tangible. Mack had watched in awe as the building burst into flames. Tamiko watched it all in horror, her life, her dreams, shattering to pieces just the building. Yu-Lee watched with a sense of justice, and peace, and the balance of the planet was one step closer to being restored. Jenko walked up behind Yu-Lee and put his arms around her, and they watched together.
Long supressed pain in Mei and Kato welt up at the culmination of their plan. Tears ran unrelenting, it was a cleanse for their tortured souls. Kazuo fell to his knees, as he watched his long-time prison burn, his soul was finally liberated. Kairu stood, ever the warrior, looking at the burning building as it collapsed. No one heard him whisper, “…for you, Masumi…”
Long into the night the building burned, and they watched it go in silence. Each worried as the hours went by and there had been no sign of Vince or Suako. They continued to hold out hope, waiting for their friends to show up. Tamiko noticed Koto’s car missing from the parking lot, and held out hope he’d escaped alive. None of them slept that night.
When the sun peeked back up the next morning, and there had still been no sign of Suako or Vince, Mack decided that it was time to go looking for them. As they approached the building to search the rubble, they noticed some tire tread imprints. They hotwired one of the cars in the parking lot, and followed the trail to the Grid One boarder, and out into the disposal yard. There they stumble upon the mortifying scene, and after some time, Vince told them all that had happened...
And so, they fell…
Chapter 28: Freedom
“Dear Journal,
It is March 29th. It was exactly one year ago today that the C.D.F.P. fell to ruin, and it has been a long year since. After the decimation of the Company Headquarters, Torusan was in disarray. The poor citizens rejoiced, while the rich wondered and worried about their livelihood. Mei and Kato had apparently sent a message, in old Morse code, to Kairu’s father, Mu-Kai, in Yokutan. He brought a platoon of soldiers to help assist with the city. They calmed the city down, restored order, and monitored it.
Luck it seemed had been on our side. Not two days later did Seresuto and Adamu return to Torusan with Keiji Kane. Our journey across the ocean had not been in vain. Keiji had had his suspicions about the C.D.F.P. prior to our arrival, and after our plea, he decided to see for himself. When Yoshida had shipped us back to Torusan, Mr. Kane had followed in a ship from behind.
As soon as Keiji had the documents for proof, his authoritative reproach changed the East Green Continent forever. He declared the C.D.F.P. would never rise again, and he had his troops hunt down and capture anyone who had lived that had been voluntarily involved with the company. The planetary cleansing had thus begun.
Next, Keiji had appointed Mack to govern over the affairs of the entire East Green Continent, as reward for his contributions in bringing down the Imperial criminals. Kazuo was made his second in command. Mack’s first order of business was to activate the continent-wide oxygen dome. The four co-dependent devices were located at the cardinal points of the continent. After he had found them all, and input the codes in each, breathable air was provided for all. Within a month of the C.D.F.P.’s ruin the whole continent had air. Following that, Mack had set out to destroy all of the remaining generators.
When summer came, we mutually we agreed to destroy Torusan and then rebuild it from scratch. It had become nothing more then a junk heap. So together, we disposed of it. We had it all embedded with high-explosives, and by the end of it, the city was nothing more than a pile of dust. Immediately clean up and the rebuilding proceeded.
The earth has seemed to be responding well. The massive earthquakes and turbulent weather have rapidly decreased, and some new plant life has emerged. Slowly but surely it has been accumulating. As well, we have brought animals over from the Imperial Continent to repopulate, and they have been giving off abundant offspring here.
Yu-Lee had a temple built in Quan, where she now resides with Tamiko. As I mentioned in my previous entries, we had discovered she had been being brainwashed. She is doing much better now. They live a happy life and teach the children of Quan about life energy and magick.
Mei and Kato have been journeying at Mack’s command, bringing down all of the generators this past year. They are planning to cross the waters and go to Sheikarah when their work is done here. They want to bring air dome technology to the desert continent. They are leaving next week. Mei is expecting their child in May. They hope to return here in time for the birth.
Mack has set up his offices in Torusan where he works. He is finally able to relax. I spoke to him about it just last night, and he has told me he is now able to sleep at night. He and Kazuo are inseparable. They have been working together to unify the Continent. Most days they can be found fishing at a nearby lake.
Jenko has set up a home base back in Torusan. He frequents Quan for it’s delectable fish whenever the chance arises, and to visit Yu-Lee. Now that he has mapped both the East green and the Imperial continents he plans to go to the desert continent to map it next. He is travelling over with Mei and Kato next week.
As for me, with Renee, I have kept my promise to Suako to watch over her. She seems to do a little better every day. I watch over her like I know Suako would have wanted me to. As she experiences life, I can see the troubled pieces of her past fade away. She reminds me so much of her sister…
I’ve spent much of this past year recounting our journey. We cannot let history repeat itself. I’m finishing up the last details on the book, and will get it into mass printing by summer. No one should forget the horrible things that have been done, or the people who sacrificed themselves to save everyone…
Suako’s body rests at the bottom of the sea with Masumi. We found Masumi’s remains and took them both out into the ocean a year ago. Kairu released Masumi into the water. She submerged and sunk down to the seabed. Then I placed Suako in the still waters where she drifted away from me. Darkness engulfed her and she faded from my sight forever... I think of her daily. Mei never takes off the pendant we got her that day. Suako and her were like sisters themselves.
I find myself going to the shorelines whenever I can find the ti
me. The waves breaking on the coastal cove make me feel like Suako is trying to speak to me. When the tide brushes in up over my feet I feel like I can touch her soul. I talk to her there. I know she can hear me. I only wish she could be there with me to see what her sacrifice helped to do…
As for Kairu, he has become Chief of Old Ryoko. He is greatly respected there. He reads through his ancestors’ scriptures daily. The city is blooming as it once had before the Imperial invasion so long ago. Seresuto and Adamu have returned there where they live a simple life.
Today we’re all here in Quan together. It’s Kairu’s wedding day. He and Okichi are to be wed by Otojiro later today. I can hear the children playing. Spring is early this year. Already greenery and budding blossoms are showing themselves. The festivities will be starting shortly. Mack as well deemed today to be one of commemoration. Anyone who has ever died due to the C.D.F.P. is remembered on this day…”
“Vince?” Renee ran into his tent. Her gauze dress swished about as she did. Her hair was held back in the same way Suako used to hold hers. “Vince, common! They’ll be starting soon!” Renee called to him. Her cheeks were rosy, and eyes brightened by her sprint inside. “I’ll be right there,” he replied turning from his journal. She nodded, smiled, and then ran off.
“It is time for me to go and join in on the festivities. The salmon is beginning to tease my nose.
Sincerely,
Vince”
Vince placed his pen down on the open book’s page, and went outside. White material draped over nearly everything decoratively. There were tables and tables of delectable food laid out, and the delectable aroma’s rose up into the air. The sky was as crystal clear as it had been a year ago. The sun was warm, and the snow vanished. People were laughing and dancing as music played.
Birds were chirping merrily around the marshes and in the bushes. Children were running around with spring blossoms in their hair, playing with streamers. Around the bonfire friends awaited Vince with cold sweet ale. Renee went and took his hand playfully, and led him over to the others. Vince peered over to the pond and thought he saw Suako’s reflection in its murky waves. He blinked and she was gone. He smiled and sat down with his friends to celebrate. Life was decadent.
