Golden Hour | Cole Stewart AU

Shattered Into Ash

COLE

People talk about hope as if it's this sweet little thing, like a fresh flower peeking through a fence.

Hope isn't pretty. It's the jagged thorn on the stem of a rose that pricks you and draws blood while you're too busy inhaling the scent.

Hope wants you to bleed.

And you bleed until you can't breathe.

The little hope I had inside me? I’d locked it up and tossed it away as far as I could somewhere around my 12th birthday. If I never reached for it then it would never betray me in the dead of the night and slip away when the damage was done.

And then came the smoke, just as brutal as hope, a wispy little white thing that spread faster than hope.

And I started choking.

Choking on the scars I desperately tried to hide, choking on the smell of fire that burned in my memory and choking because of everything I'd done and everything I didn't do, everything I'd said and everything I didn't say.

The time I talked to Ruby was the first time some of the smoke cleared and I felt like I could finally breathe.

And those hours before I went to Sawtooth was the first time in years I'd let myself see hope. A small flicker of light, fading in and out, but nonetheless there. Something I could hang on to.

But when I reached out to bring it closer to me, it faded into oblivion.

*****

23rd February, 2017

“Five people injured, one dead at Camp Sawtooth after Children's League break in.”

On 23rd February, two members of the Children's League broke into the red camp located at Sawtooth. Liam Stewart and Cole Stewart’s arrival was met with resistance and a total of six casualties were reported, including one death...

3rd March, 2017

“21-year-old red found alive days after infiltrating Sawtooth camp.”

Cole Stewart was found alive in the parking lot of Health Care Hospital, San Diego, a week after the Sawtooth break in. Stewart had been shot fatally and was believed to be dead. A visitor found the 21-year-old red lying unconscious on the ground and alerted the hospital staff immediately.

As of now, Cole Stewart is still recovering from his injuries at the hospital. His family refuses to comment…

5th March, 2017

“Family holds a memorial for their 18-year-old son who died at Sawtooth.”

Eighteen-year-old Reid Davis was identified as the red kid who died at Camp Sawtooth. Reid was rehabilitated a year ago and was on guard when the Children's League infiltrated the camp…

******

FOUR MONTHS AGO - 5th March, 2017

I woke up to the beep of a monitor. The slow, rhythmic sound reminded me of another day, years ago, but my mind was too dazed to place it. I shifted my head on my pillow and the smell of bleach invaded my nostrils.

I blinked my eyes open, noticing a dreary gray curtain in the corner of the room. The entire room was bright with white light.

Somewhere in the distance a door shut followed by a low murmur of voices. I squinted my eyes, trying to make sense of this surroundings.

Mom was curled up on a chair next to my bed. A sharp pain travelled down my abdomen as I shifted and I drew in a shaky breath.

Eyes red rimmed and puffy, mom was next to me in seconds. “You’re okay. My baby is okay.” She was smiling and crying and wiping her tears away. “You're okay.”