Wrapped in Bandages

Epilogue

During the car ride, Vance had instructed Riva to take them over to his house, which was in nearby town. Of course upon mentioning this, he added that Chance and Dez could live with him, since he really couldn't get around that much on his own anymore. Despite their initial shock, they immediately agreed, since they hadn't really planned where they would live after getting out of the facility. The male continued to explain that he shared the house with his cousin, but since she was no more, there would be no problem on that end. Granted, they would probably want to remove her items before settling in.

As Vance gave Riva the directions to his house, Dez and Chance continued to stare out the windows and watch the scenery go by. For the most part, it was only snow, which hid the secrets of the earth for the winter. The small white flakes were representative of something new for the color. To Dez, it had always been a symbol for restraints. In a way, though, the snow was restricting what was beneath it. There was a difference; however, the snow could be easily moved. It allowed one to jump into its arms, while still giving them the freedom to leave. Truly, Dez couldn't wait to arrive at Vance's home and play in the snow.

It was amazing, though, when Riva drove across a bridge. Dez excitedly looked down and saw the ravine rushing below in the steep canyon. Chunks of ice did flow in it, but the water pushed on through the dead of winter. Part of her wanted Riva to stop the car, so she could gaze down at the ravine longer. She wondered what fish swam within its dark waters, or what the bottom looked like. Would it be steel-grey and rocky like the walls, or would it have a smooth bottom, which would allow someone to sink their feet into the soft sand?

As they passed the bridge, they drove through more snow covered mountains. The tall peaks stretched up into the sky, tempting the snow to cover their rocky surfaces more. It was as though they wanted to hog the snow all to themselves, attempting to leave the ground empty and barren of the delicate gift. They didn't succeed in this task, however, since the ground was more than covered on the sides of the road. Still, Dez could only see all of this in the middle of the night due to the occasional street lamp along the road. Granted, there weren't many, but there were enough to paint the beautiful scene outside with light.

When Riva made a right turn some twenty minutes later, they went around the mountain range and saw lights in the distance. These weren't the street lights, but the lights of a small town. Within only a few minutes of taking the turn, Dez saw a large wooden sign. It read: Welcome to the Town of Serenfor. Thus, as Riva soon reached the town, Dez's grey eyes widened in astonishment. Bright street lights lit the town up, illuminating the rustic log buildings and their signs. She could see into the windows of some of the shops. There were clothing stores, sweet shops, restaurants, and essentially anything one would need to live comfortably.

Riva made another right turn and drove into the residential area of the town. Small two-story log houses came into view, as all had wooden picket fences around their front yards. Mailboxes in a variety of colors, from red, blue, purple and yellow, lined the homes. Some of the houses even had snowmen out in front, as though they were greeting the four of them.

Finding Vance's house number, Riva stopped the car and announced that she had arrived to Vance. He nodded his head, as he felt around for the door handle. Riva proceeded to get out of the car and open the door before lifting him into her arms and carrying him over to the front door of the home. Dez and Chance followed out afterwards, closing their doors behind them. As for Riva, she moved aside the potted plant by the front door and picked up the spare key, since Vance had told her where to find it. Unlocking the door, she went inside. The two teenagers saw her set Vance on a red sofa in the living room before coming back outside.

She mentioned that she needed to get to the hospital and tend to her brother. Dez and Chance thanked her for all the help before waving goodbye to woman. Heading inside, they closed the door behind them and sat down next to Vance, after setting their bags on the floor. At first a calm silence dwelled over the three before Vance stated that they could ask him anything, or rather he could go over things before they determined how they would support themselves in this new life of theirs. Upon saying this, the quiet ended, and the long conversation into the early morning began.

After several hours of discussing matters concerning things like living expenses, jobs, cooking, what they were to do were someone to ask them about the facility, etc., Chance and Dez found that Vance had fallen asleep shortly after. Thus, they got off the couch and laid him down on one of the red pillows before laying the red throw over him. The two, instead of going upstairs to the rooms Vance said they could use from now on, headed outside. Regardless of how cold it was outside, they wanted to enjoy the fresh early morning air, since they never had the pleasure of doing so before.

Stepping onto the wooden patio, which was just outside the front door, the two leaned against the railing and looked out over the small front yard. The snow fell gently from the sky, and Dez couldn't help but hold out her hand and catch some of the soft flakes. She watched as they melted on her warm hand. Glancing over at Chance, she saw that he had a peaceful smile on his lips, as he watched the snow fall. Her eyes trailed up from his lips to his bandages.

With no warning, she turned towards him and rested her fingers on his face. The contact made Chance jump slightly before he gave his friend a questioning gaze. Having him face her completely, she moved her fingers over to the bandages, but he reached with his hands and grabbed her wrists.

"Dez, I don't want you to take those off. They're better left on."

"We're not locked away anymore, though. You can cover your eye up later if you wish to do so with a piece of cloth or an eye patch. For now, just let me take them off. Let me remove the last of your restraints from that place."

"Dez, you'll see something monstrous," Chance responded, a look of fear present in his blue eye.

"Let me be the judge of that. I know that I said I would wait until you wanted to show me, but I have a feeling that's never going to happen. Just trust me, Chance."

Sighing, he knew that she wouldn't give up this time. He nodded and removed his hands from her wrists. With her wrists free, she proceeded to take off the bandages from his face. Steadily, they fell off like the snow around them, except they weren't covering any secrets during their descent. No, the purpose of their descent was to unveil a well kept secret. Soon, they were entirely off, and Dez removed her hands from his face. She stared at his transparent eye, as she was able to see the flesh behind the eyeball. Instead of becoming disgusted, she took a few steps back so that she could see his entire face better. Lifting up her left hand, she pushed some of his soft brown locks away from his face as a small smile formed on her lips.

"Hmm, you know what I see. I see Chance; I would never see a monster in your place. Even if you did turn into a monster, I would still be here next to you, for no one can replace you."

Staring down at his friend, he found himself speechless. This was the first time he had seen her smile. As if that wasn't enough, her statement rang through his head over and over again. A smile of his own graced his lips before he felt tears threaten to escape his eyes. Saying nothing in response, he closed the distance between Dez and him by wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close. He rested his forehead on her left shoulder while Dez wrapped her arms around his neck. She heard a barely audible "thank you," and she could only smile more. In the cold of the early winter morning, the two remained in the other's embrace as the bandages were swept up by a light breeze and carried off into the snow to be forgotten. Soon, Vance's own restraints would join them.