Tears rolled down from my face, as Luke and I headed back to the camp. In his arms, Luke was carrying the lifeless Titan. I almost hated myself, I should have been able to save both him and Luke. It happened so quickly, I didn't even see Titan's mask get ripped off. A sob from behind Luke and I made me jump in surprise, and I turned to see who was there. My eyes softened when I noticed Fiona.
"Oh my god." The tall girl's voice became shaky, as she stopped Luke. Fiona ran her hand through Titan's short hair. "No, you can't be dead. Please." She pressed her forehead against Titan's, and I watched as tears streamed down her face onto his. "Titan." She moved her head for a second, and kissed him on the cheek. I almost smiled, ever since Titan and Fiona met, it was hard not to notice their feelings for each-other. My smile faded, Titan was dead now. The girl then whispered something in his ear, that I didn't quite catch. I suspected it to be,
"I love you.". Fiona looked up at Luke,
"I can carry him back to camp." She said, and Luke carefully placed Titan into her arms. Kayleigh and Kylen came running up beside Fiona, already knowing Titan was dead, and the three teammates shared their tears as we headed back to the camp. I looked over at Luke,
"Hey, if you're thinking it's your fault, it's not.". My hand reached out to place on Luke's shoulder, but I quickly stopped myself. Luke didn't respond to me, and kept walking with his head low. I sighed, and continued on. The rest of the way back to camp, everyone was silent.
-----
The five of us headed into the camp, and I watched as everyone stopped and looked at Titan. I heard one person say,
"Is he injured?!". Right then, Beth and Dr. Lockwood came rushing out of the office and towards Titan. Dr. Lockwood stopped in her tracks, and stopped to feel Titan's pulse. Her face went pale. I looked at the group with Titan, and then walked away towards a bench. Hours past, and I didn't move from this bench, as I watched people crying, people screaming, and the sadness that drifted around camp.
"Hey." A voice said and slid into the bench next to me. Dash put an arm around my shoulders, he pulled me close to him, but since he was shorter, I had a little trouble resting my head on his shoulder. We said nothing to each-other, and respected this moment. Melody walked towards us,
"It's time for Titan's funeral." She said, her voice laced with sadness and pain. I nodded, and got up, following Melody. Dash followed behind us.
I walked towards the large gathering of people, and looked at the grave labelled, "Titan.".
Below it, the date,
"March 4th, 2996-January 18th 3010".
"R.I.P, our Titan." Kylen and his team must have put this.
Everyone around me was wearing black, but I didn't pay much attention to that.
Titan's team all came up and shared their speeches, even their other member, Hunter who was very quiet, had something to say. Fiona had the most beautiful speech. I sighed, Why did we have to lose someone so young, he was even a happier person than me. I wiped a tear from my face, and more people came up to say their speeches. Titan was a friend of mine but we didn't know each-other that well, and after a few more speeches, I went up.
"Titan, ever since that day I met you, I knew you were a great person. Well to be honest, I thought you were odd for being happy ever single second of you're life," a few chuckles from the audience,
"But, I was like that too, so I began to respect you. You were so kind, sweet, caring, and you always put a brave face on. No wonder Fiona liked you," I looked over at Fiona, who was blushing violently.
"Well Titan, I guess it's time to say goodbye. From this day on, I'll never forget you, and you'll live on in all of us." I placed a red rose I had found on the grave, and walked back down into the audience. Melody looked at me,
"That was amazing." She patted my back.
The moon had started to appear in the sky when I stopped in front of my house, and I pulled my hair over my shoulders. It was glowing, just like it always has during the night. Everyone in camp had been affected by this radiation, and it just happened to affect my hair. I could have prevented this, but let's just say I was curious. It all started on my eighth birthday. When I was a child, I was constantly trying to get my mask off. My parents always caught me in the act, and so I never really did know exactly what it was like for it to be off. On my birthday, my parents surprised me by driving miles out of our hometown, and stopping in a large, green field. I had never seen anything like it before, almost everything was dying from the radiation. My parents watched me as I frolicked around the field, and when they looked away to talk to each-other, I took this chance to bolt off behind a tree. I smiled to myself, and then didn't even hesitate with pulling my gas mask off.
I instantly felt the wind on my face, and I saw daylight without the lense of the mask. It was incredible. That was stopped when my dad walked towards me. He had a smile on his face, until he noticed my mask on the ground. He bolted at me, and pulled my gas mask back onto my face. There was panic in his eyes, as he tied the gas mask tight around my face. My eyes widened when my dad threw me onto his back, and starting bolting back to the car.
"We need to get to the hospital." He told my mom, and the two of them, pulled me into the car, and we drove off. In the hospital, I can remember the doctor telling my parents that my hair had radiation in it, but over all, I was safe. My parents hugged in relief, and then hugged me. That night, I awoke in my room, to find my hair glowing. Lev came up beside me, and he looked sad by Titan's death.
"Hey." I softly smiled,
"Hey Jay." He smirked, back revealing his sharp teeth. That was how Lev was affected by the radiation. I'm not talking about two teeth being effected like the vampires in folklore, of his teeth were sharp. Like daggers. His teeth were hidden by the mask, but he had taken it partly off to eat, and so I had often seen his teeth. I worried about Lev though, Dr. Lockwood had said this was the first sign of becoming a mutant. If he got too exposed to the radiation, he could become one of them. Lev unlocked the door of our house, and walked in. I followed and collapsed down on my bed. Lev sat down on his bed, and placed his arms behind his head.
"Jaylynn, if I do turn into a mutant, can you be the one to kill me?"
"Why?" I blinked,
"Cause I admire the way you fight mutants." He said, and I softly chuckled.
"Oh Lev."
The door opened and I turned my head to see who was there, without getting up. Luke stood at the door, and I instantly noticed the guilt, the hatred, and the sadness. He walked towards the bathroom, and shut the door behind him.
"I'm going to talk to him if he's not out in ten minutes." I sighed. Melody and Dash opened the door, and they both got into their beds.
"Night." Dash said, and rolled onto his side, "I'm with Dash." Melody yawned. I waved night to my two friends, and then pulled my black leather jacket off, revealing a black tank top underneath. When I looked back at Lev, Dash, and Melody it appeared they were all fast asleep. I slowly got up, knocking on the bathroom door. No answer.
"Here goes nothing." I took in a breath, and opened the door. Luke was leaning against the wall, his mask turned to the ground.
"I know you're hurt about Titan, but it wasn't you're fault." I walked towards him, and looked at his gas mask, trying to see his eyes through them. Luke didn't move,
"Luke, Titan would be forgiving of you, if anything. You couldn't save him." I walked even closer. The boy let out a sigh, and I threw my arms around him, drawing him in for a hug.
"It's okay." I hugged him even tighter, and then I felt warmth around me as he hugged me back. I let go of him,
"We should get to bed, come on." I pulled on his sleeve, and led him towards his bed. "Goodnight." I waved, and walked towards my bed. A smile creeped onto my lips, deep down I knew Luke was a sweetheart. I was just about to relax when I heard the door push open, and Apprentice walked in, and leaped onto my bed.
"Hi boy." I smiled, and snuggled him, before I turned off the light. I turned onto my back, and closed my eyes.
