Cognition

Chapter 14:

"Hope"

People ran screaming in a panic throughout the streets of Cinder as the remaining bombs fell from above. As the first set of planes flew off, the people listened in as the sounds of more approaching echoed. People crowded the streets and sidewalks in attempts of finding hiding places but stopped at the sights of glowing featureless figures gliding across the ground. The people watched as the figures glided by, holding up black shadowy umbrellas in their hands. From in the windows, candles that had blown out suddenly relit themselves one by one and flickered in the wind. People stared with amazement at the luminescent figures as the sounds of the approaching planes grew louder.

The flames rose up high as the debris burned wildly and surrounded the now frail body that it had fallen upon. From within the inferno, Frith's eyes scanned the area around her. She watched as the colors and shapes she had always seen before begin to disintegrate before her eyes. Shadowy figures that stood in the flames began to turn to ash and fade away and for the first time, Frith could see the world clearly. From within, Romy and Leal stood side by side and slowly they grasped each others hand. Staring up, their expressions were grave as if something tragic was about to happen.

Danny stood and watched as the flames burned and his heart sank at the thought that Frith had died. Danny called out to her once again though not expecting a response. From above, a plane flew in low and shot at the group below before pulling up and flying off to join the other leaving planes. Danny felt a stinging sensation throughout his body but ignored it as he stared back at the burning wreckage. But as he watched sorrowfully, the flames began to turn blue and think out before disappearing completely. Frith stood up from on the ground and stumble about as she tried to walk towards Danny and the others who waited on the sides. Ray and Reed released Danny and he ran towards Frith and caught her as she fell. Quickly he ran to the sides as he carried Frith and gently set her on the ground.

"Frith!" Danny yelled as he shook Frith, "Wake up, please!"

Frith's eyes remained half opened before closing completely and Danny worried that she had been seriously hurt. Her clothes were singed from the fire and ash was smeared on her face and hands. Lynniece, Reed and Ray stared as Danny tried to wake Frith up but it was no use. Danny lowered his head sorrowfully as he slowly pulled his hand away from on her shoulder but at the last moment, Frith's hand grabbed onto his sleeve. He looked at Frith with hope and watched as she began to slightly glow white. Before their eyes, bits of glowing particles floated up from on Frith and swarmed in front of her, clouding their view of her. The small fragments collected together and formed a small figure; Leal.

"Leal! It's you but…."

"Danny…thank you for all you've done," said Leal, "You were always the kindest person we've ever known."

"Leal…I don't know what's happening now but….we have to leave the town."

"No Danny…." Leal said as she shook her head.

Danny looked at Leal with confusion as Leal placed her hand on his arm. Her eyes sparkled with sadness as she slowly released her grip and let her hand fall to her side.

"Frith isn't the same as before….she's getting better….because of all you've done for her," explained Leal, "For the first time, she sees the world clearly…she can control what she can do….and no longer sees things because of it."

The sounds of the planes sounded off and Reed nudged Danny to leave the town with Frith. Danny shook his head and looked back at Leal who looked to the ground.

"Leal, we have to go."

"No…you and Frith have to go….but me and Romy…aren't coming with you."

"What…what do you mean?"

"Danny…in order for Frith to get completely better….we have to go away…"

The realization that Leal was saying goodbye hit Danny hard as he stared at her in shock. He had grown attached to every part of Frith, which included Leal and Romy and despite knowing she was right, he didn't want to accept it. Danny tightened his hands into fists and stared at the ground sadly before looking at Leal. It was then that Leal, for the first time, smiled at Danny happily as her form slowly fell apart. The small fragments glittered in the air as they took form once again and Danny watched as Romy appeared before him.

"I guess you know why I'm here like this…"

"Yeah…"

There was a pause as Romy stared at the ground and Danny could see what he failed to see before; empathy. The serious and angry Romy he had come to know was no more and a more empathetic and calmer person kneeled before him now.

"I'm sorry for all I've done…" said Romy softly, "Frith doesn't need me to protect her anymore."

"I'll miss you though…"

Romy smiled at Danny and she lifted her hand up to touch his cheek as she began to break apart and disappear from sight. The small pieces of light floated away from Danny and fell down onto Frith. The bits of light dissolved and Danny knew that now only Frith remained with him. He looked at Frith as the pieces disappeared and realized that she no longer looked the same as before. Her hair was a darker brown and was longer and it reminded him of Leal and Romy.

"Her hair…."

"This must be what she really looks like then…no wonder Romy and Leal looked the way they did," said Reed.

Frith's hair was long like Romy's and was the same color as Leal's. Danny remembered seeing the color once before when he had first met Frith and failed to notice the change before. After being split, Frith's power had changed her appearance but now that she was better, her original appearance returned. Danny was quiet as he slowly picked up Frith from on the ground. He looked at Ray sadly as his brother placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Guess this is goodbye…"

"Yeah…."

"What are you going do?"

"I'll go back to mom's house…we'll stay in the basement and hope for the best I guess…"

"If you make it….try and find me, okay?"

Ray nodded and he wrapped his arms around Danny in hopes that he would one day see him again. Ray stepped back and Danny made his way to the motorcycle and they watched as he got on it with Frith on his lap in the front. He looked at them with an unsure smile as he started the bike and after a few moments, he drove off. Ray headed back to find his mother with Reed, leaving Lynniece alone to watch Danny disappear into the distance. Slowly, she followed him from far behind with full knowledge of where he was headed to.

Danny swerved through the crowded streets as he made his way towards the boarder of the town where a large fence and gate stood. The people of the town were immersed in confusion and chaos as some tried to help those who were wounded from the bombs. The approaching planes began dropping small canisters onto the confused town which only caused more panic. Danny looked behind him to see the planes nearing and quickly sped off in an attempt to avoid them. He soon saw the outline of the fence that bordered the town and he took aim at the large gate. Danny braced himself as he crashed through the gate and lifted into the air. Upon landing back on the rocky ground below, Danny struggled to maintain control of the bike. At first he thought he would crash but somehow managed to regain control and safely drove off into the distance.

With Frith now out of the town, the glowing figures that glided through the streets began to dissolve into pieces. The umbrellas they carried floated up and disappeared into ash and the candles that flickered against the wind finally blew out. Slowly the cries of the people in the town began to grow softer as more of the canisters filled with the sarin gas were dropped. Upon falling to the ground the canisters released the toxic gas onto the unsuspecting people around it. Walking up to the now broken gate, Lynniece stared at the horizon as the sun began to fade from sight. She leaned against the opening of the gate as a canister dropped a few feet away from her. Despite its presence she paid little to no attention to it; her eyes remained on the hills far away. Thoughts of Miles, Danny and Frith swarmed her mind as the wind blew through her hair. The sounds of explosions and static emitted from a two-way radio she had taken from Project. She looked at it for a moment with blank eyes and realized that on the other end of the radio was Government. Although uncertain of Government's fate and the reason for the sounds she heard, Lynniece merely dropped the radio to the ground, silencing it. Lynniece stared outside of the town as her eyes began to grow heavy and slowly she slid down onto the ground as the sounds of the canister spraying the gas resonated. Just like her, the town slowly but surely became silent and still.

Hours had passed and night had fallen upon Danny and Frith as they drove off into the unknown. Frith was still unconscious and Danny held onto her tightly as he drove the motorcycle. He scanned the scenes around him with interest but saw nothing dangerous or unusual around them. He merely saw a rocky terrain with few plant life and Danny wondered when the view would change. Unknown to him, grass and other plants began to grow behind them on the rocks and ground.

As he drove through the night, Danny's eyes grew heavy but he managed to remain awake. Although he could have stopped at any moment to rest, he feared what would happen if he stopped. He worried that the planes would return and find them but as he slowed down and looked behind him he saw no sign of Cinder in sight. He found it sad that his home was no more and that he might never see his family again but inside him gave him hope. In the darkness he failed to see the growing plants that trailed behind them. The motorcycle came to a slow stop and Danny sat with Frith in his arms as he stared at the ground. He stayed in place for the remainder of the night; finally feeling relaxed enough to stop. However, his eyes would not stay closed and he was unable to sleep through the night.

Small rays of sunlight peeked over the mountains that lined the horizon and Danny, half awake, decided to start the motorcycle and begin driving once again. As he drove, Frith made small movements here and there but was still asleep. Exhausted, Danny no longer knew where they were after hours of driving. Danny's eyes fluttered as he struggled to keep them open but soon they closed. In his mind, he was aware that he no longer had his eyes open and his thoughts screamed for him to open them. However, the ground did not feel rough but was smooth and the only thing he could feel was the wind against his face. The sounds of the bike's motor suddenly stopped but Danny could still feel them moving along. He finally managed to open his eyes to find the bike still moving somehow. As he looked ahead of them, his tired eyes widened in amazement and he whispered for Frith to wake up. He moved his arm up and down to try and shake her from her sleep and after a few moments of trying, Frith's eyes finally fluttered open.

"Frith….Frith look…"

Frith stared up at Danny and as her eyes looked in front of them, she sat up straight and stared in awe. The motorcycle was out of gas but was now gliding through a large lake that stretched out far into the distance. It was covered in water lilies and was surrounded by grassy hills. Above them was a blue sky dotted with white clouds shaped like wings and birds. Danny remembered the dreams Frith had told him about before where she saw a beautiful lake covered in plants with a sky filled with bird shaped clouds. The two stared in amazement as the bike came to a slow stop and remained in the large lake. Frith got off from on Danny's lap and stepped into the calf-deep lake. She slowly walked ahead in the lake and looked above her at the clouds as Danny sat and watched. He smiled as he sat tiredly and leaned over the handle bars of the bike and rested his head on his arms. From his shoulder, a drop of blood dripped down and hit the surface of the lake. He hadn't realized it before but the stinging sensation he had felt earlier was from a wound on his shoulder; one of the bullets from a plane had hit him. Despite the fact he had been wounded, Danny felt no pain in his shoulder and simply rested on the bike tiredly.

Frith looked over at Danny as the wind gently blew through her hair. She then turned away and looked towards the hills and saw what looked like a small chimney poking out from over the hills. Frith smiled as she stood in the lake and watched little coils of smoke from the chimney fade into the sky above. Turning back to Danny, Frith called out his name as she reached out her hand towards him. Danny remained in place with his head down and as the wind blew it carried a sense of hope with it; hope for a new and better beginning.

And the ugliness of the world

has faded from sight as

the things that lie in dreams

surface into the waking hours

for those who still remain.

The vessel is no longer divided and in pieces

but now thrives with something more.

It is controlled, it is alive.

It is a hope that existed long before the very end.

~*End*~