The Beginning of An Apocalypse
Thirty

They forced Cas to be showered down and go through many steps to make sure she wasn’t contaminated with anything that would kill the rest of them. She was told Shane and Liza were going through the same process. Expect Liza was going to be held under investigation for some of the things she had done. They didn’t know whether she was working with Gabriel or if she wasn’t. They were questioning her about the deaths of the police, military, and government officials lives that died when she was there. Cas didn’t know, but she was sure they knew about how Liza shot Gabriel and left him there for Agatha to kill.

Shane was the one that was backstabbed by her, maybe he told the story in a little more detail and got Liza a little more in trouble. That was up to him and she wasn’t that curious to know what he decided to do.

She was given new pair of sweatpants, a grey long-sleeved shirt, and a black jacket. When she was done she was taken into a room where she started to be questioned about everything that had happened from the day that Marcus went missing.

She told them all the best she could. She told them about how Gabriel found her and how he lied to her. She told him about everything that went down on the Golden Gate Bridge. She told them about the hospital and how Gabriel kidnapped her. She told them everything that she saw down there and everything Gabriel told her about. They had cleared most of the rubble of Gabriel’s building and found that the lower underground levels were untouched. The dangerous levels weren’t anyway. They were going to fill that with concrete and then turn it into a base so that no one would let those things lose and start another epidemic.

Cas heard about Seventy and how he had been found wandering the interstate. He was shot down and instead of dying, he was brought in. Where he was now, Cas didn’t know. She hoped that he would get the peace that he was looking for.

There were so many questions that Cas had to answer. Some questions she had to summarize because there was too much to say and not to say. Somehow the questions revolved around Marcus and how he got to Gabriel’s lab. Gabriel said little about it. He talked about how their mom gave him the right to use them in his experiments. How he tricked Marcus into it somehow. Cas could think of a million ways Gabriel could have done that. There were so many things Marcus wanted for not only himself but everyone around him. All Gabriel had to do was dangle the desires on a golden chain in front of him and Marcus would do it if he thought it was worth it.

Gabriel used Marcus’s best qualities against him and for that, Cas would always feel hate for him. She didn’t let herself try to understand why any of this happened. She didn’t want to know the reasons why her life was turned upside down. She ignored Gabriel’s reasoning, there was no justification she could give him.

That would be someone else’s job. She was sure someone was already standing up for him and telling all of the people to not write him down in history as the bad guy. She hoped she never met one of those people.But most of all, she wanted to get out of here. She wanted to give a funeral to Marcus and mourn him. She wanted to feel something that didn’t tell her she could have done more.

For more than a year, she had done so many things that she thought were necessary. Necessary for the people around her to be happy. She looked out for them and it was too late to change all that. The choices she made because of them.

There would be a million chances for her to think about how she could have done something better. A time for another day.

The questioning stopped and she was escorted to the door. They were letting her go, but she had the feeling she wouldn’t be away from them for a while. They’d be watching her. She showed no signs of being sick like Marcus. All the normal effects from the traumatic experiences she went through, but none that would turn her into a monster like Gabriel. She wouldn’t let herself go that far.

Cas stood by the door looking out at the bright sunshine casting through the window. With a few more papers to sign, she’d be out of here and she’d be able to… She hadn’t thought about that part. She’d lost her job, she didn’t live anywhere. She shrugged it off, she’d have to figure it out somehow. Just not right now. Now, with the money the Government gave her for all of the hardships she’d faced over the past months, the first thing she was going to do was buy herself a good dinner.

The big life decisions could be for tomorrow. What was one more day on the streets anyway?

“There you go, mam,” the woman said as she handed her the paper. Cas took the pen from the small clear cup and started to read through the document.

“Cas!”

Cas set the pen down on the paper and turned around. A smile lit her face when she saw Shane limping his way over here. He looked a lot better than he did before. His leg was infected and she heard that there was a possibility they would have to remove it. Thankfully, he was saved just in time. “You allowed out of here too?” Cas asked. She walked over with her arms open and wide. Shane wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tighter.

“Yes, thankfully,” Shane said. “And I see you are too.”

“Seems like it,” Cas said. They let go and stared at each other for a few awkward seconds. The woman with the too-tight ponytail gave Shane his own set of papers and they signed together. With everything taken care of, they were able to walk outside. Even though it was the same air, same city, same earth as it was, somehow it felt a little different. Neither of them could explain it.

“So…” Shane asked. “The million dollar question, how are you feeling?” The two of them walked down the concrete path to the parking lot where they were told they were getting a paid ride to wherever they wanted to go.

“Honestly,” Cas said. She looked up at him with one eye closed. “I won’t be…” She sighed, “Good for a little while. Things are still sinking in.”

Shane nodded. “I am sorry, you know. About Marcus. You did everything you could to save him.”

“We. We did everything we could to save him in those last few hours,” Cas said. “I didn’t do much myself besides get you to save me.”

“Well it was my pleasure,” Shane asked. “Whenever you need my help I will come to your aide.”

“Thank you, Shane,” Cas said. She said it in a light tone, but Shane could tell she meant it and she needed him to know that. She was afraid that he didn’t know that and that he wouldn’t accept it.

Shane took in a sharp inhale of air. “So, where are you headed for the victory celebration? I think shops are opening up again completely.” Shops were able to deliver if people were brave enough, but no one liked to go out of their houses. With Marcus somewhere, they didn’t want to take the chance. But now that was all over and people were starting to go back to normal.

Well… Nothing was going to be normal again. There were still so many people who would be gone. People who would need to be grieved. There would be plenty of time for that when everyone was ready. At this point, shops just needed to open. People needed to say hi to their neighbors. The sun needed to shine. And then, someday there would be a new normal and they’d all be able to live with it, somehow.

“I was going to get some greasy fatty sandwich that is a hundred percent not good for my health,” Cas said as she imagined it in her hands. She didn’t know what the sandwich would be yet, but she knew that it was going to be worth it. “And then I’m going to go replace a store and buy a case of beer… Then, I don’t know.”

“That sounds like a wonderful celebration,” Shane said.

“What? Where are you going?” Cas asked.

“Probably my parents later. They’ve been calling non-stop and worrying about me. My sisters will be waiting for me and ready to yell at me.” He gave that look that said, ’That’s going to be fun’ even though it was never going to be fun. “I have not told them I got out from here so hopefully I’ve spared myself a few minutes of peace.”

Cas shrugged. She looked over and saw someone standing by a black car. The man must be wanting for them. “Do you like sandwiches?” Cas asked him. She looked up with a forced confident smile and hoped he would say yes or at least consider.

“Sounds good to me,” Shane told her and she couldn’t help but laugh out all the pressure she felt in her chest. They ended up in the backseat and didn’t speak much about anything important on the drive to a sandwich shop. They made their sandwiches and went to replace a place to sit outside.

Somehow they ended up talking about the future. Shane would still have his job, he was already assured of that. He told Cas that she would have her job back if she wanted to and she would. Shane asked what she was going to do with herself now that she didn’t have anyone to look out for anymore.

Cas sighed and she thought about it. For the longest time, she never thought she was going to be able to have the clean future that everyone else would have. She never even thought she was capable of it.

But now… “I’m going to keep working,” she said. “And then I’m going to try to get back into college. I was studying to become a professor in history, but now I don’t know if history is for me. I’ll have to replace a new major.”

She shrugged. “First I have to replace a place and see if the store will take me back after all my crappy attendance.” A sad thought crossed her mind. One of the reasons she had poor attendance was because of Marcus, and Marcus was gone. She wouldn’t have much more bad attendance. She couldn’t help but feel a little empty when those thoughts crossed her mind.

Somehow, her words about replaceing a place turned into a silent moment. All that could be heard was chewing until Shane forced the words he wanted to say a million times before. “I like you.”

And somehow, Cas was able to say it back. She wasn’t sure she was where Shane was saying he was, but she knew there was something and she knew it could be something. Their confessions turned into a suggestion. Shane had an empty room in his apartment and she needed a place to stay.

And then agreeing on a place to stay, turned to Shane taking her with him to calm down his family.

Three days later Shane and she held a funeral for Marcus. The only thing they buried was a box and inside the box was everything that Marcus owned. His sketchbooks, his books, his pencils, and the few pairs of clothes that Cas had of his. And on top of it, was their mom’s necklace. The heart-shaped pendant with a tree growing. Its roots wrap around the metal of the heart. Cas sat there for what must have been hours and she told him all about the things that happened and the things that were going to.

Cas got her job back and she worked as hard as she could. But like Marcus always told her, she tried to let herself relax sometimes. She also let herself get a little bit of help. She didn’t know that would be so hard. She told Marcus about the new developments in her and Shane’s relationship. Even though Marcus was always skeptical about him, she knew he’d be happy for her. Cas had explained to Marcus how she agreed to have a few interviews done in which she was going to urge everyone who was thinking of messing with anything from aliens to robots, to look at the history. Look at what happened when someone meddled with something they shouldn’t have.

She couldn’t say for sure what was right or wrong. She also couldn’t stop people from doing what they wanted. She just hoped they were careful about it and knew to the full extent what they were doing.

After Cas didn’t know what more she could say, she forced herself up. She held onto Shane’s arm and smiled when she looked at him. He gave her a reassuring squeeze and mouthed, “You ready?”

Cas took a deep breath in and exhaled a breath that felt like it had been held in since the moment her parents died. Maybe way before that. “Yeah,” she said. “I’m ready.”

THE END!! THANKS FOR READING!!!