Chapter 23

XXIII. Dream

AS THE NIGHT delve even deeper, I stood behind Phyllis, watching the dark road. I was on high alert as she was busy hotwiring the car we found along the way. I was continuously heaving deep breaths in order to not lose focus. I have already killed three J'avos in the five minutes we have spent in here.

"Are you almost finished?" I asked with a hint of impatience.

"Jacking a car isn't as easy as it looks, you know." Phyllis retorted, then as if on cue, the car engine roared to life. She peeked out of the car window, beckoning me to join her. When Phyllis was about to floor it, a J'avo emerged from an alley and charged straight for us.

"Buckle up!" She hollered.

"Okay!"

"Then hold on!" She floored the gas and ran the J'avo over, hearing the cracks of its bones and flesh. I winced at the sound.

"Ugh, fuck." Phyllis groaned with a disgusted expression.

Tatchi was a few miles away, and I hope that we wouldn't encounter any casualty along the way. I glanced at my wristwatch then puffed out a sigh. How was I supposed to explain to Andrew that I would not get on board?

I glanced at Phyllis from the corner of my eyes, seeing as though she was still focused on the road. I could convince her to go back home with Andrew at least.

"Oh no, you don't." Phyllis suddenly said, making me arch an eyebrow in question. She glanced at me. "I'm not going anywhere."

I ran a palm on my face, feeling the weight of exhaustion. "Yeah, right. I've forgotten that you're a Nivans. But what about Andrew?"

"I'm afraid that he'll just have to suck it up. He should know better." She glanced at the side mirror, then her expression turned sour. "Are you kidding me?"

I also looked back and saw a bunch of J'avos with their military vehicles and motorcycles, chasing after us. What the hell is their deal? Why are they stopping us? It's impossible that Henry sent them because he wanted to see me. Could it be Simmons or Ada?

"Can't we get a fucking break for once?" Phyllis rolled her eyes then increased our speed. She went all over the speed limit, making me want to grab on to whatever I can. "Hold on!"

I flinched when we heard gun fires from behind us, shattering the glass from the back of the car. Phyllis is doing her best to maneuver and dodge them, while I contemplated whether we should open fire or not. But we would be overwhelmed and our car might crash if I don't make a move. In a flash, I opened the window on my side then took Phyllis' assault rifle, I squeezed half of my body out of the window and opened fire at the J'avos.

"Be careful!" Phyllis reminded.

It was a lot harder to fire with the motion of the car and the overwhelming pressure. There are about two military vehicles and three motorcycles hot on our trail. I focused my aim on the J'avos standing with the railgun and knocked them out of their vehicle. I attempted to pop their tires and when I succeeded on doing so, they lost control and collided, the vehicle flipped over and set an explosion. The motorcycles then suddenly advanced and in a matter of seconds, one was already in front of me. I yelped in surprise then immediately dodged when the J'avo struck his machete at me, cutting a part of my hair in the process. I glared at him then Phyllis moved the car to the side to hit the bike, causing it to crash.

I went back inside to catch my breath. Phyllis suddenly opened her door and the J'avo was hit when it accelerated toward us, knocking the door out to the floor with him.

"Ha! Noobs!" Phyllis laughed in triumph, but I could still see the clear panic in her eyes.

Another batch of J'avos with vehicles approached. We have to make a diversion somehow. After a few turns, we saw a line up of cars on fire that blocked the road ahead.

"It's a dead end!" I exclaimed.

"Nope!" Phyllis replied, then made the car accelerate if it was still possible. I was about to yell at her to stop when I noticed that we were approaching a huge truck with a mounted lift. Oh God, don't tell me...

"Shit!" I screamed as we flew to the damn sky for a few seconds, passing over the cars. I'm not enjoying even a single moment of it!

We dropped to the ground with a loud thud, shaking me out of my senses. Phyllis, then, wasted no time in maintaining our distance between the J'avos who failed miserably in mimicking what she had just done.

"Jesus Christ, Phyllis! Are you for real?" I asked with eyes wide in bewilderment.

"I know, right? I can't believe we managed to pull that off." She heaved out a relieved sigh, as if a thorn has got out of her throat. "We were knocked up against the corner. I had to do something."

"Now I understand why your mother and Lorraine doesn't trust your driving skills." I commented.

"This driving skills," Phyllis said, now smirking. "are going to save our butts, Cheryl, so you better suck it up!"

I rolled my eyes. Then she slowed down to a moderate speed along the way. I kept watch on the side mirrors in case the J'avos decide to chase us again. We had barely managed to arrive in Tatchi when the car died due to empty fuel.

As we were following the coordinates, Andrew's urgent voice chattered away in our ears.

"Guys, where are you? Why are you not at the rendezvous point? Why are you in Tatchi?!"

"We're still not finished with our objective, Andrew. We still need more time." I reported, not bothering to slow down our pace. I glanced at my wristwatch and saw that we have already passed the promised time. I swallowed. "Phyllis—"

"No!" Phyllis cut me off in a curt tone. She scowled at me. "I'm not leaving you! I'm not gonna do that."

"You promised!" Andrew exclaimed in exasperation. "We have to go back before everything goes bad. I'm already running low on fuel!"

"No."

"Phyllis, please..." Andrew pleaded. "Come with me now or else—"

"Or else what?" Phyllis stopped running, and I did as well. "Are you making me choose?"

I looked away, remembering that I'm also guilty of the accusation. Her eyebrows were furrowed as if she was impatient, irritated yet at the same time sad. I wouldn't mind if she chose Andrew over me. All I care about is her safety after all. I don't want her to sink with me.

"I... I guess I am." Andrew said slowly, as if unsure of his statements.

"Well then," Phyllis drawled, tears filming her eyes. "It was nice while it lasted."

"What? Phyllis, wait—"

Phyllis turned off her radio. Andrew was still talking on mine so I chose to switch it off as well.

"Cheryl, turn off your GPS." Phyllis told me. I did as I was told and there we proceeded to our destination.

"What did you just do?" I started.

"I broke up with him." She said simply. "It's alright." She sniffed, wiping her eyes. "I don't want him to risk his life for me."

"It's the same for me."

"I'm not here to risk my life for you, Cheryl. I'm here so that we can fight this together. I hate bioterrorism just as much as you and Piers do."

I nodded, letting the conversation pass by. So far, Tatchi has been left untouched by the infection. We saw a bunch of BSAA soldiers and civillians walking ahead, evacuating the city. There's this unsettling feeling within me, like something bad is bound to happen. I looked at the dark sky when a sudden chill ran down my spine. Then I look back at Phyllis.

Damn it, why are they so slow in evacuating?

"Come on, let's hurry. We're almost at the Quad Tower."

The Quad Tower is only a few miles away from where we're currently standing. According to the brief, it is a twin skyscraper that is the hub of Neo-Umbrella's secret experiments. It's a perfect place because Tatchi is surrounded by a lot of people that can be used as test subjects. It's also the place marked as the evacuation center for the civillians in Tatchi.

The J'avos at Waiyip are bound to reach Tatchi at any given time. But the question is, when? The people in here are very laid-back and detached. It's as if they're confident that this city won't be breached that easily. The soldiers will be prepared by then.

"J'avo attacks can be contained by the BSAA so they're taking their sweet time, huh?" Phyllis commented.

"The only thing that can catch them off-guard is another attack similar to the one in Tall Oaks." I said, which earned a frown from Phyllis.

"Don't jinx in now, Cheryl. Your bad predictions tend to come true."

I huffed. "You're right." But I wouldn't be surprised if it happened.

We tried to blend in with the crowd and avoided the attention of the soldiers. We quickly went in an alley and followed the fastest route to our destination. Looks like it will take us a little while to find Henry after all. The Quad Tower was big in the picture, and I pressed myself against the wall, feeling the weight of my exhaustion. Should've asked for a layout from Andrew.

"Ah... I'm tired. I want some sugar in me." Phyllis mumbled to herself.

I sighed, before chancing a glimpse out the empty street and made a run for it. And as we ran, the radio made a static noise which made us stop on our tracks to switch the radio to a designated channel. I hear voices.

"—situation. Sherry and he—panion were abducted." I managed to fathom. My eyes went wide in surprise and horror. Sherry and Jake were abducted? Why? I tried to make a good signal of the conversation but it's too choppy. I guess they're too far away. "—satellite syst—undersea oil fie—about eighty mi—you."

"Satellite system... undersea oil... field... eighty miles away..." I tried to read between the lines, and quickly went to look at the map of Tatchi on my COMs device, and tried to measure the distance between the oil field between us. It's too far.

"Abducted? Why?" A male voice asked.

"Leon..." Phyllis muttered, I was surprised she recognized his voice even though it's obscured and choppy. "They're here, too?"

We shared a knowing look, then returned our focus on the transmission. There was a pause, and I thought for a second that we already lost contact when Leon's urgent voice chattered away.

"Hunni—could you—and see if the BSAA—near the oil field?"

"Cheryl... what is that?" Phyllis pointed something at the sky. "It looks like a missile."

I ignored her, focusing on decoding the transmission. "Could you... see if the BSAA... is near the oil field..."

"Ju—ne moment."

"One moment..." I mumbled.

Another pause. Then I flickered a gaze at the same sky that Phyllis was looking at, and found the streaks of white smoke that was possibly the missile's trail that she was talking about. Only a single missile? What for?

"Okay, I've—ris Redfield—the line. Patching you through—"

"Redfield...? Chris?" My eyes widened in surprise. They knew each other? Chris and Piers are near the undersea oil field? Which means that... they're on an aircraft or ship or something. They've gone too far... and I'm starting to feel something in my gut again!

Scheiße, I want to talk to Piers.

"Leon? Leon, wh—" Chris' voice registered in our ears, it was still overly choppy but the panic in his tone didn't escape from us.

"Chris! We—side of Tatchi—"

"Get the hell out—!"

Phyllis and I looked at each other in horror, and as if on cue, something exploded within the city. Then after a few moments, something cloudy surrounded the buildings, that familiar purple gas that spread throughout Tall Oaks. I suddenly remembered the horror we experienced back at that small town.

"Holy fuck! You totally jinxed it!" Phyllis exclaimed as we jolted into a run and searched for cover. The source of the fog isn't far from where we're standing and if I estimate the time it'll reach us, it will only take about two minutes maximum!

"There! Get in the car!"

"Fucking son of a bitch! It's locked!" Phyllis screamed. The alarm went off, attracting unwanted attention. She kicked the tire in frustration. We can't possibly break the glass, then I'll just have to pick the lock. Under a minute? I'll have to do it otherwise we'll die!

"Scheiße! Beruhige dich, Cheryl! Entspann dich!" I told myself, heaving deep calming breaths while using my two trusty bobby pins to unlock the damn car.

"Don't go all German on me, missy! Hurry up!" Phyllis exclaimed, panic all over her voice. I tried to ignore her while I focused on picking the lock. Fifteen seconds... "I can already see the fog from here!" Twenty seconds... "It's coming!" Thirty seconds...

I almost screeched in triumph when the car made the familiar click sound. I wasted no time in opening the door and letting Phyllis in first before I climbed in the driver seat, slamming it shut and checking the windows to see it firmly shut, too. I buried my arms and head on the steering wheel. Not long after, the view from outside was obscured by the fog, and only our ragged breaths were heard inside the car. We remained quiet, trying to make sense of what happened and all the while trying to regain our composure.

"Le—! Leon! –alright?" Chris' choppy voice registered.

"Yeah... But things—real bad!"

"No kidding..." Phyllis remarked to herself, leaning against her seat. She rummaged through the car, might be searching for the keys or something. In the end, she just opened the ignition system wires and started hotwiring the car, yet again.

"Damn it!" Chris cursed.

"Chris, lis—me." I sat upright, listening intently. "I need—rescue two hos—from an under—field. Agent Sherry Bi—and—Muller. He's Alb—Wesker's son."

"Wesker?" Chris and I asked in unison.

I could never forget that name. His creation was the one running through my veins. He's the reason I'm not normal. And now... what do you know? I already met his son without my awareness.

"—is, he's got antibodies—"

He's just like me. And he's got the C-virus antibodies. His life is much more important than any of us... and if things turned ugly, they might... no, don't think negatively.

"I got it. On my way."

"Good. Tha—"

"Leon, wai—The—'s something—tell you. Ada Wong is dead."

The ignition roared to life. I looked at Phyllis, then she nodded back at me.

"Copy. Sh—and Jake need you. Don't—them down."

That was the end of the transmission, and I didn't hear Piers utter a single word. I'm sure he's with Chris, and by the way he responded to Leon, I guess he already have his head clear now. That's good enough for me.

I went slow because we're practically blind due to the fog. And it didn't surprise us when a few infected emerged from the fog and attempted to get at us. It was a slow and morbid ride.

"HQ to Charlie. Change of plans." An authoritative tone chattered away, this time loud and clear. "Entry to Tatchi is prohibited. Retreat and wait for further orders."

"What? But Echo Team is still in there! They need us!" Another soldier protested.

"Fall back! That's an order! We can't risk any more men in there!"

"Damn it!"

The harsh reality of being in the military. You feel like you're not expendable until this moment comes. I shook my head in dismay, various barks of orders and distress signals blending in my ears, making it hurt. I switched my radio off.

The fog ended after a few miles, then we had arrived in a high rise area that was in ruins. A lot of infected were swarming the streets, and then I heard something from behind us. It's a truck... moving at a high speed. And it's not planning to slow down or stop for us. I immediately floored the gas and went on ahead. This truck is capable of crashing us altogether!

"Phyllis, when we reach a dead-end, we're going to jump out of the car. Alright?" I instructed, to which she agreed on. The road has been blocked by the flaming cars, infected and the fog and the only route to the Quad Tower is straight ahead. We can't take anymore detours.

"Now!" Phyllis and I jumped out of the car and into the dirty road. A deafening explosion richocheted all around us, the impact blowing us away. My back hit a car, cracking the window in the process. I dropped to the ground once again with a loud thud, groaning in pain as I struggle to not pass out. My blurry eyes searched for Phyllis.

Strong arms pulled me up to my feet, and I turned my head upwards to come face to face with Leon himself. We mirrored each other's surprised and suspicious expressions, and I tore my gaze away from him to look for Phyllis, who was being tend to by Helena. I gently pushed him away, preventing the urge to wince when my aching body protested with the action.

"It's you again." Leon said. "Now I remember why you looked familiar. You're the one carrying the antibodies for the Uroboros. Cheryl Hansen..."

I refused to meet his gaze, as various kinds of abomination emerged from the flames of vehicles we crashed. I pulled out my gun from my holster.

"What are you doing here in China?" Leon asked.

"I don't have to answer anything." I said sternly. Phyllis and Helena were having their own conversation similar to ours. "And this isn't the time or the place."

Leon eyed me before he dismissed the topic, when I should also be suspicious of him. But he knew Chris so I didn't pay much attention to my suspicions. He pulled out a gun of his own and pointed it at the infected coming our way. Then a blinding light shone right above us, making me shield my eyes. I thought for a second that it was Andrew but I was surprised to see her.

"Leon! It's..." Helena trailed off.

"Ada! I thought she was dead."

Then Ada helped us take down the infected by shooting them down with the firepower attached to the chopper she was piloting. Is she aiding us? We took down a few infected on our own before Helena beckoned us to escape.

"Leon! Leon, do you hear me? Are you alright?" A female voice registered.

"I'll live. But I've got a feeling that things are about to get worse." Leon replied, as we proceeded to push through the building. "Where are you two headed?" Leon turned to ask us.

"The Quad Tower." I answered.

"We're headed that way, too. So you're sticking with us." Helena said.

"Alright." I just agreed.

We shimmied through a narrow space, after examining the body of a BSAA soldier. We fought off two infected soldiers and I went to check their vehicle and found nothing useful inside. We proceeded ahead to the exit and came down a flight of stairs, Leon taking the lead. A wave of infected emerged by the end of the stairs and Leon instinctively threw something at them and immediately backed away. After a few moments, the swarm of infected exploded, and a few climbed up to their feet. We took them down easily, and before we could proceed, the ground shook violently, making me clutch at the wall for support.

We readied ourselves as Leon opened the door to the exit, revealing the city below us in complete chaos. I stared wide eyed at the scene in front of me, and it's no different from the scene way back in Tall Oaks.

"This is terrible." Helena muttered.

"What happened, Chris?" Leon said in a grim tone. "Hunnigan! Can we make it to the tower this way?"

"Yes. Just keep moving in that direction." Hunnigan affirmed.

The street level is too tight because of the car wreckages and infected in the way. It will be too claustrophobic if the four of us were to fight them head-on. We'll just follow them when the wave has cleared up.

"We'll cover you guys from here." I said. I thought that they're going to protest but they seemed to have read my mind for they nodded in agreement.

"Be careful." Phyllis reminded.

"Sure." Leon said, then the two of them jumped down to the street level.

Leon and Helena expertly took down the infected without a hitch. Phyllis shot the infected by the distance using her sniper rifle while I shot the other infected surrounding them. Before another infected could get his hands on Leon, who was busy disposing of another, I shot it in the head, instantly killing him. Leon flitted a gaze at me and offered a thumbs up.

"Not bad!"

I let out a small nod, appreciating the compliment.

"It's coming from the woodwork!" Leon's voice echoed. I was reloading my gun when a sudden explosion caught our attention. It came from the aircraft that crashed through the building beside us.

"Damn it... take cover, you two!" Leon instructed us, as the aircraft fell on the street, creating a chain reaction of explosions. Phyllis and I immediately retreated back inside the building whilst I heard Leon say, "Run!"

There was a myriad of explosions outside the street. And my heart was racing at the thoughts of Leon and Helena, if they managed to get away unscathed. The ground shook, and a few pieces of debris fell to the ground, shattering into smaller fragments. The explosion covered a large portion of the city, eliminating a lot of infected and blockages along its wake.

"Holy shit..." I heard Phyllis mumble, and there we stayed still until the explosions subsided.

"Okay... I think it's over now." I said, slowly standing up. I couldn't open the door because something was stuck against it, might be blocked by a huge piece of rubble. "We have to go back and find another way." I pulled out my COMs device to take a look at our current position. We're only a few blocks away from the Quad Tower now, and I think we can finally make it on foot... we just have to keep passing through at a lower maintenance road.

We retraced our steps back to the high rise area, and as expected a lot of infected were still wandering around. This is starting to feel like a chore. We took out as many as we can and ran like hell. My legs were starting to get worn out but I ignored the exhaustion as we push through the ruins of Tatchi. By the distance, the layout of the familiar twin towers of the structure was finally within sight. The walls were not too high, and it's enough for me to give Phyllis a boost to the top of the wall. She also helped me up.

A horrible sight fell before us. A pile of corpses were scattered around as if these people tried to run for their lives. Maybe that's why the wall we climbed up was full of blood, and even the soldiers failed to defend this place. I clamped a hand over my mouth, preventing the urge to gag at the horrendous sight. They were torn apart in many different ways, but the blood still hasn't fully dried. This is recent...

"There's a monster lingering in here." Phyllis declared, climbing up to her full height after examining the wounds.

An inhumane roar shattered the morbid silence. It came from a certain distance because it's not that loud. Phyllis and I immediately pushed through the west part of the building and switched on our flashlights because it's dark inside the building.

Great! Now how are we supposed to find Henry in this dump along with a monster somewhere in here?

The ear piercing sound of a monster screeching was getting loud, like it's in pain. We reached a higher ground and burst out of a double doors and found that we are already by the heart of the Quad Tower which is a large open area. In front of us was a scene that a person will see once in a lifetime.

"What the fuck? Are you serious right now? Is that a fucking dinosaur?" Phyllis exclaimed, eyes wide and mouth gape in horror.

"Yes... I believe that's a... fucking dinosaur." I trailed off, bewildered. So that's what killed all of the civillians and soldiers in here!

From the ground level, I see Leon and Helena struggling and fighting off the giant BOW with the aid of Ada Wong with her helicopter yet again. They're alive! But I was suddenly confused. I thought that she was a bioterrorist? Why is she helping them?

I scoured the area and found a few bodies of soldiers and civilians. The other soldier is holding a single use rocket launcher and a grenade launcher. I quickly went over and snatched the former. I put a foot over the low railings to get a good aim as I peeked through the scope of the rocket launcher and aimed at the protruded eye on the back of the dinosaur.

"You're supposed to be extinct already!" Phyllis opened fire at the BOW with her sniper rifle while I fired the RPG after I locked the target. It went straight to my desired spot and it exploded, making it let out a deafening screech that made us cover our ears.

The dinosaur BOW shrank and it became a person, much to my surprise. The monster... it was Simmons.

"Cheryl! Phyllis!" Leon called from below, while he ran and beat the shit out of Simmons. I waved and flailed my free arm, which earned us a grateful smile from Helena.

"Great to see you guys are alright!" Helena hollered.

"Right back at ya!" Phyllis answered.

"Hansen's... daughter..." Simmons' inhumane voice echoes, which made me dart my attention back to him. "The Uroboros... antibodies..."

Simmons transformed into a freaking dinosaur again. Jesus Christ, what kind of virus did he inject on himself? That must have been a powerful strain!

"Mine! It will be mine!"

Simmons quickly lunged and threw the weight of his body to us. I quickly dropped the empty RPG and ran away to dodge him. Great! Now I'm his target!

"Hey!" Leon fired his revolver on Simmons' weak spot, making him drop to the ground level. "Keep your eyes on me, asshole!" Simmons reverted back to his human form again. "Cheryl! Leave this to us! Go on and get yourselves to safety!"

"We got this!" Helena added.

I spared a glance at both Leon and Helena and gave them a firm nod. We're still far from safe, but I will go and finish what I came for.

While Simmons is still distracted by the two agents, Phyllis and I made our escape by the nearest double doors. Suddenly realizing where Henry might be, we pushed through the elevators, hoping that it still works. Much to our relief, it still does.

I punched the button to the rooftop. Simmons' monstrous roars are still present in the background, while I unloaded the magazine of my gun to look at the remaining bullets.

"Why the rooftop?" Phyllis suddenly asked. I turned around and gave her a small smile.

"He didn't give us his exact location in the Quad Tower. So I figured he'd be waiting by the rooftop."

"That didn't answer my question." She frowned.

I shifted my gaze at the lit numbers of the elevators, seeing as though we have reached the 50th floor. We're halfway there.

"When I was a child, whenever I couldn't find him, he's just always at the rooftop. Watching everything from above."

Then to prove my statements, Henry was indeed there... standing at the edge of the rooftop, looking over at the view of the city in ruins. He turned around and there I saw him smoking his favorite cigar. He offered me a smile to which I offered him a poker face.

Now that I had finally seen him, I thought that my hatred will rise again, but surprisingly... I felt... nothing.

"Meine tochter... finally, you're here."

"Checkmate, Henry."

One corner of his lips lifted. "I'm afraid so. Yes, this is the end."

I slowly aimed my gun at him, but he just smiled and turned around and looked over at the city view again. "Dying is too easy. Living is hard. Do you really want me to go that easily?"

"If it means that I'll be fully free."

"I see you're still as naïve as ever, Cheryl. That will be your downfall."

"Says the one who's on gun point." I sneered.

"Nothing is permanent in this world, Schatzi. No matter how desperately tight you hold on to things you hold dearly, it will be taken away from you eventually. Then you will be left with nothing to live for..." A smile was evident in his voice. "Are you expecting me to put up a fight just for your blood? No, darling. That would be too cliché."

"Du hast den Arsch offen."

He chuckled. Then turned around to face me one last time. "Ja, Ich weiß. My dreams are long over now. I just wanted to see you one last time. I'm sorry, my dear, but I will not give you the satisfaction. I will choose how I want to die."

Phyllis gasped while Henry smiled and let himself fall on a hundred feet drop. He was gone... just like that...

And just like that... tears escaped my eyes. And everything went black.

I dreamed of the person I love. After that moment, it was all over for me... I opened my heavy eyes and found myself in a white room, needles were attached to my hand connecting to the fluids, and the continuous beeping sound of the heart monitor was the only sound I was hearing. The room was dim and I could only guess that it was already past midnight.

"Cheryl..." I heard a soft voice spoke from beside me. I turned my head to the side and saw him, and relief gushed over my system. Thank goodness, he's okay...

"Hi, Piers..." My voice was tired and raspy but my lips still managed to curl up into a smile and he smiled back, and his gloved hand went up to caress my hair. I felt so relieved and at peace knowing that he was alright, it was as if the past few days were a mere nightmare. "How did the mission go?"

"It was a success," He replied and I took in the time to examine his features. He was still in his gear, like he had immediately rushed over to me after his mission.

"I missed you," I whispered, feeling my eyes well up with the words. He gave me a gentle smile in return, "Please don't ever leave me again..."

"I will never leave you... even if I'm gone, I'll always be with you."

I looked deep into his beautiful hazel eyes, memorizing and admiring every little detail. I nodded, and Piers just smiled and leaned in to give me a kiss on the forehead. I closed my eyes as I felt him kiss my tears away.

"Always."

I woke up after what seemed like an eternal dream. And he was gone. I turned my head to the side and saw Phyllis sitting on a chair with her eyes surrounded by tears.

"Cheryl? Cheryl! Can you hear me?" Phyllis asked me, but her voice was faint to my ears. She stood up and marched outside, yelling for help.

After a few moments, Lorraine and Phyllis came back along with a doctor and a few nurses. They checked my vital signs, all the while I passively answered the doctors' questions. I found out that I was out for a few days. I looked down at the wedding band on my finger. So they have put it back on... and the locket that I have given to my husband is now hanging on my neck. I opened the locket and found my photograph no longer there. Only his remained.

Maybe that's why the dream felt so long.

Piers... you...

Phyllis and Lorraine were crying silently in the corner. They couldn't look at me in the eyes nor they have the courage to tell me. I looked at them, a small smile tugging its way to my lips.

"He's dead, isn't he?"