back to Leap of Faith FREE WILL by Xeen No inFringement intended Note: spoilers for "AbilitY". Another take on the light scene. Peter POV. I wrote the same scene already from Olivia POV (see Leap of Faith) but I did not intend this one as a continuation. -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o The sound of his own voice kept echoing in his head, again and again. Furrowing his brow even more than his usual, he dashed to the lifts, his mind racing. One minute left and counting. I'm not doing this with you Olivia. No way. He won't do it, stay with her and watch her fail. Once she gave him no alternative. He left Iraq, did his best to reconcile with his estranged father, accepted to investigate that insane string of improbable events with her, and now he would have to stay and watch her die? And die in the process? No way, no f… way. That cannot be happening. He punched the push-button several times, gritting his teeth. He looked up to check the diodes on the panel above the lift doors. And waited. Lifts are so awfully slow when you're on the clock, he smirked. Leaving was the one thing that made sense. He had to leave the building. They ought to leave the building for Christ's sake, all of them! But what then? They could not possibly escape before it's too late. The toxin will be released in the atmosphere and every breathing being would be sealed to death in a matter of seconds. He clenched his fists and gnashed his teeth in anger. He punched the button again. You're out of your mind. And he was too, when he thought he could leave her alone when she was doing her best to go through Jones' demented loops. That's what her kind do, he scolded, sacrifice themselves for the sake of the country, in the name of duty --or because you don't leave anyone behind or that kind of crap. That world was simply alien to him. But what kind of friend was he to turn his back on her when she needed him the most? He couldn't just turn tail and run, but he could not help her either. Sometimes turning tail is the only sensible thing to do, said the little voice in his head. "Shut up", he snarled, giving a last look to the LEDs above his head. The lift was stuck on the ground floor anyway. He sprinted back silently to the ticking bomb and only slowed down when he turned the last curve. She had not moved a bit. Her hands spread out on her thighs, her breath slow and even, her attention focused on the lights, the lights that were still on. He noticed that her shoulders dropped slightly when she understood that he was back. He resisted the urge to rush to her side and take her in his arms and deafen her with clichés, and simply stood there, a good ten feet away from her. Then her body language changed in a subtle way and the lights started to tick off, one at a time. He hold his breath, mesmerized by the bulbs switching off with a soft click and forgot Olivia and Jones and the Pattern and all the grotesque Sonics of this world to concentrate on the lights. The grid went dark. They let out a sigh in unison. He shoved his clammy hands inside his pockets. "You did it!" he exclaimed. "What was that? How did you do that?" He was not even looking at her, his heart was pounding in his chest, he was out of breath and they were alive. That was over, at least, this round was. She turned around, her hair basking in the glow of a blue halo. "I don't know," she said. He knew that it was a question but he had no answer. Not yet. -o- You guys care to comment? |
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