Episode Seven, Part 7:
G o o d b y e

If you're still bleeding, you're the lucky ones. 
'Cause most of our feelings, they are dead and they are gone.

8 months later - The City of Targo.

Wynn yielded his blade out of the man's stomach, retreating it with such a force that his blood splattered upwards, hitting his face. He brought his arm upwards, wiping as much as it off with his sleeve, keeping his eyes on the guards around him. 

There were six of them dead on the floor - all by his doing, but the seventh man who was lying at his feet, continued to move. There was no hope for him; the man was clutching onto his wound, groaning desperately as fought away the growing darkness, trying not to let the agony swallow him whole. For good measure, Wynn lifted his weapon above his head, driving it into him once more and waiting for his body to grow limp. 

He stumbled backwards, trying to regain his energy for a moment so that he could continue on. He knew he wouldn't have much time to find her... 

Hurrying away, Wynn tried to navigate his ways through the dark hallways of the château, trying to remember from the map they had studied where the Commander's room would be. He almost made a wrong turn, but he caught sight of the dead-end up ahead and quickly managed to reroute himself before anyone could find him. 

Once he reached the door, he grabbed onto the handle, but he couldn't explain the way he hesitated. This was all he wanted - all he had worked towards since she left him. So why had he suddenly found it so hard to breathe?

Shaking away the fear, Wynn twisted the handle, storming inside in his search, freezing instantly. 

Sol turned around; she was on the other side of the room - gazing out her large, floor-to-ceiling windows. The noise startled her and before she could look at who came inside, she glanced over at Chessca to make sure she was okay, reaching for the knife in her own pocket as she finally faced the intruder. 

Wynn couldn't believe that she was there. He'd told himself a thousand times that their meeting would never go exactly how he wanted it to in his head: she wouldn't run to his arms, he knew that, but there was a part of him that hadn't been able to let go of what she promised him in her radio message: that she would hold onto the memories of him that were scared into her heart - refusing to let The Alteration take him away from her completely. 

Sol couldn't bring herself to speak. She was always fearless - never hesitating to act in the face of danger, but she wasn't so sure that's what was happening... 

Chessca didn't seem as alarmed as she should have been, either. She barely even glanced over at him only really focusing on Sol's reaction as if trying to figure out her next move. After all, she knew why he was there.

But the boy... There was something about the way he looked at her that actually did make her afraid, only not for the reasons she should have been. 

He dropped his blade by his feet, letting the noise echo in the room before he walked over to her. He moved slow, but there was still an urgency to his step, and without a weapon, Sol wondered what his intentions were. 

"You're really here..." He breathed out, gazing her up and down, observing every detail about her that his memory had overlooked: tiny features like the freckle just under her lip, or the scar at the crease of her eye. Now that he could see her again, he couldn't imagine how it had ever slipped his mind. 

Instinctively, Wynn reached forward and delicately settled his hand on the side of her face. His fingers were light against her neck, and his thumb smoothed over her cheek, so gentle like he had never felt her before. 

"My Sol..." The words escaped him, his gaze flickering to meet hers, feeling tears well up in his eyes. There was so much he wanted to pour out, things he wanted to tell her right in that moment, regardless as to if she would understand or not, but he had to wait. 

"Who are you?" She asked. She hadn't moved away from him yet, but logic caught up to her and she shoved him opposite where he had come in, moving so the blade he had dropped on the floor was right by her feet. 

"Why did you call me that? I haven't see you around before..." 

There was a defeat in Wynn's chest. For a moment, when he was holding her, he thought she remembered him. 

"It's me, Wynn," he told her. "Wynnlow Bell... And I'm-" he glanced over at Chessca, as if searching for assurance to continue speaking. She nodded once before Sol could notice. 

"I'm not from here," Wynn answered. "But I need you to come with me. Can you trust me?" 

Sol reached down for the blade he had dropped, analyzing it in her hands. The City of Targo didn't have blades in this style, but as she picked up, there was something familiar about it - something that caused her to move it fluidly without any apprehension. It felt like she could kill someone in one move, not understanding that it was because the weapon was once her's, a long time ago... Not understanding that Wynn had claimed possession of it after she left simply as a way to remind himself who he was fighting for. Who made him strong. 

She looked back up at him, seeing his hand extended out, only as an offering. He wasn't demanding or threatening. There was something about him that compelled Sol to want to listen - a charm if you could call it that - and it was the exact serenity that she felt in his presence that ultimately made her refuse. 

"I don't know what your deal is, but I suggest you leave before you regret it." 

"Sol, please..." He stepped forward. "It's me... Please... Say you remember me." 

She could see that he was desperate. That the fate of his heart seemingly rested in her hands, but she didn't know what to tell him. Nothing made sense - nothing about what he was saying, or asking. 

"I'm sorry," she murmured. "I think you should go." 

"Sol-" 

"That's not my name!" She snapped, beginning to freak out. "If you really knew me, you would know that! It's Riverly..." 

Her statement seemed to wound Wynn. It cut him deep in a way that she would never realise. She was 'Sol' to him. He was the only one who she let call her that; albeit she hated it at first, and he only began doing it to wind her up, but it stuck. It had stuck and quickly became fundamental to their intimacy with one another. Their bond. 

"Okay... I'm sorry, River." The words didn't feel right on his tongue and it left a great discomfort in his chest. 

She exhaled, chewing on her bottom lip. He still hadn't called her by her name, and even more than that, he had shorted it to 'River'. No one from The City of Targo had actually called her that... It made sense; it was an obvious abbreviation, but regardless, she was 'Riverly'. 

She had to remind herself of that, refusing to cave to the way the names seemed to resound inside her - like she was meeting herself for the very first time, or figuring out who she was. 

Keeping her eyes locked on Wynn, Sol pulled her radio from her waistband, not breaking her gaze as she began to speak. 

"I need 5 guards dispatched to my room in 3 minutes. No sooner, no later." 

"S-" Wynn cut himself off, knowing he had to get her on his side. "River," he winced. "I'm not going to hurt you. I need you to listen to me. I need you to remember-" 

"You have 3 minutes to get out of here. I just brought you some time. Make the most of it and try and get out of here alive." 

"River-" 

"Go!" Sol yelled. "I-I don't want to see you be killed." 

A tangible agony washed over his face, and Wynn knew there was nothing he could do. If he stayed, Targo's guards wouldn't hesitate to kill him or alert Rhea and Kane to his presence in their city. He had no other choice but to leave without her. 

Regretfully, he made his way towards the door, not thinking he had the strength in him to say anything else. 

"Here," Sol said, passing the blade out for him to take. Wynn looked at her questioningly, wondering why she was trying to help him when it seemed she had made her mind up that she wouldn't listen to what he was trying to say... 

"You'll need this," she explained. "Try and stay alive." 

Wynn looked down at her hand, his fingers purposefully grazing over hers as he took the weapon back from her. 

"This isn't the end..." He whispered. "I know you're still in there. I won't ever leave you for good."

Without risking any more time, Wynn forced himself out the door and disappeared from sight. The instant he left, Sol could feel a gaping whole burn in her chest. She gasped, a seize of pain suddenly shooting through her head, and she dropped her radio as she doubled over in pain.

"What is it Riverly?" Chessca panicked, hurrying over to stable her. 

Sol stood up straight, and as if her vision had a mind of its own, her eyes flickered down to her hand. 

All the tattoos on her skin - questions that Rhea had refused to answer, felt like they were finally coming to light. She felt like there was a truth trying to reach the surface, but she couldn't piece it all together. 

Still, as she looked down at the initials on her hand: 'W.B', she knew somehow, against all odds, what it meant... 

It was Wynn's name. 

Seven // Part Seven
Say you remember me.

End of book 5.
30/04/20 21:54PM.

Wow, what a journey this season has been. I'll admit, it's probably been my favourite storyline to write so far, but I think that's just because these characters had to lose so much, and not a single of them were exempt to that. I can't believe that in this chapter we lost some pretty big characters: Ares Bell and Jonas Rule, and of course Fabian and MaReya. 

And obviously Sol! I bet no one saw that coming!

This chapter is sort of like a sneak-peek? It gives you a taste of the next season, but it's also a part of this one as it solidifies that things really have changed. I can't wait for you to read Season 6! I'm gonna spend the next few days plotting it out because I only have a few main concepts that I need to tie together, but hopefully, it won't be too long!

I set myself a goal to complete this book in under a month, and I completed it in 17 days. I think in terms of writing, this book has been my biggest achievement so far. I hope you've enjoyed it and stick around for Season 6!

Wonder if I can get that one done in under 2 weeks?
No way...