When Luke approached Nellie sitting outside of Campus Ministry, she stood up and hugged him. It was a long hug that Luke first hesitated to return, but the hesitation was brief as he wrapped his arms around her red coat.

"Kevin told me about the letter," Nellie said.

"That dick..." Luke muttered in her ear. "I mean, I wanted to talk to you first about it. I just got the letter fifteen minutes ago and now I feel like I'm forced to leave."

Nellie and Luke pulled apart, "You're not. You can stay, you can go. The decision is yours. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"But, what about—us?" Luke choked out the last word.

"Here's the thing—true relationships don't breakup by growing distances. If anything, they grow stronger."

"So, we could staytogether? Even if I leave?"

"Yes, if that's what you want," Nellie said. She gave Luke no hint about the painful tear she'd feel once he was gone. In the past couple of weeks, they had gone through Hell, but in that fire burned a longing to staywith Luke. But she wanted what was best for him. She wanted him to grow stronger, to master whatever skill he possessed, to find out more about his past. And she didn't want to be the one to stand in the way of him unleashing his true potential.

Luke smiled, "As long as we can stay together, even while apart—then I think I should go."

Nellie nodded, "You better answer my texts then," she laughed trying to hide back tears.

This time Luke took the initiative and leaned in to kiss her. Their lips clutched onto one another like a pair of hands around a sacred and fragile object. When they pulled away it was as difficult as tearing off an old bumper sticker off of a car, the remains of their happiness couldn't be stripped away completely.

"Always," Luke said. "I'll even write to you. I'll stay connected, and I will be back."

"I'll hold you to it."

"Fantastic," Kevin shouted from the Campus Ministry door. "Now, about that flight we need to catch soon."

Luke turned around and flipped Kevin off and Nellie struggled to suppress her snorkel of a laugh. Kevin shook his head and muttered to himself. "Such immaturity."

Stepping besides Kevin was Father Matthew. Luke saw Father Matthew and turned to Kevin, "Give me at least an hour to think this through," Luke said. Sure, Nellie was okay if Luke left, but how can he just trust Kevin and this random letter he received? What if it was all a trap to get him isolated away from friends, especially a place filled with priests, in order to properly possess him like Lilith wanted?

"Fine," Kevin sighed. "If you need an hour to think through a question you already know the answer to, then go ahead. I'll meet you at Opus when you're done convincing yourself you've done a thorough investigation of the opportunity." Kevin made his way across McMahon parking lot shaking his head at how slow Luke operated. He muttered to himself. "St. George will beat that indecision out of him."

While Kev disappeared, Nellie slipped her hands inside Luke's while he addressed Father Matthew. "You really think I should go through with this?"

"I understand the prospect of leaving this life so suddenly to undertake a new one is daunting. But," Father Matthew chuckled, "why I found myself making such a quick decision to join the priesthood."

"Really?" Luke said.

"Yeah, not the brightest way to go about it. But hey, look how long I've lived in service of God. Stronger men than me have died at half my age at the rate I smoke."

"And how did you end up becoming a priest then?" Luke asked.

"I'd have to say it was over 50 years ago. I was serving in the war in Yemen," Father Matthew reached into his pocket for a cigarette. He lit it up and inhaled a deep lungful of tar and smoke. He exhaled. "The stuff I did. The enemy, they used child soldiers. Those kids, they never gave up. They could witness an entire caravan of their peers slaughtered and would keep charging at us. They were indoctrinated to never surrender. That doctrine only served them death."

Father Matthew inhaled another puff of tobacco and blew. "Naturally I had to shoot at them. It was war. It's hard to regulate it. Just-war theory only goes so far. When bullets are coming your way, and grenades are flying out sandy apartment windows, well, war rules go along with them."

"So, you killed child soldiers and regretted it?" Luke said while Nellie listened from behind.

"Funny thing is, at the time, I didn't regret a single thing. Those children were like machines that couldn't be reasoned with. They were brainwashed to kill."

He took another puff of his cigarette and shook his head. "It got to the point that I shot at children first and asked questions later. 99% of the time they were enemies. You couldn't let them come close to you, because some of them were strapped with explosives. So when one kid was approaching me with his younger sister on a recon foot patrol on the outskirts of a local occupied village...."

Father Matthew's hands shook as he brought his lips to the tip of the cigarette. He almost misjudged it and snorted tobacco instead. Nellie gasped anticipating what happened. "They were civilians."

Father Matthew nodded. "They hadn't eaten in days. The Kabish, a new terrorist organization at the time, had ransacked their small town of supplies and hid in the mountainside. We were the first people they saw coming into town for days. They approached us to see if we had some food, but of course I didn't know this. And I shot them. When we checked them, they weren't armed with explosives. And to make matters worst, I found wrapped around the boy's neck a stone crucifix on a thin rope threaded from wool."

"They were Christian? In Yemen?" Nellie asked.

"One of the very few. I tried to give the children medical treatment. The medic in the group attempted as well with no help. The bullet I fired pierced his lungs which was filling with blood. The boy ripped off his crucifix and handed it to me. I didn't know why he would hand me such a relic with what little strength he had left. Hearing him breathe through blood filled lungs—it was the worst sound I've ever heard. He might as well been drowning in front of me in the middle of a desert." Luke noticed the stone crucifix around Father Matthew's neck, worn down and covered in black smudges.

Father Matthew filled his lungs with tar yet again, drowning his memories in the sticky substance that clung onto his lungs like dried blood. He coughed a bit, but regained his focus. "The gravity of the situation, alongside being in the desert with the dry air, which might have dehydrated me enough to hallucinate... I could've sworn I saw something rise from the boy's fresh corpse. It looked like a small brown wren flying up towards the sun. I stared up into the light and was blinded a bit. As I closed my eyes, I felt the stone cross in my hand get heavier. A voiced called out from the winds, 'Help my people.' When I turned to my squad to see if they heard a voice, they swore to this day they didn't hear anything, even though I told them it was at that moment, with the cross in my hand, that I knew I had to renounce war and join the fight against evil in a different uniform."

Luke noticed Father Matthew's priestly black garbs and understood it was the trauma of sending an innocent child to an early death that made him into the priest he was today.

"I've seen and fought my own demons, just as you have," Father Matthew said as he recalled the war. He pointed at the letter Luke held in his left hand. "That's your crucifix boy. The message inside is your call. Are you going to carry it out, or are you going to toss it away?"

Luke looked down at the letter and then back at Father Matthew and nodded his head. "I think I know what I have to do."

Father Matthew put out his cigarette in the ashtray outside Campus Ministry (it was probably placed there specifically for Father Matthew) and said, "If this school can really teach you to fight evil head on, then I think they will gain a valuable soldier in the spiritual fight. Root out the evil from the source, and don't let it spread and corrupt innocent people."

Luke pulled his hand away from Nellie's and extended it forward to Father Matthew. "Pray for me."

Father Matthew took his hand and covered it with his wrinkly hands riddled with liver spots. He held it there for a couple of seconds as Father Matthew closed his eyes and Luke knew Father Matthew was talking to God on his behalf. Once Father Matthew was done, he brought his head up towards Luke and smiled. "Good luck boy. Hopefully I'll still be alive whenever you return!"

Nellie and Luke walked over to Opus, where Luke was about to pack a single suitcase until Kevin said, "You won't be wanting that when we're climbing up a mountain. The road we embark on is best traveled light. SGA has all the things you'll need."

Instead, Luke said goodbye to his friends. Of course, they wanted to know why he was leaving, and Luke quickly explained that he was heading over to a special school that will answer all of his questions and help him master his ability.

After the crazy events that had plagued Alex and Gio, they understood. Gio patted Luke's back gently. "Well then Luke, it's been a pleasure. I hope this isn't the last time we'll see you."

"We'll meet again soon, I promise," Luke said glancing over at Nellie who smiled.

"And you better make sure he gets there and back in one piece," Alex stepped in and pointed his stubby finger at Kevin, "or else I'll cram my fist so far down your throat you'll be shitting fingernails."

"Such a pleasant image," Kevin scoffed. "I think I'll miss you the most Savage."

"What did you call me?"

"Alex relax," Luke walked over to Alex and was mentally preparing himself to be yelled at or made fun off for tagging along with Kevin, whom they all didn't particularly get along with. He was surprised when he saw Alex tearing up and wrapping his arms around Luke and nearly crushing his spine. "I'm gonna miss you buddy."

"I'll...miss...you...too...pal," Luke managed to wheeze by his compressed chest.

After Luke said his goodbyes, he made his way out to the front of Opus. He held Nellie's hands and they never felt so far apart. They would not see each other for some time, and yet they had not known each other for long enough that this should be a problem. But this experience they had gone through together united them in ways that time could only hope to achieve with practice. 

"Don't go off with some other girl with super powers or something," Nellie scolded holding back tears.

"I won't." Luke vowed to never be swayed by someone else, yet he didn't know how easy it would be to follow this through at St. George, at least initially. 

Nellie and Luke exchanged one final hug and a kiss. They pulled their hands apart, reluctant to let go like twins from a womb. He got into a cab that Kevin had called to pick them up. Once he was in, the driver confirmed with Kevin the destination.

"DCA right?"

"Yes, just like it says on your GPS when I booked the cab," Kevin snapped.

The driver rolled his eyes and kept his mouth shut the whole way to the airport. Upon leaving, Luke pressed his face against the window and waved at Nellie, Gio, and Alex, who stood at the Opus parking lot.

"You'll see them again soon," Kevin said as he pulled a magazine from the back of the driver's seat pouch. "For now, mentally prepare yourself," he flicked through the pages of the magazine. "Because your world just got a whole lot bigger."

*________________________________________________*

Author's Note

This is it...the end, the final chapter. 😭 

Before I mark the complete button on this story, just a couple of questions and comments:

1. Who's your favorite character? (I asked this question back in chapter 10, but I ask again to see if that has changed.) Mine's remain the same:

2. How would rate the story out of 10? (Don't be afraid to be honest. Constructive criticism besides the rating will be of much help so that I don't keep making the same mistakes in the future).

3. I want to hear any "fan theories" you have regarding the story. What do you think Luke will find at St. George: a haven for special people like him or a prison or a military bootcamp, etc.? Do you ever see Luke and Nellie reuniting in the future? Are you any closer to figuring out who the narrator of the story is or what condition Luke suffered from as a young child? So many questions left to be answered....

If you've stuck with me and Luke to the end, I wanted to say from the bottom of my heart thank you. Luke would be dead if it wasn't for readers like you who keep him alive by engaging with his story. If you like the story, I'd appreciate it if you shared it with just one friend you know will find this story interesting. Keep Luke alive and well (he needs to be healthy for the sequel 😉). 

Feel free to follow me on Wattpad or Twitter (click on my profile for more details and links). That way, you'll know when any potential sequels or storylines that cross over into the same universe Luke is in are released (hint: there are many more storylines to come that cross over to the same universe Luke is in, and you may even find his name dropped in from time to time in a couple of them). Feel free to check out my other stories in the meantime (including The Caldwell Run *hint, hint, nudge nudge.*)

So, I assure you, you haven't seen the last of Luke. If I were to pull a Marvel after credits scene it would say:

- L. A. Rivera