Chanced Away

COWARD!!!... traitors... I'm different! iDen killed my family... I'm going to die here.

Ed stared at the mural, if it could be called one at all. It took up almost the entire wall. It depicted the infected - clothed, humanoid animals - reaching out for help but being gunned down by uniformed men instead. Notable iDen machinery hovered around the scene like the ZHAR fighter and some of those metal skeleton robot things. Behind the uniforms stood a group of normal people a distance away. One of them had his arms crossed as if to say "get it over with."

Every word stung. Most of them were hateful in nature, condemning iDen and humanity for "leaving them behind." There were final words too: My name is Kieth Marshall and I'm going to die here... I love you Grace... David Reis, if you're reading this, I don't think I'll make it. I love you - Sara

It chilled him to the bone. It seemed like the wall was speaking. Adding to the effect of it all was the blood; smeared in places and he noticed some of the writing was made with the stuff too. He felt sick. He wanted to look away but he couldn't. His eyes scanned some more - I love you, Cassie... HUMANITY BETRAYED US... God is dead...They took my son... I still love you, Lauren Davids... They killed my family... We miss you, Frank Uley... Traitors... Traitors... TRAITORS!!!

Edward doubled over, clutching his abdomen over the painful knot that had suddenly formed in gut with one hand, and covering his mouth with the other for fear of vomiting. All the warmth and love had truly gone from this world, he thought. He never realized this until now but he, Edward Fletcher, was all alone. He was here, in the ruins of San Francisco - his old home - with people he never quite connected with. They were in danger... The red-eyed things, the robots and whatever else that could do harm were nothing compared with what the sound-minded infected would do to them if they found out they were here. Yesterday, he overheard Daniel say something about lynching. But after what humanity has done, maybe they deserved that.

The five of them - Elizabeth, Daniel, Megan, Rachel and Ed - were in a safe house for the time being; one of the mansions on Lombard Street. It was far enough from where their base was but was close enough that Cecil or someone else could keep an eye on them all. It had come as quite a shock that he'd lived. In the copter, when they both found out each other was alive, Cecil went ballistic. The whole thing almost went down. Ed shuddered at the thought of his expression - he was beyond livid. It would be forever inked in his mind; curiosity, then the gaping of his beak in realization before his face contorted in rage as he pinned Ed to the wall of cabin.

Cecil had every right to get mad; Ed made his life here hell. Ed bullied him in school before the outbreak and based on the intelligible bits of outburst in between the cursing, his whole family had died and he'd lost close friends. He was also a bird-like creature now, bearing the curse of science, like Elizabeth's fiance, Marcus, that Kyle fellow and Nora. Ed was paying for his misdeeds now. But just how much did he have to pay? He lost his family too, and his friends, the rest of the world... He changed at the facility after he was rescued... He learned to love more and the moment he took that woman's child to safety on the bridge, he made a pact to himself that he would change, and he did. He focused on finding a cure for the virus with Rachel and the others. He made it a point to show only the good side of him and to lock up the bad deep down inside him where it wouldn't have a hope of surfacing ever again. He'd changed, damn it! Didn't he deserve a second chance? Was it really too late to make amends? The knot in his gut threatened to break his composure and send him breaking down in tears or something along those lines. He honestly didn't know how he felt except that it didn't feel good in the slightest.

Something nested on his shoulder, setting his nerves alight with warmth and comfort. He turned to find Rachel standing next to him on the cold, damp sidewalk. Without saying anything, she hugged him tightly and he returned the hug without question. It was just the thing he needed.

'It gets better...' she said.

'Doesn't feel like it,' he choked.

She didn't say anything and the two of them were locked in the embrace until Ed pulled away. He always thought Rachel was one of the more caring scientists. There was a long pause where neither of them made eye-contact.

'I guess we should get back inside,' he said.

Rachel nodded. Ed hoped Elizabeth had calmed down by now. She loved Marcus deeply, but asking him to bite her and change her was just out of question. They had quite a standoff afterwards until Marcus simply left in fury. As he drove off, tires squealing over the slick roads, he watched the bossy, no-nonsense, blond-haired former secretary to Noah Benton break down and cry. It was just so unlike her... Then again, he'd seen another side of people he never knew existed. Megan was a prime example. At first, he thought Megan Skye was going to be one of those broken people who had just given up hope on life after the outbreak. Having her as a roommate would've been hell, or so he thought. One moment she was crying her eyes out on her bunk and the next, she became the first person he saw smile in days as they both got acquainted. She hid her pain quickly enough and the two warmed up to each other quickly. Ed often caught himself mulling over his feeling for her. He'd known her for over two years and both good and bad memories were shared between them.

Megan was up on the roof with Nora and Kyle - both huskies. The clock on the wall indicated that it was two in the morning but Ed doubted its accuracy considering that nobody'd lived here in two years. Rachel disappeared into the living room where Daniel was kneeling next to Elizabeth who was sniffing as she sat on the carpet in front of the big, luxurious leather sofa.

Ed basked in solitude as only the sound of his footsteps and the slight rustle of his clothing could be heard in the halls as he mounted step after step to the roof access. Nearing the top, he heard laughter. Deep, rumbling laughter - Kyle.

'And he was like I'm going to kill you so hard you'll- Oh, hey, Ed.' Megan stopped the joke abrutly at his presence.

'Hey,' Kyle and Nora said at the same time. Ed noticed their eyes glinted slightly in the dark. The two of them were considerably taller then Megan and Ed. They two of them were strong, with Kyle leading considerably in muscle mass. Even in the low light, it was hard not to notice the amount of muscle wrapped around their calves, thighs and arms. He'd seen one of them run before and truth be told, their speed and agility were frightening. Kyle was black and white while Nora had sable fur, allowing them both to dress lightly in the cold, unlike the rest of the human refugees.

'Hey. Anything going on?' Ed asked as an ice-breaker.

'No, don't worry, we're safe here,' Nora said.

'Yup, none of the red-eyes for blocks, here,' Kyle added.

'Great,' Ed fixed his eyes on Megan.

'Meg, can I talk to you alone just for a moment?'

She raised an eyebrow. 'Sure, I guess.'

Ed beckoned her to follow her down to the deserted floor below them while Kyle and Nora resumed watch. Kyle eyed him with mild curiosity as he walked pass. He noted his eyes were a baby blue. Nora was hunched over the railing, surveying the wreck of a helicopter that had crashed into the opposite mansion. She had something that looked like a small harp slung over her back along with a sheaf of arrows nestled in a tube.

Downstairs, Ed closed the door behind them and flicked the light switch on. They were greeted by the sight of a rather spacious office that was tastefully furnished. A large desk dominated the space.

'What's this about?' Megan asked softly.

'Can I ask you something?'

'Um, sure. Shoot.'

Ed took a breath before asking the question.

'Do people deserve second chances?'

'What?'

'Do people deserve second chances?' he repeated.

'Well, it depends. What for?'

'It's sort of universal.'

She paused to mull the answer over.

'Well, I mean, if it's for good, then yes.'

'Do I deserve a second chance?'

'What are you talking about?'

'I did some terrible things to people, Megan - Cecil included. I want to make amends.'

'What sort of things are we talking about here?'

'Bullying.'

Megan stared at him. It was the same look she gives test results and complicated-looking data sheets - the look of deep thought. Then her lips parted in an answer.

'Edward Fletcher... I don't think you're capable of bullying,' she said tenderly.

'But I did. I ruined people's lives and many of those people died without any closure or resolve or whatever.'

She inhaled deeply.

'Ed, whoever that person you say ruined lives doesn't exist anymore. I don't see him in you. You're a whole different person - you're a good person. You remember that. Do you think I'd make friends with scumbags? You want to make things right, and that's proof of who you really are. My mom once told me that it's not what you've done that matters but what you will do next.'

She placed a hand over Ed's chest, just over where his heart was.

'And I'm telling you that yes, you do deserve a second chance.'

Ed pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her tight.

'I love you, Meg,' he whispered into her ear before he realized what he'd done.

'I love you too, Ed,' she replied.

Later that night, when everyone was asleep in their respective beds, sofas or sleeping bags, Ed climbed out of the bed he shared with Megan and put his shoes back on. He tip-toed through the house until he was outside and facing the wall with the mural again.

Again, the words played over in his head like disembodied voices were whispering into his ear. He couldn't stop it. This time, however, he didn't feel sick. Absentmindedly, he put his hands in his pockets and halted abrutly just as his right hand entered the slit. It was like deja vu all over again. He was in the helicopter and looking into the steely grey eyes of Cecil Reinhart, feeling the sudden realization hit him at who he was. It was as if the universe was playing a trick on him that only seemed to stretch his mind more and more. Pretty soon, he would have to put his sanity to question.

From the depths of his jean pocket, he withdrew the whiteboard marker he had meant to return to the board room. Uncapping it, he smiled ever so slightly as he wrote in capitals under the rifle of the masked man, where it would be clearly seen to anyone who chanced upon the mural.

"MY NAME IS EDWARD FLETCHER. I SURVIVED."

And survive, he did. He will make things right one way or another, and he'll take anything the universe can throw at him. He will earn the forgiveness of Cecil Reinhart if it's the last thing he did.