I’m driving to the airport with the windows rolled down, (I know. Not very smart to have them rolled down when you are an inter-national fugitive, but my air-conditioning broke, okay?) when it happens. And it’s so sudden I think my eyes are playing tricks on me. I decide that I must be dreaming, so I go with it.

“Jasper?” I croak. I am a little wary, as this could be a trap, but then he lowers the hood he is wearing. I get out of the car and run towards him. We are in a dark alley, my ‘shortcut’ so I don’t have to risk being seen by a civilian. But then I stop. I realize something very, very horrible. I wave my hand in front of his face, and my suspicions are confirmed.

“Oh my god, Jasper, are you blind?!” I cry out. He silently raises his head, and I get a good look at his once very pretty baby blues. They are now a dull gray, without any life in them.

“What else did the Council do to you?! I’m gonna kill them!” I scream out. He puts a finger to his lips, motioning for me to calm down. “Please tell me this is all a dream!” I cry. He shakes his head.

“I need for you to explain, Jasper. I’m confused. I thought you were dead!” I say, slumping down to the ground. He sits down next to me, putting one arm around my shoulders.

“Remember when I told you to wait inside the house, so I could get gas, about two years ago? Around when I went missing?” he says. I nod my head, knowing exactly what he was talking about, but I quickly remember that he couldn’t see the nod of my head.

“Yeah,” I say.

“It was a lie. I- I was looking into Mum and Dad’s death,” he says “I had reason to believe that they were still alive,” he says. I gasp in disbelief.

“And you didn’t tell me?” I manage to choke out.

“I wasn’t sure if my resources were true, and I didn’t want to give you false hope. I went to meet up with my so-called friend who had given me the information, and it turned out to be a trap. I got to the rendezvous point, and when I got out of the car, I was surrounded by Council Officials. I fought as hard as I could, but they captured me. They took me to a lab, and they started to do horrible things. They thought that maybe they could give people night vision, so they experimented on me, but it didn’t work. I lost my sight. Then they tried to mix my DNA with dolphin DNA, but thankfully, that backfired on them. I can read people’s minds, use echolocation, and the best one yet,” he smiled, “I can breathe underwater!” Jasper then suddenly became very serious.
“But there is one more thing they did to me. Something serious. Something that will change your life. For the worse. Jennifer, the Council tries to make rebels like us suffer. They put something in our food, called Noxiler. Noxiler is a poison. I- I found out that I have one week to live,” he says quietly. I break down into sobs.

“YOU CAN NOT DIE!” I scream. “I JUST GOT YOU BACK!” I pound his chest with my fists, crying like a baby. He holds me tightly, as if I could keep him here. But I can’t. I can’t fix poisoning. I could only fix it with the antidote, and from what I’ve heard about Noxiler, there is no antidote. I sob all the more harder into his now tear-streaked shirt.

“But before I die, I have a plan. A way to get back at the Council. To give them a taste of their own medicine. I have a way to destroy the Council, once and for all. But I can’t do it without you, Jen. Are you with me?”
“Yes,” I say.
“Great. Now here is the plan.”

“You’re absolutely sure you want to do this?” Jasper says.


“Yeah, I’m sure. The Council needs to pay,” I say determinedly. The Council has a supposedly ‘secret’ headquarters in Austin, Texas, where they have the lab, meeting place, and who knows what else. It was a massive building, with two-hundred, sixty-eight stories, stone gargoyles, and peaked spires. It was also made completely out of wood, so it was extremely flammable (though why it’s made of wood is beyond me). It may have been impossible to enter without the passcode, but it was definitely not impossible to burn. We are going to burn this place to the ground. And if an important Council Official dies, all the better! I wouldn’t lose any sleep over that. They deserved to suffer as much as I did. As much as every rebel they ever killed did.

It was two o’ clock in the morning, so no one was around. I held the kerosene, and Jasper had a pack of matches. I was still feeling a little guilty that the building had the people who were experimented on, but Jasper said that almost everyone in there thought it would be a relief to die. And since they were all already poisoned, to let them out when they only had so much time left was cruel. And Jasper knew this from experience. He also knew that most Council people lived in this building, especially the important ones. So we were hoping that they would be trapped in the fire. Jasper looked at me.

“It’s time,” he said grimly. I start to pour the gasoline. I had gone around the length of the building in less than five minutes. Jasper struck a match, and then threw it in the kerosene. Then another. Then another. Soon we saw flames creeping up the building walls. We stood up quickly, and ran. We ran as fast as we could, faster than we’d ever run before. We heard sirens coming near, but it was already too late. The building was starting to fall. There was no way out for the people inside. I feel a twang of guilt, but then I remember that these are the people who ripped my family apart, and killed so many people. The guilt recedes quickly.

We run for another twenty minutes, and then we stop and rest.

“We’ve done it,” Jasper says, out of breath.

“Yeah. We did. I say we hide somewhere, and hit the hay for the night. In the morning, we find out who died. Alright?” I say. Jasper nods, and we go in search for a place to sleep. We find somewhere within minutes. We settle down, and manage to drift off quickly.

The next morning, when we wake up, we go to find out what has happened since last night. We walk into a diner, hoods covering our faces, and the television blinks on. The news report shows the Council building destroyed by the fire, everything and everyone covered in a fine layer of thin ash. The news reporter lady claims that the fire was a freak accident. She shows a list of casualties, and a list of survivors. There were three survivors. But the best news, was that the main Official, the woman who ran the Council, died. So did her second, third, fourth, and fifths in command. The Council was basically destroyed. They didn’t say this, of course, but without its leaders, the Council is nothing. We had achieved our goal.
But yet, I don’t feel satisfied. I am not happy. I know that Jasper is getting weaker. Looking at him now, I realize that Jasper will not make it through the night. He is pale, and his breathing is rough and slow, and the only expression he is able to put on his face is a grimace from the pain that is surely eating away at him. We walk out of the diner, him holding my hand like he used to when I was little. I start to cry. I remember all the good times we had together. We walk around like that all day, until the sun starts to set. We stop at an old movie theater, one that has been abandoned for years. We get ready for bed, neither of us saying that this was the last night that Jasper would live, but both of us knowing it. I lie down with him, holding his hand, and we sleep.
Jasper wakes up in the middle of the night.
“Jen,” he says weakly. I wake up with a start, look at his face, and begin to cry once more.
“No, Jen, don’t cry. We knew this day would come. I don’t want to spend my last moments seeing you cry. You’re too strong for that. Now, I want you to hold my hand, and listen to me.” He says. I sniff, and wipe the tears from my face.
“Jennifer, you are the best little sister a guy could have. You are strong, and brave, and honorable. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I need you to know that whatever happens, you will never be alone. I will always be there for you, even if I’m not really there. I will be right here. In your heart.” He places his trembling hand on my heart. “I know that it will be hard, and sometimes, you might want to give up, but no matter what, you stay strong. NEVER GIVE UP! I love you, Jen. You are the best thing in the world. Remember that. Goodbye, Jen,” and with that, Jasper took his last shaky breath, closed his eyes one final time, and died, a peaceful expression on his face. I cry, despite what Jasper said about being strong, but now is not the time to be strong. I cry for what seems like hours, until I am out of tears, and I just want to sleep, our triumph over the Council meaning nothing. But I can’t sleep. Not yet. And then I realized that when the clock struck midnight, it became my birthday.
Soon, I bring Jasper to the place where our parents are buried. I bury him right next to them. I place a headstone on his grave.

Here lies Jasper Lacer, brother, son, and brave hero. May he never be forgotten. April 21, 2006-December 14, 2024.

It’s been three years since that night. The night that destroyed the Council, and my brother. The Council has disappeared, seeming to vanish into thin air. The world is almost a normal place again. It is a place where almost everyone is happy, and no one is placed in danger as much as when there was a Council.
I know that the world will never be the same again, not after how badly it was damaged. But it can get better. I know it will. Because I will never live the way I used to have to. I have a permanent home, and I have happiness. Well, as close as I can get to happiness. I would have been fully happy if Jasper, Mum, and Dad were here with me. I know it’s not possible. But I never will stop dreaming.
I walk to the cemetery where Mum, Dad, and Jasper are buried. Where I will be buried, when I die. I lay roses on Mum’s grave, tulips on Dad’s, and the rare moonlight flower on Jasper’s. These flowers were their favorites.
It is December 14, a cold one, and I wrap my jacket tighter around me. I then sit down next to the gravestones of my lost loved ones. The town clock strikes midnight and my silver watch beeps. The exact time of my birthday, and the exact time of Jaspers’ death. I want to be here, but at the same time I don’t want to. It is too sad to cope with sometimes. But I know that I’ll be back.
A single tear slowly rolls down my pale face, re-making a silver tear-streak that always seems to be present. The tear drops off my chin, falling delicately to the wet grass below me, where I’m sure others have cried as well. Slowly, I wipe my face, and stand up. My breath makes the frigid air fog up, depicting unintelligible pictures and signs. I sigh sadly, and start to walk away.