Chapter 23: Lovers Understand

The trudge up that last hill made Russell feel unnervingly similar to the last time he had climbed it. He felt just as bound as last time, though Dresdens hands weren't at his shoulder, his wifes were. She walked with him, hopping puddles and laughing at the splashes of the rain. She pointed out interesting things to him in the distance, grabbing his arm and point up at the imposing tower in the distance, at the cracks from where water seeped, out to sea where an island used to be. She cooed in Melanies ear even though Melanie wasn't there anymore and the family stopped a moment and watched the tide come in for the last time. The island had drowned. It had snapped in half like titanic. Russell scanned the skyline. There was no boat coming to save them. There were no lifeboats. Women and children are the first to go.

“Russell, come on!” Sebastien yelled from higher above. Russell continued, dragging his feet, trance-like. Melanie was like a dead weight on him. She weighed of everything that was terrible about his life. Without her he could start again. He looked up, and continued on, his feet relentlessly scraping the floor, dragging. When you're dreading whats coming the clocks speed up, and in no time Russell was walking across the plain, the metal lashes with rainwater, and tidewater, for the seas licked at his heels as he walked up. As he neared the top, Melanie stirred. He was used to this – she had been stirring in and out of consciousness since she had been picked up, but this time she spoke. “Are we nearly there?” The form on his shoulder leapt. “Good lord, is that the sea?!” Russell put Melanie on the ground and she stumbled a moment, then stood firm. She ran down to the water and stared at it in horror, about 20 feet behind Russell. He turned and looked at her. “C'mon, Mel. Time to get this over with, so we can... go home.”
Melanie turned around, distractedly. “Its still Lester, for the moment, Russell,” but she ran up past Russell and joined Sebastien and Belle on the hilltop.
“All set?” she asked brightly.
“All set.” Sebastien answered. He grinned down at the little girl.
“You ready for what you have to do?”
“I think so.” He replied.
Belle looked oddly at him. “What do you have to 'do'? Isn't it just flipping a switch?”
She lowered her voice and hissed at him “And since when are you on chatting terms with the enemy?”
Sebastien ignored her.

Melanie looked up at them both, a little sadly. “Good luck afterwards, Sebastien. I'm sure something good will come your way. Everything will be alright, ok?” Then she motioned that Belle come down to her level.
“Belle, listen. I always wanted to fuck you, but I don't think I'll get a good chance looking like this, so I'm gonna have to love you and leave you with words alone. Good luck with your kid – from my experiences, you'll need it.”
Sebastien smiled. “I was never an easy kid to raise.”
Belle looked horrified from Sebastien to Melanie.
“Lester?!” she mouthed, her eyes wide.
“The one and only, baby.” She winked at Belle then stood back. “I'll always remember you both, whatever happens.
Sebastien saluted her.
Belle stared, open-mouthed, then regained her composure and joined Sebastien.

Melanie nodded, then turned and began to climb the tower.

Behind her, Russell shouted out “Lester!”
Melanie looked down, and saw Russell. “Russell!”
Russell raised the pendant. “Sebastien tells me this used to belong to you. Where did you get it?”
Melanies eyes widened. She spluttered “Can't we do this another time, Russell? Theres no time to tell you now!”
The tide spat up behind Russell and he roared and suddenly he was on the tower. Blood roared up inside of him. Significant actions leapt out at him but everything else around him was a blur. He felt his hands grip the slippery, rusted tower and sting the palms of his hand. He heard shouts below. He saw Melanie above him reach the platform tower. He felt nothing, and reached the top. Rust shifted beneath his feet and the tower creaked dangerously.

“Theres always time.” he said.

Melanie backed away, her hands raised. “Russell, you have to understand-”
“Yes?”
“There was nothing...” she spluttered “Nothing I could do... unavoidable” she looked back down at the rising tide below.
“Listen-” she began.
“Stop fucking around, Lester! Tell me!”
Melanie was frantic. “You have to understand that we didn't want to take Melanie originally! All we thought we needed was her DNA! We thought... I thought that taking the pendant would be enough!”
The wind died down, for the first time, and all Russell could hear was his own deadened heartbeat.
“You... you took-”
“But it didn't work! We hooked it up here and tried goddamn-near everything on it, but it wouldn't work! The waters kept on rising! We had no choice but to take Melanie next – she was the closest living relative to Philip after-”
“You took the pendant?!” Russell croaked. His life fell around him. The world dulled to black and white.
“We had no choice, Russell! I had to save the island-”
“You killed Juliet?”
Melanie sobbed, and fell to her knees. “Yes! It was an accident, damn it, but she wouldn't let go! The pendant was critical to operations!” She banged her tiny fist on the ground and Russell lifted her up so he could stare into her watering eyes.
“Do you have any idea how selfish you are? Everything you do you do to try and get rid of your own guilt, and all you end up doing is hurting people. You feel guilty? It isn't as guilty as you should feel. Look!” And he lifted Melanies fists, scuffed against the ground. “You don't respect anything except yourself.” And with that he threw Melanie on the ground.

Lester bowed his head on the floor, kissing the floor with his forehead. Russells words vibrated through him like an explosion through silk. “Selfish...” he muttered to himself. His fists curled and uncurled and he felt very aware of himself. Then he realised that here, he and he alone had the power to change history. He could feel time puckering up around him and he said quietly “No. I can do this.” He raised his head and saw all that was left of his homeland was this hill, with land dropping away at every point. Nothing else was left of the island. It had rusted and sunk into the sea. He breathed deep and stood. “Russell. I still think that we can save this island. If you have any respect for me-” Russell didn't even turn around. “Break a leg, Lester. No, kill yourself.” He was watching the tide rise.

Lester sighed, and began strapped himself into the tower. “If you won't help then you had better get out of the way.” He suggested. Russell shook his head. “I want to turn around and watch your face when nothing gets fixed, and I want to be the last to see your face as it drowns, knowing you've never done anything good for anyone else.”
Lesters steel hardened. “This is the face of your daughter!”
“Don't remind me anymore that you're inside her corpse. She's dead, and thats your fault as well. And now you've desecrated her corpse with what you've done. You're gonna let her body float and bloat like all those other putrid corpses on the lake.” Lester narrowed his eyes and shouted down to Sebastien, who was looking worried from below as his trousers started getting damp, “Start it up!”