Chapter Text
It shouldn’t have taken so long after Bryce and everyone left. However, taking your time was much easier when you only had to worry about self-preservation.
After Bryce and the others left… Liam couldn’t help but let his mind wander. There was a day when Liam had taken off the cast. It hurt, like a burning sensation that flowed through his muscles starting from his knee. It felt like a heavy reminder that he was alive, even though he knew objectively that was always the case.
He had spent that whole day by the bridge, leaving Texty at the cabin. He still used the crutch to get around. Too much weight on his hurt leg just elevated the slight numbing pain.
Liam sat on the ground next to the bridge, an itch in his chest telling him not to sit directly on it. Images of Airy’s top on the bridge only solidify the idea. The backpack instead sat on the dirt for he assumed hours, as the sun began to soon set, hues twisted in the sky. It was strangely… pretty, but Liam had difficulty formulating a coherent thought on it. He had a hard time forming a thought on anything, to be honest. It seemed when he entertained one thought, another one quickly took over. It was as if his brain was running at a hundred miles per hour, and it was wearing him down.
One thought that did happen to stick was how he wondered what Earth would be like for him now. He tried to imagine his previous dreams and aspirations before ONE. What did he want to do with his life before Airy destroyed it? He wanted to climb that corporate ladder, in a way. He was so comfortable at his job, and he liked to think he was good at it. He really did need a promotion, and the next step would’ve been a lot more responsibility where he had to manage other telemarketers on his shift. Honestly, maybe he thought that was just what he needed to do. Even if he was comfortable at his position, weren’t you supposed to want to get higher?...
But he wasn’t all about his job, right? He tried to think of other things he wished for. There was a lot he wanted to do with his friends, for example… But… now he couldn’t remember what any of it was. He thought about asking a coworker for coffee, but couldn’t remember what she looked like or what her name was. Liam’s thoughts wandered to Amelia’s similar plight… He wished she was here. He wished he talked to them more while they were all here.
Ah, he did think about going on a trip out of the country, though he never could figure out where he wanted to go. Liam also thought about taking up a sport. He was even looking at amateur pool leagues nearby.
A laugh escaped his lips at himself. He had never even played pool before. Still, there were many things he hadn’t experienced that he had wanted to. Honestly, he remembered when he got into college, he was so ecstatic to finally be able to settle down how he wanted to, and not be on a constant move. It was great to finally feel like the rules weren’t changing every month in college. He loved the repetition, though he knew most people couldn’t stand that.
He couldn’t bring himself to try and think about what he felt like doing now. It felt… pointless and self-pitying. He had no idea what was realistic for him once he got back to earth.
The backpack had sat like this by the bridge the whole day, though no other ideas could manage to stick so long. His head just felt like it was made of cotton. It was as if he was brainless, but somehow his head felt stuffed to the brim… and uncomfortable, too.
When the preparations to go home came to fruition, it was at least two weeks that had passed. He wasn’t sure. It was getting harder to keep track in the dark cave. Why did it take so long?
He knew exactly what to look for; he just had to keep scrolling up the code. He just had to find the code that returned the contestants home after elimination and count backward to find where he was likely eliminated. In that same amount of time, Liam had scanned the entirety of the code, which was easily 30 times longer than the section he had to look through. The only difference was he knew what to look for this time, and that it was for him to get home instead of his friends.
Agh. He remembered taking so many breaks. There were also several times he found he was scrolling mindlessly and had to start over to make sure he didn’t miss anything.
Was he procrastinating? Agh. Don’t want to unpack that.
Regardless, it was time. He double-checked that Texty was with him and then activated the command.
It was time to… to go home?