La Recoleto

2

As I am falling into the abyss, I closed my eyes as flashbacks come running back to me.

I hovered over Tulip, holding her in my arms. Purple all but had destroyed another timeline. I look down at her.

"Tulip, I am sorry." I hugged her to my chest and cry.

"Gabri..." I heard her whisper.

"Tulip!" I look down and examine her. You're okay!" She shook her head.

"Gabri," She tried again. "You have to go on. You have to live...for us."

"No, I can't."

"You have to...You're the only one who can fight him and be victorious."

"No, you will be alright, Tulip. We will get you patched up and..."

"No, Gabri, it is up to you now. Fight him. WIN."

"I can't do it again, Tulip." She put her hand on the side of my face.

"You have to...The timeline will never be set right if you don't." Hesitantly, I summon a fireball. Ever since the first time, I knew Tulip would want me to put her out of her misery.

"Gabri...If this happens again, kill me." I nodded. Then, I put the fireball in her chest. When I see the life go out of her, I close her eyes. Standing up, I turn around and face Purple, who is intensely staring at me.

"Alone again, Gabri?"

"I am never alone."

"You have no friends."

"I have you."

Shaking his head, he says, "I am not welcome here anymore."

"That's not true. You will always be welcomed here. No matter what happens to the timeline, they will always still love you."

"Enough talk! Are you ready to die?"

"We will go together, friend."

I let myself fall a little longer. When a sort of peace settles on me, I open my eyes and I twirl myself until I am facing upward. Clawing the dirt wall, I slide down a little further. So I don't lose too much momentum, I sink my fingers further into the earth and I push myself up. I first stumble when I begin to run, and then a pattern sets in. I scale up the wall, thinking of Tulip as I went. When I gain enough momentum, I start jumping between the two sides on each side of me. Finally, I reach the edge and pull myself up. After I dust myself off, I look up, staring Purple straight in the face.

"Right on time, Briseño."

"You know how I don't like to disappoint."

"Disappoint you don't. How is Tulip?"

"She's dead."

"How does it feel to say that?" He starts to circle me. "How do the words taste on your tongue? How do you feel knowing that you failed again?"

"Did I fail?"

"They died again. You were too late."

"No...I"

"You? You what? You tried?"

"I warned them."

"You tried to warn Cole too, and look where he is at." He comes close and whispers sharply in my ear, "In Hades." Tears start to run down my face." Tears won't help him." He reaches over and takes one of my tears. He then proceeds to taste it. "Salty."

I close my eyes. I hate this part.

"They are not for him."

"Then who are they for?" He stretches out his arms and motions to our surrounding areas. "There is no one left! You took care of them for me. Every time. You say that you warn them to not summon me because in turn, I will reap your soul and you will kill them. You killed them, but I didn't have to reap your soul to do it!" He gestures at all the corpses lying around. No, they are more than corpses. Roy. Selah. Ceon. All dead by my hand. Then, Tulip....I didn't want to think where she ended up. I look back at Purple. He had been watching me carefully as I had looked around at all the bodies. A smirk brandishes his face.

"I did it because I had no other choice!"

"There is always a choice!"

"If I didn't, you would have!"

"Wouldn't that be better though? Then, you could actually die a heroine and I the villain."

"You are not the villain."

"Oh, that's right, I am your friend. So, buddy!" He slings his arm over my shoulder. "Tell me, who do you cry for? Our other "friends" aren't here. So who?" He asks in my ear, drawing out the "who".

"You." In a flash, I drew a knife, flipped it around, and stabbed Purple in the heart. I catch him before he lands on the grass. "I hate this part." He chuckles.

Closing his eyes, he says, "Nah, resetting isn't too bad. It's the doing it again that stresses you out."

"At least, I get another chance, right? Cole....Cole did not make it the first time, and it seems like he is lost forever."

"Forever? No, even in a time loop, everything is reset. He is stuck in time, but we can't get to him until that time is restored."

"I promised him that I would keep going."

"Then, keep your promise." Apart from blood welling up and staining his shirt, Purple looks peaceful.

"It's hard to. I mean, I remember and they do not."

"I remember too."

"I wish I could forget."

"You forget? That would be no fun." Slowly, I feel as Purple's life drains out of him. With his eyes still closed, he says, "Shall we do it again, my wetback?" I am left holding his lifeless body, surrounded by a circle of other empty vessels. All of them I had killed myself. I hug him close as a light starts to surround us, signifying that once again, time is resetting.