The Lonely
It was a week to the day since Martin had disappeared, and Jon had nothing. Elias has vanished, to who knows where, and so had Peter Lukas. Jon was running on fumes at this point, and it was becoming painfully obvious that he couldn’t keep going for much longer.
“ Jon, you look like death, go have a quick lie down while we read a few things over, since none of these articles are in Braille.”
“I can’t, Tim, Martin is out there and I- I can’t.” His voice coming out choked. Tim let out a sigh.
“Alright, just please have a seat before you keel over.”
Frowning, Jon sat down, his weary limbs sighing in relief. Before long, a steaming cup of tea was placed in his hands. Taking a sip, Jon grimaced. It wasn’t as good as Martin’s, who knew just how Jon liked it, and again Jon felt another pang of sadness at his loss.
Jon leaned back and listened to the others. They had been meeting regularly, since Martin had been taken, to try and find an entrance into The Lonely, have, so far, been coming up empty handed.
He could hear Daisy and Basira in the corner whispering and comparing notes, and Jon strained his ears to listen.
It was at that moment, the sound of a door opening echoed throughout the room.
“Wh-“ Jon started to ask, but was cut off by the sound of a gun cocking.
“Get out of here,” Basira said to the unknown figure.
“Well, now that’s just rude. I only came here to help the poor Archivist.” The voice was distorted and twisted, as though it were taking up too much space.
“Helen.” Jon stood up, bracing one hand on his cane.
“Hello, Archivist, well no, not anymore. Let’s try this again, Hello Jon. I came here to help fund sweet, innocent Martin, but I just feel so unwelcome with this gun in my face perhaps I’ll just leave.”
Jon lurched forwards, arm outstretched, “no, wait! Please, how can I find Martin?”
“Jon,” he heard Basira warn, but he waved her off.
“I just might be willing to create a doorway into The Lonely.”
“Why? Why help me?”
Helen laughed, “ still so curious hmmm. Well, you and Martin make such an adorable couple, and I love inconveniencing Elias and Peter any chance I get.”
“Okay, but why now? Martin has been missing for a week.”
“You’re about to get attacked and probably murdered, so I figured it was a good time to pull you out”
Jon stood taken aback, “ wait, murdered?”
Before Helen could respond, a loud pounding came from the front door. He heard what he assumed was Daisy pull her gun out and cock it next to Basira.
“Jon are you coming or not?”
He opened and closed his mouth for a moment, weighing his options. This could be his only chance to save Martin, but it meant having to leave his friends to fight and quite possibly die.
The choice was made for him when he heard Basira shout, “ go!” And felt rough hands grab him.
“I’ll see you on the other side, mate.” Tim said before shoving him towards the door.
Jon heard the front door burst open and a voice say “where is he?” His brain supplied him with a name, Trevor Herbert. There was a sound of liquid sloshing before Melanie's scream pierced the air “my eyes!” Jon turned to ask what was happening, but long, claw-like hands grabbed him and pulled him into silence.
***************
“Alrighty, Jon, I believe this is your stop.”
“How will I get out?”
“ Now that, ex Archivist, is the big question, isn’t it.” Helen chuckled and then proceeded to close the door in Jon’s face.
“Alright then,” he muttered as he set off at random, hoping he would stumble upon Martin at some point.
Jon didn’t know how long he walked aimlessly, calling out for Martin. Wind whipped his hair around, and Jon had to yell to be heard over the sound of crashing waves. More than once he found himself standing in the shallow waters of the ocean.
He was struggling to remember himself as time wore on. Somehow, whether some residual part of The Eye, or just the fact that he kept running over the names of his loved ones, Jon never lost himself completely. He had a goal, his friends needed him, Martin needed him. Jon kept walking.
He was parched, and his feet hurt, but Jon kept moving. If he stopped, if he let himself rest, Jon was certain that he would succumb to The Lonely and be lost forever.
His voice was in tatters and sand coated his mouth. There was nothing else Jon could do but keep walking and keep yelling. The wind had died down, and left the air thick with moisture. Fog, Jon realized as he remembered signs of The Lonely’s presence. He could feel his normally wavy yet manageable hair developing curled due to the humidity and he grimaced.
Finally, after much yelling, Jon heard a soft voice call out,
“Hello?”
“Martin,” he breathed, before rushing to the voice.
“Is there somebody else here? I thought I was alone.”
“Yes, Martin, it’s me. I’m coming for you.”
Jon heard a soft, “oh?” And then proceeded to trip over an object in the sand. The object, it turns out, was the body of Martin Blackwood, who was sitting in the sand.
Fumbling around, Jon found Martin’s shoulders and latched himself onto them.
“Oh god, Martin, I’m so sorry.”
“Who are you?” Martin asked, his voice unusually soft and hollow. “Who’s Martin? Is that me?”
“I - yes, that’s you. It’s me, Jon, I’ve found you.”
Martin was silent for a moment as he weighed Jon’s words.
“Oh, Jon. I remember you. You hurt me, and you broke my heart. I like it here, on this beach. I don’t feel the worry or pain or sadness that I felt with you. I don’t feel anything. It’s nice, really.”
Jon froze, his hands still loosely clutched in Martin's sweater. He choked a little as he realized what had occurred. He was too late, Martin was gone.
“No. No Martin, you- you love me, and I love you. So many people love you. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry Martin, that I wasn’t there when you needed me, but I’m here now, and I’m not leaving.”
“The Martin you knew was weak, Jon. He was so emotional, and cared too much about everything. Now, I have none of that. Now, I simply am.”
“You are Martin Blackwood. You like poetry and tea. You care for others a-and always bring out the best in everyone. You drool in your sleep and crinkle your nose when you laugh. You are Martin Blackwood and you’re my boyfriend, and the man I want to be with … forever. You are Martin Blackwood and you are not alone.”
Martin sat for a moment, stiff under Jon’s touch. Hesitantly, he reached out, “ Jon?”
“I’m here, Martin.” Slowly, warm arms wrapped themselves around Jon and pulled him in tightly. Jon cupped Martin's face in his hand, trailing his thumb along Martin's jaw, before leaning in and pressing their lips together.
It was soft and slow, Martin pulling Jon in closer as though at any moment he could fade away. Jon tilted his neck and angled his head to deepen the kiss and run his fingers through Martin's hair. Martin’s breath wasn’t hot against his own, their mouths moving in sync with one another.
Jon frowned as Martin pulled away, and he cocked his head to the side questioningly.
“Uh, Jon, earlier you said you wanted to spend the rest of your life with me. Um, was that true?”
Heat flooded Jon’s cheeks, but it was too late to pull back now.
“Well, I - uh- wouldn’t be opposed to that if- if it was something you would want.”
“Jonathan Sims, did you just propose to me in the literal realm of loneliness?”
“ Yes? No wait, no. Just give me a moment.” Hands shaking, Jon reached into his pocket and felt around until his fingers touched two cool objects which had been residing in various different pant pockets for months. Carefully, Jon moved himself so that he was kneeling and then turned back to Martin.
“So, uh, I’ve had these for a while but just couldn’t think of a proper way to do this. I guess that since we might be trapped in here forever now's a good a time as any.”
He took a deep breath, and heard a sharp intake from Martin.
“My feelings for you over the years have been mixed, but honestly that’s mostly because I didn’t know how to handle a crush so I figured pushing you away was the best idea. I know we haven’t been dating for that long, but considering everything we’ve been through, I think it’s okay to rush a bit. So, Martin Blackwood, would you do me the honor of becoming my husband?”
“Of course, Jon, of course I’ll be your husband.” Martin said before pulling Jon into another kiss.
Slowly, they broke apart so Jon could slid the simple silver band over Martin’s finger, and then let Martin do the same.
Suddenly, a voice from behind them spoke up.
“Well now, this just wont do.”