Aris' POV

Watching the WICKED building collapse below Teresa became the ending of our battle. The way she fell down, staring at a wounded Thomas, who screamed for her on the Berg, marked the perish of everything WICKED worked for over so many years.

Everything really was going to change for us now.

All of us exchanged looks on the Berg, a silence looming over the small space. It felt different now, knowing that many of our friends were long gone at this point.

Everyone died fighting the enemies and helping their friends. At least their deaths were not in vain.

"So does this mean it's over?" Sonya asked in an exhausted tone.

Vince nodded his head. "Yeah, it's over."

"Are we going to the Safe Haven now?" Maeve questioned next.

He let out a small smile. "It's the moment we've all been waiting for, hasn't it?"

And so Vince and Jorge drove the Berg over the Last City, while some of the others tended to Thomas' wounds inflicted by Janson. I looked down at the burning city from the front window, the crumbling buildings and lifeless bodies all around. Knowing that Newt and Piper were still down there made my heart sink.

Piper was all alone down there. She died alone.

Why did I leave her?

The blood, her blood, was still on my hands. I saw the pain and sadness in her eyes, the way the blood was soaking through. I only wished she wasn't caught in the middle of Thomas and Newt's fight. Maybe she would still be here, sitting next to me.

Once we made it out of the city, I leaned against my seat and closed my eyes, dreaming of what the Safe Haven would be like when we settled there. Hopefully, after being in a world of darkness, there would finally be some light.

*******

The Safe Haven was everything we hoped for. Truth be told, all of us really just wanted to be away from WICKED. Relief flushed over our faces with the thought of being off the grid.

The Immunes cheered for the place the most, while the rest of us soaked it all in, observing every shelter that was made and the endless sky that went on forever.

Getting sleep was all we wanted, so we took a hammock and crashed for the night. I took the time to wash my hands as much as I could, but the red stained my palms. Though it took me a while to get to sleep, thinking about Piper and how much she would've loved this place, I finally fell asleep picturing her face.

The next morning, all of us got breakfast and sat by the water. Thomas was still asleep after being treated for his wounds. Brenda and Aurora said he would recover just fine. At least there was some good news about that spreading around the camp.

"I wish all of our friends were here," Lillie spoke up.

All of us nodded in agreement. "Yeah, imagine the entire bloody Glen here," Maeve chuckled.

"I'm sure that'd be loads of fun, having a bunch of sticks here," Sonya added, smiling.

Once the laughter died down, Harriet had a sad look on her face. "You know, Piper said goodbye to me." She paused, stirring her breakfast with her spoon. "She thanked me for being a strong leader in the Glen." The few tears that fell down her face were quickly wiped away. "I didn't have time to respond, because my walkie went out on me." She glanced at us, sighing. "I wish I had the chance to say goodbye."

Sonya took her hand and held on to it. "She knew you would have if you were able to."

Harriet looked down and nodded. "Yeah, Piper was very understanding like that."

We remained quiet for the rest of breakfast, then went and helped out with building more shelters and handling food. The rest of the day went on like that, all of us doing our own thing.

Then, we stopped for a moment to see Thomas walking towards us, making his way past me. His limp awas barely noticeable as he shot me a small smile, then headed for Minho, who greeted him with open arms. It was the reunion Thomas finally wanted. I was sure he wished Newt was there as well.

"Good to see my healing powers worked," Aurora joked.

"With my help, of course," Brenda added.

So that night, we all gathered for a bonfire, with the celebration of finally being free from WICKED. The night was filled with food, drinks, and laughter, a careless atmosphere fell over the night.

Once the night got darker, we sat around and watched Vince as he stood in front of us, preparing a few words. "We have come a long way together. So many have sacrificed so much to make this place possible. Your friends and your family." He raised his cup in the air. "So here's to the ones who couldn't be here. Here's to the friends we lost. This place is for you. It's for all of us. But this..." Vince pointed at a big boulder behind him. "This is for them. So, in your own time, in your own way, come make your peace." He sighed and raised his cup again. "Welcome to the Safe Haven!"

All of us cheered, raising our cups, cheering and clapping, getting all excited once again.

For the rest of the night, I had imagined what Piper would've done during the celebration. I pictured her beside me, raising a cup for everyone from the Glen that never made it here. I could see her smile. I missed her smile, even though she didn't do it very often. I wished she had, though.

"Hey," Lillie said, coming up to me. "You okay?"

I nodded, clearing my throat. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just..." I stopped, trying to keep myself together. "I just miss her."

She gave me a sad expression, nodding as well. "I know." She looked over at the boulder. "I thought about carving her name. She was the first person I thought of. But then I thought of you and figured you should be the one to do it."

I only stared at her for a moment, then took her hand. "We'll carve her name together."

And so we headed off to the boulder as Beth was finishing up the name she was etching in. Once she was finished, she turned around and let us go next. Both of us took the empty spot below Gwyneth's name, the one Beth just finished, and started with Piper's.

As we took turns drilling into the stone, I glanced at the other familiar names that covered the boulder: Rachel, Esther, Jane, Cora, Helen...

I felt as if I should've grieved for them as well, so I did it silently.

"Okay, just this last bit," she told me, getting out of the way.

So I took my time, wanting to make it look perfect. While I didn't think that it would matter to anyone else, especially Piper, it mattered to me. Because her name would be there forever.

Once I was done, Lillie and I took a step back and stared at her name. After staring at it for so long, it almost didn't look real. The more I looked at her name, the more I thought about her, and I wasn't sure to feel happy or sad anymore.

"Now what?" Lillie asked.

"We grieve in our own way," I replied. "Try to move on."

That night, I couldn't sleep again. I wanted to cry, yet no tears came out. I also wanted to be happy. Why was that so hard? Should I feel happy now that I was safe? If I began to feel happy, then it would take away from grieving for everyone else. It would take away from grieving for Piper.

Would she want me to be happy and move on? Of course. But I realized that now was not the time to do so. Now, I mourned for her.

So I drifted off to sleep for a short time. It was when the sun was about to rise when I found myself waking up. I got out of my hammock and strolled towards the boulder. Piper's name stood out and I instantly spotted it. Taking my fingers, I traced each letter, and with each glide I wept.

The smooth boulder and the rough edges of her name was a start. As the sun was peeking over the horizon, I stared out at the ocean, where a small smile came on my face. While I was still feeling sad, a sense of comfort filled my head, knowing that I loved her and having the thought that she knew made me feel better.

Life without her would be hard. Being at the Safe Haven without her would be difficult. But somewhere, with the rest of the Glenners, she was okay.

Piper was at another Safe Haven, and I was sure that it was beautiful.

THE END

A/N: Well, it's officially over.

Stay tuned at the end for my last Author's Note.

Song above is Clouds by Before You Exit.

-A