"I have you cornered now," Ferguson said, his pistol drawn.
Trapped in a dead-end alley, Jebediah shook in fear. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! It was just a prank!" In fear, Jebediah soiled his pants. He could see that Ferguson was going to pull the trigger.
Suddenly, Jebediah's expression changed from fearing-for-his-life to fear-of-the-supernatural. It was like he saw God. It was such a strong expression that it interrupted Ferguson's violent trance.
"H-h-her!" Jebediah muttered. When Ferguson looked at what Jebediah was terrified of, he saw Maka in the flesh. But it couldn't be her could it? They told him she was gone...
***
Maka was hooked up to a ventilator. Beside her, Ferguson sat with his head between his legs. Maka was alive, but the doctors had declared her braindead. Her family had already decided that they would pull the plug.
In the corner of the hospital room, a TV was turned onto a news channel. "The Incel Shooter is still at large!" a female journalist said.
The news cut to an interview, where the image of an emotional Ferguson flashed. "Jebediah! I don't know who you are! I don't know where you went! If you are looking to have sex with young women, I can tell you that I can't make that happen! But what I can do involves a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long sexual career! Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you! If you hand yourself over now, that'll be the end of it! I will not look for you, I will not pursue you! But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you! You hear me Jebediah? Get your pussy ass out of your little hiding hole you little bitch!"
After the interview, the television transitioned back to the female journalist. "Strong words from David Peterson Johnson Garrison, boyfriend of the victim."
***
In the alleyway, Jebediah still shook in fear from the reappearance of the woman he had shot.
"Ferguson," Maka said, "Put down the gun."
"I-Is that really you Maka?" Ferguson cried.
"It's me." Tears rolled down Maka's face as Ferguson began to break down too.
"They said you were braindead," Ferguson uttered. "That you would be gone forever."
"I came back for you," Maka said, "I heard you reading to me, you know? In the hospital, I heard you reading those Dr. Seuss books. Sometimes mispronouncing words, I heard it all. You called me back. You did it Ferguson, your love brought me back."
"One fish... two fish... " Ferguson wailed in tears.
"Red Fish... Blue fish..." Maka finished, as she grabbed the pistol away from Ferguson. "Now let's stop this silliness, I'm back with you."
"I love you Maka."
Maka smiled at Ferguson so sadly that it tore something out of his chest. Why did she smile like that? "You won't forget me will you Ferguson? Promise me."
***
The TV in the corner was still playing when Ferguson woke up. He looked to his side where Maka was still resting, but now her mother and father were around her. It was time to pull the plug. A nurse came into the room and asked if they were ready, and Maka's parents nodded with tears.
"No," Ferguson uttered, "No, just a few minutes more." The nurse understood and left the room. Why did he have to dream something like that? Why did he have to hurt this much? He hated incels so much. Why did an incel have the power to take away his Maka?
After some time, the nurse came back into the room. She asked again if they were ready, and this time they all agreed.
As they got ready to detach the breathing ventilator from Maka,
Ferguson kneeled onto the ground beside Maka's bed and took her hands
into his. As his fingers wrapped around hers in that final moment,
a part of Maka knew that he was there, and it felt so happy to
have met Ferguson. It felt so glad to have taken the risk to know one another.
It felt so at ease, knowing that they had kept their promise. They would always
be friends. He would always love her, and she would always love him.