Matt staggered over to Aaron, his legs weak from the beating he had taken, but there was a fire in his eyes now. He could barely breathe from the bruises and broken ribs, but the sight of Bishop's body on the ground made the pain fade into nothing. They had done it. They had destroyed the man who had nearly destroyed them.
"Is it really over?" Matt's voice was rough, the question hanging in the air. He wasn't sure if he wanted an answer.
Aaron glanced at him, his face unreadable. "Yeah. It's over."
There was a long silence between them. Matt wasn't sure what to say. They had won. They had fought and bled, and now Bishop was gone. But even in the midst of victory, Matt couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something inside him had broken forever. The war was over, but the cost was steep. It wasn't just the lives lost—it was who they had become in the process.
"Thanks for not leaving me behind," Matt muttered.
Aaron didn't look at him, but his jaw tightened. "You've always been with me, Matt. Even when you didn't have a choice."
Matt wasn't sure if that was a compliment or a curse. But at least it was honest. He wasn't sure where they went from here, or if they would ever truly escape the shadows of their past, but for now… this was enough.