Viva La Gloria Pt. 20

Hours had passed, and Gloria was beginning to give up the last bit of hope she had been holding on to. She could see the sun's first rays stretching across the sky, and still Billie and Christian had not come back to her.
Were they gone forever?
The other saints slept, their faces still and their breathing soft. Maria had curled up next to Jimmy, who still slept with his head against Whatsername's shoulder. She looked so young, so innocent.
How did she become a saint? What was her story? Gloria wasn't sure she wanted to know, but still she thought about it.
Had she died on the streets? Was she killed in the riots, maybe?
A quiet moan escaped from Billie's lips, and Gloria jumped back, startled.
"Billie?"
"...ow...." His eyes suddenly snapped open, and he sat up. Noticing the motionless boy next to him, he felt for a pulse.
Nothing.
"Christian," he murmured, "wake up!" He started to shake him frantically, hoping for a sign that he was still alive.
He hadn't even noticed the little girl, who watched in stunned silence.
"Billie...are you okay?" Gloria whispered, watching the man's urgent  actions as he tried to wake up the boy.
He was unsuccessful.
Christian wasn't breathing.
This wasn't supposed to be happening. He should've made it back. He should've gotten out alive.
"Christian...." Billie felt tears coming to his eyes. His savior was dead. He should've made it...he should've lived.
Physically drained and emotionally shattered, Billie collapsed next to the lifeless boy's body.
"...Billie...." Gloria cried softly, running her fingers through Billie's hair as she attempted to comfort him.
It was pointless, though.
There they were, a hopeless man curled up on the ground and crying silently by the body of a dead teenage boy, a little girl sitting by in silence as she attempted to comfort the stranger she had come to love and care for, regret and pain hanging in the air, thicker than the dirty smog of the city.
Suffering was everywhere.
"He's with the saints and angels now," Gloria whispered, looking down at Billie, her eyes flooding over with tears.
"He's in hell," Billie replied bitterly. "...He's in hell because of me...."
"Please don't say that." Gloria turned his face where she could see it, and his tears glistened in the faint sunlight.
"...it's true, though...."
"Don't say that, Billie...please don't give up on him...stay strong for both of us."
Silence.
"...Gloria?" Jimmy was awake now, watching them quietly. For how long he'd been watching, Gloria wasn't sure, but she hoped it hadn't been long.
The boy's gaze fell on Christian, and his eyes widened. "How...."
"...I...I don't know," Billie choked out weakly. "He just didn't ever wake up...we lost him...."
Whatsername yawned and opened her eyes at the sound of Billie's voice, aware that the others were awake. "Billie? Are you-" Upon noticing Christian's body, she froze up. "...He's...dead?"
Jimmy nodded, a tear escaping and trickling down his face.
Christian would never wake up, and they knew it.
The saints and sinners mourned in silence. Maria continued to sleep, smiling innocently as she dreamed.
And the sun continued to rise, revealing pieces of the shattered city skyline.
"...You must keep going," Saint Jimmy finally whispered, breaking the heavy silence. "You aren't safe yet."
"But...what about Christian?" Gloria wiped away her tears and gently stroked the still face of the lifeless saint. She missed him. She didn't want to lose him...not like this.
"...We'll bring him home with us. Right, Whatsername?"
The other girl nodded in reply, wiping away the black mascara tears that had trailed down her face.
"...Okay...." Gloria didn't want to believe that this was the end, but instinct told her that this was the last goodbye; she would walk away and never see the saints again.
Saint Jimmy was the first one she approached. "Thanks...thank you so much for everything." She fell into his arms and sobbed quietly, her face buried into his shoulder. He held her close, afraid to let go.
He'd let go of her, though...he had to. Something told him that he'd see her again, sooner or later, and he would have to believe that if he wanted to make it past this goodbye.
Whatsername looked down at the little girl, who was wiping away her tears as she pulled herself away from Jimmy.  
"Whatsername," the little girl whispered, hugging the saint as she tried not to cry. Whatsername fought back her tears as she looked down at Gloria, the little girl, and wondered how much longer she'd last.
She didn't want Gloria's life to end the way hers had. She wanted the girl to grow up, live a happy life, and pass peacefully on to heaven.
"Viva la Gloria," Whatsername murmured, letting the little girl go and wiping a stray tear from her face.
The little girl looked up at her solemnly and nodded understandingly.
During this time, Jimmy had wandered over to Maria and picked her up. She smiled in her sleep and put her arms around his neck, resting her face against his shoulder. Jimmy feared what she would do when she found out that Christian was gone...would she panic? Would she become hysterical? He held her close and hummed her a soft lullaby as he returned to the others.
"...I'll never forget you guys...." Billie murmured, his hand gripping Gloria's.
"We won't forget you either," Whatsername replied, a sad smile making its way across her face.
The saints looked like lost, orphaned children, huddled around their lifeless brother and friend, Saint Christian. There were no words left to say; there was no time left to mourn. They would take Saint Christian's body to heaven, and pray that the angels would allow his soul to finally be at peace.
Billie and Gloria watched in stunned silence as the saints began to shimmer away, phantoms disappearing as the warm, gentle rays of the sun fell across them. Whatsername held Christian's hand, praying as they faded into nothing, and Jimmy held Maria close, tears shining as they slid down his young face.
Then, within another moment, the saints were gone.
All that was left was a man, a young girl, and a beautiful sunrise over the war-torn city that used to be called Newark.