The moon had a peculiar way of presenting itself amongst the night sky, displaying its dim and hollow light against the monochrome of night and the harmony of thousands of uniformed stars. Surrounded by brighter lights it managed to steal away the attention all the same. The sky worked in symphony to create the allure, a symphony absent on the ground and ever so redundant within the unreachable skies. The stars drew in the hopeless, entrancing them with desire and captivating them with their shine.
The moon hung quite disparate, creating a hopeless hope. People couldn't help but lose themselves in the dangers of fantasy while gazing at the entrancement. They dug their heels into the edges of sanity, clinging onto the fantasy that perhaps one day they may shine as the stars.
But that had been before. Stars in Lytheram had stopped shining ages ago, and as their lights faded they took with them the epiphany of warmth that lingered scarcely within the air. Compassion had become so foreign it now lay in the deepest slums of Lytheram, sloshing in the gutter beneath the boots of the forlorn.
Consequently Lytheram remained anomalously chilly all year-round, and though the sun desperately attempted to warm the earth, it was a chill that had sunk its teeth into the bones of the ground, lonely nails clunked deep into the flesh of the decaying land, furthering the frigid misery that hung heavily over the bodies slithering through alleyways. Abandoned and bluntly overpopulated, one would have drowned in the abundance of culture, had anyone shared their laughter.
The people of Lytheram had nothing to smile for, they held no purpose, nor culture, they rushed towards the idea that everyone was better alone. Perhaps it was, the idea surely wasn't pulled from thin air. But as he grew, watching as more and more of his home came crumbling and crashing down around him, Luca discovered that in the ocean of nameless faces he so direly wished to know, there was no humanity tethering the lost souls to life, and so loneliness only increased the burden of life.
Luca didn't search for friends, he was fortunate enough for people to leave his life early, he never grew too attached. They were terribly inconvenient, people. Leaving and arriving whenever they saw fit, with nothing in their selfish regard, beginning with his parents and ending with his acquaintances. Luca preferred to blame it on his occupation, it put his mind at ease and put his anxiety to rest. Blame was much easier than facing the cold truth.
Luca worked at the manor, where everything was entirely artificial. It was known to everyone that the flaunted luxury was fictitious, but fear kept people in line and quiet. But the fact dangled over his head, artificiality had its way of seeping into the tightest spaces and settling like an old stain, and so as he matured, Luca became a bit artificial.
The manor was the only livable home in all of Lytheram, the only one not smashed to bits, and tumbling down into its foundation. It was a touch too lavish for the tragedies occurring on the island though Luca would never complain (not aloud anyway). The current Hwa family, and generations before, resided peacefully within the manor, they resided notoriously in crime, their fingers buried so deep Luca assumed it would take a millenia to pinpoint all the corruption. He wouldn't complain, they'd given him work, and work–constant work was nothing short of luxury.
With the exhausting job came Seth, the heir to the island, and Luca's lifetime assignment. They'd grown up together, and where once Luca had thought them to be friends he now realized their relation was much much, more, and much much less all together. They found solace within another, and together they found comfort in isolation.
Luca discovered that although isolation was easy, he subconsciously prayed for company as he trekked through the back alleys of Lytheram, feeling around in the dark, his flimsy coat did little to combat the cold coming from within. Luca was searching for Seth, in the dead of night with his shivering fingers and chattering teeth. The boy had disappeared again, and Luca had been sent out to retrieve and return him home. It was never a secret where Seth had gone, but Luca despised traveling through the city at night.
He hummed to himself to ignore his chattering teeth as his fingers dug into the barbed fence that shielded him from continuing on into the night. He should've taken the bridge, but he'd stood there for moments staring at the stretch of deteriorating rock over the river and his anxiety built up. Nausea threatened his gaze and his fingers trembled until he was far away. He could never take the bridge; it was incomprehensible.
Luca tripped as he tumbled down the fence, a meager pain elicited within his legs and the impact pulled his shoelaces loose, he ended up on the floor, back to the fence and fingers desperately tying his laces. In a city overflowing with galant ways to die, tripping over laces didn't seem valiant, though with his luck, Luca wouldn't be surprised if he died in such a way. However even with his years of experience working for the manor, Luca had never developed Seth's nonchalance, or Hayden's concentration. He often wondered if perhaps he would straggle behind due to his inability to complete anything. Standing, Luca blew onto his fingers, hoping to warm them before they gave way and fell to the floor.
Luck had never been on Luca's side, and if not by laces, Luca would surely be killed by shock. Nyelli stood over him, hands stuck to her hips as she cocked her head at him. "Whatchu doin out here in the dead of night Luca? Are you here to see a lady-friend? Do your momma know you been sleepin around?" Luca sighed, sucking on his teeth as he ignored her comment. "Nyelli, shouldn't you be at home?"
Nyelli snorted, shoulders falling into a shrug. "Lawrence is drunk." Luca hummed, Lawrence was always drunk or angry, or both. "He's always drunk. What're you doin' 'round here? Your cribs a ways from here." Nyelli shrugged. "Was in the neighborhood, watchu doin here?"
"Why didn't you go to the trench? Or the school? You know you could always sleep there." Luca recalled as he walked forward, kicking up dirt as Nyelli followed him. Nyelli inhaled through her teeth. "I dropped out." Luca paused, turning he cocked an eyebrow. "What? Nayo, I'm paying though, I'm makin' 'em on time, and I ain't even missed one, whatchu mean you dropped out?" Nyellisniffled, rubbing her nose she exhaled. "Lawrence made a scene, he don't want me in school no more. Says it's no place for growin girls."
Luca rubbed his temples, mumbling curses to himself he sighed. "Aight, go to the trenches, I'll meet you in a few minutes." Nyelli scoffed. "I ain't goin there. Robbie Seville looks at me funny." Robbie Seville was three years older than Luca and seven years older than Nyelli. He was a big guy, a drop out and tattooed heavily on each inch of skin, as if he couldn't decide where anything belonged, and he always smelled like molly.
Luca craned his neck towards the sky, fingers itching. "Nayo, you can't come with me, I ain't going nowhere you should be this late." Nyelli shrugged. "Well I ain't goin home. So I'm either comin wit you, or followin behind you." The older boy grimaced, scratching his temples, contemplating the offer. "Fine, but you keep your mouth shut, you hear me? I ain't in the mood tonight, you got somethin' to say you step off." Nyelli nodded with a weak grin, trudging silently behind him.
Nyelli didn't say anything for the rest of the walk, and Luca didn't bother making conversation. Nyelli was like a jostled rubik's cube, he could never figure out what was going on in her life, or her mind. But he barely tried to anymore, she confused him, and he hated confusion. Instead Luca focused on the thick night, walking past the stretch of dead fields. Luca could decipher the rough silhouette of Seth's feet and he bounded towards it.
Luca had been on the burnt grass too many times, he'd brought Seth to the place, and perhaps that was a fault on his end. Whispering an array of curses to himself, Luca advanced towards the abandoned factory.
His fingers dug into the metal pipe, when he'd first come, it had pained him immensely, but his hands were calloused now, too scarred to empathize with the miniscule ache. His frayed shoes dug into the building as he climbed higher and higher, finally reaching the roof. Seth wasn't alone, Novak was with him as well, and Luca felt himself grow a bit heavier.
He sucked on his teeth, making his way towards them, sitting far enough to breathe, although with the two of them, he couldn't ever be far enough. Novak held a blunt between his lips, exhaling from the toxin to add to the treacherous atmosphere. Luca watched, attempting to figure out what had caused the obvious tension between the two. Seth wouldn't speak, he never spoke first as if striking conversation would damage him, a trait undoubtedly inherited from his father.
But Luca could feel something off in the way Seth held his breath forcing air into his lungs, and the way Novak avoided his gaze. Still, Luca couldn't find it in him to care much, feeling too burdensome to indulge in comedic approaches. The silence trailed on for eons, and Luca found himself feeling dull. He didn't have much on his mind, he never did, and that made it extremely difficult for him. "Did you make anything?" Novak inquired, his voice slicing through their silence. A domestic disturbance occurred down the street and sirens tore through the block, but the disruption within their tranquility felt unforgivable.
"A twenty," Luca replied, Seth dug his fingers into his cargo pockets, retrieving a bundle of green bills before holding them out towards the latino boy. Luca hummed, fingers wisping through them as he counted, they were freshly printed and smelled like a new printer. "Put 'em in your jeans and throw 'em in the dryer. They'll be good to use afterwards." Luca hummed, shoving the notes into his back pocket.
"Nov, pass the blunt." Luca muttered, and soon his fingers were wrapped around a blunt Seth had definitely rolled. The boy was much too privileged to understand how to properly roll one, and Luca often found himself dizzy after a single hit, but the buzz felt needed tonight.
"Grayson jumped," Novak muttered, as Luca exhaled, Seth leaned backwards, arms stretched behind him to support his weight. They talked too casually about things so horrid, but they're reality considered of constant horror, it had become too consistent of a topic to avoid.
"Did you see the body?" Luca inquired, craning his neck to blow the smoke in his lungs towards the night sky. "Yeah, he was lying in Westenmere." Novak admitted, pulling his knees towards himself as if collecting his possessions. "Shit, just him?" Luca asked, Seth sucked on his teeth turning his attention towards the inauthentic darkness of the sky. Novak shook his head, they never went alone, always in pairs, trios. "His sister too,"
"Good for them." Seth whispered, tucking his fingers under his thighs to save them from the nipping air. "Yeah, good for them." Luca repeated, eyes falling onto the rubble reduced city stretched out before him. Novak remained silent, before humming. "You think they at least tried to work it out?" Seth snorted, and Luca sucked on the blunt, exhaling through his nose, Nyelli inhaled happily as the smoke dissipated through the air.
They knew the answer.
An eerie silence settled between them and Luca focused his indulgence to the heavy marijuana resting between his lips, creating a gateway from reality, Novak's words settling between his bones, his eyes settled on Seth, the boy seemed occupied in his thoughts, a curiously blank expression displayed amongst his features.
They sat in the silent cold for everlasting seconds, before Novak began to hum, a soft tune tearing through the night. Luca couldn't tell if it was a song, the rhythm oddly familiar, he passed the blunt over to Seth, an odd haze falling over them.
Seth pushed the blunt to his lips, and Novak turned towards him, the exchange was minimal, almost invisible. A nod from Novak, before he stood up, turning to Luca he smiled. "You're pretty gone, huh?" Luca snorted, running a hand through his curls. "Seth rolled too much," Novak snorted. "Right,"
Luca raised an eyebrow, watching as Novak began to hum, Seth had turned his attention towards his hands, as if ignoring the boy's melody. The curly-haired boy watched as Novak walked over to the edge, turning to offer Luca another smile, he shrugged.
"There's only one place to go."
Luca's eyes widened, scrambling forward as his brain began to comprehend the situation, he pushed himself onto his feet, he lunged forward, desperately reaching, but Novak had already begun to fall. The sickening crack of his body against the cement below caused Luca's knees to buckle, he fell forward, hands hitting the roof, as he struggled to breathe. Someone had begun to scream, Luca couldn't tell if the sound was coming from him, it definitely wasn't coming from Seth.
"Let's go Luca." The blond muttered, pushing himself onto his feet, he dusted off his jeans, dropping the blunt off the side of the roof. "We shouldn't be here. Enforcers are gonna start storming the area, we gotta go." Luca was still kneeling, eyes glued to where Novak had stood moments before.
Seth's fingers wrapped around the boy's arm, roughly pulling him from where he'd fallen, the blond dragged Luca towards the edge, helping the boy down the side of the building, before climbing off the deconstructed building himself. "Luca, let's go move," Seth stated harshly, he walked past the body, hands stuffed in the pockets of his cargo pants. The latino boy swallowed, eyes locked onto his friend's body, Novak lay in a pool of his own blood, staring at the sky, mouth hanging open lips pulled to a sickening smile.
Seth paused, turning he grasped Luca's shoulders locking eyes with the curly haired boy he swallowed. "Look at me. He's dead, he's gone. We have to go. There's nothing you can do. You hear me? Let's go." Suddenly the night didn't feel so cold, Luca felt as though he were on fire, overwhelming emotion burning through him. "Seth..."
"Wait but Nyelli, Nyelli, we can't just leave her there." Luca exclaimed, as he scrambled to push past Seth, the blond pulled him back. "It's me and you Luca, you hear me? Me and you. Now start moving."
"Fuck, Luca you gotta hear me. Let's go. We can't stay here." Seth repeated, Luca shuddered, a snake crawling up his spine, like the grave beckoning him home. "Move, we gotta go." Luca swallowed, nodding messily as they rushed towards the barbed fence, climbing over and rushing down the block. As they ran Luca couldn't stop the hot tears from bubbling over in his eyes, coursing down his cheeks.
It was different when it happened to you.