"And..."
"I…"
"Quote."
"Your move Siyah."
Jeremy says sternly to Victor who looks out beyond the Oasis shook.
"…"
-silence-
"…"
"Need I say more?"
Jeremy says in Victor's face.
"…No"
Victor responds
(sighs) "That's enough..."
Victor says…
"Yes sir."
Jeremy replies mockingly before moving away
"Hey… tell me something Vic…"
Jeremy begins softly picking a cigar off the ground and lighting it
"…"
(smokes)
"What are we doing here?"
He asks his face broken and sad looking out to for reason…
"What did the people of this town do to deserve this fate…?"
He asks once again, this time with more intent and aggression in his tone.
"…"
-silence-
"…"
"They…"
"Let us in…."
Victor replies silently staring into the nothingness to no response from Jeremy.
"…"
-silence-
"…"
"Right…"
Jeremy says under his breath before collapsing to the giant oak.
"…"
-silence-
"…"
Silence befalls the pair before Jeremy gets up and begins to walk away…
(smokes) "Captain…."
He says pausing on his way.
"Are you still not going to do anything?"
He asks his face and tone more serious
"…"
-silence-
"…"
"I see…"
Jeremy replies face tilted to the sky broken…
"I'll start spreading word for a mass evacuation they probably won't listen to me but it's worth a try."
He says.
"If at least one person is able to survive this then maybe I won't join you in hell."
Jeremy says seriously.
"heh…"
"Who am I kidding. 'We're' all beyond saving at this point."
He says with an odd grin
"Goodbye Captain."
"…"
Jeremy says before continuing his walk.
"…"
-silence-
"…"
"Lieutenant…"
Jeremy stops after Victor calls out.
"Keep a sit warm for me hell."
Victor says sombrely with a soft smile…
"You too captain…"
Jerry responds before continuing on his way.
Victor stays staring down at the Oasis for a while before uttering words he has begun to grow sick of himself...
"I'm sorry."
He says softly under his breath.
After that Victor headed back home silent…
And straight to his wife as the door swung open pulling her aside to talk.
He asked to talk to her away from the house…
And even though she was against it at first…
The pain etched across his face convinced her…
Xavier watched his parents from afar after that….
Their animated expressions something similar as their movements turned from aggressive and mad…
To then sorrowful and sad…
And finally to peaceful as they hugged.
He watched them return to the house in silence….
As memories of the night that changed their lives came flooding in….
It's all too familiar at this point he thought to himself patting Mylo's head.
"Well I'll get going now."
Victor says softly having escorted his wife back to the door.
"r-right."
A shook Risa responds
"…have a good day at work…"
She barely manages to say…
"Xavi take care of your mother."
Victor says sternly facing Xavier
"…Sure."
He replies subconsciously like the tone his father used commanded him and not.
"See you later then."
Victor says turning to leave before nodding to his wife and carrying on.
"Have a great day at work."
Xavier whispers to himself…
Something's off…
He knows it is…
But unlike before he can't muster the courage to tell himself it'll all be fine.
And that more than anything in the world scares him.
"Well I guess am off to uncle Mark's."
Xavier says softly watching his father's figure fade into the distance.
"Oh…"
"…then why don't you wait up a bit am heading that way too…"
Risa says softly facing away from Xavier.
"You're coming into town too?"
Xavier asks…
"Yes is something wrong?"
Risa responds sniffing, her tone sombre….
"N-no it's just been awhile…"
"Since I last saw you leave the house."
"Except for the carpet incident that is."
Xavier says softly laughing to himself
"Well forgive me for wanting the best for my family."
Risa responds impulsively
A little ticked off when she remembers the stains from not too long ago
"Aha-haha."
Xavier forces a frightened laugh.
"…"
-silence-
"…"
"Besides I haven't seen Mark in a while."
Risa says
"And Lucy too."
"It'll do me some good to refresh."
She says turning to face Xavier
Her tone much softer with a gentle smile.
"hm."
"Okay…"
Xavier smiles softly to himself
Awhile after breakfast…
Xavier and Risa begin the walk down.
And with Mylo of course.
And as they approach the town.
They are met with the usual vibrant energy and chatter.
It's refreshing coming here after all that's happened recently…
But so is coming with his mother…
She rarely ever leaves their little hilltop home.
Curious enough he wonders why?
En route to Mark's they make a couple stops along the way …
A healthy variety of stands.
Ranging from accessories to food.
Trying something at almost every stand….
"Haaa…. It's been so long since we last spent this much time together."
Risa sighs in exhaustion taking a sit at a bench by a kebab stand that reads Ursula's
"I agree."
Xavier responds patting Mylo taking a sit as well.
"It really has…"
He thinks to himself…
"Hmm…."
Risa sounds curiously
"If you think so too then you definitely should've at least tried on some of the earrings I picked out for you."
"They'd look great with that super black hair of yours."
Risa pouts getting into her son's face and gentling placing his dark hair behind his ear.
"Eh… Mo-Mooommm!!!"
Xavier shouts cheeks flush red with embarrassment.
"Am not a girl y'know!!!"
"Everyone would make fun of me!!"
He shouts pulling her hands off him
"Friends?"
Risa chimes in
"What friends?"
"You barely talk to anyone minus that Lucy girl."
She says mockingly
"T-that's not true!!!"
He shouts recalling yesterday's awkward encounter with Lucy..
"hehe…"
Risa chuckles softly to herself
"Still though it's kinda odd hearing you say that."
Risa says genuinely confused.
"What do you mean earrings are obviously girl stuff…"
Xavier responds shyly patting his hair down.
"Weeellllll…"
"Where I come from its actually very normal for guys to wear earrings."
Risa replies neatly smiling brightly.
"re-really?"
Xavier asks a little in awe at how beautiful her smile is…
"Yup."
She responds with a big grin messing his hair up again.
"Moooooooomm!!!"
He shouts as she bursts into laughter
In that moment…
Xavier realizes something while staring at his mother happily smiling at him.
Who is he to argue?
Put simply how can he argue??
As much as the recent days have centred around his father he doesn't know nearly enough about his mother either.
His parents are strangers to him…
he had focused so much on his father that as things stand he knows even less about his mother forget his father.
So who exactly is she?
Why doesn't she come down from the hill a lot more?
All she ever does is stay at home and do chores…
Xavier thought to himself….
But also what's with her hair?
He thought getting distracted as her shone even whiter in the sun.
She's the only person he's ever seen with such mesmerising white hair…
And those eyes too…
Eyes that clearly distinguish her from everyone else but himself and Mylo…
Just…
"Who are you?"
He thinks
"Hey…m-mom…."
Xavier begins to say...
"Hmmm?"
His mother responds looking at him smile still on her face.
"Is it okay if I ask you a few que…."
!!!!!!!!!!!!BOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"…"
"SHWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNGGGGGG!!!!!!!"
A sharp sound shrieks through Xavier's ears...
As his eyes peel open ever so slowly…
"what's going on?"
His body is heavy…
"I can't feel my legs."
He can't move…
"mom?"
His voice is too raspy to speak….
"mylo??"
His vision too blurry to see…
("????")
("????")
As misplaced sound begins to return to his ears…
Silhouette's of what look like people match the sound…
("????")
("?!?!")
"People…"
In a panic running all around him…
"what just happened?
He thinks
("????")
"what's that?"
He thinks
"?!?!?!?!""
"Did someone just call my name??"
He thinks
"…..Xa…vi..."
("...…")
"who is it?"
He thinks
"…..XA….VI…."
("!!!!")
"who just called my name?!?"
He thinks before tilting his head to tremendous pain and strain in his neck that makes him wince…
(.?.)
"it's white…"
He thinks
A deep white shinning more in the sunlight…
"mo-mom…?"
He forces the words out with a cough…
"…Xa..vi…"
"take….my….hand…."
"…Xa….vi…!!"
Her voice sounds warm…
He thinks reaching out his hand before being stiffly pulled from the ground…
He turns his head back to where he lay…
He was skims was buried under some sand it seems…
The building that they lay their back on…
The kebab store…
"….mo-mom???..."
Xavier mumbles his voice raspy….
"YES?!?"
"Yes baby it's me!!"
He can hear much more clearly now that he's on her back…
"where are we?"
He tries to let out but chokes.
"shhhh… shhh…"
"You need to stay still okay…"
"Mom has this okay…"
"Okay Xavi?!?!"
Her response is swift and composed.
She looks like she's in a panic too…
Xavier thinks nodding slow in agreement.
As the sound fully returns to his ears…
Xavier sobers to the chaos around him
"what is all this??"
He thinks to himself…
Before noticing the red liquid constantly pouring down Risa's head
"…mom…"
Subconsciously he reaches to touch it…
"ah!"
She exclaims immediately.
"That hurts Xavier don't do that."
He recedes his hand…
Its chaos…
He thinks to himself as he watches the confusion.
The sound of wailing is deafening…
And people seem to be in pain all around him…
oh that's right he was going to ask his mother something…
"mo…."
Xavier pauses…
"I told you not to say anything Xavier we'll be fine okay baby… Mark's isn't that far away from here just a little more."
Risa responds in between gasps for air labouring herself forward…
Something is missing…
Xavier thinks to himself as he watches fires ignite and blaze wildly all around him…
What was he was doing before all this?
When he was sat on the bench with his mom and Mylo…
Wait…
Mylo….
Where's Mylo??
And as the memories come flooding in as Xavier turns his head to face back.
His face turns pale as his eyes quickly search the area…
Pain with eye movement as he can feel the blood in his increasingly swollen eyelids….
But he can't stop.
He mustn't because then…
Because then it might all become real…
People.
People..
People!!!!!
Just then a flash of white catches his eyes…
A white so deep it shines in the sun just like his mother's hair….
"oh…."
"….my….lo…"
Xavier mumbles to himself lifelessly
Staring back to where he was once buried
"What did you…"
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!BOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Buildings fall in tandem.
Another explosion occurs.
The sand flung in the air falls ever so elegantly to the ground.
Glittering in the sun as it makes its humble descent….
"Aaaah…"
"How pretty it is…"
"This…"
"…'Golden Rain'…"
"…"
"…"
-12 hours till the incident-
-To Be Continued-