Formidable tears dropped down my cheek, as I felt the burden in the lifeless soul of my mother, was that really the end for her? Was she really going to dissipate like this? Was her death going to be this simple, despite the fact that she was brave?
"Mom? Mom, wake up." I took her head, and rested it upon my arms, but she was cold and withered and she was fading away quickly. She couldn't speak, neither could she move, she was paralyzed from petrification.
"Mom, please talk to me."
"She can't." A deep, bitter voice spoke rawly. I gazed in agony at the man who had been impersonating Hades facial features, but then I looked away, despite knowing that he was the one who drained my mother of her own life.
"Mom, please."
The bitter voice spoke again. "Everything that happened to her, is all your fault Son of Hades."
I didn't know how his words made any sense, but it left me shattered to my own reflection, I felt like a lost shadow, like I was somewhere in the hall of regrets. I felt my cheeks burning up intensely, as more tears soaked their way out of my eye-rims.
"B.. B...but I didn't know, I didn't mean to."
"Your days are numbered--"
My eyes shut open in fear, and I quickly rose up from my mattress, thankfully, it was just a nightmare. Just immediately, I felt a touch of cold wind blow across the room, but when I tried reaching for my lamp, it wasn't there.
Of course I had a lamp, like most normal lamplights, and it had always been in my room eversince I had remembered, but now it wasn't there. When the wind blew again, I realized that the only thing in that room was me and my bed.
Suddenly, a candle was lighted before me, revealing the shadow of a person who stood beside my bed, leaning on the wall. Shockingly, I didn't yell out, not because I couldn't but because I didn't have the urge to.
With the dimly lit candle, I could barely see what was happening in my room, in fact, I couldn't assume if it was my room or not, because the whole place seemed empty, like a storage room that was decided to be renovated of its properties.
"It's your fault, Christopher, it's all your fault." A girl spoke behind the shadows.
"I didn't mean to." Those words kept coming out of my mouth.
"Shhhhhhh." Hervoice shushed me. "Keep it down, we all know that you killed your mother."
That antagonistic tone, it was strikingly unforgettable. "Remi!" I barked at the nothingness. "You have the guts, after what you did to me!"
"Well, I don't have any regrets." She spoke without a touch of remorse. "If regrets and remorse are going to come from anybody, it should be you, Christopher, especially after you took a life."
I felt my face scrunching, over thinking and overheating at the same time. "I didn't do it."
"Did too."
"And how the hell would you know about that??? I didn't kill my mother, she's the only goodside of the world I have, why the hell would I kill her???"
Remi came out of the shadows, where she was hiding, and just looking into her eyes struck a lot of bad memories of my past, so I didn't feel like she was here to make up for things.
"You keep fighting yourself, and that's your weakness! When are you going to learn how to get a grip?" She sternly stated.
"When you get the f*ck out of my life!!!"
She grimaced at my face. "Reality awaits, Christopher."
In a flicker, the candle lights when off.
"Huff, huff, huff!" I quenched up a whole minute, grasping for breath like a maniac. It was as if I had just been inflicted with a seizure.
With the aid of my fingers, I was able to scrunch my eyes and pinch myself a couple times so as to figure out that I was only dreaming. I reached for my lamp and switched it on, revealing my normal bedroom that was occupied with posters, a comic book shelf and a closet. Everything was in its normal state.
My eyes were suddenly directed at my window, and I realized that it had been raining since the past hour, the shutters were already white from the cold.
Checking the time, I discovered that it was already past 9, my mom was probably still awake by that time, playing chess with herself. And I on the other hand, wouldn't be able to fall asleep again for the rest of the night, since I rarely commuted to slumber.
"Reality awaits, Christopher."
It's ok, it was just a silly dream, probably because I'm still holding grudges. Nothing will happen to mom, she's fine, she's strong, and she won't die so cheaply.
As soon as I began assuring myself, a strange shock went down my spines, something I had never experienced before. It felt like half of me was sent to another dimension and brought back in a millisecond, the feeling was satisfying but at the same time, disturbing.
"Why are you here?" I heard my mom's voice from my room, she was trying her best to be quiet but I could still hear her.
"Come on, Is that how you greet a friend you haven't spoken with since the last 18 years? Aissh, have some courtesy at least." Another person spoke in an unfamiliar masculine tone, at that point, I had already understood that that person was in my mom's blacklist.
"What do you want me to do, make coffee?"
"Well, it is a cold night." The man replied, matter-of-factly.
I quietly made my way towards the stairs, I didn't know why, but I had a bad feeling about this.
"Eric, I'm in no mood for your humors, neither to see you standing before me after 18 years."
The man named Eric, chuckled. "Andy--"
"Don't call me that."
"Stop acting so tough, I didn't come here for you, afterall, you abandoned your luxurious lifestyle for that Hades guy, can't blame romance anyways, it covers only the eyes of the most foolish people."
"Oh, like you know the bit of it--"
Eric quickly cut her off her words. "I know that you had a son with him, and I know that he's still alive, give him up Andy."
I got halfway down the stairs and still couldn't see the man that my mom was speaking with, it seemed like he was standing at the entrance door, where my eyes couldn't capacitate.
I decided not to make a peep after I realized that he was here for me.
"You're gonna have to do better than that." My mom refused the command, and at that moment, Eric began chuckling histerically that I was getting anxious of what he would do next.
"Oh Andy, Andy, Andy..." Eric threw his hands forwards slowly. "I'm surprised you haven't changed since I last saw you... You're still stubborn, defensive..." He felt the petals of my mom's hair (that wasn't good). "And still beautiful."
I saw my mom's skin turn white, and then she gulped.
"I know you have him in the house, and I might just need your permission to take him away, it'll be just like old days." He felt her hair still. "You and me, capturing danger."
"Go find another prey, because Christopher is not a danger."
"Christopher? That's a nice name for a son of Hades, I'm guessing he was named by the mother?" He didn't stop caressing her hair, and it was getting more on my nerves.
"Eric, let go of my hair." My mom warned.
"Dont make this difficult for us Andy, you might still be stubborn as you were but that doesn't make you still as strong."
My mother, as fast as lightning, slapped Eric's hands away, her eyes were like little pebbles brimming with fire. "Leave our home, the only thing that'll make my son dangerous is if he goes with you, and as long as I'm alive, that's not happening."
"Oh... Maybe I'll just..." I heard footsteps, guessing that my mom won over and the man was about to leave. "Take your life instead."
My heart instantly raced as I watched the man instantly turn towards my mom, fear gripped me, my mind unable to process what was happening. The man held a bronze sword in his hand, it's gleaming blade reflected the dim light of the room, I felt my eyes immediately widen as I realized how much danger my mother was in, I wanted to rush to her aid, but my body felt frozen.
But at the next moment, there was a sharp stab, the sword went through her heart and came out of her backbone, dripping blood.
"It stopped at our doorstep."
"No."
"She can't wake up."
"it's all your fault, Chris--"
"No!"
"Reality awaits,"
"By the Authorities of the Anti-Corruptive/Infraction Unit, I have claimed the life of an ex-worker who turns out to be the harborer of one of our biggest threats-- You should just have listened, Andy."
"Mom." I mumbled, holding my mouth sealed with the aid of my hands.
"Now Christopher, you have to choose one, either to follow me obediently? Or you play stubborn and die alongside your mother?" Eric asked without even looking at me, he knew that I was standing on the stairway all the while.
"What did you... WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?"
"Isn't it obvious, I dug my sword into her heart and... Pssssh." Eric mimicked how his sword went through, his expression wasn't even remorseful.
"You asshole!" I rushed at him, BLACK PLASMA clenched tightly in my arms. I knew better than to understand what had been going on, instead, I was going to let my pain take the whole of me. I lunged at him with the Styx knife, but he didn't even parry, he just inched his head a little bit to the right, making it seem like I wasn't even attempting.
"Aaargh!!" I rushed at him again, my tears gushing like an infinite rush of a waterfall.
"You lack experience." The man commended as he swiftly dodged every of my attacks. "A son of Hades indeed."
"Shut up!!!" With every of my last strength, I flung black plasma at him but he still dodged smoothly, he seemed very trained and I was not worth fighting at that moment. So, as weak as I was, I eventually surrendered to the floor.
"Pfft, I can believe I was sent to eliminate a fiddle like you, what a waste of time." Eric reached for his pockets and took out his handkerchief, cleaning off my mom's blood on his blade, I watched this horrific arrogance but I was too discouraged to fight, in fact, Eric had a hundred and one ways to murder me at that instance.
"And who the hell are you?!" I growled at him, at least to prove dominant.
"I-am Eric, your mom's ex-worker, nice to meet you." He stretched out his gloved palm to for a shake, but I could only look on.
"You are a liar, mom never worked..."
"Your mom was a spy, an intelligent and excellent one at that, she was more disciplined than even you Christopher, could imagine. And when matters came to elimination, she smiled with her eyes."
I watched the man as he walked around the room, explaining false things about my mom.
"Her disciplined lifestyle impacted her beautiful personality, and many men had eyes for her behind and beyond the unit. Sadly, that included me Christopher."
"You mother fuck-"
"But your mom... She betrayed us, because of love, because of the joy she thought was beyond seeking justice! She turned against the infraction. But who could ever blame her, it wasn't just an ordinary love. It was sad to figure out that she was getting married to an imposter who took the form of a human just to steal her heart... Your father-Hades."
"..."
"But she didn't realize something... The risk she was taking by getting engaged to a god, that risk is you, Christopher."
"M...me?"
"You're a threat to society, and you must be eliminated." Like lightning, Eric dashed towards me and lunged the tip of his blade at my throat.
"This is stupid!" I yelled at the bastard, not considering the fact that his blade was pointed at me. "I only get one-quarter of the tragedy and you want to eliminate me? Was it my fault to be given birth to? Or do you think it's my will to live? All my life, all I've ever dreamed of was to become a human, to see what it feels like, but then someone comes out of the random as says it's my fault for being born, I never wanted this life, you could have taken me but instead you took my mom! Who does that?!"
"Hmm, interesting." Eric said while his blade was still within my arena.
"Let me ask you a question Eric, what if you were partly human, would you still take the risk of engaging with a human female you love, let that sink into you, you can't arrest a life for playing along with nature's rules! But I guess you've been totally blindfolded and all that's left in you is the stupidity from being controlled by people who could actually impact!-"
Then I heard a loud thud, and my head hit the floor hard, affecting my skull. Also, Eric was pressing his feet hard on my face.
" Ugh, let go off me!" I groaned in discomfort as I struggled to direct his mashing feet's away from my face, but he was too strong.
"You know? Maybe you're right Christopher, I've dealt with youths of your race, and they had no time to listen, they never wanted therapy, so I felt the best solution was to eliminate them. But you Christopher, are different from them and I might consider helping you out." He explained.
"Would you please get your stinking feet off my face?!"
"No." He paused. "You want to become a human right? Well, I might have a top secrecy solution from the infraction unit. And at my own risk, I can't reveal more of that information."
"What?"
"If you want access to becoming human, you'll have to go through the best of the best, that's me." He bluffed. "I guess you can then have your wishes to yourself."
The man removed his feet from my face and then I could breath without having to inhale the scent of a decayed toe. Eric tucked his blade back in its sheath which was at his back and he headed towards the exit door.
"Grow stronger Christopher, and find me, it's the only choice you have."
And in the brink of the night, Eric disappeared.