The Dawn of Destruction, Chapter 24 (clean)

                                   The Dawn of Destruction

Interitus 1 – Book One

            Chapter Twenty-Four

 

            “Come on, man! Why you bein’ so secretive for? What’d you get her? Where yo punk-ass even hide it at? I know it ain’t in yo locker; I already checked that shit twice!”

            “Stop, Phil! I didn’t get her anything; we aren’t even a couple. I don’t even like Valentine’s Day! To me it’s just another February day, not something that’s worth any attention. I got three tests Friday, man. I don’t have time to think about this,” Seth answered with a sigh.

            “Man, how you gon’ tell me it’s Valentine’s Day and you ain’t even got Iris any kinda present or chocolate or nothin’? That’s a damn shame, Seth, that’s a damn shame. She gon’ be so disappointed,” Phil said, shaking his head as they walked out of their last class.

            “Phil, you know I’ve never liked relationships. It’s cool that other people do it, but my head just isn’t right for that. Besides… I don’t think of Iris like that.”

            As the two friends walked together through the hallway, Seth stopped at the water fountain. He leaned over and drank from it for almost thirty seconds, but when he finished and looked up, Phil was still standing there with his arms crossed.

            “How you gon’ tell me-”

            “Alright, fine. You know what, Phil? You might be right. MAYBE. I don’t know. You and Iris have been my best friends since elementary school. I’ve been close with her for a really long time. But I don’t think I ever figured it out. Sometimes I kinda feel like I do love her… and sometimes I don’t. Most of the time, I just don’t know. I don’t think about it because I don’t know. Because I don’t need to know. Probably sounds stupid, right? I see her all the time, I talk to her all the time, and after all this time, I don’t even know if I’ve fallen for her. I don’t even worry about it. I don’t think I’ve fallen for her. I don’t think that my heart-”

            But before Seth could continue, Phil interrupted him by chuckling. Seth sighed, rolled his eyes, and started walking toward the parking lot.

            “I’m sorry Seth, I don’t mean to laugh. It’s jus’ that hearin’ yo punk-ass get all quiet and talk about your heart and shit, it’s just funny.”

            “Yeah… whatever, man. The point is that I don’t like Valentine’s Day, it’s just some stupid corporate shit so they can sell cards and chocolates. It’s not a big deal. Come on, I need your help studying for Physics,” Seth said.

            “Seth, you know you my best friend, but you a real dumb-ass sometimes. Valentine’s Day ain’t about buyin’ chocolates and gettin’ laid and all that. You can do that on any day, don’t mean nothin’. Valentine’s Day is ‘bout makin’ the people who matter most to you know that they appreciated.”

            The two friends walked to Iris’ car in the parking lot, but she had not yet arrived. They both took off their backpacks and set them on the ground.

            “You really think so?” Seth asked.

            “Yeah. It only means what it means to you, ya know? So Seth, I appreciate you, man. I love yo punk-ass.”

            “I fucking knew it! Haha, I knew one of you was gonna say it today!” Iris said with laughter as she ran across the parking lot.

            Phil pulled his hood all the way over his face and turned around. When Iris ran up to the car, she wrapped her arms around them both. Seth could feel the warm touch of her long, blond hair as it wrapped around his left arm. She hugged so tightly that he could feel her seashell earring press into his left shoulder.

            “Phil’s right, you know. I love you both so much,” Iris said to them.

***

            As he stood outside the shambles of what was once Iris’ house, Seth shook his head and whispered, “I think it’s time to let you go. I think it has to be. The thing is, um, I still haven’t forgiven myself for taking you from this world. I never will forgive myself. I’ve already run through it in my head a thousand times, how I didn’t know I had this power and didn’t mean to kill you, but none of that really matters. At the end of the day, you’re still gone, and it doesn’t matter that it was an accident.

“I keep having these memories… little echoes of the days we once shared together. Memories I could have clenched for the rest of my life. Memories that do nothing now but make me hurt. The guilt eats away at me every time I see you in my head. Every time I hear your sweet voice in my dreams. So here I stand at the wreckage of your home in a city I was too weak to save. The home of the friend that I myself killed. I have… failed you in every way, I think, and now I’m here to confess that I’m too weak to even accept the guilt. You’re gone, and it’s all my fault. I’ll never live that down. All I can do now is hope to make you proud.”

            Seth stared at the shambles for a moment longer before turning to face the sea. He grimaced when he saw the ravaged state of the neighborhood, but he turned his gaze toward the murky sea. He saw his friend waiting for him by the water’s edge, but Phil was too emotional to visit Iris’ home.

            While Seth and his friends had defeated Naomi in the end, the damage of her onslaught and the tsunami still dealt a heavy blow to the people of the west coast. The final death toll was tremendous, estimated to be almost a quarter of a million. Property damages from this disaster were greater than those from any other “natural” disaster in recorded history. The Pacific Ocean ran red with carrion.

While they wanted to celebrate their victory, Seth and Phil said nothing as they stared upon the endless wreckage that used to be their city. The entire world seemed to mourn the tragedy, and people had flocked from all over to search for their loved ones in the wreckage. However, one detail had caused countless conspiracies: Not a single wave had touched the islands of northern Polynesia. Hawaii, the Cook Islands, and Christmas Island were all spared. In fact, an old fisherman reported that he saw the waves climb up from the ocean, and then they fell apart within a matter of seconds. This was about fifty kilometers from the coast of Maui.

            San Diego, on the other hand, was nearly wiped off the map from this incident. Through an enormous federal grant, the governor had ordered a swift removal of the rubble followed by a rapid reconstruction. Phil theorized that they wanted to eliminate the evidence of the tragedy as swiftly as possible. They ultimately wanted to reinstate the city as a center of commerce and tourism. Coming as no surprise to anyone, the reconstruction did not include neighborhoods or people’s homes.

            Seth and Phil stood at the water’s edge, staring over the western horizon so that they could look away from the wreckage that still stained the beaches. Even now, debris scattered the murky water.

            “What are your parents gonna do? It sucks that the house is gone,” Seth said to his best friend.

            “Says you! My pops always told me that if somethin’ happen to the house, he gon’ get paid big ‘cause he spent so much on insurance. He said it was worth it ‘cause my dumb-ass was probably gon’ burn the house down on accident. Best decision his hard-ass ever made! But he and moms is headin’ out to Reno ‘cause they always wanted to retire out there anyways. I wanna go with ‘em, they’re good people.”

            “You could say that again. I can’t remember how many nights I stayed with you guys after my parents’ plane went down. They accepted me like family with no questions asked. I’ll always appreciate that. So why wouldn’t you go with them?” Seth asked.

            “Oh, sure, they like to act all nice and shit when yo ass was around, course I don’t really blame them. Yo calming-ass seem to have that effect on people, y’know? That’s kinda the reason I ain’t sure I wanna go. I don’t mean to sound like some annoyin’ clingy high school girl or nothin’, but I ain’t goin’ anywhere unless I’m bringin’ yo punk-ass with me,” Phil retorted.

            Seth said with a smile, “I wouldn’t have it any other way. Then again, I’m pretty sure our work isn’t entirely over. We did stop Naomi from killing everyone, but I know she Created some things we haven’t seen yet. And there’s still some weird stuff I want to figure out. Like why didn’t the waves hit Hawaii? And didn’t teach Master Liu about the Equilibrium Trigger? How’s that work? Where’d it even come from?”

            “Plus, Felix and that dog disappeared real fast after the fight, and I know his punk-ass still thinks you a pawn of the devil or some shit.”

            “Yeah, true. But whatever we have to face, I know we can beat it. If we defeated a woman who can Create anything she thinks of, then I think we’re basically unstoppable,” Seth said with a laugh.

            “You right, you right, and she was a crazy bitch, too. Sure was hot though, I wouldn’t o’ minded gettin’ with that for a minute.”

            “Can’t deny that, man. But I can’t help but wonder, how different could everything have been if someone had been there for her? If her dad hadn’t killed her sisters and chased her through the woods. Like, how different would she have been, psychologically, if she didn’t go through so much shit? I think sometimes… some people really are just victims to circumstance,” Seth explained, shaking his head.

            Phil crossed his arms and said, “But it’s what you do with them circumstances that define who you is.”

            “I think… I think in some way, that’s kinda what life is about. I know it’s weird, but when I first got this power, I thought that I might end up dead by my own hand. I hated it so much; I thought I had the worst luck in the world, and not just because that power took Iris from me,” Seth said as he stared out over the ocean.

            Phil muttered, “Man, you ain’t even gotta tell me. I knew from the moment I seen you at her mom’s funeral. I was worried sick about you, Seth. I wouldn’t let you outta my sight for days.”

            “But in a way, it gave me a chance to discover myself. Let’s be honest, I didn’t even really know myself before all this began. I was probably just gonna compete for a few years and then be a personal trainer or something. I mean, I guess that I was on the side of good, not that I really knew what the other side looked like, but I didn’t know how to act on it. Now that I have the tool to do it, I’ve seen a part of myself that was only a theory before. It’s pretty shitty to admit this, but for a while there, I kinda hated feeling like I gotta protect everyone. I guess I felt I had to protect them because I’m the only one who can, but it goes deeper than that. I guess I’ve still got to figure myself out, but even that seems like a pointless luxury. My time’s better spent using my power to help people,” Seth said with a quiet voice.

            “And I’m gon’ be with you every step of the way.”

            Seth nodded and said nothing. As the cool autumn breeze swept over the ocean, he and Phil felt the spray of the ocean waves. Seth looked down and saw two drops of water fall into the wet sand at the same time. These drops rolled down the slope and into the ocean. Seth looked up and saw a small, moist trail between Phil’s eye and his chin. Phil saw the same tear trail on Seth’s face.

            “Why you cryin’ for?” Phil chuckled through his faint sob.

            “I just… I just thought Arisa and I could have had something, ya know? I’ve never really thought much about relationships, and it wouldn’t have been that, but it still felt fulfilling; I don’t know. I’m just being sentimental. Why are you crying?”

            “’Cause all the McBurger’s is gone. It could be weeks until I get to eat at one again,” Phil whimpered, placing his head on Seth’s shoulder.

***

            Two days later, Seth stood outside the empty rubble where his home once stood. Phil and his parents would be arriving in about fifteen minutes for the trip to Reno, and therefore this was his last chance to reflect on the life he would be leaving behind. Sterile wires and scraps of dry wall scattered the area, but the ground was mostly scraped clean by the ocean. There was no grass in any direction, and he struggled to tell the difference between two destroyed homes.

            It seemed that there was no tangible trace of Seth’s parents left in the physical world. The ocean had taken everything, though Seth reassured himself that the person who caused this devastation was gone. The gentle breeze accelerated for a moment, and Seth then heard the crackle of rustling paper. He turned around and saw an envelope on top of a pile of splinters and pipes. He curiously walked up to it and saw that the note was handwritten.

            “I still think of you. I know that we’ll meet again,” Seth read from the letter, leaving no hint of its sender other than the familiar fragrance on the paper itself.

            The smell was undoubtedly that of Arisa. He prayed that this meant she had somehow regenerated herself in the way that she said she could. He feared momentarily that Naomi could have also come back in the same way, but he dismissed this concern; Arisa would certainly not regenerate herself if it would bring back Naomi. But why had Arisa not approached him directly? After all, she had no reason to assume that Seth would come to the wreckage of his old home. Was she afraid of him? Did he remind her of tragic memories?

In the end, Seth concluded that she probably just needed time for herself. He figured that she might cause an uproar if she were seen anywhere in San Diego; Arisa and Naomi definitely looked like sisters. And while most people believed that Naomi was missing and Seth was dead, a large portion of the population feared that the destruction could happen again. They did not know what really caused the tsunami.

            A red van turned the corner and gradually drove toward Seth.

            “Hey, Seth, is you ready? We got all our shit together,” Phil shouted from the back as the van slowed to a halt.

            Seth nodded and opened the door. He put a small bag on the floor and then crawled next to Phil.

            “Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Williams. Thank you so much for this,” Seth said.

            “Not a problem, Seth. You always welcome with us. You know that,” Phil’s father replied with a courteous smile. And just a matter of minutes later, they were driving the quickest route toward the interstate.

            “Hey pops, can we stop and get some pizza? I’m hungry as a bitch back here!”

            “Phil! Watch your language,” his mom scolded.

            Seth laughed a little, but he kept his distance from the conversation. His fatigue was catching up to him, so he pressed his face against the window. He looked out through the glass and saw that the wreckage stained every inch of scenery. Not even the downtown area of the city, which was being hastily rebuilt, could deny the destruction. But the devastation was not just in piles of debris or wreckage in the streets; it was also hidden in the faces of everyone Seth saw, even on the open highway. Everyone in the passing cars or walking aimlessly beside the street wore the anguish in their eyes. Countless people perished in the waves, and virtually everyone had somebody to mourn. The tourists and the transplants were the only ones excluded from the sadness.

            “Seth, why you so quiet over there? We gon’ get some McBurger’s!” Phil shouted, violently shaking his friend’s shoulder.

            “What? But we just started driving,” Seth said in confusion.

            “Man, we been drivin’ for hours! You just been sleepin’ like a baby. You and yo punk-ass, too lazy to even be driven around,” Phil chuckled.

            “Wow… I’m sorry, I had no idea! Good thing, though. I’m hungry,” Seth said as he looked at the clock in the car.

            Suddenly, a blue pick-up truck swerved in front of their van, sending Phil’s father into a flurry of profanity and angry shouting. Phil and his mother each rolled down the window, but Seth watched with an amused smile.

            “You old motherfucker, who taught your dumb-ass how to drive?! You better drive off before I get up in there and beat you like the bitch you are!” Phil’s mother screamed while Phil shouted similar insults from the back.

            Seth generally thought of Phil’s mother as a calm and collected person, but this was not the first time he had seen her lose her temper.

***

            “Hey mom, there’s some old-ass white bitch at school who’s tryin’ suspend me ‘cause she thinks I pissed in the fountain! Has she tried contactin’ you yet?” Phil told his mother one day after he and Seth got back from a long run.

            As Seth pulled his notes out of his backpack, he heard the ring of the doorbell. Phil’s mother walked to the door and calmly said, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of the problem.”

            Stepping with one foot across the threshold, an old woman said, “Excuse me, ma’am. I have reason to believe that your son urinated in the fountain behind the school today. My superiors have sent me to follow up. I am here to verify that these repeated behavioral misconducts are not the result of an environmental issue.”

            “Environmental issue? You mean in the home I raised my son in? Are you trying to call my hardworkin’-ass a bad mother? You think you know anything about parenting? With that waist, you ain’t never had kids in your life, and you’re trying to tell me I’m doing it wrong?! You best get out of here before I come over there and plant this heel between your eyes! Old-ass bitch come ‘round here thinkin’ she call me a bad mother in my own damn home and saying my son shouldn’t be peeing here and there; it’s a free country! My son can piss anywhere he damn please! If you don’t get out right now, so help me, sweet Jesus,” Phil’s mother exploded, and then she slammed the door in the woman’s face.

***

            “Wow, mom, I didn’t expect that from you,” Phil laughed.

            “Well, we could have been killed! That woman needs to know she was in the wrong. In a way, it’s like a learning experience,” she calmly answered.

            “Mom, pops, I love you guys,” Phil answered.

            “Quiet, son. We almost to the McBurger’s,” said Phil’s dad as he pulled into the parking lot.

            As Seth, Phil, and his parents walked across the parking lot, Seth looked in through the window and saw the faces of happy people. Though these people were likely happy because they had sated their hunger, Seth decided to take it as a sign that there was still hope even after tragedy. Even after the tsunami, these people still managed to find happiness in everyday life.

            “I’d like four chicken sandwiches, two of them chocolate shakes, two sides of fries, and some ketchup for them fries,” Phil announced loudly as he walked across the doorstep, immediately catching the confused attention of everyone sitting in the tables and standing behind the counters.

            “Yes sir, cash or credit?” the cashier asked as Phil staggered toward her.

            “Credit card? For McBurger’s? Do I look like one of them rich dudes with them toilets that clean yo ass with splashin’ water? Hell no, I pay with paper,” Phil said, tossing a twenty on the counter.

            “Seth, would you like us to get you something?” Phil’s mother politely asked.

            “Nope, I’ve got it. But thank you!”

            A few minutes later, one of the employees assembled several sandwiches, fries, and shakes on a red tray on the countertop. Phil sprinted over, and without restraining himself long enough to reach a seat, he ravenously ripped into his food. Children screamed while Seth cheered, and he was soon joined by many of the restaurant’s customers. The cashier watched with fearful disgust as Phil finished his entire meal in 120 seconds, leaving his face and the floor splattered with various sauces and crumbs. Phil’s mother started clapping slowly, joined soon by Seth and the other cheerleaders, and eventually everyone nearby clapped for him. Phil turned to the cashier as he continued to lick his lips. He pointed to the menu to indicate another Chicken Sandwich Combo.

            “That’s what happen when you make me go so long without real food,” Phil said with a laugh when he sat down at the table.

            “Phil, don’t ever change,” Seth laughed while Phil’s parents both shook their heads.

            “They say when people is moving to a new place, it’s like joinin’ a brand new world, but don’t you worry. We in it ‘til the end, and I got yo back,” Phil said.

            “And I’ve got yours.”

            “We brothers, man. No matter what, nothing’s ever gon’ change that.”