eaning up against the phone booth he watched his mother come down the road and swing around into the parking lot of the store.
“Where the hell have you been?.”
Adonis sat there against his seat and thought about how he would explain anything to her, how could she make sense of any of it being on the outside of the situation.
“The situation is complicated. Theres no easy way for me to explain it”
“Well, you’ve got to start somewhere, you owe me that “
Rebecca pulled into a gas pump and parked the car. She handed him her debit card so he could take care of cashing out the gas inside. By the time he came to sit back down he had it all worded out in his head. Mom didn’t start the car, and she didn’t buckle herself in, she just sat there and waited.
After he explained what he could she drove off. Continuing their conversation on the way to the house.
“We have to get you another bike now, but I still can't believe you got sucked into this. You were supposed to be on your way out of this town after you graduated in a few years. its like you being here is keeping you here”
Rebecca looked over at Adonis once she stopped at the red light and rested her chin on her hand… thinking.
“We will let Emma graduate this year and we’ll just have to move together”
Adonis shouldn’t have been surprised by the measures she was considering but he was, she was working hard to pay off that house and she was almost there.
“I really don’t want you to do that, you’ve worked hard here”
“You think I want to leave either? I love it here, but you can't survive on your own yet. not while you still have to graduate if you didn’t maybe I’d understand but just you working part time won’t work. You both have to be working your ass off to even afford a onebedroom apartment”
Adonis glanced outside his window and imagined how this would all play out once this issue he was in was over, but he feared it would only get worse before things even had a chance to get better.
“I have enough for a down payment on the bike, but you have put it on the insurance of what happened. hopefully we can get something back.”
“I’m guessing we can handle that on Monday?”
“Yeah, consider it a gift for getting through your treatment, so I’ll drive you today.”
Pulling into the tan driveway, Adonis followed his mother into the house.
“You must be hungry love”
“I am, I just need a shower”
“Well, you go do that, I’ll see what we have to make “
Adonis went to the bathroom with fresh clothes, stripped and jumped in the shower. standing there under the water he noticed his body was covered in green and blue bruises, the ones that should have healed, didn’t have a chance. in fact, they worsened from the wreck.
“you’ve done well… “ it said.
Closing his eyes under the water he started to have visions, similar to his dreams. His muscles relaxing and his mind drifting, they came to him with ease.
He stood on top of a desert canyon looking down at the other orange rock formations. There was nothing but dark grey skies and thunder cracking her whip.
“ There was once a planet where a warrior race ruled for thousands of years.”
Dark Mammatus clouds hung overhead. these canyon colored rocks that continued for endless miles. miles the eyes could not see, voices carried on the sand billowing winds. distant blasts of electricity …and thunder echoed.
Below a sand pit, the ground trembled. pebbles and boulders lifted from the ground around him. and from that pit, an oval mirror without a frame rose slowly to meet his eyes.
“A horned warrior race once guarded her abyss; …but only through you can they return”
The mirror split down the middle and shattered outward towards him. creating a tempest of glass shards. and they swirled relentlessly around him. Adonis could suddenly see the past as if he was there to witness it himself.
In the Aphotic depths of space, he found himself in front of a pale and dark planet, with bodies of deep blue water that appeared black. and clouds above pale volcanic plates of land. Land that had thick and thin veins rich with magma flow. This monochromatic world was teeming with women men and children and a single protector. the bloodline of humanoids that were born only once every two hundred years. but the one they called Forefather lasted for nearly three hundred. He was the first of the warrior race to emerge. the one that constituted every law, the way the people of Sevoria would survive, and how they would pray to the void and give her thanks. These warriors aren’t born, they are products of the planet's core. They emerge like plants, with a root-like umbilical cord coming from the back of their necks. Pale creatures, as pale as the planet itself, and their eyes are among one of their deformities, their sclera the white veiny parts of the eyes are without pupils or an iris. Later in their development, the warrior child shows signs of horns emerging from their temples. with only five years of childhood in their long lives the horns can grow up to two feet, the largest recorded were Forefathers, reaching three and a half. Within five years, unlike the civilians of Sevoria, they reach full growth and maturity at the end of these years and are said to know about warfare unrivaled to any race in the galaxy. Impenetrable skin, clear instinct, unmatched wisdom. there has been no success in finding what makes these creatures emerge, the only assumptions that are drawn are from their teachings. That the cosmic mother provides, that her womb is the birthplace of all gods and of all kings.
“You are Sevoria’s legacy…”
Turning the water off he stood there with his head against the wall, allowing the water to drip away from his body.
Mom had already set the table with food. she smiled, seeing him walk into the dining area. refreshed like himself again.
“We will go see Emma in a few hours, but you need to pack for tonight” Mom said shoveling food into her mouth.
Adonis sighed under his breath, not having forgotten. How could he? It wouldn’t allow him to relax and just think about her. That’s all he wanted right now. If he couldn’t have her right this moment, he’d at least like to feel comfort by her thought. But other thoughts kept infiltrating his mind, thoughts not of his own…
Adonis took their plates and cleaned them before heading to the bedroom to pack. While he bagged up some clothes, He figured a scrap book of last year could definitely be something that would help occupy Emma. grabbing his journal on the way out, he realized he had not written in days. flipping through it briefly, it’s neglect reminded him of his medication. It had been two days, and he missed his appointment to go refill it. Mom wouldn’t have minded taking him to the pharmacy, but he felt different about it, he felt indifferent. Emma was counting on him, all of him. He was ready to face this world head on without a safety net. The symbolism of abandoning his medication in this moment, empowered him. If other worlds are possible then why would this be any different? What other possibilities would I find about myself?
His bag was slung over his shoulder, passing Falorum, he stopped to touch the instrument. missing it, he was saddened that he couldn’t take it with him.
looking out at the living room Mom still wasn’t dressed and
had just turned to go upstairs to do so.
he set his stuff down and picked up the guitar. His head was
filled with images of stars and the threatening claws of uncertainty. Down tuning his instrument and turning on his amplifier. He found a sludgy tone that connected with him. Playing with his eyes closed one note at a time. letting their foreboding melodies to ring out and speak for emotions no man could have the words to express. More than rage more than fear more than ambition…
On the way to the hospital, more visions began to make themselves known to him. but these weren’t ordinary tell-tale signs… they were products of something worse.
Holocaust, the clouds of men and children burning. Laboring without end. ushered false promises of freedom, when only the shadows of death were at play. Inquisition, innocent people charged with blasphemy,.when they were in fact loyal to it their entire lives. All it took was a neighbor’s hand wave toward their direction, to accuse them and put them in court. to go through a trial that would result in dismissal or death. Most were wealthy and if they were accused their belongings automatically became forfeit to the greedy and desperate. a blackened plot and centuries of agony for no better reason.
The screaming of innocents…
The fading light…
And an ocean of blood….
“Weaponized, agony. I must release her from this burden…
“
“All these broken machines, these Elyndrii must die…”
Arrived at the hospital, Adonis got out of his seat and shut the door. He could not shake an unsettling anger residing within him. It was extremely dense, and it made him lean against the car.
“Are you ok?”
Mom touched his shoulder, and he pulled his arm away.
“DON’T TOUCH ME!” it screamed.
Adonis walked away from her to get his mind straight. what was happening? what were these feelings these visions?
“There is no hope Markaine! I’ve watched them suffer eachother for hundreds of years, they know nothing else!”
The heaviness subsided and he could finally take a deep breath. he peered over the bridge to the stream of water reflecting the sunlight.
Inside the hospital he presented Emma with the scrap book, Adonis propped it up against her food table hovering over her legs by its metal adjustable leg. Flipping through the photos was nostalgic, photos of Halloween, thanksgiving, the gifts they each received. Family members that made the trip down.
Doctor Bentley came in the middle of it to discuss her recovery plan that included a few more surgeries and a heads up on how home care would look like. There was definitely a big responsibility with the home care procedures, but Adonis was ambitious to make sure she was given what care she needed.
Mom insisted that they go out and get her some better food for dinner. And they ate again right before the afternoon, right before Adonis had to say his goodbye for the weekend.
“Mom will be here, and you both know when to call me “
Emma started to cry and lean her head into his chest. his arms wrapped tightly around her body.
“I’ll be back, and I’ll never have to leave you again”
I-78 was an hour in length to New York. as much as he hated the city ,and going back to the residential facility. he knew he was going to miss rising on the highest point of the interstate to where he could first see the skyscrapers of the city emerge. From here the city wasn’t so bad, it was like touching a bear with a ten-foot pole, it was great but as soon as you got closer you could see the disharmony.
Crossing Manhattan bridge, and getting to the other side to Queens would take another hour. actually, more… considering the flood of vehicles on the way there.
Reaching the facility, The queen towered over 13 stories tall. and she spread out the length of 40 average cars. At night she was even more impressive. The largest building in Queens. That Clean sterile and minimalist look on the outside carried in on the inside.. No trash cans smoke pillars or benches just the staged trees spaced along the concrete way. The highway back home was literally looping right outside and around the hospital.
“This is it “
Mom hugged him first and he followed up with his arms wrapped around her, he held her for a time until she pulled away.
“I’ll call you, ok?”
She kissed his forehead and watched him get out of the car and walk towards the building with his bag slung over his shoulder.
Ringing the doorbell, someone he rarely saw or spoke to from the night shift appeared and let him inside after Adonis scanned his ID card. “So” he sighed.
" You know what’s first before you can go to your room.”
Adonis handed over his bag and took off his jacket while they Searched him thoroughly, removing his shoelaces and belt. then dumping them into a plastic container.
he held up his pants waiting for his new zip tie belt to be put
around him.
They gave him a hygiene kit on top of some red folded coveralls that he jumped into and zipped up. the flexible carbon cuffs around his wrist sleeves were heavy. but the cables attached to them were loose. these cables were connected to his ankle cuffs. controlled by a simple technology. that could be controlled by two touchpads stitched into the suit. the touchpads were password protected, protecting the restriction settings. preventing any fast movements from Adonis. the goal was to restrict him from fighting, but he could do basic things like grab his food and open doors.
Standing before the second pair of doors, he stared out beyond them into the foyer. when they opened, the queen was just as massive as it was on the outside, high ceilings and refreshing space. each level was like a rectangular ring. where patients could walk around and look down the bottom level. with a thick plastic shielding between each gap in every floor to prevent casual suicide. the sign in desk was caddy cornered in front of a pillar just before the main area staffed by only one. after he signed in, he followed Derrick around the center of the foyer. Looking up now he could see staff pacing the halls on every floor some looked down at him.
A grey door on his right now lead to staff offices on the first floor and in front of him, stairs to the patients’ rooms guarded by another grey door.
“Do you need to talk to anyone before you lye down?” Derrick asked
Adonis kept looking up at the rotating staff up stairs. Admiring how peaceful the queen was at this time of night. he wished he could stay out here for a while but that wasn’t an option at this time of night, freedom was left at the front door.
“My room”
Derrick led him down the hall unlocked the first door guided him up and through the stairwell to the fifth floor so he could unlock his door at the end of the hall.
“We will be around if you need us “
Locked in his brightly lit room now, tan blank walls a thin cushion for a bed with folded linen on top. A desk and a wardrobe were the other two pieces of furniture he had access too. but they were both completely empty.
It was so quiet, all he had was a rubber pencil and his journal, the rubber pencil made journaling less enjoyable because the lead was weak and the pencil itself bent obnoxiously.
Adonis took off his zip tied boots and walked over to the chair and desk and sat down. The window in front of him was guarded by a thicker pane of foggy scratched plastic. The blinds were closed but he could still look under them and see what the sky looked like, orange, setting.
Opening his book, bending his pencil to a more comfortable shape he took a deep breath and prepared himself to write.
