The Purge
Chapter 49: Conleth

“Sometimes I think that maybe we are just stories. Like we may as well just be words on a page, because we’re only what we’ve done and what we are going to do.”

Tiger Lily; Jodi Lynn Anderson

Sometimes it scares me to think that I don’t know exactly what to do with my life. But then I woke up with letters and numbers in my vision, stepped inside a room, met this beautiful, amazing girl, fought some aliens, and yet still lived.

I think you replace the purpose of your life when you realized you wanted to live it for the sake of those you love. You know the reason for living is to be with them and protect them and nothing else matters. You just live no matter how unsettling life can be.

I watched my friends as we all settled in the massive living room; listening to the sounds made by the frost outside, anticipating any form of danger. Athren found himself a couch near the door and made himself comfortable. Halley sat near the fire while keeping her eye on her sleeping prisoner whose hands were still tied on a chair’s arm rest. Bri was by the window, watching the frost blur the world before us. I sat silently beside her. I watched her draw stories on the window. She paused, wrinkled her nose, met my eyes, and smiled at me.

“What is it?” I asked her.

She watched her drawings. “This house seems to bring memories to me when I was little.”

“The good or the bad?”

“The good ones.” She sighed and looked away from the window. “But the good ones are usually the saddest.”

“What’s your story?” she asked as her blue eyes searched me. “Before you left everything behind.”

I shrugged. “Like I said back on that ship, I was just a boy.” She raised an eyebrow at me. “But with cool powers and steaming sex appeal.” She pushed me over and rolled her eyes skyward. I started to laugh. Bri left me and she moved in beside Halley.

Halley turned to her. “I do want a bedtime story.” She said it like a child that I made my way towards them. Athren who did not even care about the word except his misery turned an eye on our direction. Bri raised an eyebrow at him and nod him over.

“I’m guard on duty.” His excuse.

“Whatever you say, Athren.” Bri looked away from him. “But you’re welcome to sit with us.”

“Fine.” Athren stood up and strode towards us forcing his but beside me, sitting between me and Bri. “You want a story, Halley? Okay. Let us begin.”

Once there was this boy. This beautiful boy who lived a peaceful life outside the city. His parents had nothing much, they were running a farm, and yet they were happy. One day, the boy went out with his father to fly his kite. But there was not enough to make it soar. The boy got upset and then suddenly a very strong gust of wind blew in the field bending his father’s crops. The kite flew up in the sky and was never found.

The next day, the boy woke up with men in his room. They were armed with guns and they all wore the night. The boy was scared that when they grabbed both of his arms he called to his parents. But none of them came. They were going to take him away and there was no one there to help him. As the men forced him in the amphibian, the boy saw his parents come out of their house. He cried out to them one last time hoping they would hear him and take him back inside. But they were deaf to his calls. They were blind to the sight of him. The last thing he saw of them was the time the men brought a small bag of gold into their hands before the hurricane washed their house away.

The wind was his only ally. He was his only friend and he brought him safely into the arms of people who can be trusted. The boy woke up to a set of narrowed shaped eyes and bald heads. They wore weird looking clothes that resembled a bathrobe and wood for their sandals. They carry long, curved swords tied on their waists. They spoke in a different tongue too. The boy was too scared that he didn’t say a word for days. But despite the silent treatment, they offered the boy food and shelter.

One day, the boy woke up to the sound of grunts and steel. He opened his door to replace the men doing an exhibition of their swords. They lash out into the air; fearless and the wind just carried their motion freely. When they saw him watching, they all stopped, put down their swords and bowed to him.

Okaerinasai, Bocchan.

One of the men stood up, knelt before him and offered him his sword with a smile.

They taught the boy to fight and the wind supported him in his early years like it was his own pair of wings. He trained well and became a master swordsman. But no matter how strong he was, the world still managed to replace him. And so death visited his door. He came back home from an expedition only to replace blood on his doorsteps. Everyone he holds dear was gone. He closed the door and walked away from the sight, not shedding a single tear.

That’s when he realized that not all swords can protect. Not all of your strength can armor you from pain. And no one else can stay with you forever. There’s just the wind.

There is just the wind.

Athren looked out into space like he was floating along with it. He turned to us and smiled forcefully. “Owari.”

The end.

Bri took a deep breath. “Well, that was a sad story. A bit empowering. Anyone else?” she raised her hand. Her eyes passed by me playfully. When no one raised theirs she placed her hand down awkwardly. She cleared her throat. “Well, I can at least try.”

“Just make sure it’s not horror or else you’ll scare the poor girl to sleep.” Athren teased.

Bri glared at him but she continued.

There was this girl who lived in the heart of the sea. Her father was the best captain of the ship, her mother, always so beautiful, with a smile that can brighten even the darkest skies, and a loving heart, and her brothers—they were the silliest people in the world. It was a happy family. One you’d read in the books or see in a movie. They sailed along with their father wherever he would go and so her eyes explored the world along with her feet.

One day, they went down to shore. It was an old town just like this one. It was one of a few places where chaos didn’t lay a hand. People sold different kinds of things, old things, stuff that her parents were always fascinated with. The little girl wondered off to replace some books. She was always passionate about words. She loves seeing them make their way into books telling stories and making pictures. She was lucky enough to replace a few. Her mother called out to her from the crowd but she didn’t want to leave the book. She turned to her mother and waved. She shook her head, rolled her eyes in the sky and smiled back at her. Never did she quite realize that that was the last time she will ever see her smile.

A man from behind her, wearing nothing but her fears, shoots her mother from behind. It washed away her smile. She looked back at her, sadness and fear mirrored in her eyes. Tears filled them as she sank to the ground helplessly. Gun fires were filling the place and the crowd plunged into havoc. The girl stood frozen from where she stood. She felt her heart race like running horses in an open field. Her body filled with ice, she shook from her nightmare.

Run.

She heard her mother’s words in the air. Her pursuer continued to advance to her mother. Tears filled her eyes. The girl finally found her balance and she stepped forward. Her mother, with every bit of strength that she has left, shook her head and mouthed the words she would always keep in her mind.

Run.

The man stood behind her mother. His face has a look of menace and his eyes held hers. He puts the head of the gun at the back of her mother’s head, she took another step forward, he pulls the trigger, and she was pulled out of the chaos by strong hands.

She struggled for her freedom and she kicked at her captor. Tears flooded her cheeks as she screams for dear life.

“Mama! Mama!” she screamed for her but she can no longer hear her now.

“Look away. Don’t look back.” Her brother’s soothing words as he held her close to him. He was cold and trembling too. When he found the strength to move, he went back to reality and carried his sister out of the maddening crowd.

They made their way back to the docks. Their father called out for them to board their ship. He was running, carrying their little brother. He ordered his eldest son to start the engine of the ship. The gun shots still followed. Her brother placed her down on the floor as he operated the ship. She placed both of her hands to her ears. She doesn’t want to hear them call for her again.

“Garrett! Turn the ship around!” their father shouted. The boy’s hands trembled at the helm as a bullet sailed through their father’s knee. He fell down with their brother.

“Turn the ship around!” their father’s shout. He pulled himself up, carried their crying brother in his arms and started running towards their ship. The men were coming towards them. Another bullet made its way to their father’s back and he fell back on the ground with his son. He crawled towards him and wrapped his arms around him, keeping his eyes shut as the last bullet hit his head.

Bri stopped as a stray tear made its way down her cheek. She wiped it off, embarrassed to be seen crying.

Halley wrapped an arm around her and consoled her. Bri smiled back at her and wiped her tears away.

“Sometimes you just got to get out, you know.” Chivas says, now that he’s awake, we’ll be more aware of him. “You don’t have to be so tough all the time, Tyranica. We all have walls that need to be broken.”

“Those memories aren’t gonna go away.” Athren said. “They will always be here.” He pointed his temple and then his heart. “And here.”

“Sometimes we think that we are stronger. But when we look back, we break again. Because we know we are stronger now because we’ve been there; we’ve been weak. And that pain will always have a scar in our hearts and it will remain there to remind us to keep fighting.” Bri said. “We survived then, we can survive now.”

“They are out to hunt us.” I said. They all looked at me. “I saw Addonexus in rows of human size tubes in their lab. They want something from us. And they are not gonna stop until they get it.”

“But why now? Why kill us now when they have all the opportunity from the very beginning?” Halley asked.

I looked down at my hands. “I don’t know. I ran away before they could catch me.”

“Did they try to kill you too, Chivas?” Bri asked him.

His eyebrows met. “I… I don’t really remember. All I know was that we boarded the train just like you guys. I was talking to Phyllis and then… the rest was history.”

“Phyllis.” Halley darkened at the sound of her name.

“You know the bitch?” Chivas turned to ask her.

“Of course I know her. She compelled you. I know her capabilities she was my bunk mate before I was reassigned.” The reason why I kept my father’s knife close to me in bed.

“She must have been forced to do it.” Bri said.

“Who would force her?” Chivas snapped. “That bitch. How dare she use her powers against me!”

“Do you know where your squad is?” Bri asked and Chivas’ expression fell. He cursed and stood up—or at least he tried. He fell back on the ground, forgetting he was still tied.

“Why the fuck am I tied?” he demanded.

“We were just making sure you’re not gonna try and kill us.” Halley answered like an innocent child.

“Well, love, I sure will once I get out of these restrain!”

“Now you never will.” Athren used his air to settle him back on the ground. “Now sit down and be a good boy.”

“They are using her to hunt us down. They are gonna turn our own against us.” Bri said.

“Well obviously, Bri. Why would he be here now in the first place?” Athren prompted.

“We cannot run for now.” I said. “The frost is still out there. We will die in bitter cold.”

“Then we stay here for the night.” Bri said as she stood up and headed towards the staircase. “We move out once the Frost disappears. Halley, are you coming?”

“Um… where?”

“To bed.” She said in a matter-of-fact tone. “There are a lot of rooms in this house. Do you want to sleep down stairs?”

Halley thought. “No.”

“Then come up now.”

“But Chivas—”

“Will be fine downstairs.”

“Your fascinating way of being hospitable I presume, Tyranica?” Chivas says.

“Do you wish to freeze outside?”

Chivas made a face at her.

“Thought so too.” She started to head up stairs.

Athren stretched in the sofa and made a bed for himself. “I don’t know about you but I’m already comfortable in here.”

“As if I can go someplace else that I can get a goodnight sleep.” Chivas grumbled.

“Well then, the guys stay here.” I said as I lay on the rug near the fire where it kept me warm.

I woke up from the cold of the night, the fire was already gone and the guys were all snoring in their sleep. I don’t know why but something’s calling me to wake up and go upstairs. My stupid heart was calling for her and my mind is all awake of a sudden. I reached the second floor only to replace there’s a stairway to the third. I met the long hallway and saw the rows of doors to different rooms.

Where could she be?

I shook my head and headed to where my feet would take me. I opened one door randomly and I found myself inside a library. With shelves and shelves of unread books left behind by its owner. I started to wander inside until my eyes found Bri in one of the hallways returning a book on a top shelf. She tiptoed to reach it. I reached her and I helped her put the book back to its home. Our eyes met at the instant. The energy seems to flow between us like waves of magnet. I was trying not to yield into it. But my eyes fell on her lips and I know I lost the battle already.

She smiled knowingly. “It’s a bit annoying isn’t it?”

I snickered. “Sorry. I can’t pull myself away.”

“Would it kill you to stay away?”

“Yeah.”

She laughs.

“Staying this far away from you… do you know how hard it is to breathe right now?”

“You’re unbelievable, Conleth.”

“Honest feelings and bad timing make the most painful combination right?”

She smiled. “Thank you for not giving up on me.” a stray tear replace its way down her cheek. I reached out to wipe it away.

“You do not give up on the ones you love even if they do.”

I moved in to close the space between us. Slowly, I bent down; I let my world fall into her. I let the gravity pull me in. I let time disappear. Our lips collided like two predestined stars. She wrapped her arms around me and I pulled her up, trapping her between me and the bookshelf. I kissed her long and hard. I was too scared to let her go. I breathed her in like she was my own. I hold her close to me as if it would hurt to let her go.

My lips travelled from her lips down to the soft skin of her throat. She lets out a moan and she closed her eyes. And I felt the cold silver chain around her neck. I opened my eyes to replace my mood ring with her. She opened her eyes and looked down at me. I looked at her and see my own life reflected in hers. Her hands grazed my hair as she caught her breath. Our foreheads met and I kept her close to me. No words passed between us for fear it might break us apart. My lips followed the chain up until it found its way back to her lips where it molded perfectly.

I filled her body with kisses and I was as gentle as my kisses. I was drunk from her love. I was drugged with passion. The world disappeared. And before I knew it, I was broken as I surrendered myself to her.

It was reckless indeed to fall in love. But it’s always a war zone for me. All that I had was my heart to give and there’s nothing to protect myself. But tonight, with Bri, it was easy for me to let everything go. I want her to be my sunrise and my sunset.

It was the first time I slept peacefully that night and when I woke up, she was the best sight I woke up to.