two

Why didn’t I save her? Why didn’t you save her? They would ask later.

The taller of the two was in a darkened room, empty now but for a few others. Most of the former inhabitants were outside, they would come in when the bell rang. For now, it was the smart, weird, quiet girl. She would help him win. He had no doubt. Around her were people that clung closely to her. She was shy, she was quiet, but she radiated power. This power was what gave him the certainty that it would be his. He thought of the man who was clearly the best, Aslam. He would beat him. Without a doubt, there was only a firm, silent certainty in his mind.

He walked out from this, lost in his own thoughts. On the way, he fell in with his best friend, who had somehow been outside.

Dark eyed, shorter, stockier. Why didn’t I save her? Why didn’t you save her? The voices would ask later. They would torture and torment him. He would wonder why.

The sky was dark, lined with streaks of red, and white, puffy streams of clouds. As if rockets spewing out trails of gas.

The shorter of the two was lost in his own thoughts. They walked in silence, as was their wont. They turned the corner. Now they were under a steel tarp, construction being carried out in this section. They passed a gaggle of people. There was a girl in that crowd. He could feel it. He did not see her. But the voices began. Always so low, always so normal. He assumed other people felt them too. But now, the voices. They were different. They were insistent. They were whispers. They were of significance. He looked back, he looked up. He was scared. No, worried. Somewhere in between. In the streaks of clouds, he saw nothing. He expected to hear a shrill, low whistle. He did not hear it. But he knew it was coming. He quietly asked his friend to hurry up, and they did. The missile. He did not see it. It did not hit.

Everything slowed down. Everyone disappeared. It was just him, on these now empty walkways. He knew they were all still there. They were frozen in time. He had been pulled out of it. He did not know how or why. He could not see them.

He was taller now. The voices had quieted. He was about to visit the Master. 

The meeting happened, he did not remember what he looked like, but he knew he had made a deal with the Devil. Not figurative, but the literal, actual Lord of Hell. He was taller than ever now. The dark under his eyes glowing with a manic light. He was big. It was only in this place. Soon he would come to see more. But for now, he had to go back to this world. He saw a hole in front of him, something falling into the depths he did not want to see. He was now hanging onto the ledge, about to fall into depths he did not want to be.