The sun's rays illuminated a forlorn room, it's bleak walls crumbling. Nico blinked away the golden blaze, stifling a yawn. Ebony strands clung to his forehead, leaving indentations where they sat. He pushed the strands away, smoothing his hair back, and staggered to his doorway, his sleep laced mind struggling to keep up with the idea of motion.
He paused for a moment, then silently slipped past his mother's room, the faded odor of death hanging heavy in the empty room. He took a breath to steady his crippled heart as the sickly aroma washed over him. He hadn't the strength to even move her corpse from where her body lay. Nico continued down the steps, pausing briefly at the kitchen to grab an apple.
He shuffled away from the house, heading towards an unimpressive shed to the side of his carefully manicured lawn. Sun flickered across his pale skin, making it glow as if fluorescent.
Nico held his thumb to a makeshift doorknob, its futuristic silvery blue colour giving contrast to the ancient wood shed.
A fingerprint scanner examined his thumb, then projected his picture as his fingerprint was confirmed. The familiar wood of the door swung back to reveal two timeworn desks, the ebony surfaces concealed with numerous blueprints, each of a unique gadget. A boy sat hunched over a desk, scribbling furiously on a piece of aged paper.
"I've got it!" Eden blurted, jumping up from his seat, sending papers and pencils airborne.
"I suppose our maid will clean and organize those plans you, Eden, have so nicely befouled." Nico muttered, sarcasm dripping like venom from each word.
Eden gave Nico a crooked smile, winning over his heart again.
"So get to it maid Nico." he exclaimed, eyes brimming with humor.
Apparently too enthusiastic to wait, Eden launched into his explanation. "I just discovered why our X-ray glasses don't work, there was this huge scratch in the circuit board, and several of the wires were disconnected. I don't know how that happened, or why we didn't discover it earlier, but I fixed those and guess what?" Too overjoyed to wait for an answer, he plunged ahead. "It works! Here." he thrust a pair of black framed glasses into his hands.
Examining the circuit board, he reveled in it's glamour.
"This is great Eden-" he started.
"Just try them on already!" Eden exclaimed, beaming at him as he patted his head.
Bringing the glasses to his eyes, he pressed the button on the side which triggered the motor to start and generate electricity. Turning around, he gasped as he saw each bone in Eden's body, including the fractured one in his right arm beneath the cast.
They sat, grinning at each other, their smiles threatening to split their faces. They embraced, joy bringing them together after the long months spent working on the gadget their neighbor had sponsored.
Electricity audibly crackled in the air around them, making them flinch apart.
"Was..." Eden's question faded into oblivion as they both looked out the window.
Dirt lay in clumps as if dumped carelessly by a delivery man, and grass seed was positioned around the dirt piles.
Wordlessly, the two friends staggered out onto what used to be the precisely manicured lawn. Dirt crumbled underneath their shoes as they stepped carefully into the open.
There was only one sentence that was on both of their minds. What happened?