A/N: I am truly astounded by the feedback I've received for this story! Thank you guys so, so much!
Please enjoy the next chapter!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and no copyright infringement is intended.
A New Beginning - Chapter 2
September 23rd, 2136. Mark was nine years old and he was terrified. So much was happening around him and he didn't understand - it was well after midnight and he was at home. But it wasn't home anymore. The man he called 'father' was unmoving on the floor, a pool of blood beneath him. His mother sat on the floor sobbing hysterically with a gun in her hand. The lights from the police cars were flashing through the windows making his headache even worse. Everything was just a flurry of motion - the police taking his mother away, the paramedics loading the body into a black bag and onto a stretcher, the paramedics checking him over for serious injuries, his grandfather picking him up from the police station. All of it was a blur, a horrible nightmare.
Mark jumped awake with a gasp. His heart was pounding furiously and he was soaked with sweat. Glancing at the clock told him it was nearly time to get up anyway so he sat up with a groan and threw his legs over the side of the bed. He sat there for a moment holding his head in his hands, shaking. He hated remembering that night but every once in awhile his subconscious would haunt him with it.
That night changed his life forever. His father had come home drunk and started a fight with his mother. Not an unusual occurrence but it ended differently that night. After his father had taken a swing at Mark, who was trying to get him to stop hitting his mother, his mother grabbed a gun and shot him. She was found guilty of manslaughter but given a shorter prison term due to it being in self defense. Not that it mattered, when he was thirteen his mother passed away from an illness caused by breathing the toxic air. Today was the anniversary of the day his life changed.
Sighing, he got up and went to take a shower. He wouldn't be attending school today, instead he and his grandfather would be going to visit his mother and spending the day grieving the loss and smiling at fond memories. He got out of the shower and dressed in his finest clothes then went out to the living area. Hs grandfather was waiting for him with a breakfast of cold cereal on the table. They ate in silence and when finished they placed their bowls in the sink, grabbed their rebreathers, and walked out the door.
Cemeteries were no more this day in age - there simply wasn't enough room. Instead bodies were cremated and the ashes placed in a box that was sealed into a wall next to the rows and rows of other deceased. Visiting a lost loved one was much like visiting the libraries of old - rows and rows of walls with sealed boxes on either side like library books on either side of tall bookshelves. Mark and his grandfather found the box with his mother's ashes and placed a small paper flower in the small pocket on the face of the box. His grandfather had taught him how to make an origami flower years ago, a nearly lost art with the lack of paper. Mark had been making a flower for his mother's anniversary every year since.
He missed her dearly but he couldn't imagine how his grandfather felt, having buried his only child. Mark wished he could take that one horrible night away. But he wasn't sorry his father was gone. That man was a horrible person to his mother and an inspiration for the type of man Mark never wanted to be. That man was the reason his mother was no longer here and why his grandfather had to deal with the pain of losing his daughter everyday. No, Mark would not be a man like that.
They spent the first half of the day at his mother's 'grave,' talking to her and sharing stories of the past year. They had brought their own lunch and had a small picnic there. They had even packed a small amount of food for his mother. They wouldn't leave it there, but they wouldn't eat it either. Most likely they'd give it to the homeless person that lived near their apartment building. After lunch they returned home. The homeless man had been extremely grateful for the meal, nearly swallowing it in one bite. George gave the man directions to the nearest shelter where he might be able to find a warm bed for the night.
The afternoon was spent in silence, the both of them in their own bedrooms. Mark never knew what his grandfather did with his time alone - he respected the man's privacy enough to let him mourn his daughter's death without interruption. Today Mark decided to take a nap, he just wanted this day to be over with. He grabbed a holographic display off his bedside table and pulled up a picture of his mother and set it next to him. She was smiling brightly and had a younger version of himself wrapped in her arms. He was smiling too. Closing his eyes he whispered 'sweet dreams, Mom' and fell asleep.
A/N: Well, there ya go! Another chapter. I'm afraid I made a bit of a mistake with this story - I should have written it all down before posting it and I didn't, so it's going to be coming a bit slower than I'd like as I come up with ideas. Oh well. I will do my absolute best to not keep you guys waiting for very long!
I know this chapter was a bit angsty (and short, sorry!), but I kind of pictured Mark's life as not being a field of roses. In my mind a guy like him couldn't exist without some hardship. *shrug*
Anyway, totally looking forward to tomorrow night's finale just so I can finally find out if he lives or dies. Ugh, I'm way too obsessed with this but oh well, ha ha.
Thanks again to all my lovely readers, I hope you're enjoying this. And a big thank you to those who reviewed, definitely makes my day! Look forward to another chapter soon! Review?
-Silver
