Before the Mushroom War
Hopeless Crescendo
"Louis! Louis!"
Huh? What the? The sound of Henry shouting echoed throughout my ear and immediately snapped me out of my trance. "You were gone for almost an hour…" He said softly. I looked up from the cold floor of the vehicle as the rumblings of the military jeep accompanying the otherwise deafening silence. I gazed out of the tinted window over to the lush trees as the sun slowly sets behind the enveloping hills. I didn't notice that it's already evening… Everything happened so fast; it was like a blur to me. Time felt like a distant memory to me now… Why did I build the house this far off? I wanted some privacy but… I never fully took account of this happening… I was selfish and though of only myself… "Louis… She's going to be fine…" Henry said in a comforting manner as he drove the jeep carefully following the cobbled road on the hillside. I kept to myself as the rest of the drive was pretty quiet between us. I'm not a talkative person...
"So… uh… What are you holding over there?" Henry said in an attempt to break the silence. He was talking about the strange little object that I had been fiddling with this entire time. "Hannah gave it to me when she…" I couldn't bring myself to finish the sentence. "I don't even know what it is." I exclaimed as I held the little white object up against the sunlight from the tinted window. It's odd that I didn't realize it was still in my hands until Henry mentioned it. I guess it was giving me a little bit of comfort… "It looks like some kind of hat, if you ask me…" He stated softly. "Yeah… Maybe you're right, Henry. It does look a little bit like a hat of some sort. The ears are a bit odd though..." I said meekly as I placed the curious little item into my pocket. "Hannah has been taking up knitting lately…" I said wearily before everything fell silent again. I don't know how much time has passed in the jeep but it felt like forever to me. I was getting impatient… I started moving around nervously in my seat as I wondered how much long until we arrived at our destination. "You should have let me stay with her, Henry!" I exclaimed suddenly to him as I stared forward at the seemingly never-ending road. "You were entirely covered in blood, Louis… Plus, you would only be a distraction to the people in the ambulance." He patiently explained it to me. I remembered how he had forced me to stay behind just so I could change my blood covered clothes instead of staying by Hannah's side. I guess it was the sensible thing to do but now I have no idea of Hannah's condition. These gnawing of doubt and unknown are literally tearing apart the insides of my head…
"I should have never built the damn house up here, Henry…" I said regretfully. He glanced at me inquisitively. "The time taken just for us to get to the closest hospital is taking too long… I should have paid more attention about her… It's my fault, Henry… This is happening all because of my stupid ignorance." "Don't blame yourself, Louis… She will get there in time. Just trust me, alright?" He smiled gently at me. Henry was always an optimist but he just doesn't understand it the same way I did. I already calculated the distance and the time it takes to get to the nearest hospital based on different speeds. Even with the advanced medical machines installed in the modern ambulance, it could not arrived there sooner enough without Hannah-… Sometimes I regret over thinking about everything. It's making everything seemed pretty much hopeless to me...
"Look alive, Louis. We're almost there…"
I looked forward from where I was sitting and saw the city of Elysium at the base of the hills. But there was something rather strange about it. Something very different… I couldn't exactly put my finger on it since I never go down here very often. I usually try my best to stay in the privacy of my own home... I like it better that way... Everything about the city especially the city's skyline seemed darker and much more gloomier than normally... It doesn't take a genius to figure out something was wrong but I'm not so sure… I was always cloistered up in the house that I couldn't even remember the last time I was down here. It wasn't long when we eventually arrived at the outer suburban town of the city. Seeing the various dilapidated buildings and the boarded up shops throughout the roads, I immediately knew something was wrong. "What the hell is going on, Henry?" I said as I gazed at all the people hunched over in the alleys and next to the streets. What happened to these people? There were barely any cars on the roads except the occasional wreckage of a vehicle in the alleyway or on the edges of the roads.
"The influences of the supposed War are spreading everywhere, Louis. Energy prices are rising... Public riots in almost every city... Fossil fuels are nearly drained from the world... You and everyone else can pretend like everything's going to be back to normal anytime soon... Or you can even pretend like it doesn't exist entirely. Well, these people could clearly feel the fallout of the world. You can clearly see the desperation and the sadness in their eyes… It's not hard to miss..." Henry coldly explained as I just sat there in shocking awe. The small worn out buildings towered over the jeep with its cascading shadow, showering dread and misery over the people. These people were wearing patched clothing and their weary eyes kept staring at me with shocked anger and hopelessness. My heart stinted with guilt and woe as their eyes were slowly turning onto me. Oh God… How long have I been isolated from the rest of the world? Could I have done something different? "I didn't realize it was this bad…" I stuttered. "The television wouldn't show everything, Louis. The news will say that it's just a smaller problem than it really is and treat it like some kind of phase that would eventually end. If you want to know what was really happening in the world, you should get out more…" Henry replied with a steely look in his eyes as we drove past the street block. I just fell silent, right there on the seat, not even sure what to say next... Without any other cars in the roads, we quickly approached closer and closer to the city. For a moment, I was hopeful that we would actually arrived at our destination sooner than I had expected… And then, out of nowhere, there were suddenly more complications... I wondered when does anything go according to the plan? Heh… The plan wasn't that good anyway…
As we approached closer to the city, I saw there was something strange going on at the end of the road. There were red colored holographic roadblocks with the words 'STOP' brightly lit up on it; The roadblocks were in the middle of the road impeding our way. Dozens of military vehicles were lining up behind the roadblocks like it was some kind of military exercise. "A checkpoint?" Henry exclaimed out of shock. "What's going on?" I asked him but he didn't answer me. Nevertheless, he continued to drive onwards to the checkpoint leaving me wondering what's going to happen next. As we arrived at the checkpoint, a soldier clad in full riot gear stood in front of the roadblock, forcing Henry to stop the jeep. "Stop right there!" The soldier yelled at us. "As opposed to what? Disco dance?" Henry replied sarcastically, much to the soldier's annoyance. I can't believe that there was still time for Henry's sarcastic remarks… "Who do you think you are, soldier?" The man exclaimed, seemingly agitated, as he approached the driver's window of the jeep. Henry slid the window down and smiled at the soldier who was greatly shocked at the sight of Henry.
"Hello there, Lieutenant." The soldier quickly stood up straight and saluted Henry. "Co… Colonel Henry, sir! Apologies, sir! I didn't know that it was you!" He stuttered nervously. "At ease, Lieutenant." The soldier lowered his hand at Henry's command. "Could you tell me the purpose of this roadblock?" Henry demanded to know from the soldier. "As you may know, Sir, the President has just issued a nation wide evacuation. All people were told to leave the major cities and towns and to head towards the nearest bunkers if possible." "So it has finally begun?" Henry exclaimed sadly. "Uh, not exactly, Sir… But the President believed it to be so. We were deployed to assist in the evacuations of this city…" My heart slowly sank as the soldier droned on explaining the situation to Henry. So the War is almost beginning… And to think, I don't even know anything about it this morning. I need to get to Hannah fast… Their conversation went on for who knows how long but it felt like forever to me and I was quickly getting impatient again… " Just ask him about the ambulance!" I suddenly chimed in by shouting. Henry whom I had to admit was very patient with me, nodded at me in an agreeing manner. "Lieutenant, did you happen to see a ambulance going past here?" The soldier seemed like he was recollecting his thoughts as he briskly stroked his stubble.
"Ah!" He finally said. "There was an ambulance that went past here not too long ago." "Well, what happened to it?" Henry inquired further. "Normally we would not let other vehicles through the checkpoint as it may disrupt the evacuation process but due to its… special emergency, we decided to let the ambulance pass the checkpoint." I felt slightly relieved when I heard what happened. Thank God Hannah at least made pass the checkpoint. Maybe she can still make it after all… "So where is it then?" I quickly asked the soldier. But before he could answer, another military truck came out of nowhere and honked loudly behind us. "Sir, I'm sorry that I have to tell you this but you're in the middle of the evacuation work." He said as he waved at the soldiers in the other truck. "I understand, Lieutenant. I would like to see your commanding officer." Henry ordered. "If you say so, Sir." He replied as he went to the roadblock and pressed his hands onto it. The holographic roadblock quickly dissipated into nothingness from the soldier's touch. We immediately drove inside the checkpoint and past the military trucks. Much to my shock, there were acres of tents behind the trucks as far as the eye can see. A makeshift metallic fence fenced off the entire area separating the army and the people. "What in the-" "A refugee camp." Henry answered immediately. Really? It doesn't even look like a refugee camp to me. It looked more like a bloody prison…
"How long has this evacuation been going?" I gasped at the rows and rows of tents and the seemingly hundreds of people living in them. "Too long… This is what happens when there are too many civilians and too little time." I didn't even know anything about this evacuation… Was that the reason why Henry came to my house in the first place? The jeep halted in front of the only standing building right before another holographic roadblock at the end of the road. A burly and serious-looking man with a prominent scar on his face came out of the building and promptly saluted Henry. Henry turned the jeep's engine off and stepped outside of the vehicle. Not sure what to do next, I promptly followed suit. "At ease, Major." said Henry as he raised his hand and saluted the Major. I just stood behind the jeep and pretended to be like a background character. "I need to know what's going on in the city, Major." Henry ordered. "What about the ambulance?" I interrupted the Major before he could even answer, resulting in his apparent anger. Henry sighed and turned to approach me. "Look, Louis… I need you to stay calm." He whispered to me in a hushed tone. "I'm sorry, Henry but I need to know about the ambulance... now..." "I understand what you're going through but you can't just interrupt everyone when they're trying to do their work." "No, you don't understand me, Henry. You don't understand me at all…" I said, my voice slowly growing more and more agitated. "Look, man… I need you to stay calm first…"
"I just want to know where the goddamn ambulance is, Henry! I need to know where she is!" I shouted at Henry, unintentionally making every soldier's eyes turned on us. Henry slowly shook his head whilst clasping his forehead before he finally patted on my shoulders. "Fine… Stay here…" He said softly as he walked back to the Major. They immediately began to converse but I couldn't exactly make out on what they were saying. They were speaking in hushed tones like they were trading confidential information or something… I sighed sadly before slowly backing away from the jeep and leaned back against the metal fence. I looked up into the clear dusk sky as the occasional fluffy cloud listing lazily by. The sky seemed so untouched by everything that's going on down here. Hannah… I wish I could tell you that… I'm sorry… I'm sorry that you had to suffer more because of my ignorance… I'm so sorry, Hannah… Huh? What's that? I thought I saw something up there in the sky... It think it was… I think it was a purple stream of light or something piercing through the clouds and jetting across the sky in mere seconds. Wow… I must be seeing things… Out of nowhere comes a purple shooting star and it's not even completely dark yet. Of course, I must be losing my mind. But… why do I get strangest feeling that I'm being watched from afar…
"Citizen, please step away from the fence!"
A robotic voice suddenly echoed from behind me. I almost leapt forward out of shock. With my heart racing, I turned around and saw a floating metallic sphere floating right in front of me. Its one camera was pointing solely at my face. Oh God… Not an Oculus sentry drone. Maybe he's the one that kept watching me... I always find these things to be quite annoying indeed. The lens inside the camera swiveled and a blinding flash followed suit. "Unauthorized civilian! Prepare to be escorted out of the premises." The droid bellowed loudly. I just stood there nervously and unsure of what to do. Loud stomping on the ground suddenly erupted as the whizzing of nearby machinery could be heard. I know those stomping footsteps anywhere in the world. After all, I created them in the first place… I turned to the direction of the stomps and quickly backed away as a hulking humanoid droid towered above me. A Peacekeeper droid… How ironic I was being pressured by my own creation… Its black camouflage and sleek metallic exoskeleton only helps making it seemed much more imposing. It raised its bulky arms and pointed them both directly towards me. I almost panicked at what it could be trying to do next but thankfully, Henry quickly ran up between the Peacekeeper droid and me.
"Whoa! Whoa! Slow down over there, big guy!" Henry yelled at the droid, waving his arms to signal it to stop. The droid immediately went motionless for a few seconds staring at us coldly with its piercing red lens. It suddenly shot a stream of infrared light at Henry's head scanning his whole face. "Colonel Henry, Sir" Its robotic voice bellowed before it slowly backed away from us and quickly folded itself back into its cube form. Henry sighed before turning around and saw me just standing there frozen stiff. "Next time… Please do not touch anything." He advised me while smiling meekly. "Sorry about that. I didn't know how things work around here." I muttered in an apologetically manner. "Don't worry about that. It's not important at all. What's important though is that I know where Hannah's ambulance is." He exclaimed, slightly proud of himself. "What happened to it? Where is she? Is she fine?" I pressed Henry with questions, waiting with bated breath and hoping to God for at least a positive answer. "Calm yourself, Louis." He gently patted my shoulder before he went back to the side of the driver's seat of the military jeep. "The situation inside the city is pretty messed up because of the looters and the public riots across the city."
"What? Will she be safe?" I was shocked to know that there were still people looting the city even in these troubled times. I can't believe them… It's not like they would be able to use some of the stuff they stolen when they're in the bunkers anyway. "Don't worry about it, Louis. A Peacekeeper droid was deployed to accompany the ambulance but… She was forced have to change her destination to a different hospital." "A different hospital? Why?" "Most of the hospitals in the city were closed and was already evacuated. So she will be going to Mercy Hospital, you know the one… It's that hospital on that small hill just right outside of the city." "Yeah… I think I know where it is." I slowly nodded trying to remember the place Henry was mentioning. "It's not that far, right?" "Yeah, it's not that far..." He said as he opened the doors of the jeep and promptly went inside. "In fact, I'm willing to bet that she will arrive at Mercy Hospital before the sun would even set." He said as he slammed the door closed. I was ecstatic just from hearing that. She'll be okay… I keep telling myself that she will be just fine… "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go to her." I exclaimed happily as I approached the jeep. What the-? The door won't budge open… "Hey Henry, I think you accidentally locked the door or something." I said but he didn't respond to me. What the hell is wrong with him? The tinted window slid down ever so slightly, revealing the grim expression on his face. "I'm not going with you, Louis..."
"What?" My heart immediately panicked. "I said I won't be going with you. I'm turning around and I'm going to leave this place behind." "But-" "I was afraid to tell you this but you won't be able to immediately leave this checkpoint since you're a civilian now. You'll have to-" "Then let me through it!" My voice flared up. "You're the goddamn colonel so do something about it!" He simply shook his head at me. "I can't do that, Louis… I need to-" "Why are you doing this to me? What could be so goddamn important that you're just leaving me here?" I shouted at him as I pounded the window with my fists. He stared directly at me with his worn out eyes and whispered, "I need to make sure my daughter is safe…" I was immediately stunned. I didn't know what to say to him… I never knew he had a daughter. I... I don't know what to do except... "Hannah will be fine, right?" I muttered under my breath. He slowly nodded reassuringly at me. "Then promise me… please promise me that you'll come back… I can't do this without your help, Henry and… I really need to see her as soon as possible…" Henry paused for a long while before he sighed softly and finally said, "Alright... You have my word, Louis. I'll come back as soon as I am able to… Just stay in the camp and don't get into trouble, alright?" I silently nodded at him and slowly backed away from the jeep. I stood there helplessly as Henry reversed and turned around his jeep. He immediately drove out of the checkpoint back through where we entered in the first place. Within a few seconds, he was gone from my sight… He left me behind all alone in this uncertain place… I turned around and oversee the entire refugee camp through the metal fence. So I… I have to wait for him here… For Hannah… I just hope to God that he hurry it up a little bit…
"Excuse me, Sir?"
A voice coming from the left of me immediately caught my attention. It was the same Major who was talking with Henry from before… He was standing next to a large gate of some sort directing me to come closer to him. Seeing as I have no other choice, I slowly approached the Major and the imposing gate. "Normally we would process the civilians before they enter the camp and await for evacuation… but the Colonel ensured us that you won't be necessary." He explained as soon as I arrived. "Okay then…" I muttered under my breath. "Open the gate!" The Major ordered a nearby soldier whom immediately turned around from where he was standing and pressed some kind of strange looking button. A loud alarm suddenly erupted from somewhere as the gate slowly slid open. "So did you ever expect to end up here, Professor Louis?" said the Major as the gates were slowly but surely sliding open. I didn't say anything to him. I was only a little bit surprised that he actually knew me…
"Who would've thought that the Father of Nano-Technology would get himself stuck in a place like this?" The Major droned on and on as I tried my best to just stand there as patiently as I could. Wow... It's been a really long time since someone called me that ridiculously stupid name again. Oh, I wish this gate would just open up already… Hurry up already! "You know, some of the people are saying that if you had just finished Project Atlas… and did something more than just hiding away from everything all this time like a frightened and sulking child, none of this would have never happened in the first place…" He exclaimed, a spiteful grin crossed ever so slightly in his meaty mug, as the gate finally opened for me. "There you go… Sir." He directed me inside the camp. I glanced menacingly at him before I whispered quietly at him, "Do not speak of things you do not fully understand, Major…"
Without turning back, I stepped through the gate and was immediately greeted by the somber sight of the entire refugee camp as I oversaw the massive camp from the top of a little stone staircase I was standing on. All of the camps were lined up in an orderly manner as if they had been here for quite a while. All of the people were either huddling around in the various campfires scattered about the area or shuffling to and fro between the tents impatiently or they're just keeping to themselves in their own tents as they wait for the time to evacuate. "So where do I stay for the night?" I called out to the Major as the imposing metal gate slid itself closed behind me with a deafening wrenching sound. "Anywhere you like. The place basically governed themselves." The Major scoffed at me as he simply walked back to the building. They- They actually governed themselves? What kind of evacuation plan is this? Does Henry even know about this? I refuse to believe someone like Henry would approve of something so stupid such as this. I bet it's the Major's 'brilliant' plan though... It angers me more to know I can't even do anything about it. I suppose I have to tell Henry about this when he returns… So… Now what? I'm not even sure of what to do next… But I guess I just have to wait... I took a reassuring deep breath before finally going down through the staircase and into the camp, uncertain of what's going to happen next…
When the people first saw me as I walked into the camp, they barely showed any interest whatsoever. Some glanced at me with their tired eyes and some of them stared at me like I was some kind of strange animal to them. But thankfully, most of the people ignored me entirely. I was walking along the camp, unsure of what to do or where to go next, until I was immediately halted by the screeching sound of my empty stomach. And then, as if on cue; I heard somebody shouting in the distance, "Dinner time, everybody! Line up! Line up! It's dinner time!" Well, since I have no idea what to do next and seeing that I have no other choice, I decided to follow the direction of the shouting. It wasn't long before I found a relatively short line leading up to a bearded old man whom was lifting some kind of crate onto other piles of crates. Seeing the short line, I assumed that I must've came early or something.
Using this unique opportunity, I quickly skipped in an awkwardly manner towards the back of the line. And true enough, dozens of other people slowly appeared and lined up behind me. "So what's for dinner, Earl?" Somebody asked the old man. "It's not much for tonight. There's only bread and dried crackers over here. The best I could give are some fresh apples…" The man answered, much to the apparent dismay of some of the people. In the next few minutes, the line slowly moved on as I waited patiently. Thankfully, it wasn't long before I reached the end of the line. "Hurry up, people… Hurry up… Here you go, pal." The old man without glancing away from the inside of the crate, forcefully handed me a fresh bright red apple and quickly pushed me aside before I could even utter a single word. Well, okay then… That was a little strange but at least I got a fresh apple out of it. I was about to take a bite out of the apple but as luck would had it, I suddenly heard a soft voice from behind me. "Is… Is there anymore apples?"
"Sorry, little girl but I'm afraid I'm all out until tomorrow." As soon as I heard the word 'little girl', I immediately turned around and saw a little child wearing raggedy clothing and a dirty makeshift shawl covering her entire head. "Don't be sad, kid… Here… Some extra crackers… Just for you..." The old man generously gave the little girl two small packets of dried crackers. "Thank you…" The little girl somberly thanked the old man before slowly walking away and approaching directly towards me. When she bumped into me, she looked up and saw me holding the apple; a sad frown crossed her pale, somewhat a little bluish face. Her sad stare immediately made my heart sank as I glanced at the apple in my hand. Oh, Louis... What's wrong with you? I silently sighed to myself before I finally knelt down right in front of her. "Here. Take it…" I said politely. "Really?" She asked in complete disbelief. "Yeah… You need it a lot more than I do." "Thanks!" She grinned happily at me, revealing some very pointy teeth, as she snatched the red apple from my very hand. "Your wel-" She quickly ran away from me and was immediately gone from my sight.
Even though I just lost my food, I felt quite happy with myself… I can't believe a small child like her was still in this kind of place. I thought it was always women and children first… Or did I forgot the memo... Hey, what's this? A small packet of crackers was resting neatly on the ground where the little girl was standing previously. I stifled a smile as I picked the packet up. I guess we're both even now… "That was really nice of you, man..." A young blonde man with piercing blue eyes suddenly called out from behind me. "Oh, you saw that?" I smiled nervously. "Kindness like that is pretty rare here. Here, man... Why don't you take some of my food instead?" He smiled broadly at me. "But I-" Before I could even tell him about my packet of crackers, he quickly gave me another packet of crackers before quickly walking away and disappear into the crowd. Okay... That was certainly random indeed... But hey, I got no qualms with some extra sustenance for myself...
I was continuing with the walking around aimlessly in the camp all by myself. Well, at least I got rid of my completely empty stomach now. Now it's just partially empty... I only ate one packet of crackers though because I've decided to save one for the future. I dusted my hands to get rid of the remaining cracker crumbs from my hands as I surveyed the rest of the camp. The metallic fence lined around the entire camp seemingly fencing off the entire area. I still say that it looked more like a bloody prison than a refugee camp… At the corner of my eye, I noticed a small tent in the distance. It was in comparatively worst condition with the rest of the camp but it was empty and seemingly unoccupied by anybody. I slowly approached the small tent and waited for a while in case if anyone comes over to claim it. After what seemed like a long while, there was still no one to come and claim the tent. A part of me was telling me to just take the tent and I had to admit that I was really tempted but in the end, I finally decided against it. I didn't know why... I guess I just wanted to feel like the world wasn't rid of common decency just yet. I thought that by stealing the tent, I would hate myself in the end... Well, that made me sounded really ridiculous...
I decided to just sit down beside the tent in a curled up position. It ain't much but at least the small tent would provide some kind of calming shade to me. It's not like I need it though with the Sun slowly disappearing into the horizon and all that but whatever... I continued to sit there on the spot, unsure of what's going to happen next. I was trying to hide it but in the inside, I was actually very scared out of my mind... I didn't know what's going on around the world... Hopefully, Hannah would already arrive at Mercy Hospital as Henry said she would… I'm not sure what to do next but for some reason, something suddenly told me to take out my glass hand phone from my pocket. Much to my non-existent shock, there was barely any signal. I flipped through the phone and realize that I don't have anything in the phone. No pictures... No messages that's not related to work... It made me realize that I haven't been living my life at all. There was barely any contacts... There's Hannah and then there's Simon... Out of worried curiosity, I pressed the call button on Simon's contact number and waited for what seemed a long while, but as I have expected, there was simply no answer in the end. Nothing at all... I guess the signal is still pretty bad. I just hope that Simon and Betty is safe... Maybe they're lucky and have already been evacuated from their home. My contacts list wasn't that long... And that was pretty much it actually. All that's left is some other people that I'm trying to forget about and... and... Mom...
Mother... I haven't talked to her for quite a long while. Oh God, I hope she's safe... My finger quickly pressed the call button unintentionally and I immediately regretted the decision. Damn you, finger! Why didn't you consort with the brain first? Oh well... It's not like I could even call her with this kind of sign- She answered! How did that even happen? It was pretty ridiculously strange but I can't question it right now. Unknowingly, I slowly pressed the phone at my ear. "He... Hello?" I said but there was no respond at first. Only fuzzy silence from the other end... "Louis? Is that you, Louis?" A familiar woman's voice suddenly called out to me amidst the fuzzy reception. "Mom!" I yelled. "Louis! How in the world are you calling me? I thought that-" "That's not important right now, Mom. Are you safe? Where are you?" There was silence again... "I'm... I'm still at home, Louis." I immediately jumped up in shock as soon as I heard her soft words.
"What the-? Are you kidding me? What the hell are you still there? Get out of there, Mom! Don't you know that there could be a bloody War happening anytime soon?" I desperately screamed into my phone. "I know, Louis... I know..." What is wrong with her? "Then why are you still there? I... I can send somebody to get you! Or maybe I could come get you right now!" Truth be told, I didn't know what I could have done. I just wanted her to get to safety already. "Louis..." "Please, Mother... For the love of God, get out of there..." I begged and I begged. "Louis, I wanted to stay..."
"But... But why?" Tears were slowly filling up in my eyes. "Your dad is gone... All my friends are gone... I'm alone now but I know I lived a long and very good life, Louis." Why is she saying all this nonsense? "But... But what about me? You can't just leave me alone like that..." "You know that I won't be able to be with you forever, Louis... But there's always Hannah to stay by your side, right? How is she, by the way? Are you both safe and sound?" Her gentle words gave me a moment of doubt of what to say. "We're... uh... We're safe... in Beautopia..." In the end, I didn't want to tell her the truth and make her worry about me. I guess I just wanted to give her some sort of clarity in her mind. "That's good to hear..." She stifled a sad laugh. "I hope that you two will be safe through it all... I'm so sorry that I wouldn't be able to see the child when he comes, Louis. How many months has it been already?"
What should I have said? "Don't worry about it, Ma. I forgot to tell you that the baby already came... It's a boy... A big healthy boy. We named him Finn, in honor of Hannah's father. Did you hear that, Mom? You have a grandson... You have a healthy grandson..." I managed to stutter the words from my mouth, barely containing my own tears. I could hear her laughing softly from the other end albeit a little bit sad. "Mom, I'm sorry about Dad..." I finally coughed up the words. "I already forgave you a long time ago, Louis..."
"No, it's not... It's just... I'm so sorry about everything I ever did. I'm sorry for every mean thing I ever said to you... I just wanted to say you're the best Mom anyone could ask for. You and Dad believed in me when everyone called me crazy and I wanted to thank you for everything you guys had done for me..." I was already sobbing to myself as I slowly paced restlessly in place, my body felt like it grew weaker... "Louis..." She said softly as she could hear my cries and sobs. "I love you, Mama... I love you so much... Please keep me safe... When you go..." I couldn't even talk properly anymore... "I... I love you too, Louis..." It was then the line was immediately cut off...
"...Hello? Mama?" I said nervously. There was no answer... "Mama?" She was finally gone... "Mama?" She's gone, Louis... I told myself in disbelief. She was gone... "Awwwwww... No, no, no..." I nonsensically muttered and whined to myself as I tightly clutched onto my head, an aching headache suddenly coursed throughout it. "No... Please, no... Oh God... No..." I couldn't hold back the tears anymore as I finally broke down crying as I weakly took a few steps forward. It felt like my body grew weaker every time my feet touched the ground. I was just crying... There's nothing else to say... I was just crying. My body finally grew numb and lifeless as I helplessly fell down onto the ground, tears rolling down my face. I didn't know how long I was lying there on the cold ground as I cried... but all of my senses felt like they were slowly going numb... Eventually, the whole world surrounding me grew darker and darker as my head gently slipped away into the darkness...
"I love you, Mama and Papa... I love you..."