Hereafter

CHAPTER 2

March Madness #23 Prompt

"Fireflies"

The force of the explosion knocked Trowa flat onto his back. The wind left his lungs in a rush. He could not draw breath. He could not move. For several seconds, he lay insert, staring out at a blue sky, watching the ESUN building collapse.

The impact came from the west. From the hilltop, it looked like an invisible giant had swung a fist into the side of the building, which buckled and imploded on impact. Seconds later, the rest of the building trembled and crumpled in on itself.

Roiling dust darkened the sky.

"Do you see them, Trowa?"

Catherine stood at the edge of the light of the circus tent, her bare feet in a pool of gold, her arm extending toward a field of grass beyond, shaded gray beneath a moonless sky. Only her head turned to look at him, a cloud of auburn curls bouncing against her cheek.

At first, Trowa did not know what she was pointing at. He saw only an oncoming curtain of black as dusk darkened into night. But then she gestured. His eye caught tiny bits of light blinking pale gold between the shadowed blades of shin high grass.

"What is that?" he asked.

"Fireflies," Catherine said. "We don't have them on the Colonies, but they're one of the things I love most about the Earth. They are a kind of beetle actually and can be found on every continent. Pretty, aren't they?"

"They are," Trowa agreed, crouching down so he could see them better. "Why do they do it? Light up like that I mean?"

Catherine put a finger to her lips. "You know," she said. "I'm not sure, but I think they're signaling to each other. Looking for mates maybe? Or kin? I do know that you never see them in the cities. They need the dark to find each other."

"One flashes its light and the other answers," Trowa said. "That's nice. They're never alone."

"Well, aren't you romantic!" Catherine laughed, teasing him with her voice. But her eyes were soft with affection. "Someday, when you bring someone home, I'm going to tell them that story."

He didn't object. Catherine was his family. She had been a big sister to him when he didn't know he needed one, when in his heart he was still No One, an empty vessel. But now he had a family. Cathy was his kin. Because of her, he had a home to bring someone to. He thought he might want to someday. He smiled thinking of it how it would be.

He wasn't alone in the darkness anymore. He was lucky.

Trowa could not see anything through the dust. It was so thick he had to pull the collar of his turtleneck sweater up around his mouth so he could breathe at all. Heero was on his hands and knees beside him. His face was caked in grime, as Trowa assumed his was as well, but Heero's eyes were wide, the whites showing all around the irises.

Heero's mouth moved, but he immediately choked on dust. Trowa still read the word. Relena. Heero stumbled to his feet, covering his face with his elbow. His eyes looked like the eyes of a wild animal—a trapped, panicked animal.

Trowa rooted around on the ground until his hands landed on one of the swag bags that he had brought up the hill. He reached inside and tossed the jacket to Heero, who held the leather over his mouth as he stared in the direction of the demolished building.

There wasn't much to look at. The explosion had brought the whole building down. The rubble was piled high, steel beams, pipes, and blocks of masonry scattered in every direction like toys. The dust in the air was still thick, but Trowa could make out at least that much.

Heero screamed Relena's name again into the dirt and silence. Trowa could not hear a sound. He touched his ears, wondering if he had burst an ear drum. His hands were dirty, but he saw no blood on his fingers. His hearing would likely return eventually. But God…

Relena hadn't been the only friend in that building. There were hundreds of delegates from the ESUN. And the Preventers… He had left them in one of the conference rooms in the basement, eating cake and tea after orientation. Trowa had gone to see if it was Heero standing on the hill. Director Une, Lucrezia Noin, Sally Po, Wufei Chang, Duo Maxwell, dozens of new recruits ...

Only Quatre wasn't there, and only because he had been part of the delegation representing the Colonies on the matter of unification. He had been in the room with Relena Darlian. Hadn't Dorothy Catalonia been there as well, representing Romafeller, or had she left yesterday? He tried to remember.

Heero was still screaming into the dust storm, his lips forming the sound of Relena's name over and over. Trowa couldn't hear it. Relena certainly couldn't hear it. No one could hear it.

The fireflies, Trowa thought abstractly. He felt a bit woozy. The fireflies were signaling to each other, but they could not see each other's light. They were alone. No. Heero was alone. Relena was buried under tons of rubble.

And then he felt a vibration, a hum against his thigh. He felt in his pocket. His phone was buzzing. Someone was calling. Cathy? Or… no. She was in space. The news would travel fast, but would it travel that fast?

He pulled the phone out of his pocket. There was a missed message. He didn't recognize the number. Could it be someone inside the building? Was someone still alive? With trembling hands, he texted.

Can't hear. Who is this?