Chapter 66: The Weight of My World
Another day. Another round of the daily grind.
It had been roughly three months of this now. Getting up, getting dressed nicely, going to work. Rinse, lather, and repeat. Joe Dark found himself used to this schedule...scarily so.
Every day its the same thing. Stand behind a counter as people walk up with their groceries, give them their receipt and/or change, say "Have a good day". Rinse, lather, and repeat.
It wasn't the most rewarding job in the world, but as Julius has said, "All great people start from humble beginnings."
To which Joe Dark closed his eyes and grumbled to himself, "And some people get to sit in a music store earning money while they sit on their ass...!"
Obviously, throwing some shade at Alura there, as misplaced as his frustration was. He rolled back the sass as a customer rolled up to his lane, an unassuming young man with a cart full of fruits and vegetables.
"And how's your day going?" He said, forcing a smile as he slid the produce over the scanner and bagged them appropriately.
"Oh you know, its going." The guy was a light talker. Not rude, just seemed to want to breeze through life. There was a bit of envy shared towards his carefree nature...Until he was reminded of Mew.
Once that guy left satisfied another customer rolled up with a variety of food in their cart. He seemed to like crackers a lot...
"What's cracking?" Joe Dark said with a wry chuckle, whose energy dwindled as the customer glanced up, clearly unamused.
Following a dry cough he slowly went to work bagging all the groceries. Once again, all neat and organized. While the customer got their debit card out of a messy leather wallet they suddenly made a remark of...
"Hey do you know where I can find some good cheese around here?"
Joe Dark weighed in on that remark for a moment and then followed employee procedure, "We have plenty of cheeses in the back."
"Yeah but that's that processed shit. I want the good stuff. The pure stuff."
Joe Dark slanted his brows and grumbled a little, "Why does it have to be cheese? I can't eat that blocky shit..."
The best way he saw to handle this was telling them, "There's other customers in line. Sorry, I need you to move along."
The guy grumbled audibly and grabbed his bags, then made his way out the door. Joe Dark had no time to complain about the man's attitude before another customer rolled up with their groceries lined up on the coaster.
"I want them organized in the bags as they are." They said in a blunt, commanding tone. Joe Dark looked him in the eyes. They were middle-aged, a little overweight, especially in the chin, and seemed to have a blob on their nose.
All comments on appearances had to be kept in the head, no matter how easy the jokes came.
Joe Dark carefully moved the groceries in accordance to how he had them grouped, noting, "For such an oily looking man he's very organized."
When the job was done and the receipt was passed along, Joe Dark watched the man begin to depart and comfortably tucked his hands into his pockets to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Hey, wait a second..." The man sounded befuddled and Joe Dark opened his eyes just in time for them to turn and gesture hard into his bag, "You put the bananas in with the dairy products!"
"Oh good fucking grief..." Joe Dark restrained himself with the tightest of mental bolts and nodded towards the man with a smile that'd scary hyenas, "I'm sorry for my mistake sir."
The man's fat forehead crumpled down as he turned away, where Joe Dark could just make out him saying "Dumb entitled youth..."
Joe Dark felt like he aged a year hearing that, and let out a long, but very quiet sigh as another customer rolled up not long after.
It was a frail lady using a walker to move around and carry her groceries. She carried a small, mischievous smile on her wrinkled face and a well-meaning air about her.
"The nerve of that tub of lard, eh?" She said towards him.
"No comment, ma'am." Joe Dark began to move her groceries as usual.
"Oh you don't need to be so stiff dear," The woman wiggled her brows, "Say what's on your mind, I won't tell."
Joe Dark felt a fleeting sense of joy and a smile crept up the side of his face as he said, "Heh, I bet the excess butter went into his boil."
"Heh heh! Where does he get off getting angry at such a hard, younger worker like you anyways?" She pulled up her purse, reached inside and let out a mutter of, "Shit..."
"Is something the matter?"
"Oh nothing," She waved her hand out and remarked, "Just put the onions back."
Joe Dark narrowed his eyes softly and then, after a few seconds to think about it, peered around, "Coast is clear..."
He then stealthily reached into the cash register while whispering, "How much you off by?"
"Oh no, you don't have to-"
"Seriously, how much?"
"...84 cents."
Joe Dark took that amount from the register and handed it to the woman, who then handed it back to him along with the rest of her money. When she went to pick up her groceries he got in her way and said, "Allow me."
She smiled warmly and patted him on the back. He then helped carry her groceries out to the bus stop, since there was no one else waiting in line back inside.
The bus rolled up around this time and the lady slowly started to climb on, carrying the bags on her walker. Joe Dark supported her on the back, "Here, nice and steady."
"Oh ho ho! Getting a little handsy aren't we?" Her sudden remark made him cough up in surprise.
She turned at the top of the steps with a smile and bowed her head, "Thank you very much dear. Such wonderful customer service is lost in this day and age."
"Its no big deal ma'am." Joe Dark said softly.
The woman reached into her bag and pulled out a small rectangular bar, lobbing it at Joe Dark for him to catch.
"Take it, its a protein bar. You won't be getting the ladies with no meat on those bones." She winked twice and smiled a little wider.
"Hmph..." Joe Dark smiled and tucked the bar away for later, "You take care of yourself miss."
"I will, thank you." The doors then hissed shut, and the vehicle departed.
Joe Dark's expression went from smiling to soured, as he couldn't help but think of the lady's circumstances, "She had a brave face, but she was struggling...When you get that old, it almost seems like your life is over. Too soon, if you ask me."
He hadn't the time to pontificate. Back to work, as usual.
Lunch time rolled around not too long after and he got to go to the break room with a couple fellow employees, while someone else covered his shift.
He had started packing tuna sandwiches to avoid having to eat fast food. Julius provided some celery sticks and nuts. The normal man's lunch...supposedly.
The other employees were chatting with each other while he tried to eat his meal, and give the occasional moment of attention towards them.
They were talking about some show he'd never heard of. He didn't really have the time to watch TV, but he'd like to.
Julius' advice echoed in his head "Try and make friends", which he'd been neglecting to follow for the whole time he's been working here.
"I'm no social butterfly but...I guess a friend or two might make the days go by faster," He finished half his sandwich and then waited for a chance to butt into the conversation, figuring out a simple enough topic to start with, "Hey, so how long have you guys been working here?"
The guy with the five o'clock shadow and tired, drooping eyes looked at him and remarked, "Since I was 22? Why?"
"And how old are you now?"
"27."
Joe Dark froze slightly with goosebumps on his arms as the man rattled on a bit, "Started working here after graduating college and getting my business degree. I'm just building up experience and money so I can move to another state and expand my horizons."
Joe Dark stared at the man with a blank expression, untold horrors creeping up in the back of his mind. He started drowning the man's voice out, slowly but surely seeing his own face imprinted over that man's.
"Brrr...!" He shuddered in revulsion.
"What?" The man remarked, "The food here isn't THAT bad."
He'd lost track of the conversation, and really, REALLY didn't want to get back on it. He slowly returned to his meal, chewing like a donkey would his cud, and feeling depressed.
"Terrible idea..." Perhaps he didn't need friends outside his own circle...
The rest of his day lagged slower than anyone would ever want it to. But he got through it. Just like every other day.
And when it seemed he could just walk out the door, he wasn't even allowed that much.
"Excuse me." He recognized that slimy voice anywhere. It was his boss, the manager of this store.
He walked up in the standard company attire standing about a couple inches taller than him, and enjoying a lollipop he probably snagged off the shelves for "free".
"What is it, sir?" Joe Dark grumbled, barely holding in his contempt.
The boss man tapped his shoulder with the end of the lollipop stick and leaned in to whisper, "Don't think I didn't see what you did for that old lady earlier."
Joe Dark tried to play innocent and folded his arms, "I gave her some good service, as I do every customer."
"Yeah yeah, good service. Mmm hmm..." The man flapped his gums about a bit and then flicked his spit off the lollipop at him, "From our register."
Joe Dark arched his brows and didn't bother trying to play coy, "It was just a few cents. It made her happy, and ensured she'd come back."
"Sure," The man gestured his fingers out in a floaty manner, "Then it'll be a few dollars for the next guy. Then a slab of meat for the guy after. Then heck, might as well give the guy after THAT ownership of the whole store!"
The man's bluntly turned his gaze upon Joe Dark and pressed his sticky, pudgy fingers against his chest, "Those cents are comin' outta your pay. Do it again and your fired."
Having made his point as concise and threatening as possible, he turned and left. Joe Dark grumbled for a while and then sighed his way out the front doors.
"God, what I wouldn't give for him to secretly be a demon." But tragically, mundane problems these days had no bizarre solutions.
He'd been living a normal life for practically half a year now. His greatest nemesis going from a destruction hungry brother he never knew he had...to a sitcom boss at a minimum wage cashier job.
And he hated it.
"From Dark King to Dark Cashier..." He never had any attachment to his prior namesake, but it sure sounded a hell of a lot better than what people referred to him as now.
After a brief respite walking through the streets on this cloudy day he walked up to Alura's workplace just in time for her to be leaving. She waved goodbye to the two idiots and then hoisted her guitar over her shoulder.
She turned to him and muttered with her usual lack of expression, "Oh. Hello, Joe Dark."
Half slumped and feeling like shit, he hurried her along by saying, "Lets go home."
"Oh," She murmured, "Ok then."
They made their way towards the bus stop at the edge of town. Along the way Alura talked about her day, "It was a little busy today, Joe Dark. I got to sell a few CDs to customers too."
"That's good..." He half-heartedly replied.
She tilted her head and after some time remarked, "Are you ok, Joe Dark?"
He flinched and quickly grumbled, "I-I'm fine!"
It was really bad if even she sensed something was wrong...When even he couldn't piece together what was bugging him.
He crumpled his fists into his pockets and they continued down the sidewalk that seemed to be longer than usual today.
Then, he heard some rustling coming from his right...and a muffled scream.
His body froze momentarily and he took a couple steps back to face a dark-filled alleyway. Two guys, probably just a little older than he was, were crowded together hunched over in front of someone who was kicking their legs up in a struggle.
He narrowed his eyes and hesitated to move towards it. He just...didn't want to deal with this right now.
"Shit, why'd you push her so hard? She's bleeding!"
Suddenly, something in Joe Dark's heart revolted against his apathy.
His fists tightened and he pulled back to the alleyway arching his brows furiously towards the two young men, who were now tossing everything they could out of a purse just to claw the owner's wallet out.
"Got it!" The dirty blonde haired person hoisted his prize proudly in the air.
Their targets legs stopped kicking, and fell stiff on the ground.
Joe Dark's eyes widened, a bit of darkness flaring up around his body.
"Joe Dark...? What's going on?" Alura waddled up beside him.
He swung his hand firmly before her face and growled, "Cast an illusion. I'll be right back..."
He sank into the depths of darkness, advancing upon the two young criminals' from behind. They ruffled some money out of the wallet and stuffed them into their patchwork pockets.
No fear. No panic. Nothing but greed in their hungry, tired eyes.
Joe Dark pulled himself from the shadows surrounded in a pitch black coat. The two criminals started to see their own breaths and grappled their arms together for warmth.
"D-Did the temperature just take a nosedive or..."
The one on the right grit their teeth and slowly panned their head towards Joe Dark. He watched as their pupils shrank, and they let the true meaning of fear take hold over their empty hearts.
"O-Oh shit...!" The man on the left gasped.
"Leave." Joe Dark uttered in a deep, echoing voice.
The man on the right pissed his pants and then scrambled towards the opposite end of the alleyway, tripping over the trash bags while screaming at the top of his lungs.
The man on the left dropped the wallet and fled the scene in the opposite direction.
Joe Dark slipped free from the shadows bitterly glaring at them both. His body urged him to raise his hand and fire a shot just to scare them a little more...But they weren't worth the energy.
He turned to the victim of their crimes of larceny...And felt his heart sink.
Collapsed in a heap with blood leaking against the brick wall was the old woman he helped earlier that day. All the energy in her smile. Gone. All the color in her rosy cheeks. Gone.
He fell to his knees and picked up one of her cold, bony hands and held onto it tight.
"H-Hold on! I'll call an ambulance, you'll be ok!" He pleaded with her, but all he was doing was rattling a corpse.
Nothing on her moved, not even her eyes.
He sat there, waiting for something to change. A miracle, if need be.
A miracle, would never happen.
His gaze went cold and empty, and he let the woman's hand rest upon her lap. Then, he closed her eyes.
As he stood back up he looked at her wallet on the ground and picked it up. Her name was "Alice Sparrow". 63 years old. Divorced. Former nurse. That's what her ID said.
There was a picture of her husband tucked inside, with another picture of her standing next to her daughter and her wife, with their child in-between.
That's what was taken from this world. A mother, a wife, a friendly face, and a good-natured soul.
He was really regretting the restraint he showed to those bastards now.
He tucked the wallet into his pocket and marched out of the alleyway with his head hung low, and Alura on stand-by still.
A short distance away, a police car was parked with two cops sitting inside. The noise of murder was obviously too unimportant for them to notice.
His body was trembling with rage to the point he could hear his heart pounding against his chest.
And with that, he found the answer to why he was feeling this way.
"What the HELL is wrong with this world?!" He said with his eyes flared wide-open.
He stretched his hand out and opened a dark rift towards the alleyway.
"Joe Dark...?" Alura murmured. He almost forgot her.
"Meet me back home," He said while briefly glancing over his shoulder, "I might be a while."
He marched through the rift and arrived just outside of Mew's home, then continued his march up to the door and started pounding on it until he heard an answer.
"Holy shit calm down! I'm coming!"
Mew ran up to the door and pulled it right open, where Joe Dark immediately lunged the wallet into his chest and nearly knocked him over in the process.
"W-What the he..."
Joe Dark stepped back and thrust one finger at him with a scowl, "Read it."
"Where did you...? What are...?" Mew struggled to get a single question out while he stared down at the open wallet.
"Alice...Spa-"
"Alice Sparrow. Recently deceased. Killed by two opportunistic bastards in an alleyway mugging," Joe Dark's words lacked patience or control, and as he creased his arms together he glared Mew straight in the eyes and asked him one major, fatal question, "What the HELL have you been doing with YOUR spare time recently, Mew?"
Mew raised his head and squinted one eye close to shut, "Why are you asking me that..."
"Answer the goddamn question!" Joe Dark exclaimed, making Mew slightly recoil.
Nervously scowling, Mew steadily approached Joe Dark and told him, "I've just been hanging out here."
"Really." Joe Dark voiced his disapproval.
"Hey if you're going to just come marching in here without so much as a 'Hello' I at least want to know why." Mew retaliated with.
Joe Dark squinted firmly, "Its this world, Mew."
He rolled on up to Mew and grabbed him by his shirt, "The world you've left behind."
Mew stared back for a while and then pushed Joe Dark off while bluntly telling him, "I don't think I like your tone right now...It reminds me of the old you."
"Shut up...!" Joe Dark grit his teeth and swung his fist out from his chest, "Why is crime still happening?! People can still be picked off on the streets, the cops don't do their damn job, and corruption infects corporations and politics the world over!"
Mew crossed his arms and murmured "Yeah?" almost like he wasn't caring, then rubbed the back of his head, "You've been reading up a lot about that lately, haven't you?"
"Maybe if you didn't stuff your face in front of a TV all the damn time you'd know too...!" Joe Dark growled between his teeth.
Mew stared wide-eyed back at him all aghast, "Are you blaming me for that lady's death?"
"I'm blaming you for the crime existing in the first place!" Joe Dark pulled his arms out and swung at the ground, "You're supposed to be the Elemental Overlord right?! A hero, right?! But here you are loafing about while people suffer and die!"
Mew began to arch his brows and dig his fingernails into his skin, "You honestly think that's what I'm saying?"
"What are you saying, Mew?" Joe Dark whispered scornfully, "What is the message you're sending here, huh?"
Mew closed his eyes, let out a deep sigh, and murmured, "You need to calm down. Then we can talk this over..."
He started to turn away when Joe Dark latched onto his shoulder and forced him to look back at his gritted teeth, "You just want to run away because otherwise you'll be forced to think...!"
Mew's eyes turned nasty and some heat started to rise from his body. Nevertheless, Joe Dark pressed on, telling him, "Stop running away from your responsibilities...! You have the power to change the world...!"
"Just like Prometheus did, right?" Mew forced his grip onto his brother's hand and threw it off, glaring him square in the eyes.
Joe Dark rubbed his sore wrist and growled.
Mew stood firmly in place and swung out towards the horizon, "Look at what happened when someone like him got the power to 'change the world'. He used it to rule over everyone from the shadows, exploiting loopholes and covering up murders as he gained more and more power."
Tearful and bitterly, Joe Dark mumbled, "You're nothing like him...!"
"That's not the point," Mew crossed his arms back together, "This isn't a world of superheroes, Joe. We're only a handful of individuals with incredible power and with that comes an even more incredible responsibility."
Mew shrugged towards his right and grit his teeth, "You think I don't see the world suffering? Every day I wake up, turn on the TV, and either someone is dying, or someplace is being destroyed. And the media takes advantage of their suffering for attention."
"And you know what?" He said in a strained, raspy voice, "I hate it. I have to exercise...SO MUCH goddamn restraint, just to not go marching into one of those news stations and giving those assholes a piece of my mind."
"And you know why I don't do that, Joe?" Mew pointed at him so calmly that it left Joe Dark with a chill in his chest, "Because I'm not some freak with delusions of godhood. My power, my responsibility, its all to help humanity survive themselves."
He swung his arm out and clenched his fist, "They can't punch meteors, or fight gods and monsters. Even a simple fire has the potential to wipe out hundreds of lives. I save lives as much as I can by stopping natural disasters and throwing my weight against invaders, but that's all I should do."
Joe Dark flailed his hands out in exasperation, "I-I'm not asking you to do something about all of humanity! Just the bad people! The criminals!"
"The newscasters are criminals. The publication of their crimes is just approved by the masses who watch them," Mew turned his head and scoffed, "And so the corporations who fund them are criminals too. Then the government are criminals too, for funding their shit."
He narrowed his eyes with a burning glare, "See how easily this can escalate? I choose to punish criminals, and I won't just stop at the common thugs. I'll take it all the way to the top. I'll raze the Earth worse than Prometheus ever did with just one bullet."
"I'll. Become. Alex."
Joe Dark froze and stuttered, these words ringing in his ears.
Mew stared down at his right fist all melancholic and held it tight, "This power is supposed to protect, not be used for murder."
"T-Then, isn't there some other way to use our powers for good...?!" Joe Dark was reeling from his brother's explanation, desperate to find some answer that agreed with his struggles, not buried him further into confusion.
Mew lazily shook his head and then crossed his arms, "You never got to see what Sancturia was like under Gravitus' rule. He gave them everything they ever wanted. They readily agreed to practically all his insane laws and decrees because he was like a God to them."
Mew's eyes slacked halfway open and he placed a hand on his hip, "Humans grow through struggle. If you give them everything they want and they never work for it, that's not growth...You're just molding slaves. And I refuse to be the subject of worship."
He then stared straight at Joe Dark and said, "I get it. You're seeing the worst of humanity and want to do something about it. I'm...not telling you you're wrong to do so..."
He crossed his arms and said, "But if you want to fight, you have to fight by Earth's rules. We can't be gods. Humanity's not ever going to be ready for what we are."
Joe Dark hung his head and hands out and pleaded to his brother, "And how am I supposed to do that?"
Mew shrugged.
"...I see," Joe Dark's eyes turned vacant, and slowly but surely he gripped his fists tight until his whole body shook, "So I should just be a bystander...?"
"Bro..." Mew extended his hand out and Joe Dark weakly brushed it aside.
"I can't...I can't accept that...Not at all."
He slumped back towards the dark rift, with Mew's worrying gaze trailing him the whole way.
He changed his exit back to his mansion home, dropping him off at the front door. He tapped the front door and started to take off his shoes, which felt as heavy as lead.
Greeting him inside was Julius, "Welcome back, Master..."
Joe Dark crawled into the house and Julius' suddenly shutting up spoke volumes.
"You're not doing so well."
Joe Dark stop and hung his shoes off his fingertips. Julius patted him on the shoulder and greeted him with a smile, "Do you need to talk?"
Joe Dark shook his head and lightly brushed his hand off, "I'm tired, Julius. Can it wait?"
"I feel like it shouldn't," Julius firmly put his best foot forward to get in his way and look at him, not with cold, stern eyes, but a tender smile, "You know I can handle whatever's on your mind."
Joe Dark's gaze slowly panned towards the couch and he nudged towards it.
Julius nodded and then glanced over his shoulder, "Miss Alura, how would you like to make dinner tonight?"
Alura poked her head out from the dining room and replied, "Really?"
"Yes, go right ahead. It'll make a nice change of pace."
Alura cracked a tiny smile and then trotted into the kitchen. Julius then faced Joe Dark and whispered, "There, that shall keep her busy."
They then made their way to the couches and sat across from each other. Joe Dark spilled his heart about the days' events, including the talk with Mew, all while Julius listened and nodded, all without speaking up until it was done.
"I see..." Was the first thing he muttered, "I know this might not be what you want to hear right now, but I do agree with Mew here."
Joe Dark grabbed the sides of his head and ruffled his hair around with a growl of frustration. Julius looked towards him with a soft gaze and gentle remark of, "I'm sorry you had to deal with that though. She sounded like a nice lady."
Joe Dark dropped his hands between his legs and moaned, "What am I supposed to do about these feelings of inadequacy, Julius?! Am I supposed to just feel...trapped, powerless to do anything about the world I live in?!"
Julius closed his eyes and murmured, "Like father like son..."
Joe Dark poked his weary head up a bit and Julius snapped his fingers out, "Your father thought much the same way when he returned from the war. He too, saw the worst of what humanity had to offer, and it changed him forever."
"In fact, its what inspired him to run for Senator in the first place," As Julius kept speaking Joe Dark's eyes remained wide and attentive, "He believed he could change the world from within. 'To be there for the people, as one of the people'. That was the ideal he strode to live by."
Joe Dark's eyes began to turn away with him starting to contemplate these words, "To be there for people, as one of the people..."
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then bridged his hands under his chin while staring blankly forward, "How can I do that...? Be there for people, as one of the people...Father, Mew, they chose to save the world in their own ways, but if I want to truly make a difference...I can't walk the same paths they did."
He felt the weight of the world slowly pressing upon the back of his shoulders, causing a nervous sweat to drip on his face, "But how far must I walk? How high must I climb? Senator? Governor? No, those aren't good enough. I have to aim higher."
His eyes opened, narrowed by the iron will of his determination growing, "I have to go farther."
He curled his fingers inward and gently lowered his hands to his knees, "Even if the path I walk to get there is impossible, I don't care. In me flows the blood of those who've refused to give up, even when faced with the impossible, and the spirit of those who cared for this planet..."
He looked Julius square in the eyes and told him without hesitation, "I have to become President."
Julius' shock nearly led to his glasses sliding off his face.
Joe Dark gasped heavily and shook his head, "That...that's what I've decided."
"I hope you understand, Master Joseph..." Julius firmly nudged the glasses back into place, "Just what it entails to strive for Presidency."
"I do." He replied.
"Especially given your role in society at present. Rather..." Julius' tone turned mildly grim, "Your fabricated one."
"I know," Joe Dark nevertheless replied, "I'm asking for a struggle. A store cashier, trying to become a President? That'd make me a laughing stock with any other person..."
Julius looked him firmly in the eyes and left no mercy in what he was about to say, "You may potentially waste years of your life away pursuing an impossible milestone. Are you SURE this is what you want?"
"The first sixteen years of my life were a waste, Julius," Joe Dark said, his voice a little wobbly, "But even though I was a worthless nobody, Mew was kind to me..."
He hung his head and fondly recollected these last few months, "He gave me a home. Meals. A shoulder to lean on...Not everyone is that lucky though."
"Yes," Julius nodded, "For all his talk about defending the people, Prometheus merely left them to suffer. All the blood of billionaires he shed did little more than regress society."
"And that's just it isn't it?" Joe Dark quickly rose and raised his voice, "People are out there suffering right now, their cries going unanswered! We should be able to sleep at night, knowing that we'll be able to wake up the next day healthy, wealthy, and secure! The people don't need propaganda disguised as promises! They need actual, discernible change, a person who they can trust and put their belief in, someone who won't yield to money, power, or temptation! They need a President who isn't just a face on the TV, they need a champion of the people!"
He thrust his thumb at his chest as passion overflowed from his every word, "So I don't care if I scrape my way out from the bottom all for nothing! I can't just sit here anymore and watch as the world rots around me!"
He then hung over panting slightly from exhaustion.
Julius rose with a shiver, slowly clapping his hands together before his chest, "If those are the kinds of speeches you're capable of..."
The slight hint of a tear appeared on his cheek, "You'll make a damn fine President, Master Joseph."
He rounded the table to put his hand on his shoulder, looking upon each other as equals, "And I shall support you, every step of the way."
Joe Dark struggled to smile and answer his kindness with thanks, "It...means a lot to hear that, Julius."
When Julius took his hand off he glanced slightly towards the kitchen and remarked, "You should probably tell Miss Alura about this."
Joe Dark laid a hand on his hip and sighed, "I'll tell her someday, when I feel she'll understand what it means."
"Fair enough." Julius nodded.
"Though..." Joe Dark hung his head slightly against his chest, "I would hope that by then, she will have found her own path to walk too. I don't want her to have to walk the same path I do."
A few seconds later they heard the sound of shattering glass coming from the kitchen and jerked their heads towards it in shock.
"Is everyone alright in there, Miss Alura?" Julius hastily remarked.
"I-Its fine..." Alura murmured, "I just...dropped a plate."
What they failed to see, as they left the matter be, was that Alura had been hiding behind the door. Pieces of glass now lied at her feet...with blood dripping from cuts in her hands, which she now pressed against her rapidly beating chest.
Her breathing got hot, and heavy, her mind swirling with so many complicated feelings for her.
Her pupils shrank once she forced her hands over her mouth, and a little wetness trickled out of her eyes.
And from all this, the only thing she could do was stand there and gasp to herself, "W-Why...does my chest hurt...?"
Next Time: My Uncertain Future