Chapter 2: A Gravekeeper's Duty

Bzzt bzzt

Lucius's phone vibrated on his desk, telling him to wake up. After a giant yawn and some stretches, he got up from his bed and plugged his phone into its charger while he got ready for lessons at Clayton Brown University.

After a quick shower and somewhat heavy breakfast, he put on a pair of gardening gloves and set off to perform his daily task -- Cleaning Wake Cemetery.

Wake Cemetery, or the "Paradise Cemetery" as most locals call it, was bought by his father even before he was born. It just so happened to be the only cemetery in St. Elizabeth to have a house in the middle of it, and his old man somehow decided it was the perfect place to live in.

You never ceased to amaze me, old man...

The memories started to flood back to him -- His mother nagging him about buying the cemetery as a place to live in, his father teaching him how to use a sword, and most importantly, Nicky...

Nicole Wake was Lucius's younger sister. She was a bubbly and cheerful girl, not to mention energetic; she was the only person who could legitimately tire Lucius out, with all her running around and playing. When she was in elementary school, her friends started to call her Nicky instead, and over time, her family started to use her nickname instead. However, instead of being annoyed, she absolutely adored her nickname so much that at times Lucius swore she had forgotten her real name.

Lucius shook his head to regain his focus and proceeded to then clean the cemetery, removing the weeds and leaves from the graves. In the middle of cleaning, however, he was interrupted by moaning -- lots of moaning. It was then he spotted some clothes lying around a tree, strewn all over its surroundings. With a groan, he went over to find the people and ask them to leave.

Is a cemetery really the go-to place for getting it on?

The thought lingered in his mind for quite a bit until he found a couple of teenagers underneath said tree, completely naked and too engrossed in their, uh, activity, to notice Lucius standing over them.

"Excuse me, you two, but this private property, and I'm gonna have to ask you to leave," Lucius told them, averting his gaze.

When the couple noticed him, they immediately stood up and covered themselves, apologising profusely before leaving the cemetery. Lucius could only manage a chuckle at their behaviour before resuming the cleaning. After half an hour of cleaning, he heaved a sigh of relief when he finished his daily task.

Now, onto their graves...

Lucius headed towards three graves that were especially well taken care of; his family's. At first glance you would think that they had only died recently, until you saw the date etched on each of their tombstones.

In loving memory

Jonathan Wake, Loving Husband and Father

1976 - 2006

Samantha Blake, Loving Wife and Mother

1983 - 2006

Nicole Wake, Sleeping with Angels

2000 - 2008

Seeing their graves brought up nothing but horrible memories of 15 years ago. Even now, hatred for the Association lingers in his heart, a time bomb just waiting to explode. Lucius took a deep breath to keep that rage in check, before proceeding on to maintenance.

When it came to Nicky's grave, Lucius's hands started to tremble as he grasped onto the tombstone, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't save you, Nicky. Your big brother wasn't strong enough..," he muttered in between the sobs.

Lucius eventually regained his composure and wiped his tears before performing maintenance on Nicky's grave.

When said maintenance was finished, Lucius gave the cemetery a once-over to see if he had missed anything out. Feeling satisfied, he went back in and washed up.

Lucius stared at his face in the mirror. His grey eyes and cold demeanor stared back at him while he ran his hand through his short, dark brown hair.

Even after 15 years, nothing much has changed... Well, maybe except for my face...

The scars on his chin and nose served as a brutal reminder of his younger, less experienced days, when even basic nightcrawler grunts posed a major threat to his life. Without his father to teach him how to fight, he came up with his own aggressive style; one Glenn would call "feral".

While in the middle of reminiscing, Lucius's phone started to vibrate. He switched it on and found a message by Tyler Chase, one of his closest friends.

Tyler: Yo, Lucius! Maria and I are already outside your house. Wanna walk to school together?

Lucius managed a small smile at the message. Tyler and Maria Chase were identical twins. They would never leave each other's side and would always do things together, whether it would be homework or getting into trouble. Even so, the personalities could not be any more different; Maria was more outgoing and Tyler preferred to stay behind the scenes. As a result, they became known as the "Bipolar Twins".

Lucius thought of a reply and finally decided.

Lucius: Yeah, sure thing. Gimme a few minutes to get ready.

Tyler: Sweet! Hurry up though, Maria's gonna throw a fit if we're late again...

Lucius chuckled at the message sent; Maria really was a stickler for the rules, even with her personality. He quickly ran through his wardrobe and finally decided on a red hoodie followed by a pair of jeans and sports shoes. He quickly packed his items and left the house, promptly locking the doors amd windows before finally spotting the Chase twins. He gave them a wave before catching up to them, walking to Clayton Brown University while chatting about recent events.