A/N: Hey guys
Been awhile for this one. Unfortunately, I never wrote any note for where I was taking that first chapter. I really thought I was going somewhere with it, but got too busy to write and forgot about it. Now I have this sudden urge to write my version of Thor in this universe again and intend on doing so. Only problem is that I'm starting from scratch. I'm sorry for those of you that were interested in that beginning I had wrote.
Also, this is no longer a third person story. I'm writing it in First person. I'm just more comfortable with it and quite frankly I'm realizing I've been writing almost all my stories in FPP. I will attempt Third person one day but right now I just want to get this out of my system.
The only other thing I want to address is who this Thor is. I will have certain elements from Marvel in here, like the enchantment and what have you, (don't want to spoil everything) but I kind of want the lore to be more in line with the actual mythos but mixed with God of War's take on a lot of things.
Before you ask, no, my Thor isn't a fat dude, but he isn't going to be Chris Hemsworths build either. In fact, I want Thor to be ruggedly handsome or average looking, as opposed to the mostly good looking members of the League. I won't give too much else away about his description or how the Norse gods will be portrayed, but just know this isn't going to be "oh the Aesir are actually evil" like in God of War, or "they are all CW characters that are mostly good guys". Again, I want to be a bit more in line with the actual mythology slash GoW's take, as opposed to Marvels. That's why this isn't being made a cross over and my Thor is more of an OC. Also, I don't know anything about the Norse gods in DC. I know the focus on pantheons in that company is mostly Greek (Shazam, Diana, Ares, etc) where as Marvel has the Greek Pantheon and such but seems to be way more focused on Norse Gods.
Anyway, I don't want to give shit away in order to explain, just please trust me.
Hope you enjoy...
Justice League: Stormbringer
The skies were darkening once again, rumbling thunder waiting to be unleashed by the crack of lightning. The skies were already pounding the Earth with heavy rain, and it made perfect sense that very few people were out tonight, although, if I was being honest where I was didn't have loads of people to begin with.
I had gone to hike up Eagle mountain that morning, and spent most of my Saturday in the woods. It was supposed to be relaxing, but something was bothering me. I was 18 today, and for as long as I was awake I've had this tingling sensation in the back of my neck. Something was off, so I got out of the city, best to avoid causing lunatic weather where there is the most amount of people, and went up this mountain to find some peace. I didn't.
I've been having more and more vivid dreams as of late. Dreams of places I've never been, impossible places, yet it all feels real. They all end the same. An encroaching darkness that covers the land and sky, until all the stars and mountains, all the life and Earth, are swallowed hole. At first I was trying to fight the darkness back, but I don't know what I'm doing, and not until last night, did I have a dream of something with Red Eyes in the darkness. I always wake up in a sweat, a storm brews outside, and I have to get my breathing under control or I can be causing problems for Faucet City.
So, today I just went for a hike. Try to clear my head. I honestly have no idea why this is happening to me, but I'm sure it's to do with the fact that I can mess with the weather. Not to mention my ridiculous strength for my age and durability. I'm a big guy, almost 6'5, wide, brawny, but not cut like those pretty boys in gyms. No I'm a bit barrel chested, and my face may not be the worst thing to look at, ruggedly handsome as my mother likes to call it, but I sure as shit ain't pretty. I'm okay with that though. If I was a pretty boy on top of how big I was, even more people would flock to me, and as friendly as I can be, I'm scared I might hurt somebody. Anyway, I have long red hair and a full red beard, green eyes, and pale skin with freckles. Yeah, I'm a ginger ogre, although my friend Mary likes to remark that I am attractive and shouldn't talk about myself like that. She doesn't get that I don't actually believe I'm some fugly beast and am just making a joke, but that's alright. I won't stop her from being nice to me. If it weren't for her and Harald, I would have no friends.
But I'm getting off topic here.
Ever since I was a kid I knew I was different. I was almost always bigger, then everyone else, and my appetite was insane. On top of this, hurting me was difficult, and my strength was more than it should be for a punk kid. I had to be very careful about picking fight with those that wanted to bully me. The first time I hit another kid I broke his jaw in one hit. He had to have it wired shut and my mother and I had to move. Mom made sure from that day forward to remind me every time I went out that I can't show anybody else how strong I was because it will get us in trouble. That I had to be gentle with the other kids, and even taught me that most kids that wanted to fight me were insecure or upset about something within them or at home and want to take it out on somebody who can take it. God I hated that, but it turned out she was right most of the time. So, I had to learn how to show mercy and gain control of my anger. Still, I thought my strength was only the result of my size, but that opinion changed pretty quickly a few years ago.
The first time I realized I wasn't human, or rather a normal human, was when I lifted a car off a kid with relative ease. You might think, "that's just a burst of adrenaline, mothers can do that and if you're as big-" listen, that's not it. How high I lifted that SUV was unreal. I was 15. I went to a parking lot in the middle of the night afterwards, outside a bar, and started picking up cars without the supposed adrenaline rush, and still I was able to lift the damn things. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't lifting them above my head with one arm, but if I put minimal effort in I could flip them.
Recently testing it out, I can almost military press a pick up. I'm definitely not human. And with the reveal of Superman earlier this year, along with realization of the evolution of humanity in the form of meta-humans, I could be anything. Well, my mom claims she hasn't slept with any aliens yet so I definitely wasn't half-Kryptonian. Besides, Superman doesn't look like he's more than 3 to 4 years older than me based on the times he's been interviewed by the Daily Planet.
Not to mention that doesn't explain why my emotions seem to effect the weather. When I was a kid it was less so, maybe it would rain when I was sad about not having a dad around, supposedly he died, crying definitely got it to rain pretty hard, or thunder might boom when I was angry that somebody was bullying me or bad mouthing my mom, but recently, the older I've gotten and the more complex my emotions have become, I have definitely caused blizzards and freak storms on summer days. No feasible methods of really controlling these weather effects other then trying to control my emotions. That being said, trying to force a storm is so difficult that I've never managed anything more than so lightly harsh breezes.
Anyway, now I'm walking down a road, trees all around me and a cliff up ahead. I'm not sure what to do about these dreams, or what it even means. Right now, I'm uncertain if my mom is holding anything back from me, but even if she was, I'm not sure I'd be able to be mad at her for it.
She's worked her ass off to put me through school and keep a roof over our heads. We are by no means dirt poor, but that's only because she busts her ass at multiple jobs, nurse at a hospital, senior care taker, she does the not so pretty job of making the old, ill, and dying, comfortable. She claims that after the life she lived in her youth, and having me, she realized she wanted to put some good into the lives of those who are suffering, and has kind of instilled that life style on me.
I shake my head as I continue down the road, having a bit of cover from the rain due to the tall trees in the area. Because of the cloud cover, it was pretty dark here, and there were very few street lights on these roads, at least ones that were working.
It wasn't long before I saw a pair of lights start creeping up on me. I had stayed far off to the side of the road as to not startle anybody and have them swerve thinking they are going to hit me. If anybody does any fancy manoeuvres on this road they will lose control. The lights are definitely going slow and steady and I wonder if they are slowing down. As I turn to look back, I notice the vehicle is a van and is definitely slowing down. The headlights are some what blinding, but I can withstand their glare. Oh yeah that's another thing, my senses are some what better than other humans. I'm no blood hound with my nose or anything like that, but I can see better in darkness, withstand looking at the sun or bright lights without damaging my retinas and hear things in the distance pretty clearly. Rumour has it Superman has super sense but based on how that's been described, mine are no where near his level. I can't see through walls or hear things from a city over. Though it's been suggested he can hear everything, but I doubt that.
The van slowly crawls up next to me to reveal a family vehicle. Three occupants in total, Husband, Wife, and their kid, a boy. Funny enough the kid is wearing a blue shirt with Superman's crest across the chest. Gotta love corporations. I just hope the Man of Steel gets royalties for that stuff. He probably doesn't.
The woman in the passenger seat rolls her window down, revealing a clearer detail of her and her husbands features. They look to be in their mid to late 20's, she's a brunette and he's a blond. Good looking couple. She has green eyes like me and he has grey ones. Their son has dark brown hair and hazel eyes. He looks to be about 8 year old. He's definitely shocked to see somebody my size. I take it he's never seen somebody as big as me in his short life. It's kind of funny actually, his jaw hanging open in amazement.
"It's dreadful out! Are you okay?" The pattering of the rain makes it a bit harder to hear for them I suppose, so the mother felt the need to shout for me to hear them. Good, it allows me to know how loud I need to be.
"Yeah I'm use to it honestly! How are you guys managing?" I shout back and the looks they give me say that they think I'm crazy for being out here like this. It makes me laugh really. They have no idea how comfortable I actually am in this weather, not to mention I'm wearing a flannel coat and a hoodie. They are the ones approaching a strange giant in the middle of nowhere. Who's the crazy one?
"Uh, we're fine. Do you live in Faucet City?" I nod my head." Well if you want to get out of this insane weather, we can give you a ride." Wow, I wasn't expecting that. Most people are afraid of me, due to how large I am. Do I really want a ride though?
"I don't know. I'm all soaked, going to get the interior drenched. Besides, I don't really want to put you out." The friendly woman smiles, shaking her head and waving me off.
"None sense kid! We're glad to help!" The husband yells form his seat. I sigh. Rejecting hospitality is rude, and honestly these people seem very sweet. Maybe I'll find some peace riding with them.
"Alright, you win!" The smiles on their faces grew bigger, a warmth was present in their faces. A happy family that was glad to help. Willing to spread the love they feel every day to the world. That was a precious thing, and I feel a twinge in my heart that I refuse to address.
As I move around the vehicle I notice the boy just continued to stare at me out of wonder. Once I get to the drivers side of the car, I open the back door and notice they had some camping supplies in the back of the van. It was the end of the weekend so they were probably going to head back today anyway. The 8 year old was playing a 3DS while the mother had a book in her hands. Before I even got into the car I could feel this tingle rush through my body.
I don't know if anybody else gets this, but do you ever just feel cozy. Like, you end up in a spot, anywhere, where you feel this immense sense of comfort, and maybe even warmth wash over you, and it's akin to when you have a fire going and your wrapped in a blanket with a cup of hot chocolate, or something like that. Whenever I feel this, I get goosebumps, shivers, it's like, calm excitement. Maybe joy? I'm not sure how else to describe it honestly. But, looking in this vehicle, and seeing this family together and enjoying their life made me feel good.
Probably because once my inhuman abilities were becoming more apparent, she started isolating us from people. Moved away from home, friends, my school, and then had to do it a couple more times after that. No settling down, no money for anything other than survival. I felt my mood dropping again and I decide to just focus on the present. The warmth. The comfort that this family can provide me for just a few moments, before I go back to my uncertainty.
"I should introduce myself. I'm Erik Torsten." I reach my hand forward to shake hands. The mother took my hand to shake, it being to awkward of an angle for the Father, and introduced her family.
"I'm Marilyn, this is my husband Clarence, and that awestruck boy staring at you is our son, Billy." After we shake hands and she introduces her family, I look over to Billy to see he's still looking at me with wonder. I smile to him and offer my hand. Without even needing to be told by his mother he takes it and shakes it, though his jaw is still hanging open. His mother, Marilyn, giggles. "Billy, you're going to catch flies. Close your mouth. And what have we said about staring?" Billy promptly shuts his mouth and looks away.
"Sorry." Feeling bad for the kid I nudge his shoulder to draw his attention.
"It's nice to meet you all. I take it you have questions for me?" Billy's face lights up as he bounces in his seat. "Yeah, most kids your age who've never seen somebody my size always has questions."
Both parents laugh this time, clearly understanding the wondrous nature in children.
"I bet your strong as an Ox!" Clarence proclaims. Billy rocks back in forth in his seat eager to fly into a slew of questions. I know because that's how it always goes.
"I bet he's as strong as Superman." Marilyn winks at me as she says this, clearly looking to get a rise out of her son who was a Superman fan.
"No way Mom! I bet Superman is still stronger!" He pauses for a moment and turns back to me. "Wait! Do you know him?!" Both his parents and I laugh at this. I have to. I've never had anybody ask me that question before.
"No, Billy, I've never actually him. Not yet at least. As for your first question I'm not as strong as him either. Though, I am very strong." Since this was a kid I could play it off like I was making things up, so I wasn't worried about saying the ridiculous things I can do.
"How strong are you? Can you lift up cars? Leap tall buildings in a single bound?" Thinking about it, I've never actually tested how high or far I can jump. Of course my big oaf brain has only ever thought about lifting things. Billy just gave me a good idea for later.
"Yeah actually. It took me awhile but I can lift a pick up truck above my head." Billy's eyes nearly bug out of his head which causes his mother to die in silent laughter, trying not to give away the game, which makes me want to burst out in laughter because the game is real and she doesn't know it.
"Are you bullet proof?" Billy asks next.
"Don't think so. Not really eager to test it out." Billy's excitement doesn't diminish even a little as he continues.
"That's okay! Batman isn't bulletproof and he's still a superhero! Or, at least I think he isn't bulletproof... Dad! is Batman bulletproof?" Clarence audibly says 'Oh Boy' and evidently prepares himself for a game of 20 superhero questions with his son.
After about 20 minutes Billy becomes sleepy. All the excitement wearing him out. He's trying to show me the game he's playing on his 3DS, it's a legend of Zelda game, but I don't recognize it and he never finished giving me the title before passing out. I gently take the 3DS from his hands, folding it up and placing it in it's pouch, and set it down on the seat next to us.
"Thanks for entertaining him." Marilyn speaks up and it draw my attention to the front of the car. There's a sullen smile on her lips as she looks back at her son. Clarence himself is too focused on driving safely to do the same, but he speaks next.
"Poor boy. We've moved all over for work, it's been hard on him to make friends. I know there's a huge age difference but-"
"-he's lonely." I know where they are going with this. Marilyn looks to me and sad expression crosses her face. "Isolation... I know it well." A tear streams down the young Mother's face as she looks way for a moment, a hand going over her mouth. Clarence uses one of his hands to grab her free one and stroke it gently and giving it a squeeze to comfort her. I wonder if my mom has ever wished to have somebody do that for her.
She's never dated, at least not as far as I know, which is weird because I definitely didn't get my looks from her. Maybe I would have been butt ugly if she hadn't been my mother, she was a beautiful woman. I don't really understand why she refuses to put herself out there. I've never asked her about it, although she and I can talk about almost anything, there are things I keep from her, and she definitely has things she's keeping from me. I don't think she wants to be bothered about such things. I don't know if she finds them tedious or if my dad, whoever he is, just left a bad impression on dating. Hell, if she wasn't against it she could always swing for the same team, I wouldn't care. So long as she was happy, and they treated her right.
"Billy has been struggling to make friends at school recently." Clarence speaks up. "He's a sweet kid, not a mean bone in his body." That's strange to me. Then again, some kids don't know how to deal with that level of kindness if they aren't used to it from their own home.
"Sounds like the kid goes to school with kids from unhealthy domestic lives." I mean, it could be all kinds of factors, but I found that to be the most common case. Marilyn gives mirthless laugh as she looks at me again.
"Maybe, but not everybody who grows up like that is a jerk. I would know, I married a boy from a broken home. And he's a sweetie." She looks back to her husband, an adoration in her eyes that I've only ever seen glimpses of from couples looking at each other, and she reaches over to touch his face. He smiles, briefly glancing at her for a moment. That kind of love truly is magical.
"Hey, don't make me out to be all good and proper. You helped straighten me out, remember?" Marilyn scoffed at this as she turned away.
"As if you didn't reign in my wild side at all." Clarence laughs.
"Why would I reign it in? I love your wild side." Okay this is getting into flirtatious territory I am not comfortable with witnessing. Luckily, Marilyn is looking at me when they started this and takes notice. Thankfully she shows mercy by changing the subject.
"So, Torsten. Is that Scandinavian?" I breathe a sigh of relief and nod my head.
"Mom is from Norway. Born and raised. She moved out here when she got pregnant with me. Stated she needed to get away." Marilyn cocked her head to the side. "You're wondering why?" She blushes and nods.
"Ever the gossip." Clarence says jokingly. She gives him a playful glare before turning back to me.
"Well, according to her, my dad was bad person. He wasn't evil, but he wasn't good. Apparently he wasn't willing to change his ways for our sake so she decided to raise me away from him. Before I was even born he apparently died on the job. She won't tell me what he did, and apparently our entire family doesn't like her very much, so we have no contact." Marilyn gives a compassionate look as she mulls over my words.
"I'm sorry to hear that Erik. That must be tough." She looks over to Clarence for moment, a sombre look crossing his face, from what I can tell in the review mirror anyway. She did say he was from a broken home.
"My mom and I are very close. I have two friends from school that are always there for me. All things considered I'm lucky." This was... only sort of true. I love my mom, and Mary and Harald are a god send, but my not knowing where I come from, and the powers I have, give me this sense of separation even when I'm around people. Like I don't truly belong on Earth. Still, at least I have somebody. There's plenty in the world that don't.
"Well, Erik, if you and your mother ever want to come over for supper, entertain our boy with stories of your "super powers", we'd be happy to have you." Though most felt like they were just being nice when offering such things, something about Marilyn's voice spoke volumes of genuine intent. I felt some happiness, though, I did not know how my mother would feel about it.
Clarence had a smile come over his face just as I looked to see if he was okay with it and gave me a thumbs up in the mirror. I couldn't help but smile.
I noticed the weather was letting up about this point, and I could help but feel that it was fate that put me in this van tonight. Maybe I just made a new found family. Only time will tell.
"That sounds nice. Thank you." Both parents beam from my acceptance of their olive branch and we slip into a silence for another moment or two before Clarence speaks up again.
"So, big guy, what do you do for a living? If you don't mind my asking that is."
"Not at all. I work in construction. As much as I like learning, sitting in a classroom wasn't for me unless I was sure I was going to be engaged with the material. That being said, I also can afford college and my grades, although good, weren't good enough for a scholarship. So, I figure I'll work a trade for now and switch things up after saving money, or I'll just keep doing this. I do love building things." It was true. My enhanced strength aside, destruction was much easier than construction.
I mean, in terms of precision and care anyway. Sure if you want things destroyed in a certain way, you need just as much precision, but if you want to flail around to build something it's likely whatever you make isn't going to stand for very long. It takes more intent, more planning, more preparation, properly build something. I find it more rewarding because of it. Not like I don't appreciate a good scrap or knocking down of a building, but I'd rather not do it unnecessarily.
"You ever interested in sifting through dirt and sand to find ancient artifacts, bones, temples, you name it?" I raise a brow in confusion before doing a classic teenage boy response.
"Huh?" Clarence chuckles a bit as Marilyn seems to take over the train of thought.
"What my husband is trying to say is we are archaeologists. I'm certain he's wondering if you are interested in such a field."
"Bingo." Oh okay. Honestly, that does sound kind of interesting.
"Honestly? Never really thought about it before." The weather has cleared enough now that Clarence can adjust his wipers so they aren't rapidly swiping back and forth on his windshield. Marilyn and him begin to trade off on why the job is exciting, despite sitting in one place for a long time, digging to sometimes find nothing of interest. I was half listening, for something was wrong.
I don't always, but sometimes, when something bad is about to happen, I get this feeling that the air has gotten thick and heavy, the hairs on my neck stand up and a cold chill like a bony finger from the realm of the dead is dragging down my spine. This feeling was overwhelming me, and I was now looking around to see if I noticed anything out of place.
We were about to end up on a winding path with a cliff on our right, no guard rails, a huge design flaw if you ask me while paving this fucking road, and... a man.
I see him for only a few seconds but he is standing near the edge of the woods, even if the other occupants of this vehicle knew where to look they wouldn't have been able to see him. I can't get his exact features, but he's cloaked. He lifts his arm to reveal he is missing his right and, and he points it in the direction we came from.
"...so, we can take you on as an intern. But don't worry, we'll actually pay... you. Erik? What's the matter?" Marilyn speaks up as I turn to look behind us.
I hadn't noticed it before, why would I it was so dark on this road, but somebody is following us. The car is an unmarked black sedan, and it's headlights are off.
"Let me out of the car." Just as I say the words the headlights come on. Marilyn nearly shouts in surprise as Clarence takes notice.
"How long have they been behind us without headlights on for?" Clarence's questions is a valid one, for I had no idea. I immediately knew though they weren't friendlies because they started speeding up to us.
Where would they have come from? Were they waiting for me to come by? What if they were near the area the family picked me up and I put these people in danger. I look back at Billy, then Marilyn and then Clarence.
"Let. Me. Out!" I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but given that I wasn't lying about my strength, maybe I could stop that car from following the family and beat the snot out of whoever is following me. Maybe get some answers as to why they are and who sent them.
My mother always told me to be wary of anybody that seemed to be following me. I wasn't sure as to why, but after she told me about my dad, I had a feeling that maybe he was into organized crime or something. She never confirmed or denied this, but also never really pushed her on the matter. I have this slight fear that maybe she's actually insane and stole me away from my family and she's doing everything in her power to keep me for herself. Then I realize how paranoid I sound and shove those feelings from my mind and try to focus on the present.
Speaking of Present.
"Are you crazy? Why would we let you out now?" Clarence states.
"Because I wasn't lying earlier. I can lift a truck above my head." My anxiousness was now getting the better of me, we were just crossing the threshold of the forest to the open cliff side. A fear swells in my heart and I can hear thunder booming in the background.
Not now. Stay in control.
The looks the married couple gave to each other told me they didn't really believe me, but maybe were considering I was somebody like Superman or these other heroes with super powers that were coming out of the wood work lately.
"It's safer for all of us if we don't stop moving. I'm sure we'll be fine." Clarence states. Marilyn, who had been moving around in her seat to look back at me and Billy, looks at her son for a moment or two before looking to me with a knowing look on her face. She wants me to watch out for him. People always rely on me for protection when shit hits the fan, so I nod, and she sits forward, putting her seat belt on.
Just as she finishes this action that car behind us speeds up and rams the back of our van. Billy wakes up with a start and starts freaking out.
"What's happening? Mom? Dad?" Marilyn reaches back let's Billy hold her hand as he looks to me for answers. I have none, for I don't know what to say to him.
"We're going to be okay Billy. We ju-AH!" Marilyn releases a startled scream when the car hits us again. Billy sobs a bit, just as scared as the rest of us at what's happening. Clarence is holding himself together enough to not scream but I can see in his eyes as he looks back at me that he's not sure what to do.
He clearly can't speed up, the road is too slick and there are no guard rails at this portion of the road. If he slides because he's going to fast we are just as likely to go over the edge as we are to just spin out or roll over. If he doesn't do something though, then this guy behinds us will just ram us off the road anyway.
The sedan then switches lanes and comes up beside us. For a second they just drive at the same speed as us as a window rolls down and I can see a barrel of a gun being pointed at Clarence.
Without hesitation, I pull off my seat belt lean back as far as I can towards Billy and mule kick the passenger side door just as they squeeze off a round.
That door may as well have been attached to paper mache, because it flys right off the van and slams into the side of the other vehicle, breaking the windows and denting the doors as the driver swerves towards the rocky cliff side, bouncing off it and they spin and roll right into us. Clarence tries to maintain control of the vehicle but the roads are to went and the car hit us too hard.
We are spinning uncontrollably, and I need to do something fast or we are going to go over. Just as the van starts to lose momentum, I step out onto the mud while simultaneously grabbing both sides of where the door use to be to try and stop the spinning and plant my feet on the ground. Unfortunately, there is plenty of mud and puddles here, so I'm sliding pretty hard.
It works though, the car stops spinning, but we still slide a few feet, causing the passenger side of the car to go off the edge, before coming to a stop, making me the only thing keeping the van from going over completely.
"Are you guys alright?!" The storm is back in full force, rain and heavy winds were not helping us at all, but I refused to let go.
"Oh God, Clarence!" Marilyn's despair told me that Clarence was either hit by the bullet or injured by the impact. Either way, I was sure he wasn't conscious. I hoped that he was still alive.
"Mom? I'm scared." Billy is hiding his face, curled up in his seat in the fetal position, or at least as best as he can be given the seat belt is restricting him a bit.
I look over the car and notice the front end of the drivers side is what was hit most by that impact and realize that Clarence may not of actually been conscious during that spin out. Either way, we needed to get them out of this thing now.
"Marilyn, I need you and Billy to climb towards me." I see Marilyn barely move as she leans back. She pulls her hand up and I see blood is coating it. "Who's-?" Before I can even ask she answers.
"Billy I need you to look at me. Okay Sweetie?" Billy hesitates for a moment, but the kid musters the courage to do so. The mother wipes her hand on her sweater and as best she can before she reaches for him. The boy reaches out and grabs her hand as they look each other in the eye. "What have we always said about being good?" No.
"B-be good, an-an-and good wi-will fol-hic-low." The boy was crying this whole time, but being silent about it for some reason. No time to ponder that though.
"That's right." Marilyn is now shedding tears as she looks at her son. "I Father and I love you so much Billy. Please don't ever forget that. Be a good boy, okay?" Billy looks to be confused, but all he can do is nod. "Okay, now I need you to take off your seat belt-hah!" This time she doesn't scream, but takes a sharp inhale as the van jerks a little bit more off the edge.
"Everything is too wet, I can't pull it up my hands will slip off!" I wish I could just dig deep and yank this thing back onto land, but I have no footing, no way of letting go to reposition my hands and adjust for a better angle, without losing the whole car. I was just talking about lifting a fucking truck above my head and now I can't even stop this van from careening off the side of the cliff.
"Billy I need you to get to Erik, okay? Please honey, I need you to take your seat belt off and hurry over to him." Billy looks between me and his mom and takes off his belt but gets closer to his mother to kiss her on the cheek and give her a hug.
"I don't want to! Come with me! Please mommy!" My heart is breaking. The warmth of their love from when they picked me up was slipping through my fingers as this van continued to slide off the edge. If we didn't hurry up, I was going to go right over with them.
"Don't worry about me my sweet boy." Marilyn wraps her arm around Billy as best she can, and it's at this point now that I can see she's got a lot of blood on her sweater, which I believe to be Clarence's. Why she's not trying to escape though is beyond me. "Go. Please. Live Billy."
"Come on Kid! We need to get you out of here before we all go over." Marilyn now let's go of the poor boy, and he looks at her and looks to be on the verge of breaking down completely. He doesn't however, and simply tells his mother...
"I love you, I'll see you again. Right?"
"One day Billy. I love you too." Billy keeps looking at his mother for a moment before the Van jerks a bit more and he quickly hustles his ass out of the Van, jumping on to the ground next to me and taking a few steps back. I look over to Marilyn, completely confused as to what she's doing.
"Why are you saying goodbye to him? I can hold this for a little long-" Before I finish my sentence, Marilyn's head begins to dip, like she's nodding off, and her eyes droop. She must have been hit some where vital.
"Pr-..mise... he...safe." She was slurring her words badly, but she was holding on to make sure Billy would be protected. The storm above me was raging harder now, this shouldn't of happened to them.
"You have my word!" My voice breaks. The powerlessness I feel. All this strength, and what was it good for.
She smiles, mumbling what I think was a thank you but I couldn't hear it. She then closes her eyes and letting go. Just as I do.
Billy wails in agony over his loss as we watch his family descend to the darkness below. I'm suddenly reminded of that dream. The encroaching dark will swallow all, even gentle and caring families with love to give like Billy's. No room for love or growth, only the end of everything. I was so distraught and caught up in my sombre thoughts that I almost didn't hear the foot falls of somebody behind us.
Turning around slowly, I see that there are two men, one of which is somewhat injured, in black with masks on and guns in their hands. Pistols. They say no words, but it's clear to me they don't want witnesses, and they were willing to kill a little boy to achieve that state reality.
I guess it's time to find out if I'm bulletproof.