Arc 2 - Chapter 55: Gamblers and Soldiers

Everyone grew silent, once the tension finally reached its critical point. All of them taking a step back from the edge, they all felt their knees beginning to strain.

“She’s just sleeping…”

Luke clenched all of his fingers into his palms. Feeling his eyes beginning to sharpen, he took another step back, and felt his whole stomach beginning to swirl. Lighting up a soft chuckle, he began to reach a pinnacle point of his grief … denial.

“What are we even thinking about? Gwen is just asleep. Taking a nap. E-Even Jack had trouble seeing from his eyes.”

“Sorry man, but I used a scope. You saw me use it myself.”

He felt his own heart tremble. Wanting to cry, wanting to rage, all he ever did was feel his legs wiggle like jello. And as his breathing began to fasten, Hope walked toward him, and grabbed his hand with hers.

“Hey Luke. We could still heal her. All we have to do is—”

“I don’t think she’s going to make it.”

—Time stopped for him alone.—

Unwilling to stand amidst a smoothened surface, all of his anxiety and grief was pushed on his shoulders.

Slowly turning his head toward Jack, he had widened eyes on the verge of tears. But swallowing them up with red, he sealed his lips, and jabbed his fingers deeper into his palms.

“She’s not going to die.”

He stared at the cobblestone floor, and kept his pupils there as he couldn’t look up. Unwilling to, Jack didn’t mince his words, while rubbing his left hand against his right sleeve.

“I mean, no one is down there. No one is near her. There was a pool of blood laying all around her … what more could I observe here Luke…”

Jack couldn’t stare forward, not at Luke nor anybody else. With everyone’s eyes growing dim, their source of optimism dying, it felt like a huge hole was carved into their guts.

Wrinkling his face entirely, Luke still kept his eyes firm on the floor.

“It’s ok Luke… Gwen is going to be ok…” Whispered Hope.

Blood began to pour from his palms. By taking note of Luke’s blood, Jack softly took a step back, and had his boots on the edge of the building. Feeling like he might—

Luke let go of his palms, and laid his fingers on his thighs.

“We were so close…”

He was about to cry.

Sniffling a bit, he didn’t cry, but had his eyes turn pink the more he held. With the wind beginning to die down, even his hair softly stalled on his right eye. All the while his pants were stained by his blood.

“Our plan almost worked, and all we had to do was deliver the bomb to Gwen … but … we couldn’t even do that.”

Luke slowly walked forward, his body stiff like a piece of rustic metal. His tears swelling his lower eyelids, he then looked down at the clouds that began to patch up. The sight of destruction, the sight of Gwen’s fight, was now blocked by the same hellish clouds.

“I don’t … I …”

Keeping his eyes on the clouds, he couldn’t see what lay beyond. Keeping the air trapped in his lungs, his feet continued to feel like he was stepping on needles.

As he allowed two long tears to roll down his cheeks.

“Don’t know what to do…”

He was within the devil’s crossroads.

The plan had a pistol to its head, and all they needed was the trigger. Gwen being that trigger, how could someone go against the odds … and overturn the battle?

Closing his eyes, Luke allowed his vision to see nothing but black. Escaping reality, he tried to foresee a present that he had always wanted. But even inside the darkness, and the imagination, he heard a voice.

“Luke…”

It was a voice, a voice full of femininity and motherhood. Sealing his lips shut, he opened his eyes …

“Luke…”

To see a world far different than his own.

Seeing only white, it was replaced with the darkness that he tried to escape to. His senses transferred to the same realm, he looked all around with red in his eyes. Feeling the air grow warm and cool, humid and dry, it felt like …

“H-Huh?”

It was an endless horizon of white. Up and down, left and right, north and south, west and east, heaven or hell, east of Eden, west of Nod; he looked.

But his looking ceased, once he noticed a blurry figure.

“Luke…”

He heard it again, and he took note of the outline of the woman. Wearing nothing but baggy sweatpants and an old t-shirt, she had brown dark hair that fluttered down her neck. Trying to squint, he couldn’t detail her face.

But that changed over time.

“Who are you…”

“Oh Luke…”

Her voice drew out a whisper. Letting it caress his ears, he pinned his eyes solely on the woman who calmed him.

Having half-elf ears, along with a button nose, it was the same nose he was birthed with. Looking to be in her mid-30s, it was the same woman who gave him—

“Mom…”

Looking the same as the day he lost her, her sneakers up to her face looked exactly as they were left off.

While she stood right in front of him.

“You got so big.”

He unleashed that dam.

Wrapping her around his arms, he wouldn’t let go even if the world told him to stop. Being a few inches taller than her, he found a way to press his face onto her shoulder.

As tears tore down from her eyes.

“Sssh. It’s ok.”

Caressing the back of his head, her hand softly rubbed his hair with care.

“I’m here…”

From that hellish day, from the past, and from the present, everything that he did was for her. Staying alive, getting stronger, all the things he carried were passed down from her and his father.

Moving her hands up to his cheeks, she then pulled away to take a look at him. Having her thumbs an inch from his eyes, her own eyes were swelled in pink. Pushing out a simple smile, it was fiddly with warmth.

“I’m so proud of you…”

Holding back a line of mucus within his nose, he soon loosened his hold on his mom. Having his hands down to his sides, static prickled his fingers down to his wrist.

“Mom … I’m sorry … I shouldn’t have … I…”

He wrapped his arms around her again, his grip not as tight as last time. Keeping his hands locked on her upper back, he laid his chin on her shoulder, and whispered the words from his dry lips.

“I’ll stay with you.”

Patting his back, she felt a warm relief surge into her arms. Wanting this position to last forever, she knew that it was nothing more than a miracle. And miracles weren’t handed out for the damned…

“I’m sorry too …”

In that instant, Luke almost tripped forward.

Unable to cling onto her, he settled his boots steady on the floor, and turned quickly around. Seeing that she was still there, the only thing different was that her body glowed …

Looking like a hologram, it left Luke to widen his eyes.

“W-Wait!”

The world that was created before him began to crumble. Trying to bring him back to reality, all he wanted was to be with his Mom … for only a little bit.

Unable to jerk his arm forward, he pushed whatever words that were wreathed in his heart.

“Don’t go! Not yet! I…”

His chest began to fasten under an invisible timer. Taking a single step forward, his face wrinkled the more he stared at—

“Remember what I told you Luke …”

Everything within the world of white began to turn black. Slowly fading with color, every direction possible was being withered off. Keeping his eyes on her, even when he felt nothing straining his boots … he reached out.

“Keep my promise … keep it to the very end.”

As everything faded into nothingness; her voice echoing into the horizons.

________________________________________________________________________

He opened his eyes.

Seeing the reddish clouds still linger, he took a step back, and felt his body be off the edge. Turning his head toward everyone, he had his right arm low to his side, and he snapped once. And then he snapped again.

Doing it repeatedly, he stared at the floor while he slowly strode. Walking back and forth, he made everyone furrow their eyes, and even their eyebrows. But just as they were about to say something, Luke ceased his snapping.

“Hey Fred, remember the robotics competition?”

“Uhm … kind of?”

“Then do you recall the idea that I gave out?”

Fred raised his hand up to his chin, and softly rubbed his jaw. Leaving his other hand to clench, he felt his knees buckle, while he trailed bits of his memory. Once he finally chipped in on the scene, he remembered the idea of …

“You wanted to put rocket boots on our robot. Yeah … yeah … it’s all coming together.”

“If you can, if you could, can you create a prototype.”

“A what? You can’t be serious.”

Luke placed both of his hands into his pockets, and glanced at the clouds that were bleached with orange. Smoke sweltering the surface, ash raining down under, they were above it all, and yet…

He knew they had to go down. Instead of Gwen, someone new needs to take her place.

“Look Luke, to be realistic here, we don’t have the parts to recreate it. Hell, we don’t even have the time to build one.”

Luke’s face darkened the more Fred spoke, considering his words rang true. Averting his red eyes from his blue ones, Fred had his head hunched an inch forward.

“And to even use them, you would need to master the art of balance. Physically and logically, it would be impossible to soar through the air with—”

—A suitcase glided through the floor.—

Hitting right beside Fred’s ankle, he turned around toward the elevator door.

Everyone had their eyes pinned on a single man, a man with gray bowl-cut hair. Having one of his hands inside his suit, he had his other resting on his side, while pinning his eyes on Luke.

“What you want is inside that case.”

Luke took a simple glance at the suitcase, as the outside layer was painted in black. Drawing out sweat from his temples, he let his hands stall on his sides. Feeling his palms grow sticky, he had his full attention.

“Then does that mean … inside that case—”

“Is rocket boots. Well preserved and unused.”

“Wait. Just why do you have rocket boots in the first place?”

The wind began to howl in the background, leaving it to flutter the top of his fedora. Raising the hand that was inside his pocket, he gripped the side of the fedora with stern fingers. And while he did this, he breathed softly out through his nostrils.

“Someone I know gave them to me, told me it was really important.”

“Who?”

“You’ll figure out soon…”

Gulping loudly within the confines of his throat, he slowly walked toward the suitcase that was beside Fred. Bending down on one knee, he opened it with ease, and allowed his eyes to sparkle on the metal and leather.

‘What the hell is he going to do?’ thought Luna.

Taking out two boots, he also began to unbutton his laces from his old ones. Pushing them off, he then gripped upon the black leather, and felt it shiver his knuckles up to his forearms. Pushing in one of his feet first, he felt the leather trickle his sock, until he began to put on another.

‘What is he…’ thought Hope, who trailed her thoughts.

Once he was finished putting on the new boots, he felt the heaviness of the canisters stationed on the back. From his ankle down to his heel, it pushed his knees to wobble.

“It’s a little heavy.”

“You’ll get used to it. It isn’t for the common joe or the faint of heart. In order to be brave, I consider that the ultimate test. You know…”

Luke began to walk to the edge, while hearing the clacking of metal from his heels. Once he came to a complete stop, the tip of his boots were inches from the fall down. Looking at the reddish clouds, he allowed his eyes to take in hell itself.

—“Gamblers and soldiers are a lot alike. But what they bet are different.”—

Having his uzis inside his holsters, along with many elements inside his pockets, he had a full arsenal already loaded. With everyone staring at him, they all took a step forward, and began to grow a sense of worry within their stomachs.

“Fred. Give me the bomb.”

Being a few meters behind him, Fred softly walked toward his sides, and brought out his hands. Receiving the gift of the heavy hunk of metal, he then tucked it along his sides, and held it like a baby.

As he stared at the clouds, everyone took another step forward.

“Whats the plan Luke?”

Silence fell for everyone, and the howling wind ceased its melody. Perking their ears, hunching their heads, they awaited anything that’ll draw out from his mouth. But it didn’t take long before Luke tilted his head up.

“For now, all you guys have to do is stall her. That’s one duty I want you to do…”

And all he had to do was to take a leap of faith.

Twirling his body 180, he had the bottom of his heels pinning the brick beneath his boots. Keeping the bomb close to his chest, and having his fingers dig deep into the metal, he let his eyes stare—

At his second family.

—“And I’ll do mine.”—

Allowing his heels to loosen, he tilted his whole body backward. Seeing the world vertically…

He plunged down.