1

By the time the Earth stopped shaking; Tara was still literally with her back against the wall, arms and legs spread out as if holding the newly painted screen from falling over. Her expression would have been comical if it weren’t for the troubling circumstances.

“Is…Is everyone alright?” she managed to squeak out with a trembling voice. She started to relax and let go of the wall, her face turning red when she thought of how she must have looked.

Damian was still holding the little boy in his arms; for some reason he couldn’t remember his name but he knew his parents and he knew where they lived. Seeing how distraught the kid was, he planned to take the boy home once they left the Center.

Owen came to the front, placed a comforting hand on Tara’s shoulder and tried to settle everyone down. 

“Ok everybody, let’s calm down. Before we do anything we just need to know if everyone is ok. No one got hurt?” 

The remaining people in the room just looked around to see if there was any more damage done, all that could be heard were the little boy’s muffled sobs. The child was the youngest one in the room and was the only one in tears.

“William? George? You both ok? Did that thing hit any of you?” inquired the off-duty sentinel.  

“No mister Blossom” answered George, “it just surprised us, that’s all.”

“That’s a relief. It could have broken your skulls, that thing looked heavy. Everybody listen here. It was probably just an earthquake; I know it doesn’t happen very often, especially around here but we have to stay calm.” 

The gentle authority in his voice reassured the audience. Tara was glad Owen took over; she would not have been able to stick two sentences together without her voice breaking.

“I suggest we all leave quietly and slowly. Head on back to your homes. I’ll go check the Power Hub to see if the electricity is going to come back soon.” 

Once Owen finished talking, the thirty-something people remaining started getting up and filing out of the room one by one.

Damian couldn’t take his eyes away from the shattered projector. His hopes for the day were as crushed as the broken machinery that now decorated the floor. He was reassured by the fact that no one was hurt but still, he knew something was wrong. He knew it wasn’t just a fluke earthquake. He could not rationalize how he knew; he just did.

“Damian, I wanna go home” suggested the little boy, interrupting his thoughts. “Can you please take me home?”

Now he really felt embarrassed that he forgot the kid’s name. He took out his pad and wrote down: I’ll take you, let’s go! but as he showed the child what he had written, the boy simply frowned, stared at his feet and sheepishly said that he could not read yet.

That’s great, thought Damian, this just keeps getting better.

2

While they exited the Game Center, Damian couldn’t help but survey the damage caused by the tremor. The books in the library littered the floor, a couple of windows were broken and the front desk was on its side on the floor. Mr. McAllister was busy picking up his inventory so Damian decided not to bother him and be on his way with the little boy.

The reception area at the entrance was not spared from the damage. Chairs were randomly thrown around the room and most of the floor was covered by broken glass because there were no windows left. Some people were helping to pick things up, while most stood around discussing their theories of what caused the quake.

The kid kept tugging at Damian’s hand indicating that he wanted to leave faster. Damian agreed, he did not like what happened and had a sinking feeling that they should pick up the pace. Once outside, Damian noticed that Mr. Paw was nowhere to be seen. He was more surprised than worried because he and the dog were usually inseparable. 

Maybe he just got scared and went home he thought as he started down the path towards the boy’s house.

The kid’s home was in the southern housing district, the one close to the south gate that led to the farms, which meant that there was a significant amount of walking to do.

Damian was trying to convey assurance and calmness to the child but he had no idea how to communicate it; so, he simply took the boy’s hand in his and led the way.

3

Amidst the anxiety in the air, most people around were out of their homes looking for any damage that the earthquake might have caused. Due to the way the homes were constructed, not much structural damage was done. The same could not be said for the trees. During their long walk, Damian and his young companion observed that a few trees had been uprooted or broken; they even saw one house that was buried under three broken trees.

“Wow! Look at that!” pointed out the child excitedly, at least the destruction served as a distraction for the kid. He looked up eagerly at Damian, “You think that happened to my house?”, Damian was glad he couldn’t speak because he did not know if the child was joking or if he really wanted his home to be a mess so he only shrugged. 

“That would be so top if it did!” exclaimed the little boy, “we got lots of trees, maybe daddy will make me a tree house now!” 

The child was absolutely enthused by the idea. Damian was unsure of how to react; he offered a nervous smile in response.

Gradually, the child became more at ease, speaking from time to time, planning the construction of his tree house and the games he would have with his buddies, but he never let go of his companion’s hand. Damian started to warm up to the boy but felt a hint of jealousy because he thought that he would never be able to interact as openly and freely as this little child. He dismissed those feelings telling himself to concentrate on getting the kid home safe and sound and then after, he could wallow in self-pity for as long as it was needed. He grinned at the sarcastic thought and noticed that they were getting closer.

The landscape was the same: rows of similar houses populating the path, trees randomly collapsed on the ground, people investigating the aftermath and a darkening sky overhead because more clouds had come in to blot out the sun. The warm gentle breeze had abandoned them since they departed; now a cool stillness reigned in the air.

“Yay!!! Look it’s down! You see Damian? It’s down!” shouted the child while jumping up and down. 

Damian didn’t remember exactly which house belonged to the child but assumed that the one the kid was talking about was his own. His assumption was confirmed when the front door opened and out came a startled mousy woman. 

“Was that—Kenneth?” she inquired softly and when she noticed the pair at her doorstep she yelled out with relief: “Kenny! You’re home!”

The boy finally let go of Damian’s hand and ran up the steps to his mother. Kenny! That’s his name! Can’t believe I forgot! thought Damian. His parents had us over for dinner a while back…I don’t remember their first names either. Kenny must have been a baby back then.

He took out his pad and started writing while mother and child were reunited. She kept hugging him, raining down kisses on his cheeks and forehead, saying that she was so worried when the earthquake hit but that she could not leave because she was tending to an injured neighbor in the back. Little Kenny did not care much for the explanation, he was glad she was alright but he just wanted her to stop kissing him and embarrassing him in front of his new friend.

Kenny is fine Mrs. Tremblay, we left the Center after the quake and I brought him as soon as possible, was the message he wrote. She read it with sparkling tears in her eyes. She immediately wrapped her arms around Damian and embraced him tightly. For a small woman, she sure had a tight grip. 

“Thank you so much for bringing my baby home! My husband dropped him off at the center to watch one of those film thingies then left for his sentinel shift at the Northern Wall.”

“I’m not a baby…” pouted Kenny.

She ignored his retort, let go of her hold and just kept her hands on Damian’s shoulders, her dripping eyes looking down at him, staring into the blue of his eyes: “Bless you Damian Pearl. I’m so happy Kenny’s ok. You have no idea how worried I was.” 

The last two words were barely audible, revealing how emotionally distraught she had been. 

He solemnly acquiesced and wrote down I’m happy you are both safe. He then waved goodbye to the two of them. 

He turned to walk away and felt someone bump into him. He thought somebody was running around and had run into him by accident but to his surprise it was Kenny thanking him in his own way: he had sprinted up to him and hugged him around his waist almost causing him to fall over. 

“Thanks Damian! You’re a top friend!” said the child and then went back to his mother blushing.

Kenny’s action and his words warmed Damian’s heart. The kid had actually thought of him as a friend, Damian was mesmerized. He started to walk away again and as he was a few meters from the Tremblay house he overheard Kenny saying: “I like Damian. He’s very nice. Too bad he’s shy, he doesn’t say much.”

4

Kenny’s house was closer to the City Hall than to Damian’s home. He decided to head there first to verify if his parents were unhurt and maybe he would also get some answers as to what was going on. If the Power Hub did not cause the quake, then what did?

Normally he would have to go home and wait for his parents there; such was the plan they had agreed on in the case of an emergency where they would be separated. They had to wait for it to be safe then go straight home or if that was not possible, to the Health Clinic.

Damian had already disregarded this plan by going to the Tremblay house: he simply could not abandon that poor little boy or bring him to his own house just to wait; he wanted to be sure of his safety and wellbeing.

He would have to neglect the plan again if he wanted to go to the City Hall. It didn’t matter what he was supposed to do, his intuition kept compelling him to go to his parents.

He rarely broke any rules (either his own or his parents’) but in this case, he felt that it would be acceptable.

If they were fine, the worst thing that would happen (although unlikely) would be to get scolded; but if something had happened to them…he didn’t even want to think about it.                                                                                                                                   

5

On his way to his parents’ workplace he would have to walk next to the city’s artificial lake; the trip would not take him more than fifteen minutes.

The City Hall was the only government building in Silvershade. After the Great War, the Allied Territories arose from the ruins of North America. The then self-proclaimed Nobles formed their government and built the High Cities.

The Nobles considered themselves to be worthy vestiges of the Ancestors’ world; most of them were descended from people who fled the war in caves, mountains or bomb shelters and managed to thrive in the contaminated aftermath without succumbing to genetic mutations or crossbreeding with “lesser mortals”.

Every Territory had a governor that oversaw the Territory’s High Cities, specifically the Territory Capitol and every High City counted with one mayor. Ichiban, a High City from the Central Territory was the first one built and became that Territory’s Capitol. Above all the mayors and governors existed the Eminence; a kinglike official that was the head of the Allied Territories. Silvershade was part of the Northern Territory but was not its Capitol, Eden Hill had that privilege.

All High Cities had the means to communicate amongst themselves but only through their respective City Halls. Citizens did not have access to telephones or radios, only the City Hall did in order to be in constant contact with the other government officials and to receive instructions from the Eminence. In a certain way, the Eminence and the Governors were the uncontested rulers of the Allied Territories but very few Nobleborns were discontent with their rule because their life was easy and safe as opposed to Lowborns. This way of life had been preserved for 133 years.

The situation in Silvershade had already been communicated to Eden Hill by the time Damian left the Game Center; all fifteen other High Cities knew about it by the time he reached the lake.

6

 Damian could see the lake’s clear water as he got closer to his destination. For a moment, he thought he had tripped over his own feet but realized he was wrong: the ground was shaking again. This time the tremor lasted only ten seconds and was about as strong as the first one that was felt when he was in the library. He stood still even after the rumbling had ended; he wanted to be completely sure that the path was stable. After a couple of minutes, he decided to keep going but something in the lake caught his eye.

For an instant, he could have sworn that the lake was nothing but a dry trench in the land. He blinked and saw that all was normal. He kept walking while keeping a wary eye on the water. Once he reached the end of the path, he turned around to get one last look at the lake before he moved on and what he saw did not make a lick of sense.

The western half of the water’s surface was covered with a thick layer of white ice. The middle of the lake was twirling as if it was liquid going down a drain; it didn’t look like water, to Damian it seemed more like mud. The eastern end was filled with surfacing bubbles because the clear water was boiling; steam could even be seen rising into the air. He could even smell the lake’s fish being cooked in the searing hot water.

Am I still dreaming? asked Damian while slapping his own face with restraint, this day keeps getting stranger. 

His jaw dropped and his eyes almost popped out of his skull when right before him, a flash of white light erupted from the lake and all was back to normal. The water was as clean and clear as it had always been. The scent had disappeared as well. Even if he were able to speak, Damian would have been at a loss for words. He raised his hands, pushed his hair back and rubbed his temples with one smooth pensive action. 

I hope I’m dreaming, if not I’m losing my mind he thought while doubting his own lucidity for a short moment. 

The tranquil water seemed to invite him to come over and test it out for himself, to see if it was real or if it was his mind playing mean tricks on him.

The silence surrounding him was unnerving and full of menace. No joyous chirping of birds could be heard; not even the sound of insects was present. He decided to start moving and instead of walking to the City Hall, he started to jog without looking back.

He was now fearful of what he might find.

7                     

The City Hall building was the antithesis of the Game Center. Its tall and circular shape evoked grace and nobility of times long past. At five stories, it was the tallest building in all of Silvershade. Its main entrance was adorned by a row of columns. The exterior was the same grey-silver color as the rest of the city’s houses and was surrounded by great white oaks.

The inside was spacious and even more refined than the mayor’s house. All walls were made of albroxy stonework, the floors were made of marble and many pre-war carpets and pieces of art could be found decorating various offices.

Damian’s parents, Arthur and Samantha, worked together on the third floor as part of the Census Unit. Their job consisted of keeping track of the number of citizens, personnel inventory, housing coordination, negotiating transfers with other High Cities and working on an eventual expansion because of the growing population.

Their responsibilities enabled them to be some of the few authorized people to go up to the Comm Room on the fifth floor and contact other High Cities. They used a satellite radio signal that survived the Great War to keep in touch with the others.

On this specific occasion, they had been called in to work because two new engineers had arrived from Kineston to be incorporated into the electricity team at the Power Hub.

 8

 Damian came rushing up the steps of the City Hall and started slowing down when he reached the pillars. He took a few seconds to catch his breath and walked through the big steel doors after making sure he looked presentable enough. As soon as he was inside, he noticed that the power had not yet returned. To his right stood a tall muscular mustachioed man; he was wearing a regulation blue uniform and hat, black leather boots and had a baton at his side. 

Damian waved “hello” to the sentinel.

“Hey Damian. Looking for your parents?” the guard asked.

Are they ok? Did the earthquake hurt anyone? Asked Damian through quick use of his pad.

“You have no idea! It’s been crazy over here; lights went out after the quake, Mr. Di Stasio fell down the stairs so he was taken to the Clinic. Your folks are still upstairs, they’re fine though; I think they’re about done for the day anyway.”

Do you know what happened?

“I’m just a sentinel; no one told me anything, all the higher ups said was that everything is under control.”

Thanks.

Damian crossed the entrance hall, relieved to know that his parents did not get injured but still hoping to confirm the news for himself.

Usually on Saturdays, there were very few people working at the City Hall; most of the time there were only two or three sentinels and a couple of people in the Comm Room. On this occasion, Damian could see that the place was busier. He encountered five people on his way up to the third floor and he noticed that there were more sentinels than usual roaming the halls. Even though the guard had told him everything was ok, he couldn’t help but feel like this was the calm before the storm; that the worst was yet to come.

 9

 The Pearls’ office door was opened. From where the boy stood, shadows could be seen dancing on the walls. His parents were huddled together around a desk, facing away from the door. Lit candles shed their light on the otherwise somber room.

Arthur was standing next to his desk, clutching a form with one hand and scratching his wavy black hair with the other. Even in the low light, Damian could see his father’s thoughtful expression as he read the form, his hazel eyes squinting to make out the words. As opposed to Damian, Arthur was very tall; he was actually considered one of the tallest citizens of Silvershade.

Samantha on the other hand was short. Standing next to her husband, the height difference was even more obvious; he was well over a foot taller than her. Damian’s mother was writing a few notes on the form Arthur had just placed on the desk. The candle’s flame accentuated the elegance of her long straw colored hair. She kept glancing at her husband with a touch of nervousness in her blue eyes, wanting him to move faster so that they could go home sooner.

They were filing away a few papers and did not notice their only child silently creep into the office. He surprised them by embracing them both in one quick swoop.

“Wha…who…DAMIAN!” exclaimed Arthur after turning around.

“Oh my…you scared me half to death!” responded Samantha, “are you hurt?”

“What are you doing here son?”

“Hold on a second Art. Maybe he’s hurt. Did anything happen sweetie?”

“Did the earthquake give you a scare?”

“Art this is not the time to joke. Of course he’s scared; he came all the way here just to feel safe. I told you we should have left as soon as the quake stopped!”

“Sam, could we not get into this right now? I told you he knows what to do in case of an emergency.”

“Yeah but this is different. So many tremors, the power goes out, and God knows how much damage happened outside.”

Damian stood before his parents watching them bicker back and forth with a big grin on his face. He didn’t care what they were arguing about, he was just relieved to see them again.

Amidst their discussion, they finally noticed that he was staring at them while smiling and so they immediately stopped and all three shared a heartfelt hug.

Damian spent the following minutes informing them about his time at the Game Center, the earthquake, Kenny and his trip to the City Hall. He left out the part about the lake because quite honestly, he did not entirely believe it himself and had no intention of appearing to be losing his marbles. 

Even after his explanation, Samantha carefully interrogated her son to make sure he was not hiding any wound from her. Damian was accustomed to her over-protectiveness so he answered calmly and truthfully with as little attitude as possible. He knew by experience that if he tried to speed the process up, she would think he was hiding something and she would end up stripping him down to next to nothing to examine him for herself. She had done it twice when he was younger and she would be willing to do it again. Arthur also knew better than to interfere with her inquisition; he sat down while they “spoke” and offered his son a few apologetic glances. 

Once Samantha concluded that Damian was ok, Arthur explained why they stayed at the City Hall.

“We really were worried when the earthquake hit son,” explained Arthur. “Your mother was out the door as soon as everything stopped shaking.” 

Samantha was nodding emphatically. 

“I was nearly out to join her but I heard Mr. Di Stasio falling down the stairs. His accident made me realize that we couldn’t just rush out without a plan.”

“Your father is right. I didn’t agree at first but he reminded me that we’ve had a plan for situations like this one.” Her melodic voice was trembling but was full of conviction, “Always be ready for anything right?”

“So we stayed, helped Mr. Di Stasio and tried to finish up as fast as possible so that we could meet up at the house like we had always discussed,” resumed the father. 

“The power was out, so we also had to wait a bit to see if the engineers at the Power Hub would be able to bring it back to normal or if they would need some help from another High City.”

“As you can see, we’re still waiting for the problem to be fixed” pointed out Samantha by waving a hand at the overhead lights.

“I knew you would be ok;” stated the father. “You always know the right thing to do son. I’m very proud of you for helping that Tremblay kid as well. He must have been terrified.”

Damian replayed the whole Film Room scene in his mind. At first, he had been just as terrified as Kenny but he knew that he would have to be brave and in control to help the little boy stay calm.

“Sweetie, why did you risk coming here if you knew the emergency plan was to stay at the house?” asked Samantha.

“Did something else happen?” asked Arthur while placing a caring hand his son’s shoulder.

Damian was once again faced with the dilemma of telling them about the lake and about that nagging feeling that something else was afoot. He trusted his parents implicitly, he rarely lied to them but he didn’t want to come off as crazy. He silently stared at them for a few seconds, weighing the options: telling the truth (however insane it might be) versus coming up with a plausible story. 

Those seconds seemed like an eternity, the silence in the room was interrupted only by the soft pattering of raindrops against the windows.

Damian once again grabbed his pad and chalk. He was about to start writing about the incident at the lake when the biggest earthquake he had ever felt shook the building.

 10

 The sudden push-pull of the floor against their feet threw the Pearls off-balance. Damian stumbled backwards towards the office entrance. Arthur fell to the ground and stayed on all fours trying to stabilize himself. Samantha was sitting until the quake shoved her off her seat and unto the far wall.

The sound was intimidating, even more so than the random movements of the earth. It sounded like thousands of horses bursting forth on a desert plain at full speed in various directions. All around them, books were falling, shelves were braking, the desk was thrown upside down, the remaining windows were shattering and the walls were starting to moan and crack. 

A loud ripping sound indicated that a fissure was being opened overhead; pieces of stone started to rain down on the office. Neither of them was able to move, not only because of the paralyzing horror but because it was impossible to stand up amidst the enormous vibrations. 

Everything seemed to be a dizzying blur; Damian could barely see his parents’ mouths move but he couldn’t hear anything other than the cacophony of destruction. The walls were no longer plain; they were riddled with cracks and fissures that looked like dark spider webs. The gap in the ceiling was growing in proportion to the increase of the earthquake’s strength. 

Visibility was worsening because of the pieces of wood, plaster, stone and albroxy in the air. The trio couldn’t see an inch in front of their noses anymore. More rubble kept dropping until part of a beam broke off and plummeted to the ground. Once the beam fell, the shaking began to diminish. The encompassing dust cloud hovered over the debris and slowly settled down.

Even when the shaking had stopped, Damian had no idea what was happening. All of his senses were shot: his ears were ringing, he felt dizzy, unbalanced and his body was crying out with pain. He had many little cuts and bruises along his exposed skin, he didn’t think anything was broken but it sure felt that way. 

The dust made him cough and made his eyes burn, preventing him from finding his parents with sight alone. He tasted blood mixed with dirt which made him gag; he stopped himself from puking but suffered through a longer coughing fit. He slowly stood up and started to walk carefully around the broken pieces of the building around him. 

He had to stop after a couple of steps because the dizziness made him lightheaded and more nauseous. His hearing started to come back but he couldn’t hear his parents’ voices over the tinnitus. He took a few deep breaths and tried to concentrate on listening for any noise his parents might make. The fear in his heart continued to grow every second he didn’t get a sign from his parents.

Once the dust cleared, he saw something that hurt him more than the falling fragments of stone: his mother was trapped under the broken beam.

 11

 Samantha’s torso was all that eluded the beam’s devastating fall; her hips and legs were now crushed under the heavy weight of the slice of stone. She was lying on her back, her previously pony tailed hair a blonde tangle over her bruised and cut face. A trickle of blood flowed from her lips as she tried to speak. Her husband was kneeling next to her, holding her frail right hand in his own; telling her to be silent and not try to talk. 

As his hearing slowly returned to him, Damian could make out the labored breathing coming from his mother’s heaving chest. The sound of her gasping breaths shattered his normally calm composure. He lost all strength in his legs and fell down on his knees, hot sharp pain shot through his thighs but he ignored it. His eyes were two big circles of surprise; his lips were quivering with fear. He placed his hand on his mother’s left hand and immediately started to cry.

“S..swee…sweetie…, y-you hav-v-e to be…” she painfully started but couldn’t finish because it hurt too much to speak.

“Honey, don’t…don’t try to talk. We’ll go get help ok? You’ll be just fine, just fight…fight and stay with us ok?” Interrupted Arthur while desperately trying to hold back his own tears.

Damian was holding her hand close to his chin; his trembling lips kissed her unclenched fist. His tears were leaving muddy streaks on his cheeks and now on his mother’s hand. He couldn’t think at all; the only recurring thought in his head was “please mommy, don’t go”. 

His eyes locked onto hers. Her pale blue eyes were looking straight at him but then started to look past him; they seemed to be slowly losing their clarity. More blood started to flow out of her nose and ears. Her skin darkened and began to shrivel before him. A few of her long hairs started to drop right off her skull as both Damian and Arthur looked on with added shock. 

Her gasps sounded more liquid, more guttural; she began coughing up dark partly coagulated blood. Her skin was now greying as much as her remaining hairs. They noticed that the hands they were once holding were nothing more than bones with a tight layer of cracking skin on top. Arthur grabbed Damian and made him stand up, trying to make him look away from what remained of his mother but he couldn’t. Her eyes were little white balls rolling into her sockets leaving nothing more than gaping black holes. 

Her skin had become indistinguishable from her bones. Even through this transformation, she was still trying to move and speak.

 12

 Damian’s mind couldn’t take it anymore. He was confused, sad, powerless and terrified at the same time. All he could do was to stare in disbelief as his beloved mother decomposed before his very eyes. His father grasped both his shoulders with his strong hands and shook him to get him to snap out of his trance.

“Damian! Damian! Son look at me!”                                                                                                

The boy’s eyes finally left his dying mother; his disoriented glance was now upon his father. He saw that his dad was as bruised and as distraught as he was.

Arthur’s devastated spirit was being overshadowed by another sensation, a physical sensation of loss. He felt his strength being drained from him, like his whole being was shrinking in the darkness. His thoughts’ clarity became fuzzy and muddled, it took all of his willpower to stand and speak to his son.

“Son, you have to get out of here! Run! Grab Mr. Paw and run!” he declared emphatically.

Damian didn’t understand why his dad would say such a thing, he didn’t want to leave. He wanted to stay with his dying mother and if anything else happened, he would rather die than abandon her. He tried shaking his head to show his disagreement and he noticed his mom. 

She was a pile of drying bones. He could even see that the bones were slowly disintegrating into dust. Her clothes were nothing more than tattered pieces of filthy cloth stuck under the beam. All that came to mind was stories of weapons the Ancestors tried before the Great War; weapons that killed in such a vicious manner. But who would have such weapons in this day and age? Why would they use them in Silvershade?

Arthur turned his face back with one hand, telling him not to look but the sight of his father’s face made his heart sink. Arthur’s skin had also begun to wrinkle. His father’s teeth were now black and his hair was falling out as well. Arthur’s head was exploding with pain as he forced himself to remain conscious and concentrated on instructing his son.

“Son trust me, you have to run! Get out of this city! Go to Eden Hill! Find Williston! Williston Bloomingfield! He’ll know what’s happening!” he yelled in a husky voice.

Damian wasn’t reacting; he was hearing the words but wasn’t moving. He couldn’t accept what was happening, he didn’t know how to accept it or even comprehend it.

“Son do you hear me? EDEN HILL! WILLISTON!” he repeated vehemently, “Go, take what you can! Your mother and I love you. We always have and always will! You have to go; you can’t die here ok!”

The rumbling had begun once again; the earth wasn’t shaking too much but the groaning sounds of the building’s foundations were there. Damian was weeping again; he looked at his father’s changing face and wished with all his heart that he could at least say the words that mattered the most: I love you. He tried mouthing the words but his whole being seemed to be trembling.

Arthur’s decaying face was lit up with an expression of surprise and comprehension; Damian figured that even though he couldn’t say it, his father understood what he would have wanted to say. Arthur’s receding cracked lips formed a smile and he told his son “I love you too, now please go, run and don’t look back!”

Another chunk of a beam fell on the remains of the desk, springing Damian into action. He forced his throbbing body to move and started running through the office’s entrance. He did in fact look back and what he saw haunted him for the rest of his days: his father was now nothing but skin and bones, huddled over his wife’s remaining bones and ashes waiting to suffer the same fate but happy to be joining her soon in the afterlife.