The Purge

“A thousand moments that I had just taken for granted—mostly because I had assumed that there would be a thousand more.”

Unknown

I dreamt of my brother.

I was back in our house. I was eight years old and my brother was ten. I got a terrible bruise on my cheek and my brother was washing a cloth draped with my blood on the sink. Furious tears started to fall down my cheeks as my brother scolded me never to fight bigger children again. My brother was always the peacemaker while I was the exact opposite. While he was busy being the perfect son, I was busy fooling around. The air was hot by then. I don’t know why when clearly, the skies were a bit gloomy. Sweat broke out of my body. I clasped my hands into fists. I let the sound of my brother yelling at me float in the air. It was too hot for me. My temper led to irritation until I felt the itch in my palms. My brother continued to nag at me. My breathing slowed as my world started to turn. My brother pushed me and that was when it happened.

Sparks flew out of my hands and the curtains and the mantle caught on fire.

We turned off the fire. My brother took the blame for what happened. I remained silent.

We kept it a secret for a very long time.

I remained silent.

Until they came and my brother died of the silence.

I woke up to find I was alone in the Wyvern Training Room. I squeezed my eyes shut willing myself that what happened last night wasn’t a dream. But Bri was gone. I pulled on my clothes and I decided to head back to my quarters.

Maybe that was just for show. Bri doesn’t really love me. If she does, she would have been here with me asking me to come back to her army. But my fantasies remained as fantasies. I stepped out of the training room like a lost puppy but my feet brought me to a different route and before I knew it, I was heading towards Bri’s quarters. I know there are cameras around and I could get kicked out if they find me in a different headquarters and in an officer’s room. But I don’t care at this time. I just need to talk to her and sort things out. I won’t be able to rest until I truly know her feelings for me. I want to make sure that last night wasn’t a dream.

But as I stood outside her door, my inner cowardice tapped my shoulder and I stood frozen. What the hell am I going to say to her? Hey,Bri! Wazzup? You wanna go out with me? Hi, Bri. I know something happened last night and I just wanna be clear with you. Bri, I love you. Will you go out with me?

Oh this is ridiculous.

So I stomped away from her door and back to where I should be. The Garuda army.

But when I reached my door, my mind has played a bad joke on me. Bri was standing outside my door, waiting for me. She has her hands clasped in front of her almost like in a praying position. How can she just stand there and be so beautiful and here I am, rendered speechless and retarded again.

She turned and saw me. I opened my mouth to say something but she was already running towards me. With one swift move, she wrapped her arms around me, closed the gap between us, and our lips met. I screwed the questions in my head. I will find time to deal with those confused emotions. I have Bri right here in my arms right now and all I wanted to do is kiss her and keep her with me.

“Con, is that you?” I heard Imogen’s voice and the sensation was over. I looked behind me to check if Imogen was close. The sound of her boots approaching told me that she was. I turned back to Bri to tell her to meet me later but she was gone.

Man, am I drunk or am I just going insane?

“Hey, I’ve been looking for you since last night! Where the hell have you been?” Imogen asked me once she got to me.

“I uh…roamed around a little bit.” I shrugged casually. “Trying to find pieces of myself. They’re sort of scattered all over the place.” I joked.

Her worried face was exchanged by a smile of relief. “Well, I hope you got yourself back.” She sighed. She opened her mouth to say something else but the alarm broke.

The warning sign blasted in full red and bold letters on my screen.

I turned towards Imogen who had gone pale beside me. I felt a hole in my chest like I have lost a piece of it. A sudden feeling of dizziness and nausea followed. And that was when I knew.

The 1st Gate has opened.

The Dark Hour has finally begun.