“You killed him, didn’t you? Your own father – your own family? What is wrong with you?”
“I did what was required! I didn’t just turn a blind eye to his conduct like most. That would have accomplished nothing!”
Langston stared at the floor and shook his head. His anger grew, just as much as the confusion.
“That explains nothing. Why was I in the middle of the desert with a hospital gown on of all things?”
The Guardian poured himself a drink, as he listened to Langston process what he had heard.
“That – my friend – is not for me to figure out. Honestly, I don’t really give a shit. But you are here now, brother. Let’s celebrate and talk business! You can work for me. We can figure out what we will tell people later. I’m sure people will have questions, like why a human is now inside of our city.”
“Brother? I’m not your brother!” Langston lunged at the Guardian, grabbing him by his suit lapel and the collar of his shirt. The grab caused the Guardian to drop the wine bottle, alerting security nearby.
“I will never consider you a brother. Family doesn’t do that to family!”
A guard rushes the area before Langston could do the Guardian any harm, striking him in the head. Langston fell to the floor at the feet of his newly discovered sibling. His eyes blurred before he passed out.
“Well, what are you waiting for? Take him downstairs and put him with the others. We will figure out what to do with them shortly.” The Guardian looked down at Langston one more time, “Well, what do we have here?”
The Dream
“Come here! Come here, buddy! Oh man, look at you! You are getting big boy! And looking more and more like your momma. Look at those eyes.”
“You need to come see him more often. He will be taller than you next time.”
“Ha! He can be as tall as those walls and would still be my little man! Isn’t that right, son?”
Langston looked up and smiled.
“I’m serious; you need to come see us more.”
“Honey, come on now. We talked about this. You know I am doing the best that I can. You know I love you both.”
“Then prove it. Stay with me.”
“Baby – you know I can’t do that. I have to continue this. You know I have a lot going on.”
“Everybody got a lot going on. Why? Why does it have to be you?”
Langston played with animal figurines on the floor while he listened to his parent’s conversation.
His mother continued, “What about us? What about me? We are your family. You have peace here with us. Look at you! You are greying already. That city, and what you are doing, is driving you mad. You’re spreading yourself thin.”
“Enough! Please!” Langston’s father snapped, startling both him and his mother. He grew frustrated with her lecture. He sighed as he shook his head and watched Langston more, while smiling at his presence.
He hesitantly walked over to her. She cried softly in one of her hands, before turning her back to him to continue folding laundry. He kissed her shoulder and then turned her around by her hips. He rubbed her head with his head before kissing her cheek.
“I’m sorry. I will do better with my time; I will figure something out. You know I love you. We have something special. We share something I haven’t had with any other – something strong. I will figure out a way so that we won’t be apart for long. You know I will do my best.”
“I know – I know you will. It’s just – it’s just – hard. It’s lonely without you. I’m tired of doing so much by myself. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. You’re right. I understand.”
The Awakening
“Mr. Langston! Mr. Langston!” Jesse screamed and sung his name as loud as he could to wake him. Langston lied on his stomach on the cold cellar floor – breathing but unresponsive.
Déjà vu.
The cellar was divided by rows of large barrels, filled with wine and ale. More bottles of alcohol were found in cubbies, lined on the wall.
Langston, Jesse and Kinth were separated and tied to columns within the different rows.
Kinth listened as Jesse did his best to wake Langston. “You’re wasting your breath, kid. He is out. Probably a concussion. Might as well relax, ‘cause he may be like that for a while.” He scanned the area. “Haven’t seen this room in a long time. My father would spend many nights down here, drinking and working at that table over there. Still looks the same way it did the last time I saw him.”
In the middle of the room was a large, circular table, just beyond the rows of barrels. It consisted of small stacks of books, and papers, while a globe rested atop of it. These items appeared to have been there for some time, based on the amount of dust and spider webs that rested on top of them. The room itself didn’t see many visitors anymore, other than a quick grab-and-go of the various ales and wines stocked.
“Wait a minute. I know your voice. You are the man from the station.”
“That would be I.”
“I still have a scar from when you threw me out.”
“Sorry, kid. You shouldn’t have been trespassin.’ You think that scar is bad – you should see mine. There are things in that desert that could have done a lot worse. Be happy that I sent you about your business before someone else did.”
“Whatever, man. Are you going to help me wake him up or what?”
“Wake him up and then what?”
“Find a way outta here! What else?”
Kinth laughed at the comment.
“C’mon man! You are strong. And you know this place better than anyone else.”
“Kid, there is only but so much I can do. There is only one of me and plenty of them. I’m sure they called reinforcements. I know I would have. We are outnumbered.”
“We gotta try something. We are smarter than they are.”
Kinth reflected on Jesse’s words as he continued to look around the room. He remembered the days of his youth when he would run around the cellar with his sister and brother, hiding inside and behind empty barrels.
He also remembered his early adulthood, when his father made him the head of the Grove’s Army. His father celebrated the event with dignitaries in the mansion on one day and then again in private with him – in the cellar, giving him his first drink.
You are a man now.
Kinth was made the head of security, not just because he was the Guardian’s first-born, but also because he had abilities of which his father was aware, long before Kinth knew of them himself. There were natural leadership and instinctual skills. Skills that his father could sense before the event.
He made Kinth responsible for the safety of Hock City and the immediate areas outside of the wall. There was peace and joy amongst Hock City’s citizens when Kinth and his father held their positions. That all changed.
“Hello? Hello?” Jesse sang, to regain Kinth’s attention.
“All right kid, shut up. Good grief – goin’ give me an ulcer.”
“Mr. Langston! Mr. Langston!” Jesse tried again to wake Langston as Kinth pondered a strategy.
Kinth looked carefully between the barrels to see where Langston was. He came up with an idea that would wake him. He kicked a barrel with one forceful thrust of his leg, knocking it to the floor. The impact caused the barrel to burst into pieces, while the contents covered the area in which Langston lied. The fluid poured fast enough that it rose high enough from the ground to cover Langston’s nose, causing him to gasp for air.
He was finally awakened.
Q&A
Langston lifted his head from the floor and looked around, while he gathered his composure. A streak of blood ran down the back of his ear and the side of his neck; his head pulsated.