(Prosinec 7, 58 / 4:48PM)

  (Elizabeth) Now make an oath.

  Pcing both of her hands on her hips, she tapped her right foot on the old wood. Her eyes pushed upward, and both of her cheeks loosened as she looked upon Johnny’s head-scratching, leading her to jolt her ears up.

  Unable to look within those brown snted eyes, he kept his eyes staring at one of the toy wooden trains next to the stack of papers.

  (Johnny) As of today, I, Johnny Zirardge will try my absolute best to be the man that my father never was.

  (Elizabeth) And?

  (Johnny) … and to dub you my protector.

  Drops of sweat swept down from his temples, licking the floor as small puddles formed along the tips of his toes. Letting his hand drop that he scratched his head with, small amounts of blonde hair littered his thin jacket, dandrum already seeping into the minuscule cracks within the wooden ground.

  In return, Elizabeth huffed out a rge amount of air out of her lungs, her eyes closing along with her lips curling upward. Opening her eyes, she balled her hands as her pupils sparkled and gleamed like a kid on Christmas.

  (Elizabeth) I promise to always protect you from anyone! So please leave that to me!

  (Johnny) I don’t know how I feel about a girl younger than me being my bodyguard…

  (Elizabeth) I don’t care.

  Holding both of his hands, her fingers rubbed the top of his smooth knuckles, her tanned and wrinkled fingertips coursing through his skin like the back of a fork. Having a cage locked on them, she pulled them close to the area between her stomach and chest, causing Johnny to redden evermore.

  Both of his hands being forced to wrap around her waist, she nudged her head onto his chest, letting out a low soft purr.

  (Elizabeth) You’re all that I have…

  Johnny looked toward the orange sun that was on the verge of setting.

  In the dead of winter, suns usually settle down below the event horizon much earlier than in the summer, leading the window to glow a mystical light. Like watching the end of a prolonged life, his left eye shed a single tear.

  A tear that caressed the top of her head.

  Lifting her head, her chin put enough pressure on his chest for him to almost tumble back. Squeezing him, Johnny grunted and squirmed under the tight hold of Elizabeth’s rough arms and hands, his breath starting to be trapped inside his lungs.

  (Johnny) … You’re squeezing me.

  (Elizabeth) I’m not letting go.

  (Johnny) But I’m having trouble breathing.

  Her eyes pushed downward, her cheeks tightened, and she moistened her lips by licking them red.

  Johnny began to wrap his arms around her wrist as well, using his right hand to tuck her head into his chest. Not allowing a naughty thought to seep into her mind, he kept her close, rubbing her back again and again.

  (Johnny) And don’t even think about anything funny.

  (Elizabeth) But I—

  (Johnny) No buts. Until marriage.

  Both of her cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk. Continuing to wrap her arms, Johnny kept his feet glued to the floor, all the while he just begged for this love to never end.

  By shedding another tear.

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  (Reverence 4, 59 / 8:37AM)

  Back to the present.

  Miles, Luna, Benn, and Luke all had their ears perked up to hear the little love story summarized. No emotion sparking out from any of them, Johnny let both of his shoulders drop downward, rubbing his sweat-tainted palms together.

  Cpping his hands, a bolt of electricity ran through all four of them, leading them to sway their heads up in unison. Furrowing his brow, a little scoff broke from his mouth.

  (Johnny) Please tell me that you guys heard the story.

  (Luke) Y-Yeah we did.

  (Miles) Hey, we’re not heartless.

  (Luna) What story?

  Benn remained silent.

  Putting both of his hands onto his hips, a rge exhale of air pushed out from his nostrils. Staring right onto the floor, his eyes pinned on the old wood littered with dust, chunks of it calling the edges of his boots home.

  Luke and Miles both let out a soft chuckle, along with a wry smile dispying on their pushed-up faces. As for Benn and Luna, both frowned their usual frowns, folding their arms over their chests.

  (Johnny) Come on man…

  (Luke) No really, I did listen. And from what you said about yourself before meeting Elizabeth, it resembles a lot like me six years prior.

  (Johnny) Fine. Even if you didn’t listen, it’s no skin off my back … but seriously …

  Johnny extended his right hand down, with the tips of his fingers barely reaching to the tip of Luke’s nose. Taking away the metal soda can from his direction, Miles kept it close to his thigh.

  (Johnny) Help get Sean back. If he steps foot on that train all alone, he won’t be able to summon a single clone without bullet holes.

  Luke’s palms still gripped the dusted floor.

  Puckering up both of his lips, they twitched relentlessly under the soft eyes that shined down on him. Lifting his head from the back of the wall, both of the bottom of his palms reddened from the weight that he pressed them on.

  (Luke) But I don’t know what I want though…

  (Johnny) Let me make it easier for you. A month back, you were assigned leader, right?

  Luke nodded, with both of his hands still cmping and grasping the old wood. His palms already shaded in a yer of gray, his chest and body began to tighten more and more to stand up.

  Bending down, Johnny put his other hand onto his knee, hovering the extended hand lower to Luke’s chest. Being in the grappling distance, Luke tried but couldn’t force his hands to work, the numbing sensation stinging in him like a horde of fire ants.

  (Johnny) Your old commander died during the counterattack, and out of all the people in the group, she chose you for a reason.

  (Luke) S-She wasn’t the smartest leader…

  (Johnny) That doesn’t mean she was dumb. Maybe she wanted someone who had more potential.

  Luke finally lifted his right hand, but not enough for him to push it upward. Slightly opening his mouth, dry air seethed out from his lips, along with his eyes watery and redden the more he looked up.

  Trying to force his hand forward, he just needed one more push. One push that will jump him out of his feet, thump his heart, and finally set himself for—

  He remembered.

  His eyes widened, his breath trapped, and his heart slowed to a turtle’s pace. As if time had stopped, his world bnketed white for a split second, going and exiting in the snap of a finger.

  (Gwen in Luke’s thoughts) Thank you for saving me too.

  He took Johnny’s hand.

  Both of them kept their feet glued to the ground, Luke still had his lower body pressed onto the old floor below. His eyes snted inward, both his jaws clenching down onto one another, tucking his feet in so that all his body weight pressed down onto them.

  Pushing off the ground slowly, both of his feet gripped the bottom as creaks and splints soon formed. Standing up straight, he still had his hand wrapped around Johnny’s, his right side bang covering his right eye. Despite this, both of his eyes glowed its returning crimson-red color.

  Letting go of Johnny’s hand, he turned to his three friends who stood by and watched, with Miles letting out a sly smirk.

  (Miles) So we’re doing this huh?

  (Luke) Ready or not, I’m not letting Sean get himself killed for my mistake.

  Walking toward the door, Luke opened it wide to let the oven-like air sm into his face yet again.

  Without looking back, Luke stood in the middle of the doorframe between the room they were in and the hallway. Keeping his feet close together, his left hand hovered over a wall with stuck-out splinters, his voice quiet and mellow as he spoke.

  (Luke) Let’s notify everyone.

  After many flights of stairs or two ter, the five of them reached down to the main building floor.

  Being in the center, Luke had both of his hands clenched as they swayed with the motion of his walk. Gncing to the left and right, he noticed that everyone was already accounted for, with Christian and his siblings silently sitting on a rge wood crate.

  To the right of him, an old teenage girl and a young woman stood near a metallic door, the freezing air blowing against their backs.

  (Elizabeth) There they are!

  Hope noticed a familiar face.

  Like a mouse, her footsteps trailed down the old rusted floor, her direction being toward the group that came down. Both of her hands swaying up and down, she began to gre and stiffen her face, her quiet footsteps soon turning into loud stomps that shook the building.

  Noticing her anger, Luke stopped in his tracks. His confident walk crumbling like a moist cracker, he pinned his eyes to the ground to avoid Hope’s blue jabbing eyes.

  Reaching in front of him, Hope looked up to the timid young man, who began to rub his right arm with his left hand. Unable to even muster out a voice or thought, tiny dots of sweat began to form along his moistened neck.

  (Luke) I’m sorry…

  Letting out long stressed air out of her lungs, her shoulders dropped with the motion of her air sacs. Her hands unclenched, her fingertips grazed both of her kneecaps, letting them move up and down as if she were pying the piano.

  In a sudden thrust, she pointed her finger at him, her nail barely touching the tip of his nose.

  Not letting a word seethe out of his mouth, both of his lips remained locked, followed by air not drawing from his nose. Her finger trembled, both of her cheeks puffed out, making her seem like she was pouting.

  (Hope) Tell me you are sorry again.

  (Luke) S-Sorry…

  (Hope) Again.

  (Luke) Sorry.

  (Hope) And again.

  (Luke) … I’m sorry.

  Hope pulled back her trembling finger, as she pced her hand onto her hip. Not smiling, nor frowning, her nonchant eyes stared deep into his red eyes, causing him to tighten the grip on his left arm.

  Turning her body away, she walked toward the rest of the group. Dropping his right hand that gripped his arm, an excess of air blew past his mouth, making him seem as if he were a defted balloon.

  (Christian) So, what’s the pn, Luke?

  The man with the cowlick had his typical stature of folding his arms below his chest, along with both of his siblings having their hands pced onto their waists. Everyone huddled together, the only person who needed to join in the circle was none other than Luke, who kept his distance from them.

  Bringing his hands down, he clutched them together, clearing his throat as the excess buildup of saliva blocked his windpipe. Gulping down whatever regret or guilt that he still kept inside of him, it only burdened it deep down into his reset heart.

  (Luke) From what we gathered during our talk with Johnny on the talkie-cell yesterday, the best way to infiltrate a train would be on the front car.

  (Miles) But we’re not raiding it.

  (Luke) But Sean is.

  Tucked away inside his pocket, Luke began to scrape away the many objects that he had stored inside. Pulling out a simple piece of lined paper, he raised it in the air, letting everyone take note of the old cursive handwriting that was etched onto the fossil paper.

  Everyone seeing the writing, Christian nodded his head back and forth, pcing his right hand underneath his chin. His fingers rubbed the area in which he didn’t sprout any facial hair, and some pieces of old skin raked off from the border between his chin and throat, as the dry oven air sunk deep into his tanned skin.

  (Luke) This note holds the key to getting Sean back. Never thought I would’ve needed this, but it leaves me no choice.

  (Christian) Now this is just pin weird.

  (Luke) I know what you’re thinking, but the best pce to craft it would be in this pce. It was a beer factory.

  Putting the note back into his pocket, he let it sit on top of other rubbish and junk. Letting his right side bang cover his right eye, Luke began to let his left eye glow, leading the others to lean their heads back. Sweat began to trickle down their temples, the only person that was drenched in it was none other than Miles.

  (Miles) But this beer factory won’t probably have the number of ingredients we need. Besides, it’s too hot for the ingredients to be stored in.

  (Luke) Then there may be another freezer. I’ll expin about that little weapon ter.

  Cpping both of his hands together, the loud snap shook every corner and shadow that was untouched and virgin. Flinching, the rest of everyone furrowed their brows, with Christian in particur pushing down his eyes.

  (Christian) You didn’t need to cp.

  (Luke) Sorry, but what I’m about to say is important.

  Everyone kept his eyes on him, their pupils all trapping Luke into their little vision dimensions. Like putting another mirror next to another, the angle in which light trajected on their reflections also got into another, leading to a paradox of Luke spreading out.

  Walking back and forth along the rusted iron floor, an unknown chunk of dust after dust jumped into the edges of his boots. Some of it seeped into his shoes, but he ignored it as he rubbed both of his palms together.

  (Luke) I know that what I did yesterday scared all of you. If it makes you feel any worse, I also made myself scared as well.

  (Jack) You almost killed Sean man.

  (Luke) I know … but I have to do the opposite.

  Pointing his finger directly to the entrance of the building, the tip of his finger slightly shook. Keeping his feet and back straight, he glued the bottom of his feet onto the rusted floor that soaked the soles of his boots.

  Everyone else looked at the front entrance, their eyes taking in the slight breeze that whistled through the arid desert.

  Rubbing their shoulders or hands, followed by their palms tainted with sweat, the only person who didn’t feel nervous was both Johnny and Elizabeth. Both of them standing in the back of Luke, Johnny csped down his right hand onto his shoulder.

  (Johnny) Remember to just bring him back. We don’t need to rob the train.

  (Luke) I know. That’s why we’re all setting out for Culkia.

  Being in front of everyone, he turned around to notice their hands firming into their sides. As if their bodies thawed out whatever nervousness kept them chained, most of them took one step forward, their feet directed to the entrance.

  Thumping the left side of his chest twice, he kept it still, not letting it glide to the right. Making a half salute, everyone kept their hands to themselves, their hands barely able to lift themselves upward to thump their chests.

  (Luke) I can’t sacrifice a person to go back to my usual simple life. That’s not me…

  Walking behind Luke, Miles also pced his hand on the back of Luke’s shoulder, his fingers loose as they didn’t sleep deep into his colrbone. The others that were still in the back of him, all hovered over Luke, their thawed bodies finally pushing a soulfire fme in their hearts.

  Keeping their eyes on the whistling wind, sand continued to spray on the border between the rusted floor and the sanded concrete. Ignoring the oven air, ignoring a deal that could’ve lollipopped their paths, their eyes couldn’t take away the whistling air that signaled the point of no return.

  (Miles’s thoughts) I can’t call myself an elder brother if I let one of my friends be deposed.

  (Armin in Luna’s thoughts) After dinner, can I tell you about the book I’ve been reading?

  (Luna’s thoughts) Why am I thinking about him now … damn that elf…

  Luke pulled his hand back, clearing his throat all the while he put both of his hands into his leather jacket. Letting out a sly smirk, his right lip churned upward, cocking his head back as if he was mocking fate himself.

  (Luke’s thoughts) Do you think I’m still unready Dad?