Deconstruction
"..."
["Are you still there?"]
"..."
I didn't want to answer. I couldn't even be sure if what I heard was correct. Maybe I misheard.
Yeah. That had to be the case. No-No, that most definitely was the case.
["Loki?"]
"..."
["Loki?!"]
For my entire life, all I wanted to do was escape from my bad luck. There would be little rays of sunshine here and there, but it was like the universe was against me and put a shards of shrapnal on every path I tried to take in life.
For starters, I grew up with cockroaches as roommates. They'd eat the food my mother stocked up in the cabinets before we could even get to it. That wasn't the only thing they did.
Sometimes, they'd crawl into my bed in the middle of the night, and I'd wake up screaming, scared that I'd be eaten by little monsters if I shut my eyes. And because either my mother had friends over, or she was trying to sleep, she'd come to my room smelling like cheap vodka, beating me until I didn't cry anymore… And that stuck with me. The beattings, and the bugs.
From time to time, these memories popped into my mind, bringing me back to the head-space of that 8-year-old little boy.
It wasn't necessarily age regression. My childhood therapist informed me that it was more along tge lines of PTSD.
Inconveniently, sometimes I'd get these strange flashbacks that varied in intensity depending on the day. I could've been at school, work, or just at home, relaxing. When they'd happen, I'd get anxious out of nowhere when there was too much silence. That's when fight or flight mode. Or, at least that's how the shrink described it.
It would happen when I would silently read or when I drove my car forgetting to turn on music.
There was nothing I could do about it either. No amount of breathing exercises helped either.
Mentally, I was screwd. Sometimes... I would I would just feel a little nervous. Othertimes, I would hear the sound of a running faucet playing in my head like white noise people used to sleep. As seconds passed, a snowballing effect of trauma happened.
Once the faucet turned on, I felt the sensation of cockroaches crawling up my arms and legs, making their way up to my head, digging through my ear canal.
I'd start breathing heavily. Next, I'd start to shake. Then Finally, I started scratching like an addict without his fix.
When I was younger, I felt the crawling every day and would scratch myself until I started to bleed, but over the years, I've learned how to maintain control over those aspects of myself… or as much control that I could grasp for that moment.
As a kid, that was a different story. The only coping skill I had back then was blasting music through my earphones and getting the hell out of my house.
That's why I was so focused on scool all the time. It was the eacspe that I needed... It was the only place I could get a full stomach.
It was a miracle that I never had to worry about being malnourished. Without the 3 decent friends I managed to make, I don't even know where I would have been today.
They'd feed me all of their overcooked frozen french fries, vegetables, and milk, partially because they didn't want to hear my stomach rumbling in class.
When my home situation got real bad, I
started showing up to school with more bruises and scratches all over me.
Of course, teachers and authorities tried to get involved, but my mother convinced me that I was better off depending on her than a foster family who would probably have treated me worse… That was obviously a lie, but because of that lie, I ended up meeting my friends so in a way, without her, I wouldn't be the man I was today.
With the help of those 3, I got past my situation with my now-dead alcoholic mother. I was 13 when she passed, but they had my back every step through it.
That was the time where my father was the only kin I had, so he took custody over me. The same person who only paid attention to his work, leaving my mother to raise me on her own before her death.
When that happened, of course, I was uncomfortable. I only saw him in pictures prior. He hadn't even bothered to call me once throughout these 13 years… But I was his son. And he was the only one I had left.
His name was Jonathan Hagen and he was a proud college professor who taught mythology courses at an Ivy League School. With him, just like the roaches, he was another roommate. We barely spoke, even when it was just the two of us.
He occupied his time with either writing books about Norse Myth, or working. We barely spoke… But self-admittedly, with him, I was under much better living conditions.
When I was younger, he got me a husky pup named Fen who I was happy to say was still alive and now 10 years old. When I felt the most alone, I would spend hours talking to him.
Fen was an amazing listener. Sometimes I even felt like he could understand me when he did his little head tilts. It was through Fen that I grew to understand why people said that Dog was man's best friend. In a lot of ways, Fen saved my life.
Every now and then, my dad did do good. I couldn't ignore that fact. It was also through him that I ended up in a decent school to go to where I played sports along with my same friends I managed to keep till this day…. All of them except the person I saw as a brother. Ryan.
I always prayed that one day I'd end up seeing him again. I never guessed that that day would be coming so soon.
["Are you still there?"]
"Yeah… Just… Give me a minute."
I uttered, as I began to scratch my arms, legs, and neck. The roaches... I started to feel them.
I was a D1 athlete that had a guaranteed spot in the league. I Invested all of my hard work and dedication into football after Ryan died… It was 1 of my only coping skill that kept me sane. But if I didn't mishear what I heard, then what was next for me? Would I be seeing Ryan again? What about my life here on Earth?
Now, I actually had things to live for. I didn't wanna leave yet. I didn't wanna die!
I could now brag about the fact that I had 50k in my bank account that I generated from 2 jobs.
It wasn't a lot in the grander scheme of things, but it made me feel accomplished.
But if what he said was true, then that accomplishment meant nothing. None of my accomplishments meant anything if that was the case.
I mean, prior, I hadn't been eating regularly… Sure, because of it, I lost a bit of muscle, but to say that I had... No. I didn't even want to acknowledge the possibility.
"Haha. I'm here. I'm just… not sure if I heard you correctly. I think the connection here might be bad or something. Can you repeat what you said one more time, please?"
I may have laughed, but there wasn't a smile on my face. Not at all.
At my question, the other doctor took a deep sigh.
["Before I repeat myself, I'm gonna ask you again, are you sure you wanna hear this over the phone or do you want to come over to the office along with your father? You might want to be around loved ones right now."]
"I'm fine. I'm with my girl right now. Just go ahead and give me the news," I said while sitting down in a red dining booth.
Today… I had intended on revealing to Ashley I was cancer free, which she didn't even know was a concern. Hell, no one did. Not Jamie, Wyatt, or my Dad. That's why I had been anticipating this call with Doctor Wong today.
["Loki… You have cancer. Stage 4. And It's spread to your lungs, liver, and bone marrow."]
"I...I"
{ba-dum-ba-dum-ba-dum}
My heart. Its beating felt like gunshots to my ears while everything else around me became muffled… All I heard was the sound of a faucet.
Sweat. It started to drench my palms and face.
The heat… It started with my ears then spread to my face. Soon my entire body. With every sweat drop that was coming down my forehead, I felt like another bug was on me so I began to scratch. Hard too.
When I looked at my nails, I realized that I was bleeding. I broke skin.
My strength felt siphoned, the same way it did when my dad came to my school and told me that my mother died.
"Ha. Are… Are you sure? Are you sure that what you're saying is right? It can't be. I'm only 22. I'm in my prime right now." I whispered with shaky hands, almost dropping my phone.
["Loki. You keep laughing, but this isn't a joke. Although people lie, your scans don't. Your CT and bone scan results… They aren't good. I wouldn't be on the phone with you otherwise."]
"..."
"..."
"Are you sure?"
Swallowing the saliva in my mouth felt like what I imagined drinking sand to be. Denial. I recognized it within myself but still ignored it.
["Loki…do you want me to repeat myself for a third time? I can promise you, it won't make things easier."]
"I'm...I'm..."
I couldn't help but to stutter.
His words echoed through my mind, so did the realization of my mortality.
["Yes, Loki? Were you gonna say something?"]
"I-I'm a fucking kid! I'm 22 fuckin years old! You mean to tell me I'm dying and there's nothing you can fuckin do about it?"
With my outburst, the spotlight was on me. Everyone in the restaurant had complely halted their conversations, all staring in my direction. Some looked surprised, but most looked at me like I was their new source of entertainment, even some of the workers in their goofy-ass uniforms.
I didn't care how I looked to them. Shit, I didn't care about anything right now.
["No… There isn't. I'm sorry, but the cancer has spread too far throughout your body."]
"B-But what about chemotherapy? You said it was in my bones too, right? Can't I get a transplant from somebody? Like a marrow transplant or something. Anything?!"
Dr. Wong took a brief pause before continuing.
["Loki, I'm gonna be really honest with you… Things look grim. And with only 50 people in the history of the world being documented to have the Rh-null blood type, your chances of finding a healthy donor are infinitesimally small."
"A blood transfusion is highly unlikely to be a solution for your situation. In a hypothetical instance in which we find a way to magically heal your bones, we wouldn't be able to save your internal organs. I'm afraid to say that there's nothing we can do, but pray."]
"What kind of witch doctor bull shit are you talking about?! You think praying is gonna fix my fuckin cancer?!"
["..."]
"…"
The silence was deafening. It looked like some of the workers wanted to say something about me being loud... Even though I had just been talking shit about prayer, I pryed that they didn't get close to me. If they did, I wouldn't be the only one at deaths door today.
["Loki. I'm just saying that it's best for you to do that before-"]
"Before what? I fucking die? Have you even tried to get in contact with one of those Rh people? No, scratch that. Couldn't my dad just donate some of his bone marrow to me? He's type O negative. They're supposed to be the universal donor, right? Right?!"
I rarely got this emotional... But I could feel boiling hit tears falling down my face right now. I tried to hold them in, but I just couldn't. It was just too much to hold in.
["I'm sorry, but that's just not how things work in the medical field. Although normally you'd be right about your dad being a universal donor, your case is different."]
"How?! Why?!"
["Because type O blood can only tranfered to those who have RH antigens."]
"What the fuck does that even mean?! Bitch, speak in English before I drive down there and fuck you up on accident-on-purpose"
["If I'm gonna explain it to you, you need to relax first. Understandably, you're angry, but we can't speak if you're gonna be belligerent. If you're not willing to listen, how do you expect me to help you, Loki."]
Shock.
Avoidance.
Numbness.
Confusion.
Denial.
Depression.
I was experiencing all the symptoms of grief except for the one that objectively mattered…Acceptance.
I couldn't accept this. How could I accept the fact that I would close my eyes one day and never open them again.
I wasn't certain of an afterlife. I wasn't even certain of what I had to eat this morning. What was I supposed to do now that I was informed that I was dying?
Meanwhile, Dr. Wong sat silently in his office somewhere, listening to another irate patient.
'Calm down, Loki... Calm down... Relax... Breathe... Just... Ignore the bugs and breathe.'
"*sigh*"
Wiping the tears from my face, I tried my hardest to regain any form of poise I had left.
["*Sigh*"]
["Loki. Your blood type, RH null, is known as the Golden Bloodline. The reason for this is because 99.999 % of the world has Rh Antigens in their cells, but your blood is completely void of them."]
With every sentence he spoke, I felt like gravity was increasing its pull on the oxygen that made its way to my lungs, but I tried as hard as I could to regulate myself.
[You do not have Rh antigens. Because of this, your immune system would naturally destroy and consume any cells transferred to you, as if your body was a fortified fortress. With Rhnull, your antibodies are like hypercharged nano machines which kill off viruses and bacteria like no other. In your situation, they unfortunately would recognize a transfusion to be either of the former categories."]
"..."
[...]
"..."
["Loki."]
"..."
["Loki?]
"..."
["Loki? The phone says it's still-]
{*beep*}
I hung up the phone. Nothing useful was gonna comming out of this conversation.
{*slam*}
I didn't feel like talking. I felt like vomiting… But I couldn't. The only woman I loved and one of the last memories of Ryan I had was now walking toward me.
{*sniff*}
'Shit…'
It was then that a pungent vinegar smell invaded my nose as I wiped.
"This service is shit! Why is there a big ass ketchup glob on this table?"
I shouted, causing the workers to flinch, probably thinking I was gonna turn my rage on them.
{*sigh*}
As I cleaned the table and wiped my eyes, I saw her approach me with a face of concern.
I was sad to admit it, but she couldn't even lift my spirits right now.
"Loki? You okay?"
She asked. But I could only shake my head in return.
"What's wrong?"
She said as she rushed her way to the table.
"It's nothing. Just something I gotta deal with later. Also, my allergy thing is just acting up right now. Ya Know, change of seasons and whatnot."
Ashley was the first person I ever felt comfortable with revealing all of my deepest darkest secrets to. She knew more information about me than Ryan did… but I wouldn't tell her this. I even tried to hide the scratch on my forehead that was still bleeding, but I could tell by the look of concern in her eyes that she saw right through it.
"You sure? Your neck and head looks real scratched up."
"Yeah. Don't worry about it."
It wasn't like I was lying to her outright. I was gonna tell her what happened… Just when the time was right.
"But I-... I thought I heard you yelling so I came rushing out. I mean, it sounded a little muffled with all these people, but-"
"I'm sure. Everything is fine. I can take care of it."
I interrupted with the fakest smile I could muster
{*sigh*}
Picking up a napkin, she gently whiped the blood off my face and neck.
"Okay…"
She smiled, which brought me relief.
"I wish I would've brought your allergy medicine, but I just cleaned out my purse." She said, rubbing the back of her neck, pretending to believe me even though she knew for a fact that something was up.
"Don't worry about it. These napkins are good enough." I said, reaching over the table to blow my nose.
"Anyway, I just realized my phone was on one percent. It died in the bathroom. You think I can use your's to check on Lina?" Ashley asked.
Today was her younger sister Lina's first date with a boy she had a crush on since 3rd grade.
In all honesty, she was like a little sister to me. She was currently in her freshman year of high school, so this was one of her first real outings as a young adult.
I made sure that right before Ash and I had driven over here after dropping them off at the movie theaters to give Lina's chump (boyfriend) the whole, "If you hurt her, I'll kill you." speal, which I knew worked. I was a 6'3 and 240-pound 23-year-old biracial athlete after all.
"Yeah. No problem."
Picking up my phone, I couldn't help but sigh in frustration as I flipped it over.
The screen had shattered, almost completely.
"*Tsk*"
'Well, fuck.'
I mentally face-palmed, realizing the consequences of my actions.
"Woah… What happened to your phone? It wasn't like that when you picked me up, was it? It's all rainbow on the right side." she examined.
"It wasn't. I just… just dropped it a few seconds ago. I'm only just now looking at it too."
"Well, does it still work? Can you still call people?"
"I don't know. Lemme check."
Although the screen was a mess now, it was still functional. And because I bought the over-expensive screen protector, I didn't have to worry about cuts.
'If only they prioritized the overall quality of the phone rather than the number of back cameras it had, I would still be able to watch things on it.'
Handing the phone over, Ashley called her little sister.
"Hey, it's Ashley. Is the movie almost over?"
I couldn't hear the conversation, so I just wordlessly admired Ash. She looked like a painting. How could I not.
It was a shame… I would only be a memory to her soon.
How long would it take her to forget about me? A year? 2? Perhaps a decade, if I'm lucky. I knew it was selfis of me to think that way, but I couldn't help it.
What I did know was that although that may be forgotten, I had Ash right now. And that brought my heart to ease.
"Okay. We should be on our way. You and August, go to the arcade or something. We're on our way… Alright. Love you too... Bye."
Handing the phone back to me, she tilted her head to the side.
"You good, Loki?" She asked once more.
"Yeah. Everything's fine."
I replied with a smile.
"Then let's get out of here."
She nodded while dragging me by my arm as we made our direction to my car.
<40 minutes later>
"That's when the entire mall's security team had to come in, which was like 8 guards. Once they got there, 3 of the girls rushed out by jumping behind the counter, leaving out of the employee exit. They didn't even take any makeup!"
Ashley was in the midst of telling me one of her crazy work stories at Cora, a makeup shop that was infamous for people getting caught stealing.
"Damn. That's crazy. Did anyone get hurt?"
I asked.
"Well, no one really. Except for the old and sweet little Filipino lady Martha I told you about. One of the girls pushed her over while she was coming out of the break room and she got nicked by something which left a big cut on her forearm. She didn't know how the cut got there, but since we work for a multibillion-dollar company, they gave her 2 weeks of workers comp. Chelsea was there too. She called me about it on my lunch. She was pretty shaken up, so I made sure to send both of them some flowers and worte them letters right before you picked me up."
"Wow… wish I could get workers comp for 2 weeks." I mumbled.
"Ha. For what? That little scratch on your forehead? Nothings worng with you, you little baby." She joked, giving me a heart warming smile.
A smile that I returned to her.
"Yeah... Your right."
I couldn't look her in her eyes when I said that. I just couldn't. I just hope she didn't notice it. Before she did, I made sure to get back on topic.
"At least she's alright. I'm just glad that everyone ended up being safe. Especially you."
It was funny. Even though she and I had been together for a bit now, cheesy lines like this were her Achilles heel.
"Awe… That's sweet."
Ashley leaned over and gave me a big smooch on my cheek while wrapping her arms around my neck.
"Not as sweet as you. You might be the most kind-hearted person I know in all honesty. That's one of the reasons I fell in love with you. You being beautiful is a bonus."
Ashley raised her brow with a smirk.
"You trying to get into my pants?"
"Maybe..." I chuckled.
"Well, stop... Cause its working." She then stole kiss from me, then flipped her hair over her shoulder.
"Anyway, she should be in the arcade right about now. You think we should call her or-"
"Actually, I got a phone call to make. You mind going in there to get them?" I asked. Not because I felt too lazy to go in, I just needed some space right now. Right now, I felt like a ticking time bomb. Literally and metaphorically.
"Oh… okay. Sure."
With slight suspicion in her eyes, she put her hand on the door handle, ready to leave, but her woman's intuition took over her and stopped her tracks.
"Loki."
"Yeah?"
Slowly turning her head towards me, she looked into my soul.
"There's something wrong… I know it. since tge restaurant, you've been acting diffrent."
"I-"
Had nothing.
I didn't comment. I knew that I had been caught. But… I had no intention of revealing my secrets to her just yet, but I couldn't take that gaze in her eyes head-on.
"I don't know what's going on, but I know you probably don't want to talk about it."
It was at that moment that Ash forcibly grabbed both sides of my face making me look directly into her deep blue eyes which time and time again I had got lost in.
With a serious yet loving look, she pulled me in to meet my lips with hers.
"But I want you to know that I love you. I'm here for you no matter what. Always." Her expression was seriously intense. Looking at her was like staring at the sun.
"Ash… I-"
Again, like earlier in the restaurant, my lip began to quiver.
'I never wanted so badly to tell someone something in my entire life… But, I just can't.'
"I love you too."
As those words escaped my mouth, I felt like even more weight was thrown upon my shoulders just looking at the blatant disappointment in her face. She looked hurt. But being the amazing woman that she was, she didn't even attempt to pry.
Instead, she reached back in the car and caressed both sides of my face a looked at me. That was all she needed to do. Her message was clear.
She turned around and left, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
"*sigh*"
"Fuck."
I uttered resting my hands and head on the steering wheel.
"Fuck…God fucking damn it! Fuck!"
I yelled, hitting my head a few times not knowing what to do with myself.
'First, this cancer shit takes her. Now it's after me.'
For a moment, I sat in silence. I couldn't even concoct any thoughts. My mind was just riddled with profanities and regret at this point. Then, the itchy sensation made it my lungs.
{*cough-cough-cough*}
Covering my mouth with my elbow, I realized that this cough wouldn't stop. I felt a warm liquid in my lungs that I just had to get out.
{*Cough-Cough-Cough*}
Finally feeling a sense of relief, I took a deep breath and got to feel the sweet cooling sensation of oxygen filling my lungs.
{*sigh*}
"..."
Turns out, that sense of relief was only momentary as I looked at the sleeve I coughed in. My white button-up looked like someone had flicked red paint on me.
'I guess it really did get to my lungs.'
"Ha… This shit is ridiculous."
It was funny. With the revelation of my cancer, it now made a lot more sense why I couldn't train as hard as all of my friends had.
'I have it… And I'm basically gonna die now.'
With that internal revolution, I turned the radio on to a jazz station and laid my seat back.
"Alright… it's gonna be alright. Even though it isn't… it's gonna be alright."
I muttered teary-eyed while inhaling a deep gulp of air.
For a while, I just laid back, contemplating all the misfortune that made its way into my life, but even while in this rut I found myself in, I forcefully reminded myself of all the good things that came to me.
I graduated with a degree in business management.
I was an all star athlete.
I managed to save a decent amount of money.
I had my own apartment and car.
I had a lot.
After a bit of dwelling on the past, the tears stopped.
The dread that had been shrouding me had dispersed, albeit temporarily.
For the moment, I once again felt like myself.
That was until my peace was interrupted by a government sanctioned alert on the radio.
[*Beeeep-Beeeeep-Beeeep*]
"Jesus!"
Jumping up, I quickly turned the radio down at the sudden abrupt noise.
[*screech*]
'Why does this have to be so damn loud?'
I thought as I pulled my soul back into my body.
["The following message is transmitted at the request of the California emergency management center. At 10:30 pm Pacific Daylight Time, a 14.8 earthquake originating in the San Andreas Fault made its way to Fairfield causing extensive damage and heavy loss of life to which has been extensively reported over the brief instance of 30 minutes. If indoors, you are not protected. If on any bridge, you are not protected. Before evacuation, consider your best chance of survival being in a large open area."]
"Huh?"
After coming to conclusion with one stressful situation, a world-ending one had managed to find its way onto my plate. Not just mine, but the entirety of the state's.
'What the hell? A 14.8?'
I didn't know much about earthquakes, but I did know that one with a magnitude of 14.8 pretty much meant death. A towering death that was impossible for us to avoid.
In a situation like this, there was no one to save us. The government couldn't stop mother nature with AR-15s.
[*Beeeep-Beeeeep-Beeeep*]
Then, as if nothing happened, my Jazz played once more.
'Shit… With a magnitude of 14.8, wouldn't we have to worry about tsunamis?'
As that thought finished, I saw Ashley and her sister coming out of the theater from the corner of my eye.
At the same time, a low rumbling could be felt emanating from the ground.
Hastily rolling down my window, I shouted to the 2 as loud as I could.
"GET IN THE CAR!"
Looks of confusion riddled their faces as they stared at me, slightly discomforted and bewildered.
"I'M NOT FUCKING JOKING! GET IN THE CAR RIGHT NOW!"
Snapping back to reality, Ashley and her sister started running toward me.
Quickly opening the passenger door, Ashley hopped in with her sister following up.
[*slam*]
"Why are you yelling?"
Before I could even get the chance to respond,
[*Boom*]
The entirety of the car hurled us forward, left, and right as if we were on a roller coaster.
"It's an earthquake!"
Lina exclaimed while in the back seat.
[*Boom*]
[*Boom*]
[*Boom*]
As if the car had gotten hit by a family of Rhinoceros, we were rag dolled from left to right while all the street lights around us started to blink on and off as they lost stability in their foundation.
"Protect your heads and put your seat belts on!"
[*Boom*]
Although struggling, they quickly did as I asked even though they were fearing for their very lives.
The shocks were so great that I started to see large cracks on the building's walls. Windows even began to shatter while vehicles that were stationed idolly began to set off alarms.
Starting up the car, I began to drive off with a few set locations in mind. None of them involved being in a heavily populated area with large buildings.
[*Vroom*]
"Where are you going? Should we even be moving in during an earthquake?" Ash exclaimed.
"I don't know… What I do know is that we find someplace safe. Somewhere safer than here."
For a minute, Ash in her panic looked at me… I couldn't tell what the look meant, but I had to focus.
She then started randomly flipping through the radio.
"Hey. What are you-"
"I'm turning on the news. We need to know what's going on."
Looking at her, I nodded my head in agreement.
She was smart. Right now was a testament.
Finally landing on a station, a reporter spoke.
["Right now, our eyes in the sky is looking at the destruction of the city of San Francisco, California from an aerial view. Reporting live with our sky cam is David Kraken. Dave, describe to the listeners what you're seeing right now."]
<David Kraken>
From above, David looked down in a mixture of horror and awe at the catastrophe that was rampaging the city he had known as his home for all 42 years of his life.
Currently, the man's heart was beating irregularly and rapidly. Why? Because at this current moment in time, he, his cameraman, and pilot were hovering a few blocks away from his home.
The coffee shop where he took his wife on their first date was now in ruins which was caused by the invisible avatar of chaos, mother nature herself.
Across the street, giant roots connected to the building where just a few hours ago, he got his 16-year-old son, Aron, his first pair of dress shoes for his high school homecoming.
The shoe outlet looked to be in even worse condition than the coffee shop. Although the people on the ground looked like ants from his perspective, Dave could see exactly what was happening.
People who were still in their vehicles were falling into gaps that were created by the earthquakes.
Pedestrians who were trying their hardest to survive... They were being dragged by what looked to be black plant-looking tendrils that shot up from the earth almost magically.
This was not a city in ruins or the downfall of a civilization. Dave determined that those words could not truly encapsulate the crisis at hand. In his eyes, the landscape could only be referred to as nothing less than a floral hellscape covered in flames.
When he looked off into the distance, resolving that he was barely able to stomach the sight before him, he realized that the strange gigantic black trees were growing at a rate that defied the laws of physics.
'The city… It's a goddamn forest at this point.'
Dave thought with beads of sweat dripping down his forehead.
What terrified Dave most, was that the trees… They went just black, but void-pitched. And even though some of them were on fire, which was caused by various different explosions, they didn't seem to be burning as normal trees like the average tree would.
They were expanding. On top of all of that; as they expanded, they looked like they were thriving with vigor. So much so that they appeared to be breathing.
No. Dave was certain that they were, discarding how insane the accusation sounded in his mind.
In addition to this realization, Dave peered into the void to find that it had strange red veins that crawled their way to its crowns.
What was happening? Why was this happening? Was this a dream? Was it judgment day?
For many people, the answer to third question was yes. But to Dave who was still living and breathing and who was a logical thinker, this was real life. This was reality.
Why was this happening? No one knew.
All of his crew in the helicopter were all shocked at the current situation. Their cameraman soiled himself due to the severity of his panic. David watched as it happened… Obviously, he couldn't fault the man.
No one could blame him.
They were all afraid collectively.
Looking at just how shaken to the core his associates were, Dave snapped back to reality and understood that he had a responsibility to uphold. Not for his crew, but for the world.
Gathering every ounce of his journalist willpower he could summon, Dave put his fearful thoughts regarding personal matters with his loved ones behind him and summoned all the bravery within his foundation as a human being.
The same bravery he channeled when he interviewed dangerous criminal warlords in his youth. The same courage that allowed him to have full on conversations with drug Kingpins that had the capability of eradicating him and his entire family, if he had a minor slip-up in his linguistic capability. He had a message to give, and nothing was gonna stop him.
With a steeled heart, he began to focus on the surroundings more in-depth, mentally jotting down every detail so that he could then relay the horror before him as elegantly and objective as possible to the viewers at home, making sure to pull out his notes he had taken earlier regarding the experts in the field of science he had talked to earlier.
Finally gathering himself, it was then that he heard a familiar voice in his earpiece that made many, including himself, jump after a prolonged period of silence.
["Right now, our eyes in the sky are looking at the destruction of the city of San Francisco, California from an aerial view. Reporting live with our sky cam is David Kraken. Dave, describe to the listeners what you're seeing right now."]
"Right. Thank you, Susan. Ladies and gentlemen, right now, as we circle the skies, we are witnessing a strange scientific phenomenon that has never been seen before in the history of man. While the aftershocks of the massive quake strike all residences along the San Andreas Fault continue, large segments of the earth are fragmenting, splitting in a biblical-like event that scientists can't yet explain. From the cracks and craters, it appears as if… Greenery is blossoming at a dangerous rate."]
["Greenery? What do you mean by that, Dave?"]
Realizing that Susan's studio was based nowhere near the danger zone, Dave sighed, realizing the difficulty in explaining his current situation.
"What I mean is, there are literal trees spawning from the earth in the San Francisco area right now. The entire bay area, infact. Some of them seem to be emerging from sinkholes while others seem to randomly spawn from the ground. And this isn't even the strangest phenomenon that's going on here. No. Not by a long shot."]
["Ha… What do you mean, by that Dave? You're throwing a lot of information at the world right now-"]
"Well there are a lot of things happening right now. And it's serious. This isn't a joke, Susan."
The man grimaced with a dark and intimidating tone.
["Th-that… It's not my intention to make fun. Especially in such a drastic and catastrophic situation that affects all of our nation, I along with our viewers, are just nervous and confused by what you're saying to us, right now. Please, continue to explain what you see."]
"You can see the state of the world as I switch over to the aerial cam."
Turning around, Dave looked at the nervous co-pilot of the aircraft and gave her the thumbs up, signaling her to switch perspectives.
"What I see… It's hard to describe in words. So I'll allow the public to view along with us in attempts to make sense of this situation."
[*Gasp*]
Susan along with the rest of America could now see the parameters of the Apocalypse, live.
"In the helicopter, we've been circling the entirety of the Bay Area. And as we did, we noticed strange gigantic black trees striking into land masses. Once they struck, the roots were embedded into the earth causing the massive earthquakes. Wait… What is that? Is this… Pollen from the sky?"
Particles from the trees that had expanded higher than the helicopter itself had begun to gently fall like snow.
At first, Dave assumed it to be ash, but as he looked up and took a gander, he realized that this ash had a strange and alien glow to it.
The color of the particles varied colors.
Within the sky, there were hints of blue, red, yellow, and even purple. The strangest part was that the pollen was glowing like bioluminescent algae.
Strangely enough, with all this chaos going on, the sky was riddled with beautiful lights.
["P-Pollen?"]
Susan stuttered.
For an instant, Dave went silent along with the rest of his crew. As a viewer, One could tell that he was panicking. And also as a viewer, One felt even more anxious knowing that the situation wasn't in control.
"My apologies, but a few of the rapidly growing trees located on the shore of pier 39 have expanded to the height of a skyscraper. You'll see as one of our co-pilot Sandra zooms in."
Doing as Dave expected of her, Sandra did just that and zoomed in on the trees far off.
It's powerful black roots which destroyed all buildings and tourist attractions in a 12-block radius was in the view for all to behold.
"If I were to guess, I think the tree on pier 39 has reached its maximum height. I'm by no means an expert in the field of dendrology, so take what I said with a grain of salt, ladies and gentlemen. Aside from that, as you all can see, it's now expelling strange multi-colored pollen from the flowers that seem to have grown to the size of cars in a matter of minutes."
["Excuse me?"]
Susan exclaimed.
Her perspective was slightly skewed due to the angle of sky cam 2, but what he was saying was absolutely right.
The Pier's Tree did in fact sprout flowers. Large, colorful, and poisonous-looking ones.
"I along with the rest of you are seeing it with our own eyes as our live footage is being transmitted. As everyone can see… The pollen seems to be sprinkling down from the sky."
["The pollen. What can you tell us about it?"]
Dave looked into the sky while unwisely sticking his arm outside the chopper, uncertain of what the outcome would be. He himself knew that his actions were unwise.
He ignorantly hoped that this time, curiosity wouldn't kill the cat.
"Not much, in all honesty. Our experts still haven't contacted us back yet. Perhaps due to cell towers in the area being caught up in the destruction. All I know for certain is that- Ouch!"
A particle of the rainbow pollen landed directly into his right eye socket and began to cause a searing amount of pain and discomfort.
["David!"]
Luckily for the man, the pain left just as soon as it came.
Rubbing his eyes a few times, David got back into reporting.
["I'm alright… It's just that I got some in my eye. It burns a little, but I think I'll be fine."]
<Loki>
*click*
Turning the radio off, I then rolled my window down to look into the sky. Surely enough, the news was right on the money.
"Why'd you do that?"
Ashley asked in frustration.
"Because… I was getting paranoid, and I don't think more anxiety will help our situation. We just need to get out of here."
"I understand that, but don't you think that in a situation like this, paranoia is necessary?"
She rebuttled.
She argued a fair point, but I didn't want to hear the news right now. I was at my breaking point and had too many straws on my back.
"Hey! Tree!"
Turning my head to the road, my life flashed before my eyes.