The wind gently against a small apartment complex. The trees waved from the breeze and brushed against the glass of an apartment that laid a young man. His complexion was pale with sweat. The nightmare he dreamt of had once again had come as his breathing was getting heavier as he tossed himself in bed.
"Elizabeth... Elizabeth!!!" he jumped up from his slumber with a hand gripped to his chest.
His breaths were heavy with eyes that searched the room. He calmed his breath before raising his arm to wipe the sweat off his forehead. He shook his head and fell back onto his pillow. He raised his arm again and stared closely at the burns that had scarred his arm and hands. The scars were embedded deep into the skin and followed along his forearm to his back and chest. He assured himself of what happened as he glanced over to a photo of the two siblings on a small table beside him. Their smiles shined from the photo of a hospital room with the young duo hugging and posing.
"Ugh~ Why did I have that dream again?" he stared back to the ceiling to assure himself one last time before searching the bed for his phone.
He patted around his sides looking for his phone before hearing a vibration to the right of his ear. He found the lost phone and opened its locked screen to reveal alerts from his social apps. He chuckled as he read the posts and eventually switched apps to a remote that he uses to turn on his TV. He took one last breath before kicking the blanket over and sitting on the edge of the mattress.
He yawned as his bones popped and stretched with a calming noise. His back was scarred all over with patches across his body with a giant patch across his right side. He yawned once more before standing up and taking a walk to the restroom. He tapped on his phone just before walking away and the TV had turned on.
"Hello everyone, and welcome to the 12th anniversary of PR. I'm your host today, Skyler, or formally known as, 'Cryptic Godz'' of Team 'Cryptic'. And also hosting with me is Ann Coulter, or 'Hevnly', one of the strongest female players in the pro leagues."
"I wouldn't call myself one of the strongest. I just play PR a lot and so happened to be good at it."
The TV was on a program that talks about video games as well as the news associated with them. It could range from anything like an item or to a full-on guild raid guide that can give you untold riches. The program was very popular thanks to PR and has been the main news source for anything related to PR.
"Enough talk of the news of small bug fixes and glitches in the game, today is a day everyone is hyped for as the biggest update and event of PR history drops exactly an hour from now. An expansion pack known as 'Exodus' will commence exactly in an hour at 4:00 PM EST. I hope to see everyone there as I'm signing in a few minutes. And one last thing, the current versions of VR headsets will be compatible and playable with games. It's recommended to have the VR headset for this expansion but it isn't needed as you can still play it on a PC if need be."
Allen splashed water on his face while gargling some water to spit in the sink. He grabbed a towel beside and wiped his face and started a walk to the small kitchen that had pans and utensils hanging off the wall adjacent to the fridge he opened. Grabbing a soda, he popped it and took a seat at a small table.
Opening an app, he scrolled through his social media to update himself on the news of everyone. As he did so, posts on PR started popping up with a video titled "Real 1z". He tapped the video and revealed some people fighting a dragon that spew flames across the landscape. It didn't reveal too much besides them slashing and launching spells against the large beast. He continued with his scrolling and couldn't find anything noteworthy and eventually closed the app with a chime soon following with a name popping up on his screen, "Jericho."
He answered, "Yo, what's up, bot."
"Who you calling 'bot', punk. Imma go over and beat your ass if you call me that again!" a roar from the phone came out as his best friend had called him. Jericho was a friend he made years ago since his start of PR. They had helped one another throughout the game, fought many battles, and earned many valuable items along the way. They had a close bond and a strong friendship.
"So what's up, Jericho?" Allen asked.
"Nothing crazy, just checking up on ya since today's a special day," Jericho was silent after and Allen gave a small chuckle and scratched his head slightly before sitting back.
"Yeah, it is. I'll still be going to work if you're asking, but I'll be late."
"Yeah, by all means," Jericho responded, "Just let me know if you need anything."
"Yeah, I'll see ya. Later!" Allen hung up the call and started to get dressed up since it just hit noon.
He quickly threw a jacket over, a beanie, and an iron necklace that had the letter "E" hung from it. He finally connected his headphones and quickly walked out of the room while locking the door behind him.
He silently walked down the busy streets of the city and nodded to the beat of his music as he hurried to his destination. A few minutes later, he soon reached his destination at the bus depot. A bus had departed a loud station and began its journey to its destination. Allen was amongst the passengers silently watching the scenery and listening to the gentle sound of a piano. The busy roads and skyscrapers were scattered all across his view for a few minutes before thinning out to smaller towers, to buildings, and soon to the greenery of trees and large bushes and shrubs.
Allen was texting Jericho while on his journey to a small city just on the outskirts. He had a small bag beside him that he prepared for today's visit. He also checked his social media before eventually reaching his destination. The bus had come to a halt with the driver notifying all the passengers on their arrival. The doors had slid open and he had arrived at The small city of "Kathy".
"I don't miss this place one bit," Allen had smiled while glancing at the nearby buildings.
He started a walk down the street that barely had any people rather than the city that had hundreds of people. He passed by many businesses as well as memories. He waltzed through the empty sidewalks with a stern expression and an anxious manner. He continued with his walk for another 10 or 15 minutes before reaching black-barred fencing that lined out a large lot filled with gravestones and flowers as far as the eye could see. The colors covered many graves and people were walking amongst the lot while holding some gifts and flowers. He walked a few meters before reaching a large granite gate with the name of the cemetery incorporated into the bars, "Saint Dymphna Cemetery." The gate was opened with its visiting hours listed on a plaque that hung on the gate.
Allen paused at the gate for a few seconds before taking a step in and followed a stone path that guided him straight down the middle of the cemetery of where he broke off from the path to one grave that was placed beneath a large and beautiful northern red oak tree with beautiful leaves of red and orange waving gently in the wind. He walked closer to the grave and sat down on a marble bench that sat in front. He took a deep breath and wiped a tear before looking down at the grave. The gravestone was dark grey with a photo and large "E" engraved at the top. The name, quote, and finally the date was all there, making him feel uneasy as he read them. He tried his best to not stare at the photo but couldn't resist and soon tears began to fall soon after. He gripped his necklace tightly, stood up, reached for the stone, and smiled happily. He giggled before looking back at the stone and stood up while still touching it.
"Ha… Today was tougher than the other days. It's been hard trying to go day by day without you, but it's been fun though since Jericho is still being annoying like he always does. I know that Erika misses you too, so I call her later once Jericho tells me when she gets off work."
Allen smiled proudly as he spoke and stared at the sky as the leaves slowly fluttered in the air. He took one more deep breath before letting go and stepping back. He was at peace and was amazed by his progress since her passing. Something he never thought he would get past without Jericho and Erika. The day was beautiful and the journey was well worth it, but not the sudden visit that soon appeared behind him.
"Why are you here?! You shouldn't be here!" A loud cry was aimed toward Allen as an older couple suddenly appeared behind him. Allen gritted his teeth and ignored their yells as he recognized their voices. He clenched his fist as they berated him with threats and awful language. He stayed silent before the couple soon walked up to him and pulled his shoulder toward them. He caught a glimpse of their faces before a slap was made across his face.
Silence.
"You dare stand here after all you did?!" the woman yelled as she raised her hand once again, "you don't deserve to be here! You killed our daughter!"
Allen suddenly grabbed the wrist of the woman and shoved her away as the man suddenly reacted with a fist thrown toward him of which Allen dodged and stepped back. The couple's attitude soon grew fiercer as people started to look towards the three.
"You have no right to hit me, nor to curse at me. I am not your son and neither is someone who respects parents like you. You don't deserve to be parents, especially to be Elizabeth's. You can hit me, yell at me, curse me, and even kill me, but that won't change what you did to us! To her."
Allen wiped the lonely tear that was shed and placed his headphones back on before throwing something at them. It hit the man's chest and fell to the ground and revealed a key that lay in the dirt. Allen smiled and lifted his middle finger to them as he walked off, "You can keep the key since I have no need of it anymore, bastards."
"You fucking piece of shit of a human being never deserve to be our son!" the man yelled.
"You don't deserve to be born! You are a menace to us and Elizabeth! I hope you rot in hell, Allen!!!"
The woman's voice echoed out as Allen soon disappeared into the scenery leaving the only "gift" he had received from his once called parents behind.
Allen left the cemetery silent with his hand clenching his necklace. He turned the music up and started his walk to the bus depot as he noticed the time. He took a deep breath before he started his departure to his next destination. Work.