Alecto Bane---Chapter 1

The life lying under everything else.

                I sat on the windowsill, quietly looking out at the small city around me. It was black aside from a few fading lights shriveling out on the cracked pavement. Behind them stood cold and abandoned homes, where many small families used to love, but where ivy now crawled up the charred walls, dirt and mold clinging to the dead and dying leaves. The driveways melted down into the empty roads where a lonely streetlight blinked on and off slowly, miserably. The only sound that could be heard was a faint tapping as an old maple tree thumped rhythmically against a cracked window as if it too was trying to mourn the city’s silence. I bowed my head as memories of my past returned, only to let a single crystalline tear slide down my cheek and  onto the wooden floor beneath me.

                The memories, they were of happy times, but it only ever succeeded in giving me a false hope. One that everything could be as it was. Nevertheless, I let the memories sink in. I drifted back ten years, remembering myself as a giggling three year old running around a vibrant front yard with a healthy dad as the sprinkler water rained down on us. I leaped over it as my dad’s strong arms swooped underneath me, throwing me high up into the air. Flash forward two years and I see myself lying on the grass just outside of town, giggling as dad snored loudly from his tent many feet away and smiling as the crisp night air enveloped me. Another year goes by and I’m crying, my dad desperately trying to console me as he watches our home get consumed by a ravenous fire. The scene again takes place in the night, and I manage to look at the shadows from the fire dance around in glee as they lick the sides of my only home. The memory drags on until daylight has come and the two of us are kneeling next to a pile of charred rubble, hot embers still sizzling in the heap. I turn my head for a moment, only to see the neighbors walking out of what was left of their house, a metal frame protecting a single picture of their loved ones. With a shaky breath I open my eyes, pleading with myself to forget the horrifyingly vivid memory.

Shaking my head I slid off the sill, looking out the window and into the night once again before going to my father’s side. Now is not the time to be sad for yourself, Alecto I thought to myself. Gently, I lifted the cloth from my dad’s forehead, resting my hand on it for a few seconds before shaking my head. It’s no use Alecto! I screamed in my head, You can’t help him even if you wanted to! Unless, of course, you took him where someone professional could treat him! I winced involuntarily. Dad had gotten really sick lately, unable to eat or drink or even walk without my help. I stood and walked to the faucet a few feet away, turning it on cold and holding dads washcloth underneath it. I felt so guilty for the way he felt…the doctor had offered to take him in, but he was asking for all the money we had left…and I couldn’t stay with him. It was selfish of me to say no, but I just can’t live without him. I squeezed the excess water from the cloth and patted dads forehead with it gently, mumbling to him subconsciously. “Good job Dad…….Little longer and you’ll be all better……….Sleep now Dad…….Everything’s  gonna be okay……..” And it would be. As soon as I got him to the doctor. Slowly, steadily, I pulled the cot he was on to the doorway, pushing the door open wide as I shoved it outside. As soon as I got him on the porch, I walked next door to the Hawkins old home, where the only other person who decided to stay in this town lived. Before I was even able to knock, I heard a shuffling of feet, and the door swung open. There stood a short fifteen year old girl, brown eyes wide with excitement and black hair spiraling out in all sort of directions. I couldn’t help but laugh as Mara and I pointed out how we each looked, which, I might add, was “not good.” Anyway, as I looked over at my Dad, the smile faded and I looked back at Mara with red-rimmed eyes.

“Mara….can you help me take him to….you know….” I mumbled, jabbing my thumb in his direction.

“But I thought you were taking care of him. What changed?” She whispered back gently.

“Look. He’s just not doing so good, okay?!?” I said defensively, “It’s not like I’m dumping him somewhere! It’s for his own good alright?!?”

“Okay, okay!” Mara threw her hands up, “Relax Alecto, I’ll help.”

With a heavy sigh the two of us trudged over to his cot, one of us bending down on each end of it to pick dad up. Mara at his head and me at his feet.

“I’ll lead if you don’t mind,” Mara said, “You just relax and keep an eye on your dad.”

We walked dad’s cot over to the only working truck left in town, a 2004 Honda CRV. Gently, Mara scooped dad up, causing me to gape at her. After all, dad’s like 200 pounds and she’s lifting him all by herself! With a wink, Mara laid Dad out in the backseat, stuffing the cot in the trunk.

“Let’s go!” Mara said enthusiastically, hopping into the driver’s side.

Slowly I slid into the seat next to her, eyeing her oddly as I asked, “Um, Mara? Since when do you know how to drive?”

Mara laughed at the statement and punched the gas, gripping the steering wheel as she leaned forward, her chin almost at the wheel and her seatbelt struggling to let her out so far. “I don’t.”

Author's Note

I wrote this as a young kid and while I will likely never finish it, I thought I might as well put it up and see how it goes.