Chapter XV: Goodbye

Chapter XV: Goodbye

Samson

“Can he hear us?” Rayven’s voice echoes.
“Does it matter? I barely knew him anyway.” Wolfgang’s voice echoes.
“He’s still our big brother.”
“As far as I’m concerned, you’re my only sibling.”
“That’s pretty harsh, bro.”
“I don’t care, where has he been the past fifteen or so years?”
“Mom told me he went through a bunch of s**t, including war.”
“Pfft, I don’t care. Like I said, I hardly know who he is. If you wanna cry over him, go ahead. I’ll be at the vending machine.” The sound of footsteps and the door opening and closing can be heard.
“Forgive him, Sammy, I remember who you are. I only have good memories of you, he was little when you went off to war, so of course he’s not going to have any emotion for you. Then again, the only emotion he can express is anger, guess that’s why he’s in the professional fighting circuit. But that’s dad’s fault, he never spent any time with him. The fact that you weren’t around, well, he equates that as being the same. If he should be mad at any of his brothers, it’s Luxor. He’s declined any opportunity to spend time with us, you didn’t have a choice. Maybe I’ll write a song for you, dedicate the album to you, because while we didn’t spend a lot of time together, the time we did was happy for me. As soon as I heard you were here, me and mom caught the next flight. We had to practically drag Wolfgang here, and if you can hear us, you can tell he doesn’t wanna be here. It’s sad, mom said you were trying to reconnect with us. I’m sure if you had, Wolfgang would have a different attitude. Luxor is the only one who hasn’t shown up yet, I wonder what’s keeping him. The doctors aren’t sure how much longer you can hang on. I- I gotta go, goodbye, bro.” She starts crying, and the sound of running and the door opening and closing could be heard.
“Wow, I’ve been so self absorbed, I forgot about Wolfgang too. I don’t blame him for hating me.” Samson tells Other Samson.
“We had a lot going on though.” Other Samson tells him.
“Still, I should have tried to reconnect way earlier, then maybe half my family wouldn’t hate me.”
“Look, there’s nothing you could have done about the way dad and Luxor feel about you, it’s just the way they are.”
“I tried to be a good person after I came home, remember when I helped that homeless vet?”
“Yeah, that was a good thing you did.”
“And it got him killed!”
“You need to stop blaming yourself for that. The dude was mentally unstable, same with you. At least he didn’t die in some gutter somewhere. Do you know how many vets aren’t taken care of when they get home? Taking him in was more than the government ever did for him.”
“Yeah, and then I became an alcoholic and got Kat and Greg killed.”
“Ok, that could have been avoidable, I’ll give you that.”
“Yeah, I deserved to be in jail.”
“And you made up with your worst enemy.”
“Yeah, that was kind of weird for me.”
“I know, but didn’t you feel better after the fact?”
“Yeah, I guess. But it was all part of me trying to be a better person.”
“Which is something the old us would have never even entertained.”
“Yeah, but it would have helped if I hadn’t burned Luxor’s apartment down.”
“It was an accident.”
“Still...”
“I guess if there was any time for regrets, it’d be now.”
“Well, at least I made up with Sandra too, after that s****y thing I did to her in high school.”
“And she forgave you for it, and you became friends.”
“Yeah, but I feel like I overburdened her with my baggage cause after awhile, she would only answer me sometimes when I contacted her instead of all the time.”
“Yeah, you really should have taken that a little easier, you just dumped and dumped and dumped, she had her own problems to deal with too.”
“Is it just me, or is it getting really cold in here?”
“We’re getting closer to the end.”
“So, I’m really dying, huh?”
“I thought you would have had that figured out by now.”
“Because I’m still in denial. I can’t go like this, like dad said, I’m a coward.”
“No, you were mentally ill, there’s a difference.”
“Christy... just let me see Christy one more time before we go.”
“All you gotta do is remember.” The scene changes to middle school. Samson, being the new student, approaches Christy, who is picking on a young Sandra.
“Hey, I’m Samson, I’m new here. What are you doing to her?” Young Samson asks.
“Hi, I’m Christy. This little piggy just told the principal on me that I’ve been bullying her and now I’ve got detention Saturday.” Young Christy says as she throws Sandra’s bookbag and purse contents all over the floor.
“So, you’re solution is to bully her more?”
“She deserves it, she’s a squealer. Don’t do anything in front of her or she’ll squeal on you too. Yeah, that’s right, get out of here, piggy.” She makes oinking noises towards Sandra as she’s running away. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to my best friend Kat...” It flashes to high school.
“So, what are you doing after graduation, Christy?” Young Samson asks.
“Going into fashion design, how about you?” Young Christy asks back.
“I’m going to be the best football star in the world!”
“Well, you’re the best this school’s seen in years, I can see it.”
“You know it. Wanna come by my house after school and have a little fun?”
“Oh god, yes, I was hoping you’d ask. This last weekend was incredible!”
“I know, I know, I’m a natural I guess.” It flashes again, this time, outside of Christy’s house.
“I’ve been hearing rumors Sammy, and please tell me they aren’t true.”
“What kind of rumors?”
“Have you been with any other girls besides me?”
“I- well-”
“Can we skip this part please? It hurts to think about.” Samson says.
“Ok, it’s your life.” Other Samson says. It flashes to a year ago.
“Sammy? What are you doing working in McJizzle’s?” Christy asks.
“My life has been downhill for awhile now, Christy. My shift is over, wanna give me a ride home?” Past Samson says.
“Yeah, sure. Where do you live now?”
“The storage unit place.”
“What? You can’t be serious!”
“It’s a long story, but my life has been going downhill ever since I got home from the military.”
“What happened to the other two? I thought you’d all be living together or something.”
“Leo killed Johan, and I killed Leo. Again, long story.”
“Oh my god! So how come you’re not living with your dad?”
“He went broke.”
“No s**t! How about your brother? I’m sure he would have taken you in?”
“Tried that, I burned down his place accidentally so I had no choice but to live here in my storage unit.”
“Well, I’m not going to let you live like this anymore, you’re coming to live with me!”
“Really? You’re super rich, and I’m- I’m just a hobo.”
“No you’re not, you’re Samson Alpha. The man I knew from high school would never have given up like this.”
“I didn’t give up, it’s just how my life’s been going.”
“Get in the car, I’ll have someone get your stuff, come on.”
“I love you so much, Christy.”
“I know, I love you too, I’ve never stopped.”
“Me neither. Even when I was with Kat.”
“What happened to her?”
“Another long story.”
“I’m sorry, Sammy. I was wondering why she stopped texting me back. I guess it’s just down to me and you, huh?”
“Unfortunately.”
“Come on, let’s go.” The scene fades, and is replaced by the inside of Christy’s house.
“You know, this last year with you has been the best I’ve had since before I left for the service. Coincidentally, I was with you then, too.”
“Well, I feel honored to be the light in your life.”
“You really are.”
“You’re gonna wife me up one day, aren’t you?”
“If you want me to.” The scene changes again.
“Oh my god, Sammy, we’re going to be parents!”
“I know, I’m so excited! Do you mind if we name him after me?”
“If it’s a boy, yes.”
“Of course it’s going to be a boy, the genes run strong in my family.”
“I love you, Samson.”
“I love you too, Christy.” The scene fades out and back in, to Christy and Samson’s bedroom.
“Do I really have to watch this?” Samson asks.
“Yeah, it’s how we ended up here.” Other Samson responds.
“Oh, god.”
“Hell of a nightmare you’re having.”
“I really thought she was a suicide bomber out to get me.” Samson begins to cry. “The gunshot woke me up, I saw her, and I just-”
“Shot us.”
“Yeah.” A pale, white woman dressed in all black approaches them.
“It’s time.” she says.
“Who are you?” Samson asks.
“Why does everyone always ask me that? You know who I am.”
“Death?”
“Of course, dummy.”
“Why are you a woman?”
“Because Death is usually portrayed as male, I wanted to switch it up a bit.”
“Do I have to go with you?”
“You don’t have to, but it won’t better your situation.”
“What do you mean?”
“Either you can come with me now and get it over with, or you can stay here another 45 years until I come by to get you again.”
“You mean, I’m not going to wake up from this coma?”
“You shot yourself in the head, you’re lucky to survive this long.”
“But it’s possible to wake up though, right?”
“Let me put this another way: you’re missing a lot of your brain. If by chance, you do wake up, you’re most likely going to be braindead. Lights are on, but nobody’s home. You’ll need someone to take care of you the rest of your life. Is that really the kind of life you wanna live?”
“No, especially not without Christy.”
“I had no pleasure in taking her, believe me.”
“So why did you take her?”
“Because you gave her to me.”
“I guess you have a point there.”
“Any other questions for me?”
“Yes, did any of my friends or girlfriends have anything to say?”
“Well, Johan hoped you’d survive the war, and it’s true. He did ask Leo to kill him.”
“Jesus.”
“Leo was glad you did him a favor, he said he didn’t become clear headed until he was with me. He didn’t realize how truly crazy he had gone, until you took him out, he was happy to go.”
“I did a good thing by killing him? All this time, it’s eaten me inside that I had to kill my best friend.”
“Kat was confused as to what was going on. I told her, and she seemed a little unfazed, she came willingly. She wasn’t exactly bright, was she?”
“No, I guess not.”
“Christy was upset the whole time, she didn’t think your nightmares could be that bad, she was looking forward to the life you were going to have together.”
“So was I.”
“Sorry, not everyone gets a fairy tale ending.”
“Obviously. The only one who has yet to talk to me is my brother, Luxor.
“Ah, yes, he’s mine in six years.”
“What? Why?”
“That’s all I can say about that, as it hasn’t happened yet. The future can always change, so I might tell you what turns out to be inaccurate information. But as of now, he’s mine in six years.”
“Ok, I think I’m ready, I don’t wanna be a vegetable.”
“Ok, grab my hand.” She extends her hand, and Samson grabs it.
“Wait, isn’t he coming with us?”
“Who?”
“The other-” Samson looks around, and sees nobody else. “-Samson.”
“Oh, that’s just your conscience, sweetie, he was never really there.”
“So, I’m going crazy?”
“Not at all. Now, come on.” Samson follows Death into oblivion, with Luxor’s voice beginning to echo as it fades away. And so, the story of Samson Alpha is ended.