CH 45

In North Cina's Linghua City, at the day that the Abdicates will appear.

'Where the hell are those two boys?'

A black-haired middle-aged man massaged the back of his neck as the cold night wind gave him quite a chill. The brightly lit street offered him no comfort as not a shadow of his sons can be seen in both directions. The bikes that usually get parked on the lawn were not there, nor were they in the garage.

He wore a loose-fitting sleeveless shirt that did nothing to conceal his bountiful body. If only he was a woman, it would have caused a more favorable reaction than a disgusted gag. He was wearing a pair of sweat pants that were ridiculously small, revealing a silhouette of his lower body that makes it hard to leave anything to the imagination. This was a man who has lost touch with the world, not giving any more fucks.

'They must be playing with that Eustass kid. He's the only one who can make my boys disobedient like this!'

The past few weeks had been quite a change for Eric, a man who alone raised his twin boys. Quite a few houses around his block had been demolished, and the neighbors who left had even encouraged him to talk to the man in a trench coat who offers to pay for the lot of his property. Prices ranging from $4,000 per square meter were offered to them when the bank says it's only worth $1,000 per square meter, making those with nothing to lose accept the deal.

Initially it was only the Dawsons, but now even the Eustass Family was already moving out. Those people were the only friends his family possessed, even before the kids were born. Sally and Johnathan were good friends of Eric and Pauline. It was a shame that Pauline's mistakes made it hard for anyone of them to encounter each other, though that only pertains to Eric who still feels betrayed by the three.

But it seems the kids don't harbour any resentment from any of that, not caring about the relationships between their parents and merely wanting to spend time together instead. It's been that way for a long while now, but they've been staying over for much longer ever since they said they would move out of the neighborhood.

"I swear, if I see those boys there again..."

Eric briefly wore his much-preferred jacket, the one that Pauline had always said she hated when she was here. The description of Pauline in Eric's head was: the only person holding him back. That's what Eric thought of the adulterous Pauline. His life had been better off when the bitch was gone, it undoubtedly was. Wasn't it?

The keys for the car were near the mirror and Eric passed by just enough to see his reflection in the mirror. His once clean-cut and attractive face now had eye bags so thick, he could swear they will never recover. His once brilliant eyes have turned dull and broken, so why is he still here? What's there to live for?

He saw the pictures that were attached on the side of the mirror. One was of the youthful Eric smiling but the picture had been cut in half in the middle. Who knows what was on the other side?

The only thing that made it clear someone was there were a pair of hands holding on to his left biceps as he flexed them. A faint smile appeared on Eric's face that turned sullen the next second.

'Why!? Why me!?'

A deeply rooted display of hatred and injustice overloaded his system as he secured the keys and went on to drive to those fucking Eustass bastards. The boys were going too far if they think those people actually care for them. It's bad enough that they are hiding that bitch, now they want to take his boys away?

The Eustass lived three streets away, close enough to walk but Eric didn't care. He didn't want to tire himself for this. He was tired enough. He drove right over their lawn where a pair of rusted bikes were left unattended. Bikes he bought with his own damn money.

'You little shits!'

"Clutch. Creak. Bang."

"Adam! Abel! Get out here!"

Eric walked out of the car and slammed the car door. He placed his hands on the sides of his arms while he waited for the people inside to come out. He knew reasonably enough that those two would not allow anyone to walk on the grass of their lawn so a fucking car will drive them nuts.

"Hey! You, fat idiot! Get that rust bucket of yours off my lawn!" A high-pitched scream was heard from a few blocks away as a woman holding on to a pair of paper bags filled with what seemed to be food came up to the house's door. Her eyes glowered at Eric who merely bestowed her a scornful smile. If the two people of the past were to see this scene, they would cry. What could have happened?

"Dad! What are you doing?"

A squeaky voice came from inside as a boy of around nine came out while clinging to the sides of his head. Little Adam was shocked as his little eyes were focused on the two bikes that were now under Eric's car that at present seemed to possess parts of them bent from the pressure.

"No! That's mom's present." A vein seemed to have exploded on Eric's temple as it bulged and redden so much that his whole face which seemed scary before now turned ominous. He was about to scold the little shit when a hand raised itself in front of him.

It was his other son, Abel, who presented him an inexpressive face as his cold face seemed to caution him not to talk. This only made him angrier, so he raised his hand and was about to slam down some respect!

"Fuck off, Eric!" A hand shoved the fat Eric down to the ground. His body got unbalanced and he couldn't even tell which direction was up. It was only when he saw the tears on his children's face that he realized what was happening. What he was doing.

'What am I doing with my life?'

His wife abandoning him didn't mean he could slack off and lose his job. It didn't mean he was excused from taking care of himself. It didn't mean he could neglect his boys. And most importantly, it didn't mean they had to cherish him for being an incompetent asshole. He was trash, the lowest piece of trash that can't even find the woman who had promised to stand by his side. He didn't even get to perceive why.

"Get out of here, Eric. Or I'll call the police."

Eric didn't even react to Johnathan's warning as he laid there motionless. Sally was getting concerned about Eric's condition as he hadn't moved for a long while. It was only when his leg twitched, and he shifted his head to examine at his two boys that he finally stood up. This time, he didn't put anyone here in his eyes. Like they were lifeless, like he was dead.

"Are you ok?"

Sally was about to get closer to Eric when Johnathan looked at her in the eyes as he gripped her arm, forcing her to stop. She was about to resist when she saw Johnathan's eyes look towards the twins instead, observing their son appease the crying boys. She noted Johnathan's hand let her go but this time, she didn't go to Eric's side. She went to the two little boys that didn't deserve any of this.

"I don't care about your side of the story Eric, maybe I did then but now, now I don't. A parent would never, ever do this to their child, no matter what excuse your petty little brain can come up with."

Sally seemed to have thought things through now. It was never about them, if a man like that was to raise these boys then he'd merely break them. His will may have very well been broken by Pauline but his responsibility as a father was never going to be over. If he couldn't handle it then they will, Johnathan will support her on this. She knew that. She believed that.

Eric didn't seem to mind them at all as he walked back home. His body felt light, very light. The pain he suffered on his lower back and that twitching pain in his right foot seemed to have stopped, as if it was never there. He looked at the mirror and saw a smile, something he hadn't witnessed in a few years now. Was it because of him letting go? Or was it the fact that he finally got free from those pests?

"I'm... free?" A deafening silence surrounded Eric as he perceived the image on the mirror distort. The wall on the back seemed to collapse on itself, becoming a mirror that reflected back on the mirror in front of him. He watched as the center of that mirror crack, growing larger and larger until finally.

"Bang. Crash. Thud." The roof of the house crumbled down as half of it had broken off. Eric himself was now kneeling shakily as he secured his head in front of his mirror, looking at the reflection behind him. There was an enormous ball of fur where the crack started from, white and fluffy. The thing had taken over a part of the space that used to be occupied by his home, and it doesn't seem to be enough space as it continued growing.

The ball of fur wriggled, shaking loudly as it seemed to be breaking down. Eric saw a piece of it fall to the ground. It was a large piece of the fur, around a fifth of it. He turned around to finally observe it directly but the fur which was ten meters away before had now arrived right in front of Eric.

"Ughh! Rip. Thud!"

A force from in front had directed Eric's body backward and he felt the wall behind him as he tried moving his arms and legs to find a way to get back on his feet, and yet he felt his feet touch nothing below.

"Screech!" The soul stirring sound of something scratching against a smooth surface sounded out from beside Eric and he saw monstrous claws surrounding him on all sides. It was only when he looked directly forwards that he finally saw the claw being in contact with him. It had speared him on his stomach.

The strange thing was he felt nothing, not a single sign of pain can be seen on his eyes. No, he did feel sleepy and tired, so he just closed his eyes. But before the feeling took over his body, before they never opened again, he heard a shout coming from his far away calling to him.

"No! Daddy!" Little Adam was holding on to a pair of bottles as big as his arms. They were Puch bottles, his favorite beer.

He consumes the thing like it was water everyday, but he remembered running out this morning. He followed the little boy drop the bottles like it didn't matter if it breaks while trying to run all the way to his side. But before he could, a pair of hands immobilized him, a remarkably youthful pair of hands.

"Sniff. Sniff. Stop! Adam!"

Abel was now holding on to his little brother who wanted to release their father. His tear-filled eyes beheld his father's body be lifted in the air as what seemed to be a giant hand pulled it closer to a gaping hole in the sky. He saw his father look at them, and he saw him give a smile.

Abel was used to that smile, but something else was promptly coming with it. A tear, a single tear appeared on his father's cheek.

He seemed to be shouting something, but they couldn't hear him. He saw his father's hand slam on that thing that propped him up, then he pointed at them. But they couldn't hear him, they really couldn't...

Eric watched as his boys stand there on the streets like they had done so a while ago. But now he didn't demand them back, he wanted them to go away. Far from this place, where they can be secure. He flailed his arm, trying to make them understand. He shouted or tried to shout, but there was no sound coming from his mouth. His eyes were getting blurrier, his hands getting heavier while it was terrible, excruciatingly painful. But he can't stop, he needed to do something.

It seems something had blocked the air from his lungs, and he found it hard to breathe, let alone shout. But he tried, over and over and over again. He exhausted every strength in his body, slamming his hands on the vicious claw that's impaling him, and finally, it came out.

"Run! Save yourselves!"