Per 
February 11, 1999
Patrick sits alone on a bench with his head held high. Tonight is clear and full of stars, but no moon. He scans the night sky trying to find it but to no success. Unaware of what a new moon is, he continues to search. A woman approaches him and lowers herself to one knee.
“What’s wrong?” She asks.
“The moon is gone, mommy. I can’t find it.” He replies.
“Oh no! Here, let’s find it together.” She sits next to him, holding her son close.
“Okay!” For tonight, they can forget about the recent eviction, the clammy night, the lack of food, lack of money, and the little tent they’ll be sleeping in. At this moment, there’s only the starry night.
November 1st, 2018
The phone rings, but he let it go through to voicemail. It beeps, “(1) New Message.”
“Hey, Patrick. I know that you’re going through a tough time and I uh, wanted to see if you were doing alright. I can extend your absence for a little bit longer until you're feeling ready to come back. But uh, ‘til then. Why don’t you meet up with me and the crew for brunch, yeah? Call me back when you’re feeling up to it. Take care.” The message ends.
Patrick lays on his back, staring at the white ceiling. He rolls his head to the right at his alarm clock that reads 10:44 AM. Moaning in exhaustion, he drags himself out of the comforters.
Sluggishly wandering the halls to the living room, he turns on the TV news for background noise. He blankly stares out of his window, with the warm morning sun shining on his face. He turns his face away from the sunbeams and pulls a photo from his pocket of his late mother. Grief-stricken, he descends to the floor and holds the photo close to his chest while his weeps echo the halls.
With the TV still on, a voice-over comments on a strange blue cloud or fog approaching the county. Minutes have gone by and he sits up against the cabinets. He scans the interior of the house and realizes how empty it is. He looks out his door and thinks about the offer Phil made earlier. Not wishing to spend the next moments alone, he places the photo on the counter for a bit and slips into a change of clothes. He grabs his wallet and inserts the photo in before heading out.
11:35 AM
As Patrick makes his way to the Diner, he spots Phil and everyone in the writing department sitting inside. Phil notices Patrick through the window and waves gladly at him while making his way out of the Diner. Patrick was about to cross the street until-
“Oh my God!” A man screams and points at the sky to what looks like a blue cloud. Patrick looks up and his body goes stiff as he watches the gas descend. It coats the ground and everyone panics, assuming the worst from this unfamiliar gas. In the panic, Patrick kneels and tightly hugs himself while groaning in pain. He feels his chest pulling inwards like it was eating him up inside. The aching grew stronger and so focused that it felt like there was a hole in his heart trying to be filled. Then the body wasn’t enough, the hole wanted more. After a few seconds of agony, the release became clear in his mind. He extends his arms out in front and clenches his hands. The local deli implodes into a ball of debris. After that, the aching stops and everything drops when Patrick releases his fist.
Short of breath, he lifts his head and sees someone burst into flames. A boy with a deafening scream. And a girl that covers her head only to electrocute herself and collapse. But Phil had the worst of it all. Tiny spikes piercing out of his body like a porcupine, “Somebody help me!” He cries out as they grow longer. Phil drops to his knees and curls up into a ball. As for the rest of the crew. Patrick doesn't even want to know what happened to them. So he runs back home. Every person he passes cries in pain with their change and each one seems worse than the last. He picks up the pace and keeps his head down.
He makes it back to his house. He skips over the steps and grabs the door handle. The glass frame shatters and pulls the tiny shards to his forearm. Glass shards puncture his arm and Patrick jumps away from the door. His arm trembles in the sharp pain with blood leaking out. He uses his other arm to slowly open the handle and push the door open. He goes to his bathroom closet and takes out a first aid kit and sets himself down at his dining table. He takes out a pair of tweezers and one by one, he removes the shards of his bleeding right arm. He treats them the best he could with amateur stitching, alcohol rubbing, and finally bandage wrapping.
Patrick rises and walks to what was his doorway, peaking at what is now his town. Booms echo from all directions and smoke can be seen rising to the skies. He can still hear the confused and scared screams of many so he sat and blankly stares from his porch.
April 15th, 2019
5:44 pm
Patrick sprints across the street but the speedster tackles him and they both roll on the streets. He sprang himself up and saw the others catching up. He tries making another attempt to flee but behind him is a man that spat fire at him. He aims his hand in front of him and clenches, pulling the debris from the ground to block the incoming flames.
Patrick looks back and sees the rest now caught up. Now he is surrounded by three on his left and one on his right. “I was hungry! Please, just let me go!” He pleads to his pursuers.
“Could’ve asked, asshole!” A woman yells then she stomps her foot and shards of glass erupt from the ground. Patrick clenches his hand at the glass, stopping it at its tracks. The speedster takes the opportunity to slide and trip him. While on the ground, he was able to spot the speedster and quickly aim his hand at her. Trapping the speedster in place while debris strikes her in all directions. Patrick tries to rise on his feet but fire rushes over from above so he retreats down. The glass woman stomps her foot again and glass erupts towards Patrick. He grasps his hands in the air which sends him flying out of the way. He drops back down to some brush and topples over when getting out.
He scans the area for an escape but the glass woman and the pyrokinetic man were coming at him before he could finish. With no way to evade, he puts both arms out at them and clenches his hands. They both froze in place and grit their teeth from its intensity. Patrick drops to a knee in exhaustion and takes a glance thinking maybe he can still find a way out. But a large beast hoists him up and thrashes him around like a rag doll; his coat tears, the food he stole scattering all over the ground. The beast throws him to a wall and Patrick wobbly picks himself up as the four mutants corner him.
He presses his back to the wall and sees no way out. The speedster finishes the fight by slamming Patrick to the wall, and he plops to the ground. The group splits up and takes back their stolen food. While on the ground, he spots his wallet laying on the sidewalk near the group.
It doesn't matter that he'd never done this before. He wasn’t going out hungry or losing that wallet. So he stands one last time, spreads his arms out wide, and smacks his hands together. The group crash into each other groaning as the gravitational pull gets stronger. Patrick grips his hands as hard as he could onto that single point to where he almost crushes them. But his arms soon collapse which in turn releases them. The group didn’t stand so he grabs two cans of rice and his wallet then makes a break for it after.
January 3rd, 1996
9:36 pm
Patrick, his mother, and two other people cuddle by a lamp and portable heater that they have to share under the tent. After the pair finish eating their pudding, she decides that they should go to sleep early as tomorrow is a school day. They cover themselves with layers of blankets with the chilly breeze creeping through their tent.
The next day, Patrick reluctantly slips into his sweat pants and a thin dirty black jacket. He shivers as he waits at the bus stop. The bus pulls over and halts, opening its doors to Patrick so he could step in. He overhears the other kids boast about how their parents got them new clothes. Along with headphones, MP3 players, toys, and games. And how much fun their Christmas dinners were with friends and family.
Patrick would go through another round of teasing by Samantha, Brian, Duke, and Vivian when he took his seat. They spot a couple of small holes on his jacket and run their fingers through to make them bigger. Patrick tries pushing them away but that encourages the group to tear more holes in his jacket until the bus stops.
The rest of his day went on as normal. Patrick thinks of ways he could get home without taking the bus and losing the group. But art class took up most of his attention. Today, they were going to do a painting of where they see themselves in twenty years. Patrick made one of him and his mom happily riding in a rocket, blasting away from Earth.
The kids line up for the school busses, but Patrick heads to another exit and is depending on memory to make it back home. He shivers at the icy winds blowing at his jacket. The group follows up on Patrick’s new route and ambushes him. They snatch his backpack and pull out the painting. He tries to get it back but Brian punches Patrick in the stomach then he and Duke hold him down. Samantha crumples up the paper then passes it to Vivian. She simply drops it on a puddle then Duke stomps on it, splashing the freezing water on Patrick’s face. They release him, leaving him on the sidewalk as they went home. Patrick tries to straighten the wet paper as carefully as he could but it easily tore, so he takes what he could and weeps as he heads back to the shelter.
He presents the ruined painting to her. She kneels to him and embraces her son. Patrick fell onto her arms and screams in her shoulder. She strokes the back of his head in reassurance and comfort. “I hate them! I hate school! I hate everyone! I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!”
“I know. But when you become an astronaut. We'll leave, right? Wasn’t that what you promised me?”
“Yeah…”
“And I know that you’ll keep your promise. No matter what. I can already see it if you think about it. Close your eyes, do you see it?”
He shuts his eyes and imagines the painting but this time he sees it for real, “I do.”
“I know you’ll do great things because I know how great you are. Nothing’s ever gonna stop you, no matter how bad they get. You are strong. You are smart. And I love you from here to the moon.”
April 15th, 2019
7:56 pm
Patrick scoops the last bits of rice and eats whatever’s left. He tosses the empty can and slides down against the tree trunk and gazes at the night sky. He contemplates this new thought that’s been bugging him for the past four or five months since the change. Thrive. What does that even mean? Someone could blow people up, control people’s minds, or turn into a God-awful monster.
Thrive.
Thrive.
Thrive.
I don’t get it… I just don’t.
He reaches out to the moon to grasp it. Small branches and sticks to large chunks of trees levitate and stack onto one another. It grows until it blocks his view of the moon, and it makes a cold sweat run down his face as he’s holding it. It was like darkness eating the stars and it just doesn’t stop growing. He got up and out of the way and releases his hold. The wooden sphere drops and scatters on impact.
Thrive.
November 15, 2020
4:00 pm
Patrick wanders the cramped roads filled with damaged, left behind vehicles. He picks his head up to a sign that reads, “Stamford - Exit 4.” From what he’s heard, Stamford is a city in Connecticut housing mutants that don’t cause too much trouble. Most cities have fallen since the change, others are trying to rebuild, but Stamford is one of the few to still stand for three whole years since it started. He sighs in exhaustion every time he squeezes through another gap. Then something clicked. He spots a truck and extends his arm out to it, clenching his hand and crushing it.
He looks in each direction and spreads his arms out wide. He closes his eyes and clears his mind to take in the silence. He clenches both hands repeatedly while listening to the crushing metal. This goes on for a few minutes without stopping until he hears less of the cars. He opens his eyes and sees that both sides have large clunky metal spheres now covering the roads. He closes his eyes again and imagines a small sphere the size of a basketball as the center point. He claps his hands to the air and hears loud crashes coming from above. After a while, his arms shake as the growing weight gets the better of him. He peaks up.
The sphere slowly descends and Patrick hurries his clasped hands to the opposite direction where he was walking.
“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon!”
The sphere moves away from him and he frantically paces backward passing the exit sign. He grits his teeth from his aching arms and they quiver from the weight. He intertwines his fingers tightly to hold it for a little bit longer as he’s getting a good enough distance between him and the sphere. He eases the descent of it, and when it touches the ground he releases the sphere and it collapses making a massive hill of crushed cars blocking the roads. He drops to his knees and pants in relief.
He removes his bag then his coat, rolling up his long-sleeve shirt up for his arms to breathe, and plops on his back. It’s only now from staring up at the sky that he realizes there’s not a single cloud. Patrick extends his right arm and glances at the scars covering it from the second time he got this power.
Patrick sits up. Just a little bit further. Then I can forget about this whole shit show. He rolls his sleeves back down and slips his jacket on. He stands while picking up his backpack and follows the road of Exit - 4. Preparing for the worst that may come.
I’m so tired.
5:15 pm
Patrick finally makes his way to Stamford. It is nothing that he ever expected. The streets were filled with normal-looking people, even missing the ones who are vaguely human. Everything was calm. Peaceful even. He watches the warm-colored leaves gently fall down, covering the curbs of the roads. Tree roots sprout from the large cracks around the streets and buildings.
He spots a crowd that looks to be gathering somewhere. Curiously, he follows the crowd to a park, and far in the distance he can see a stage with multi-colored lights. He passes the crowd to get close to the stage. Now that he's close enough, he sees the stage is made up of roots with flickering bioluminescent lights. On top, he sees a middle-aged man in a dark red suit. He greets the crowd with a wave and a smile then gestures his arms for silence.
“May I have your attention, please!” He speaks with a microphone in hand. The crowd goes silent. “Good evening, and thank you for coming to our third anniversary of ‘Gifted Night.’ As you all remember, it was a normal day like any other. Going to work or school. Doing this and doing that. Then the heavens came down and turned us into the best versions we can be. With that said, we were scared. We didn’t know anything. But you've all heard it.”
“Thrive!” The crowd cheers.
“Yes! But as shown time and time again throughout history, one cannot thrive alone. Did George Washington fight in the Revolutionary War alone? Did Martin Luther King Jr. put an end to Segregation during the Civil Rights Movement alone? Did Jesus spread his word of love and God alone? Of course not! Community, togetherness, and unity are what define Stamford!”
The crowd cheers again.
“Now, there are those who say that one day we will fall because we are weak. Well to that I say, “I’d rather fall with my people than stand alone.” While everyone else is too busy tearing each other apart, the rest of us are going to rebuild it with our gifts. And that is what ‘Gifted Night’ is here for. To show people that as one, we can make something great!”
Four people step on the stage. An elderly woman spreads her arms out and glowing golden particles spray out from her hands and land on the others, enhancing their abilities to their peak. A man gestures his hands up and trees sprout from the dirt. A young boy blows dust from his hands and the particles glow and stick on the trees. A teenage girl pulls water from the air and makes it rain.
The four bow leave the stage. Then another group goes up.
7:00 pm
After the show, Patrick follows the crowd out and everything starts to be a blur and goes silent as he gets lost in thought.
The words “Gift” and “Thrive” haven’t left his head. He thinks as you how they apply to him. And when he tries to, it feels like he’s hitting a wall. Nothing. Absolutely nothing comes to mind with him and these words.
Though this comes at a halt when he bumps heads with another.
“Agh! Shit, I’m sorry!” Patrick yelps.
“Nah. It’s fine. That was my fault.” He assures him. “You good, man?”
“I’m good… ow…”
“Never seen you before. What’s your name, kid?”
“I’m Patrick.”
“Manny. Nice to meet ya.” He extends his hand out for a shake. Patrick hesitates at first but takes his hand and they both shake.
“Feeling better yet?”
Before Patrick could answer, a puff of smoke appears out of nowhere and a petite girl emerges between the two. “Manny!” She yelps while jumping into Manny’s arms and then proceeds to punch his torso.
“Where were you?! You left me behind in the crowd!” She whines.
“I’m sorry babe. I won’t let go again.” Manny kisses her head. “Does that make you feel better?”
“Mhm.” She nods then turns her head and notices Patrick. “Who’s this?”
“This is Patrick. We quite literally bumped into each other just now.”
“Yeah… Sorry about that again.” He rubs his bump.
“Well, I’m Lily. And you’ve met Manny. So where are you from?”
“Around. Places.” Patrick shifts his eyes away from them.
“Soooo, out there then? I mean, you look like Hell.”
“Kinda smell like it too.”
“Okay, you’ve said enough.”
Patrick sniffs his shirt and sinks in embarrassment, begrudgingly agrees with Manny.
“C’mon. You need some fixing.” Manny says. Patrick reluctantly follows the couple.
“Great first impressions.” He whispers to himself.
7:20 pm
The trio approaches the condominium and Patrick notices that all the lamp posts are out with everyone holding lanterns in hand. Even the apartment has dimly lit lights showing through the windows. He also spots people walking out of the condominium with large metal disks and covers on their hands. Each resident starts a fire on the street and places the disks on top of the flames.
“What happened to the electricity just now?”
“Society still collapsed my friend. Some of our transformers got hit pretty bad when everybody freaked out when it began. The ones that are still okay are used a little bit for special events like ‘Gifted Night.’ Some of our electrokinetics try to maintain them as well but the rest of us aren’t engineers.”
“So we make do with fire pits, torches, lanterns, and candles. As long as we can light a match, we’re okay. Thank God we got a duplicator guy for keeping the supply up.” Lily adds.
“And what’s with the trays and the fire?”
“Dinner time,” Manny replies.
They enter the building with lanterns hanging from the ceiling. “Watch your step,” Lily says as they walk three stories up then follow the lanterns to their apartment. The rooms were lit in a mix of candles and bioluminescence on the walls. A square dining table can be seen in their living room with a long soft couch reaching both ends of the walls. The left was a bathroom and the right was their bedroom.
“Where’d you get this?” Patrick refers to the bioluminescence.
“Traded extra bed sheets for it. It’s pretty isn’t it?” Lily says.
“Yeah. It is.”
“So the bathroom is right down there. You go take a bath while I’ll make us some pizza.” Manny says.
“You make pizza?”
“Yes sir. And none of that frozen crap.” Manny takes his tray and cap and heads to the door. “Oh, and one more thing. I got some spare clothes for you to borrow. Left dresser. Enjoy your bath!” He exits the door.
Patrick approaches the window and peaks down the streets. “Any accidents?” He asks.
“Nope. But in case we do, we got everything under control.”
7:40 pm
While Patrick was changing after his bath, Lily’s reorganizing to find a place for his stuff. She picks his jacket and the wallet falls out the right pocket. She hangs the jacket and the bag on a free hanger then heads back to the living room. She steps on the wallet and curiously picks it up.
She examines the wallet. “Why does he still need this thing?” She opens it and sees a photo in a pocket. Raising her hand to take a look at the photo-
“What are you doing?!” He paces to her and snatching the wallet from her hands.
“It fell off your jacket and I- wait what happened to your arm?!” She points at the scarred arm and mistakes it for something recent.
Patrick slips the wallet in a pocket and quickly hides his arm then goes silent.
“Are you okay? We got doctors here to help you.”
“It’s nothing. I’m fine!”
“That doesn’t look fine-”
“I said I’m fine!” He shouts and clenches his hands, pulling everything including Lily towards him. Patrick quickly relaxes his hands to release the pull and Lily drops to the floor. He puts some distance from her and thoughts cloud his mind. He thinks he should leave. He’s stranger in their home. And he could hurt them. Patrick paces to the door and tries to leave but Lily poofs in front of him.
“Wait. Just wait!”
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be here.” Patrick moves her aside and exits the apartment. Lily poofs in front of him again.
“Okay, listen. I don’t know what happened to you and that’s none of my business. But at least stay for the week. And then you can figure yourself out here in Stamford, yeah? You just got here so you can relax.”
“I-”
“Pizza is done!” Manny shouts at the end of the hall, holding his tray high. Patrick looks behind him while Lily peaks. “What happened?”
Patrick looks back at the door he was walking away from then back to Lily.
”Please.” She begs.
He sighs, “Okay.” Lily holds his shoulder and they poof into the dining room. She does the same with Manny and he sets the dish on the table.
“Is everything alright here?” Manny asks. “What happened to the place?”
“Sorry. I stubbed my toe and then…” He gestures his hands to the messy room. “Yeah…”
“You're a telekinetic?”
“Not exactly.”
“Well shit dude, let's hear what you got. Do you want one? Two slices?” Manny says with a pizza cutter in hand.
“One is good. Thanks.”
10:50 pm
Patrick rests on their couch with a bed sheet covering him.
He’s wide awake and holds his wallet to his chest. Then he sits up and opens it, removing the photo. His eyes water and his breathing gets a little heavy.
“I’m sorry…I’m sorry.”
Meanwhile, in the bedroom. Manny and Lily are also awake and listen to the weeps of their guests. Lily clutches her chest and inhales.
“I’m such an idiot.” Lily whispers.
“What? No, you're not.” Manny assures.
“I am. I got nosy and…shit.”
“So do you know something about him?”
“No. I don’t.” The two were silent and the weeps were getting quieter. “I wanna make it up to him.”
“I know you do. But I think we should let him be for now. Let him settle and maybe one day he could tell us what’s up. I feel like if we do anything too soon, we’ll just be pushing it. We just met him after all.”
Lily cuddles in Manny’s chest and groans.
“Everything will be okay. I know it will.” He kisses her head goodnight.
May 14th, 2008
3:37 pm
Today is his thirteenth birthday. Patrick enters their room and sees his mom laying on the floor with blood running down her nose. He kneels to her in a panic.
“Mom! What happened?” He cries while holding her up. She groans in response so Patrick lays her to the wall. “I’ll get help, and find the fucker who did it.” Patrick rushes to the nurse and notifies her of what happened. After he sees two staff heading to the room, he runs out and looks from the balcony and sees the crowded gym.
He growls in frustration, but spots a man beside the wall with a bloody stain on his sleeve and pacing back to his room. He meets a woman to whom he gives money. She smirks and they both share a kiss and head back to their room ahead. Patrick zooms down the stairs and spots a nearby supervisor.
“Hey! My mom is hurt and I think someone in that room did it!” He yells and points at the door. But the supervisor had her headphones on and texts. Patrick wanted to snatch it away from her and throw it to a wall, but she’ll tell the shelter's Director if he did. Patrick instead nudges her chair to get her attention.
“Huh? Oh, what do you want?” She asks.
“I need help. My mom got hurt by whoever’s in that room.” He points at the room again. She gets a notification and checks her phone then grins.
“Alright. I’ll tell the Director what’s up.” She stands and heads to his office.
He sighs in relief, knowing that he’ll listen to her. But he didn’t want to wait. He wants to know why they did it. And why they chose their room. So he heads to their door and turns the knob. He goes into their room and smells the thick stench of weed. The couple turns their head to him.
“You lost?” The woman asks him.
“Why’d you hurt my mom?”
The couple looks at each other in confusion.
“We don’t know what you're talking about.” She replies.
Patrick rushes towards them and punches her face.
“What the fuck?!” The man yells and grabs him by the throat and slams him to the wall. “The hell is wrong with you?!”
Patrick grabs his sleeves to show him his mother’s blood on them. The man looks back at Patrick then tosses him out and slams the door, locking it.
Patrick catches his breath and limps his way to the Director's office. He gets closer to his door and could hear thumping getting louder. He stands right outside his door and also hears the supervisor that was texting earlier in there too.
He slowly backs away, remembering the last time he interrupts him. Breaking his door by accident in a rush to notify him of another problem he and his mom had. “You do something like that again. I want that room to be spotless in twenty-four hours.”
Patrick heads back to the room with his head hanging low. The two nurses are still in there, making sure she didn’t sustain any further injuries. Patrick slides his back down the wall and waits for them to be done.
After a few minutes, she seems to be a bit better. The two nurses gave her a small medkit and Advil before heading out.
“What did they want?”
“A hundred dollars… For you.” He crawls to her and hugs her.
December 1st, 2020
12:00 pm
Patrick lives with Manny and Lily for a few weeks until he finds a job as an English Teacher in Stamford Elementary. The landlord of the condo eventually finds an empty apartment and for generosity's sake, gives it to Patrick since he’s new. He visits Manny and Lily sometimes and they do the same. But he’s coming by less as the weeks go on.
As of today, Stamford is in the development of its Christmas theme. The weekend blew a heavy snowstorm so everyone has to clear the snow out in their unique way. Patrick lightly clenches his hands to gather a pile of snow, while Manny blows a strong wind from his mouth.
“Morning!” Manny calls.
“Hey, Manny,” Patrick says.
“Jesus, this is a lot. I bet it's a bunch of kids trying to skip school, am I right?”
Patrick doesn’t respond.
“So uh. How are things with you?”
“Alright.”
“You're not coming over as much.”
“I’ve been busy. Grading. Tutoring. The works.”
“Well yeah. But you need some breaks too I bet. Could still chill with us whenever.”
“Thanks.”
They awkwardly stay in silence while they continue clearing out the roads.
.
.
.
.
.
.
“Okay, fuck this. What’s wrong?” Manny asks.
“What is?”
“Don’t do that, not with me. We barely see you now and when we do, you walk the other way. So what is it?”
“I said I was alright.”
“No, you're not. I can see it in your eyes. Did we do something wrong? Did I do something wrong?”
“No! You didn’t do anything, okay.”
“So what’s going on?”
“I…I just don’t wanna talk about it. Alright.”
“If Lily had something to do about it. You should know she’s sorry. She would say it if she were here but you're stuck with me.”
.
.
.
.
.
“You two are good people. But I just can’t bring myself to tell you anything. Not yet at least.” Patrick speaks.
“Okay. But we shouldn’t be strangers. We’re neighbors. So it should be nice getting to know you, man.”
“Well since we’ll be out here for a good while. What’s your story?”
“Well, let's see.” Manny ponders. “As someone who had asthma. I didn't do so well when it started. At first, I thought it was a chemical weapon. And my dumbass brain thought that hyperventilating was a good idea. I think I passed out after that. Then after a little while, I felt relieved. Because for the first time in a long time, I could breathe.”
Patrick remains silent to hear more from Manny. “Though I still hyperventilated ‘cause I didn’t know what was happening to me. And I just kept blowing things and people away. But then I met Lily. She calmed me down. Helped me breathe better. She saved me. She was the one that brought me to Stamford alive. She’s incredible.”
“So how’d she become your girlfriend?”
“I’m not ready to talk about that.”
“Alright. You got me.”
Manny laughs. "Well. I did have a crush on her after a few weeks. It was grace, seeing her come back with happy faces and I wanted to help her out with that. Of course, I had to ask the mayor but he didn’t think that with my power, I wouldn’t be good for her out there. But me being stupidly in love, I said fuck it. So I joined her and the rest of the group. Things were going well until we got ambushed by this gang. I tried blowing them away but they kept on coming. So Lily had to teleport two people at a time back and forth. I was the last one when she came back. They picked up on her teleportation and knocked her out. They held both of us down.”
“Then what?”
“They said they wanted us to take them to Stamford. We refused so they beat the crap out of us. Almost to death too… I couldn’t let them kill her, but with me being held down. All I could do was scream. I screamed so loud that I accidentally made a small typhoon. I took the chance to grab Lily. After the beating they did, she couldn’t do anything let alone move, so I carried her as far away from them as I could until she mustered up whatever strength she had to take us back. We were hospitalized from there. I stayed with her even though I recovered first. When she recovered, she thanked me for saving her. And I don’t know what came over me, but I immediately asked if she wanted to go out on a date. Then I thought, ‘Shit. Bad timing.’ We laughed at it and she said ‘Yes.’ And the rest is history, my friend.”
“Huh. What about her?” Patrick asks curiously.
“That is something you need to ask her. But first, you two need to settle whatever this is.” Manny says gesturing his hands. “Promise?”
“I promise.”
“Good.”
The next day, Patrick knocks on their door. Lily opens it and holds her breath when she sees him.
“I’m sorry I went through your things, it was wrong and-”
“Lily. It’s okay.” He assures her. “May I come in?”
“Yeah, sure.” She moves aside letting him in. He examines the apartment and hears his shouts echo.
“Is Manny here?” He asks.
“Yeah, he is.” She answers hesitantly.
“Can you bring him here? Please.”
“Okay? Manny!” She calls.
“Yo, what's up?!” Manny shouts excitingly.
“Can we all sit?.”
“Sure. You want something to drink?”
“No thanks. I just wanna talk.”
They sit at the same dining table and everything went dead silent after.
“So Manny has told me some things about you, Lily. Good things.” He pauses. Lily looks at Manny. Patrick pulls out the wallet and sets it on the table.
“Besides Manny, it’s been a long, long time since I had an actual conversation. Lily, I want to try again. For us to know each other better.” Another pause. “So I want to know why you do it. Risking your life for people you barely know.”
.
.
.
Lily took some time to process her thoughts. She leans forward and places her elbows on the table to rest her chin on her hands.
“My house was on fire when it began. I was in my room minding my own business until I saw smoke creeping under my door. I got out through the window and climbed my way down. But my parents were still inside. I tried getting back in but there was so much smoke, and it was just so hot. The blue mist came down and” She giggles. “I thought it was water at that moment. Then I felt hot. And I choked on the smoke coming out of my lungs. I tried to force the door to open. And…I was inside. They huddled in the kitchen with their shirts over their mouths and I hugged them. And poof. We were outside.” She pauses and lightly smiles at him.
“Patrick. It’s just who I am. If I can get people out of danger, I would do it in a heartbeat. I wasn’t going to wait for help when I could be that help. Whether or not I know you done doesn’t matter. What matters is that I know you're safe.”
“Do you think you can still help me?” Patrick asks with his head hung low.
“Of course.” She replies.
He inhales and opens the wallet and pulls out the photo. Showing it to them as he looks away.
“This. Is my mother.” Patrick says to them.
“She’s beautiful.” Lily comments.
“Where is she?” Manny asks.
“She's not here. Not anymore.” He pauses. “I don’t know about you. But whoever gave us these “gifts” made a mistake with me. I don’t want this. If I had to choose, I’d pick dying over this. But she didn’t want that for me. She wanted something better for me. But why? When I was the reason she lost everything.”
“Patrick. Listen to me.” She says to him, grabbing his hand holding the photo. “Your mom sounds like a wonderful woman. And I don’t think she saw you as a burden.”
Manny goes around Patrick and hugs behind his back. “Whatever you think you did wrong isn’t true. It was never yours or anybody's fault.” Lily joins Manny in the embrace, this time on his front. The pull gets lighter and Patrick drops his arm on the table. He weeps in her shoulder.
“Do you know what you can do for her one last time though?”
“What?” He says weakly.
“You can put her picture by the Christmas Tree. Let her rest there.”
“And it’s not just any Christmas Tree, I’ll say that much. She’ll love it.” Manny adds while rubbing his back.
“Thank you, guys.” He whimpers.
“Anytime,” Lily replies.
“And sorry again.”
“It’s alright. Everything will be alright.” Manny assures.
December 25th, 2020
10:45pm
A light snowfall descends onto Stamford and covers it in white. Bright lights from the bioluminescence and the electric lights. The kids hiding behind makeshift forts and having their snowball fight on the streets. Everyone else had their fire pits lit up in every street corner with their friends and family gathering around it with hot cocoa in their hands.
The trio heads to Downtown Stamford where the tree stands. The tree is as large as the town hall building, The branches glow in all colors imaginable with everyone hanging their makeshift ornament on it.
“We’re here,” Manny says. “You should take those stairs. Put it somewhere nice and high.” He points to the staircase spiraling up to the top.
Patrick holds the photo in his hands with a punched hole and twine tied through it. He makes his way up the steps, the top, and ties the photo to a branch. It faces all of Stamford with the streets gleaming with light. Patrick takes in this final view with his mother, kisses his fingertips, and touches the photo.
He heads down to Manny and Lily. “So how was it?” Lily asks.
Patrick answers her with a hug and Manny joins in.
August 7th, 2023
11:35 pm
A man in a black leather long coat with torches floating around him steps onto the hill. He looks onto his starving people and gestures his hands for silence.
“Our agony is near its end! Tonight, Stamford will belong to the ones that truly deserve it!”
The crowd roars, raising their flames high for the raid.
“Feed yourselves. Heal yourselves. Don’t let anyone there say otherwise.” He pushes his hands forward, giving his torches to anyone with their palms open to them.
“And if they resist. Burn their homes and buildings. We will take this city by force if we must!”
After that final statement, each group of people disappears in a flash of light.
A group of people flash out of nowhere. Civilians still outside spot the fire-wielding intruders and panic. The group spreads out and attacks the civilians on sight and sets fires to nearby buildings. Another group eventually joins them and splits into teams to cover more ground. One throws a flaming metal rod at a park and the rod explodes and sends its embers on the grass. And another flies in the air with flames roaring out from his palms and soaring above while leaving a trail of fire behind.
The people of Stamford scatter in a panic. Some try to put the fire out but their powers weren’t enough to combat the rising flames, nor were they strong enough to fight against the ones who made them.
Patrick rushes through the streets, shoving and getting shoved by hordes of people. Everyone is scrambling to escape but with each turn they take, there is another wall of fire blocking their path. Patrick makes his way to an alleyway to catch his breath.
“Manny! Lily!” He calls.
He checks every bank, every hall, restaurant, exhibits, store, and theatre with no sign of them.
BOOM!
An explosion from behind, and a figure walks to the crowd.
“Mayor Henry. Where is he?” He asks the crying crowd. He waves his arms around and conducts flame and debris in the air. Swirling it above him. “I want him.” He growls. With more cries as his response, he slams the flaming debris on the crowd. Before he was about to push another wave of debris, Patrick clasps his hands together and all things pull onto that point. Leaving the crowd to run behind him and finding another exit route.
The telekinetic tries to pry the block apart but to no avail as Patrick tightens his grip. The telekinetic instead brings down the glass and stone from the surrounding buildings on him. Patrick uses one hand and uses a gravity pull on himself to evade the oncoming debris.
“What’s your problem, What did Stamford do to you?!” Patrick barks.
“Henry. Tell me where Henry is.” He demands.
“These are honest and good people. You don’t have to hurt them. And Henry-'' Patrick slams face-first on the ground. The telekinetic waves his hand to the side and off goes Patrick. He turns his back to continue his search but Patrick crawls out and pulls him back by his side. He then clasps his hands to hold him in place. His arms shake after that slam to the wall which gives the telekinetic an opening to gesture his hands to make Patrick open his arms. Telekinetic gestures his hands to tear him in two but Patrick quickly hugs himself which pulls everything to him, disorienting the telekinetic. Patrick clasps his hands together and forms a barrier that is large, wide, and thick to buy him some time to escape.
He makes a break for it as soon as he finishes but he stops and hears the cracking of concrete and the tearing of metal behind him. The telekinetic passes through the gap he made and has had enough antics, holding Patrick in place while floating him towards his direction.
“Where?” He growls.
Patrick attempts to close his hands but nothing is working.
“I want that lying fuck. Now.” He makes his final demand.
“Stamford… is where we help each other,” Patrick utters. “And you…you’re just a murderer. I don’t know what Henry or Stamford did to you but if you think that this is right, then maybe you don’t deserve to be here!” Patrick yells.
“On the contrary. We very much deserve this. We will not be rejected by another man's greed. No. This time we will not be ignored.” He states.
Patrick’s body jerked tightly. The telekinetic threw Patrick a few blocks in front of him and proceeded in his search for Henry. Patrick soars through the air and braces for his impact. Crashing onto a building. He crawls out and finds Manny and Lily.
They’re lying on the dirt, side by side, with cuts, bruises, and murk on their bodies. Manny’s back has holes, leaking blood on both sides. Lily’s skin looks pale and dry like life was sucked out of her. The two who did it aren’t far. One has long claws retract from her fingernails while the other holds a civilian by his throat and drains his color out of him.
Patrick crawls to Manny and Lily, holding them close.
“Please. No more.” He utters. Holding the two tighter, with flames growing engulfing every building now. Stamford once stood in unity has now fallen by the wrath of those who were rejected. Leaving the innocent to suffer.
Like 2018, everything will just be a mass of confusion, sorrow, and rage.
“No more.”
The hole grows out of his heart and out of the body. Covering Patrick in infinity. The hole continues to grow as nearby buildings, trees, and flames are taken by its pull. The ones who killed Manny and Lily looked behind them and see a large semi-spherical object growing. They panic and flee the scene.
No one. Not the telekinetic. Not Mayor Henry. Not the civilians or the terrorist realize that in that instant, an event horizon pulls and deconstructs them at an accelerating rate. All that was Stamford is now being taken into Patrick’s growing, empty heart. A moment ago, Stamford was ablaze. Now, there is Patrick. With Manny and Lily no longer in his arms.
Cold, quiet, and dark. The moonlight shines in what was Stamford. Dirt that goes on for miles until it reaches a forest. And at the center was Patrick Bayer, sitting still in place. He turns to gaze at the only light that remains.
March 3rd, 2016
1:13 pm
“It’s AIDS.” The doctor informs them. “She has two years, at best.”
“Can’t you do anything?!” Patrick cries to him.
“We could sustain her here for the time being. But, what we do won’t stop the spread. I’ll leave you two alone. And I’m sorry.” He walks out of the room to give them a moment. She takes Patrick's hand and he’s trying to hold back tears. He thinks that he should be the one holding hers.
“I’m gonna drop school. And work as many jobs as I can. I can help give you more time. I-”
“No.” She stops him.
“Why not?!”
“School is too important. You can’t drop out now.”
“Fuck School!” Patrick yells. “This is, if not, more important than school!”
“I can’t… I can’t risk it. Not now. Not ever. And not with you.”
“Why?”
“It was college. I was a pretty good student. My parents didn’t have a lot of money so I thought if I could go to college and get a really good career out of it, I can give myself and my family a better life. Until I met your father, Dan.” She pauses. “He was such a macho. Big, strong, handsome. Stupid at times but funny in his way. And he loved me like no one ever did. God, you are his son.”
“What happened to him?”
“Dan wanted to make the world a better place. He joined the Army and went to Afghanistan. For two years I waited for him to come back. I got a folded flag instead… My parents passed soon after. And all I had left was you.”
Her voice cracks with tears running down her cheeks. “You were so young, you probably don’t remember. But you have his face, Patrick. And you have his heart.” She broke down in tears and we embraced. But she wasn’t finished yet.
“After we buried him. I tried going back to school but I didn’t have the money to go back. I tried finding some work but there were not a lot of options…That’s why I need you to stay in school, to know as much as you can so you can live happily and healthy because I didn’t. Please.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“I know you will.”
“I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too.”
For two years, he pushes himself for her. And nothing’s going to stop him. He believes that he can try to do something. Anything to keep her alive.
Two years later. She was gone.
Patrick Bayer graduates with a bachelor’s degree in English at age twenty-three. But it doesn’t matter. Not anymore. He still works and lives the life she wanted for him. Even when he didn’t want to. She was his world, his light, and his purpose. Now there's just nothing.
2024-????
??:??
The time has come for all to ascend. The stars rise and glow in their unique design, with it being at the center of them all. Then there was Patrick, who didn’t glow like the rest. Instead, he pulls the light into his formless void of a body. He watches as his world burns by who knows what anymore.
And when the burning ceases. One by one, everyone eagerly went their separate ways through infinity to form their new future. Patrick on the other hand only drifts. There was no need to reach speeds of light and sound. No rush to get to the next destination. No place to call home.
For every planet he did go to, they all crumble and dissolve into him. And back to drifting wherever the force of gravity may pull. Then there were the many suns that can no longer shine on his face no matter how hot they burn. They too were taken and dissolve into him.
The least he could for what is now humanity and all life that resides in the universe is to isolate himself. Avoid all forms of life and light so none can be taken away by him. To remain in the darkest, quietest spots out there. But if there is a chance. Just one last time before everything becomes like him.
An embrace by someone. Anyone.
