Phthalo Blues: Fragments

by Will Wallner

  Their home was a dumping ground for the colossal Capitol City; a place which they were forbidden to enter. They were left to wither away on their tiny island, drowning in waste. It was a brutal, uncivilized existence. Many gangs formed in an effort to survive through strength in numbers, but it was Larvos and Ryuu, who had managed to coalesce these small gangs into two large factions. The formation of these rival gangs was a great accomplishment for both leaders. To inspire a group of savages, to band together and fight for a single cause, took a special kind of leader. Ryuu and Larvos, were indeed special.

  Now Jet stood in front of this legendary man, for who she'd heard countless tales of heroism. This was the man who was rumored to have a plan, that would lead all of the people of Sector 13 to freedom. It was too much for her to handle, so she bowed her head, and avoided looking at directly at him.

  "Why are you looking down at the floor? Are my boots dirty? I'll have someone clean them right away." Larvos had experienced this sense of being 'starstuck' regularly from the people of Sector 13. He enjoyed the feeling, but tried to relax Jet's nerves, for the sake of his son. Larvos looked at Dylan and winked. Jet still bowed her head, unable to look up. Larvos tried a different tactic. If sarcasm wasn't enough, maybe acting childish would get the job done. He got down on his knees and looked up at her. "That's better, what a lovely face you have."

  "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to…" Jet panicked, embarrassed, and buried her head in Dylan's chest.

  "Jet stop being a scaredy cat, he's just teasing you!" Dylan laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation. "Father stand up!"

  "No, I like it down here." Larvos enjoyed this moment of silliness, a rare occurrence in Sector 13.

  8. THE FIRST DAY

  Valley Village

  Day 2 Month 11 Year 2033

  Black, infinite darkness. The void consumed him for all eternity. How long had he been adrift? Lost in the sea of black. Time had no meaning in this place. He couldn’t remember how long it had been, but in this moment, there was definite life in his body. All of a sudden, he was aware of his surroundings and was conscious. Surrounded by darkness, he called out into the unknown.

  "Where am I?"

  He heard footsteps, echoing through the cavernous expanse. They approached him, but as he looked down at what should have been his body, he realized he had no form. It was as if he was just a conscious mind floating in space, yet he could feel a hard surface beneath him, preventing him from falling into the abyss.

  "What is this?"

  Before he could really think about who he was, or recall any memories, the footsteps materialized, and a humanoid being was standing in front of him. It was hard to see its form in detail. It was out of focus, blurred by a purple mist. The figure spoke to him in a shrouded voice.

  "You're finally awake."

  The figure's silhouette appeared to change shape, transforming into a humungous creature, then back to a humanoid. The purple mist shrouded its true identity.

  "The final act begins now."

  He opened his eyes to see a white ceiling and a fluorescent light bulb. For some minutes, he just lay there, unable to move or even make a sound. All he could do was breathe and listen to the repetitive beeping sound of the heart rate monitor at his bedside. It wasn't the only noise in the room. A pretty sound, which brought the man comfort, filled the gaps in between the electronic beeps. It was a female voice. She was signing quietly to herself. The man couldn't see her, but she was close by.

  "Dah, dah, dah, some fresh water for your flowers. Don’t they look pretty?" Henna sung to herself as she tended to a flower vase in the hospital room. She had been watching over the man, while he lay in a coma, for almost two years. The hospital room where he slept, had become her second home. She made sure there was always fresh flowers and that the room was kept clean and tidy. There was never a spot of dust anywhere to be seen. Henna even bathed and shaved the man. She took care of his every need. On this day, she had gone to the hospital just to perform some minor cleaning and check in on her patient. After filling the vase with fresh water, she returned to the sink to discard the excess. As she walked across the room, she noticed something was wrong. She froze in complete shock. The man was watching her.

  "AHHH! YOU'RE EYES ARE OPEN!?!?!?!" She screamed, as she dropped the water container onto the hospital floor. Henna panicked, paralyzed by conflicting thoughts on what she should do next. "Clean up the water, then run and tell my mum. No, tell my mum first, then clean the water. Maybe I should check him first by myself?" Henna stood there, watching the man, waiting to see any other signs of life. The man groaned. "He made a noise!"

  "Can you hear me?" Henna nervously spoke out loud to the man. She'd spent countless hour by his bedside, reading to him, chatting to him, but this was the first time she was actually speaking to him. The man just lay there, he was unable to move, but he could hear her, and understood what she had said. All he could do was make a slight groan, as he exhaled air from his lungs. He did so, in response to her question. The noise was like a jolt of electricity running through Henna's spine. "Was that a response to my question?!" She forgot about the water and dashed towards his bedside. Henna stood over his body and was finally able to look into his eyes. "My name is Henna. You're in a hospital. Do you understand me?"

  The man looked up at Henna. Her presence was soothing. He understood what she was saying, but it felt like the words were jumbled up in his mind, as he tried to form a response. After a moment, he realized he could nod his head.

  "Yes! You understand me?! Did you just nod your head?" This was like a dream come true for Henna. She couldn’t believe her patient was finally awake. She should have gone immediately to get her mother, who was the head doctor at the clinic, but the excitement was too much for her. "I've been taking care of you for the past two years. We found you at the beach, not too far from here."

  "Mmmm…" The man tried to speak, but all he could muster was another groan. "Mma…Mma…"

  "Keep trying." Henna could tell he was trying to say something. For all she knew, he spoke a different language. "Take it slow and try again."

  "Mo…Ma…Me…." He let out a gasp of frustration. He could feel what he wanted to say, but he couldn't make the words leave his lips. The signal from his brain was getting lost. "Har…Harje…Hen…"

  "Are you trying to say Henna? That's my name." She pointed to her herself with over exaggerated hand movements, as if she was communicating with a child. She wanted to believe he was trying to say her name. "Repeat after me, H-E-N-N-A."

  "Haaaar…" He shook his head. "Moooahh… Moooj… Moj… Moja. Moja!" He finally made the word he'd been trying to say. "Moja!"

  "I don't understand. What does that mean? I think I should go get my mother, she's a doctor, she can help you." Henna worried the man might need medical attention. He smiled at her and took her hand.

  "Don't worry, I'm fine. Thank you, Henna." He laughed gently, as the fog cleared in his mind. In the blink of an eye, his senses returned, and he could speak freely. "Where am I?"

  "You're in a hospital, well actually, it's a medical facility. It's not big enough to be classed as a hospital. You're in Valley Village. Do you know where that is?" The man still held Henna's hand, but she didn’t pull away. She liked the feel of his skin, touching hers. She was a teenage girl after all.

  "Valley Village?" The man thought to himself if the name sounded familiar. There was nothing. As he searched his mind further, he realized it was all missing. "I don’t know where this is." He looked around at the room. Nothing seemed familiar.

  "Not to worry, it's a small village on the western side of Middle Continent. Not many foreigners know about this place. Where is it that you come from?" Henna thought the man was referring to Valley Village, but he was referring to something much bigger.

  "No, I mean, I don't know where I am. Wait…" He searched deeper in his mind. The further he reached; the larger the void expanded through his mind. "Who am I?"

  "
You don't remember?" Henna grew concerned. "I'm sure it's just a side effect after being in a coma for two years. I should go get my mother, she will help you. Don't worry, I'll be right back."

  "Henna, please don't leave me." The man didn’t understand, but for some reason, he didn’t want her to leave. He felt as if he genuinely knew her, even though he didn't know himself. She was a familiar presence, that brought him comfort. The idea of being left alone terrified him. He held onto her hand as tightly as he could.

  9. WAR ORPHANS

  Valley Village

  Day 30 Month 1 Year 2035

  The two children circled each other again, and again, kicking dirt into the air, as a cloud of dust followed in the wake of their trampling feet. The sound of laughter echoed through the orphanage playground, as the boys joyfully played together for hours upon hours. There were two adult observers keeping an eye on the playful children. It wasn't uncommon for the 'play' to get out hand and become too rough, especially when that child was involved. He would allow his innocent childish spirit to take full control of his body, and lose himself completely in the act of play. Before too long, he would push whoever his partner happened to be, a little too far, and it would often end in tears. That was what Henna wanted to avoid.

  "He's gonna make him cry again." Henna spoke as if she was already planning on how she would cheer up the poor child.

  "Why don't you stop them before it gets too rough?" The man asked.

  "Then he'll never learn to control himself. He has to know when he's gone too far. He's a good kid, just a bit rough around the edges." Henna smiled as she watched the children play. As much as she wanted to follow in her mother's footsteps and become the village doctor, she had a passion for looking after children. It seemed from a very young age, Henna had a motherly instinct. This instinct blossomed when Tiberian war orphans were sent to Valley Village, but it first appeared a few years earlier, when she had to look after someone else.

  "You really care for them, don't you? I can’t even remember their names, who is that kid?" The man watched as the young child pinned down his play partner.

  "That would be Taz, and the little one who's pinned to the ground is Malcom. They arrived not too long ago. It's the same for both of them, their parents were killed, and they had no other family left to look after them. I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like. Tiberia seems like a million miles away, it's so horrible what's happening." Henna sighed.

  "I just don't understand. This place is so strange to me. On one side of the continent, is a peaceful paradise, but on the other, an entire nation is burning to the ground. What are they fighting for? It's so crazy." The man was still learning about this world. He had no idea how any of the politics related to the nations on Eros worked.

  "It's easy to forget, while we live in our quiet little village, but we won't be able to ignore the war for much longer. These children will keep coming. I'm glad we are able to help in any way we can." Henna wore a brave smile, as she watched the children play. "How are you? I feel like I haven't seen you in weeks. Are you settling into your new home?

  "Yeah, the cabin is great. It's even quieter up there than in the village. I find myself easily lost in my thoughts, but still unable to remember anything from my past." He looked down at his feet.

  "You know, at this point, it's likely you'll never remember. Maybe it's time to just start living as a new person? She softly lifted his head and looked into his eyes.

  "I wish I could. It's like, there's a splinter in my mind. I can feel it, constantly. I need to find a way to pull it out. Then I'll be able to move on." He couldn’t take the pressure of her gaze, so he turned to watch the children instead. Henna knew what this meant.

  "I don’t understand, there's nothing medically wrong with you. We did all the tests." She also turned towards the children, doing her best to suppress her emotions.

  "This isn’t something medical. It's a problem within my soul, not my body. It's hard to explain, but there's something not quite right." He didn't know how to explain the chasm he felt within.

  "I'm sure you'll figure it out." Henna said softly.

  "It's nothing, don't worry about it." The man didn't want to share too many details of the strange visions he has started to experience. "I think it's time to step in and breakup those two. It looks like it's getting too rough."

  "Taz! Leave Malcom alone and come here!" Henna screamed at Taz, who had pinned Malcom down to the ground. Taz looked up, as if he didn’t understand why he was being singled out.

  "Don't worry, miss! We're just play wrestling, we're having fun, right Malcom?" Taz looked at Malcom with a devious stare.

  "He's lying! He said he was gonna show me why they called him the 'Crazy Dragon Warrior'. He's gonna use his finisher on me! Please save me!" Malcom always panicked when Taz was getting too rough and would run as fast as he could to tell Henna. Luckily for Taz, Henna knew Malcom was overly sensitive, but still, she had to step in to prevent Taz from getting too carried away. She approached the two troublesome boys.

  "The Crazy Dragon Warrior? Is this for real, Taz?" She put her hands on her hips.

  "It's true! I used to be a wrestler back home in Tiberia. I was the champion! I'm undefeated." Taz flexed his nonexistent muscles.

  "He's lying! He always makes up fake stories to look cool. He's just trying to impress you miss, because he loves you!" Malcom had a devilish grin on his face as he revealed Taz's most embarrassing secret. Sometimes Malcom would get back at Taz in his own way.

  "I'm gonna kill you! This is my finishing move, you won't escape!" Taz grabbed Malcom's arm and twisted it as hard as he could.

  "Taz, let go this instant." Henna stepped in and physically removed Taz from Malcom.

  "Don’t worry, it didn’t hurt. He's just trying to act tough to impress you, right Taz?" Malcom sat up and giggled.

  "You won’t get away with this!" Taz's face went bright red, as he turned to Henna. "Malcom's just making up lies because he was beaten by the legendary Crazy Dragon Warrior." Taz then leaned in close to Henna and whispered. "To be honest, I was going easy on him, because I felt sorry for him. If I wanted to, I could have broken his arm."

  "I'm sure you could have, but Taz, that's not a very nice thing to do, even if he did say mean things to do." Henna whispered back at Taz. "Now can I leave you two alone to play nice? I'd like to get back to chatting with my friend."

  "Who is that guy?" Taz looked over Henna's shoulder at the man who stood a few feet away.

  "He's just an old friend. He lives here in the village, but he doesn’t get out too much." She waved at him.

  "Are you jealous Taz?" Malcom stood up and continued his merciless assault on Taz's crush.

  "Jealous? That guy looks like a weakling. I could beat him any day of the week, and twice on Sunday." Taz puffed out his chest.

  "Awe Taz, don’t act so tough. He's a nice guy. I'm sure he'd like to meet you. Why don't you and Malcom come and introduce yourselves?" Henna led them to the man, who watched from a distance.

  "Taz and Malcom, say 'hi' to my friend." She guided them to stand in front of the man.

  "What's his name?" Taz asked, looking very unimpressed.

  "He doesn't really have a name yet. You can just say hello and introduce yourselves." Henna grinned and winked at the man.

  "Weird, well sorry to hear you don’t have a name, but you can call me dragon." Taz lifted his chin and stood like a super hero.