The Esoteric Design: Disbanding Hope

by A. R. Crebs

  “Hey!” Troy called out.

  Aria turned about-face, smiling at the weak man who remained seated upon the ground. As the beaten and battered military generals spoke to one another about the next step in revitalizing civilization, Team Phoenix directed their attention to Troy.

  “You know what sounds good?” he asked, scratching his goatee. “A big, nasty, greasy cheeseburger from Chester’s sounds good. You think he’s open today?”

  Aria laughed as she approached him. “He’d better be!” she replied. “You owe me a drink!”

  "I Want It This Way"

  Chapter 24

  All was quiet in the room that was lit aglow from a string of tiny white lights that dangled from the apartment windows. Outside in the night, the flicker of construction lights blinked in alternating beats with the traffic signals. The colors complimented the holiday decorations that caked the tiers and balconies of the surrounding corporations and apartment buildings, a sight that Troy had only now noticed. He set his olive gaze on the window, his chin resting in his hand as he lazily yawned. For once, the silent peace was welcomed by the man. The past week was spent doing interviews and going to global meetings pertaining to the restoration process of the city-states. He barely had a moment’s peace and was enjoying the dull calm of Aria’s home. As he stretched, his spine cracked and popped, and he gave a loud groan as he eyed the digital clock on the upper corner of the kitchen window.

  “Hey! You ready yet?” he called over his shoulder, looking down the hall. “Everyone’s waiting at the bar, ya know?”

  Aria’s voice sounded from down the hall. “I don’t know why we have to go out tonight. I’d much rather stay here.” She gave a quiet exhale as she entered the living room, putting on an earring.

  Troy gave a smile upon her entrance. The woman paid him no mind and snatched up her coat. Her hair was treated, having a sleeker look than usual. Surrounding her eyes was dark liner and even some eye shadow, the kind that made her emerald irises pop. There was even a hint of blush on her cheeks and a touch of lip gloss. A tight dress wrapped around her body. It was black around her top and faded into a silver sequined bottom that stopped mid-thigh. Her feet dipped into tall heels. After slipping on her coat, she fussed with her hair, her long silver earrings tinkling together. Once settled, she finally noticed Troy’s stare.

  “What?” she asked, her voice coated with annoyance.

  Troy chuckled. “Nothing. You look nice is all.”

  Aria gave an awkward smile, her fingers fiddling with the buttons of her open jacket.

  Troy finally stood from the stool beside the kitchen bar. “And I have to take you out for New Year’s Eve, especially when you look like that.” He gave a snort for a laugh.

  Aria fidgeted some more, pulling her hair behind her ear. “Ivory made me buy some makeup the last time we were at the market.”

  Troy was silent a moment, his hand resting against the side of her arm. “Well…she has good taste in makeup. I’m surprised you knew how to apply it.”

  Aria slapped his shoulder. “I’m not completely hopeless when it comes to womanly things.” She smirked, swaying a bit. “Okay…I looked up a tutorial on my DNAIS.”

  Troy laughed, his eyes looking her up and down.

  “Shouldn’t we be going?” she asked.

  “I’m just looking at you. Give me a minute,” he said in a husky voice.

  Aria’s face warmed under his scrutiny. “You’ve got all night to look at me.”

  “And I plan on staring all night as well,” he replied. “And so will Kovacevic.”

  Aria rolled her eyes, giving a shiver. “You enjoy making me feel uncomfortable, don’t you?” she grumbled, turning to face him as he placed his second hand on her other arm.

  “I plan on taking as long as I like from now on to do the things I enjoy.” He leaned down and firmly pressed his lips against her forehead.

  Aria grinned. “And what kind of things are those?” she whispered.

  “Oh, you know…taking you out on dates. To places like the museum and the theater and whatever fancy cultured thing you want to do. Spoil you with things like fine dining and wine. Drag you with me to the club so we can work on your horrible dance moves.” He held her, and the two gently swayed back and forth in a slow dance. Pressing his cheek against hers, he clasped her hand. “Make love to you for hours on end. Things like that.”

  Aria gave a mocking laugh. “And where would you find all the time to do that?”

  Troy looked upward at the glowing white lights surrounding them. “In retirement.”

  Aria pulled away, looking at the man with a worried expression. “Retirement? You’re leaving?”

  Troy nodded slowly. “Yeah. And you’re retiring with me. We’ve done more than enough. We saved the damn planet and lost our lives a few times while doing it. I think we’ve earned our retirement. Been doing things like this for nearly our entire lives.”

  “Yeah…but,” Aria stammered.

  “No buts. You know Clarke would grant it,” Troy said. “Besides, there’s no more war! We’re out of a job anyway unless you want to be a part of the cleanup and restoration crew.”

  “And what would we do? Just laze around my apartment all day?” she asked.

  “I may still help out with things around here. Maybe I’ll pick up a job at Chester’s if I get too bored. Perhaps I’ll take up dancing. Who knows?” He grabbed her again, forcing her into an awkward two-step. “And you’re going to paint and make pretty pictures, and they’ll hang them up in the museums. Who wouldn’t want a painting from the world’s hero?”

  Aria had to admit; the idea did sound appealing. Still, she couldn’t imagine just quitting the violent career she had spent her life doing.

  Resting her head on his shoulder, she mumbled, “Could we handle that lifestyle?”

  “I thought that’s the lifestyle you were wanting. You know, living like normal people. We can go shopping, get groceries, fight over what color of drapes we should hang, and you can wake up next to me every morning.” He twirled her slowly. “Have kinky sex every night.”

  “That’s really all you want, isn’t it?” she scoffed.

  “Every night, with you? Hell yeah, I want that. I may even buy you some handcuffs…my sassy lil weasel.”

  Aria wrinkled her nose. “Since when were weasels sexy?”

  “Erm, I couldn’t think of any other animal off the top of my head.”

  Something white flashed by the kitchen window, catching Aria’s attention.

  “Cat?” she asked, perplexed.

  Troy gasped. “Cat! Why the hell didn’t I think of a cat? That should have been the obvious choice.”

  Aria slipped from the man’s grasp. “No! Cat!” She pointed to the kitchen window and then darted down the hall, her legs stiff in her tall heels.

  “Cat?” Troy looked over his shoulder at the window, then back toward the woman. Confused, he quickly followed after her. “Are you on hallucinogens?” he asked, strutting into her room.

  Aria was moving at an alarming speed as she tugged open the blinds to her window and then moved to slide back the pane of glass. The bedroom instantly blared with the loud sounds of the city traffic. A frigid gust of wind overtook the warmth of the room. Troy took a few more eager steps forward and then shook his head in disbelief. There was a cat sitting on Aria’s windowsill. The sill was barely as wide as the palm of her hand and stretched the whole expanse of the building. It was unbelievable the feline hadn’t fallen off the side due to the winds that swiped across the skyscrapers.

  “Here, kitty,” Aria anxiously whispered. She carefully reached out to the cat. “What are you doing out here?”

  The animal had long hair that was a strange mix of white, silver, and gold. It must’ve been a genetically enhanced breed. At Aria’s touch, the furry thing didn’t stir or fuss, but gratefully accepted her grasp and sank toward her, resting against her chest. Aria quickly shut the window and then twirled toward Troy.
The expression on the woman’s face was a rare sight.

  “Look at this beautiful baby!” she exclaimed, running her fingers through the cat’s fur.

  Troy eyed the creature suspiciously. It had vibrant blue eyes that seemed to glimmer in the dimly lit bedroom. The fur was extraordinary in a way that what little light there was reflected against it, giving it a surreal appearance. Troy quickly folded his arms, his lips twisting into an unsure expression. The cat smiled, closing its eyes as it loudly purred.

  “Really, cat?” Troy asked.

  “What?” Aria replied, confused. The long-haired feline moved in a way so that its paws stepped on Aria’s chest, and it gained enough leverage to press its head against her lips. Aria laughed, giving the animal a series of kisses. “I wonder who he belongs to.” Aria scratched the cat’s chin. “He doesn’t have a collar.”

  Troy glared at the cat, locking eyes with its abnormal glowing blue ones. “Guess he belongs to you now.”

  Aria lifted her head. “You think?” she asked. “No, I can’t. I bet he was someone’s Christmas present, and he somehow got out.”

  “So, we’ll hang fliers. If no one responds in a couple of weeks, then he’s yours.” Troy shrugged, finally moving to pet the animal. The cat accepted Troy’s touch and continued its purring.

  “Really? You think I should keep him?” Aria nuzzled the animal. It was the happiest Troy had seen her in ages. “Can I?” she hopefully asked.

  Troy shrugged. “Why couldn’t you? You’re an adult. Have a damn cat, Aria! You need one!”

  Aria giggled, hugging the animal. It gave a tiny meow in response. “Oh! What should I name him?”

  Troy cocked his head to the side, inspecting the animal’s strange characteristics. Dovian, Sorcēarian, angel, Ives, lizard. The words and correlations swirled through his brain and then he smirked.

  “Hector?” he asked with amusement.

  “Hector?” she repeated, bouncing the cat gently in a motherly way. The cat’s eyes enlarged, and then he bumped her again. “I think he likes the name Hector.” Then, the connection hit her.

  Aria stared down at the feline. With its silvery-gold hair, brilliant blue eyes, and aloofness, there was no wonder why this cat made her feel at ease. Aria held the animal tightly against her, scratching its neck.

  “Hector is a lovely name,” she sadly whispered.

  Troy moved toward her, placing his hands on her hips. “Does that mean I’m going to take the backseat to a cat?”

  Aria shook her lonely thoughts away, meeting Troy’s stare. “No.”

  “Good, because…as I was saying…before we were interrupted by the flea-bag…” Troy stated sarcastically.

  Hector meowed in a defensive way.

  “Oh, yes, you were mentioning handcuffs,” Aria snickered.

  “Hmm, yes. Get you a fun outfit or two….” Troy was silent a minute. “And then we can have chubby babies.”

  Aria’s amused expression quickly fell. “Have a baby?”

  “Yup!” Troy chimed.

  Aria lowered her head. Truthfully, she had been pondering about it lately, especially right before the battle with Sapphire. After she had found out she was pregnant, her heart had grown heavy with a strange feeling of love and fear mixed. The idea of being a mother was actually exciting to her, but would she be any good at it? The thought both thrilled and terrified her.

  “Aren’t you moving a little fast?” she asked.

  Troy laughed. “Is it too fast to think about the future? We don’t have to have babies now, but I expect my wife to give me children at some point.”

  “Wait! W-Wife?” She nearly dropped the cat.

  Troy’s trademark cockeyed grin spread across his face. “Yeah. Cuz we’re going to get married. I figured that was a given; ya know? We practically already are! We argue like a married couple. I eat all your food and drink your beer. I leave half of my shit in your apartment all the time. Hey! I’ve just been missing out on the best perks to being married–seeing you naked whenever I want!”

  Aria turned and gently set the cat on her bed. Giving a sly smile, she wrapped her arms around the man’s neck. “Marriage and babies, eh?” Hector meowed in protest and then commenced giving himself a bath.

  “Sounds much better than fighting until the day I get blown to bits,” Troy grimly muttered.

  “With me?” she asked.

  “Um…yeah.” He nodded quickly, his eyes wide. "Who else?"

  Aria giggled. Pausing to think only for a second, she finally gave one stern nod. “Okay!”

  Troy leaned back, eyeing her carefully. “Okay?” he asked. “That’s it?”

  “Yes! I would like that very much!” she said with a laugh.

  “Okay, then!” He laughed with her.

  They remained in the bedroom holding each other for just a while longer until another blur of white caught their attention. Tiny flakes were dropping from the sky, something that had never happened before in the City of Fountains.

  “Is that snow?” she asked.

  “I hope so. That would suck if that were nuclear fallout…” Troy mumbled.

  Aria laughed and grabbed the man’s face, kissing him tenderly.

  If the way she felt at that moment was any indication as to how she would feel in the future, Aria wasn’t going to question it. She knew life wasn’t going to be perfect; it never was. But not dwelling on the next mission, not wondering when she or Troy were going to die tragically in battle, relieved a sort of tension she had been holding onto for longer than she realized. No, she wasn’t going to question it at all. She wasn’t going to ask ‘what if’ but was going to live by Troy’s words—why not.

  And Aria did pretty well for the remainder of her life living by those words. No, things were not always perfect. She and Troy fought, and they fought a lot. When times like that occurred, she found solace in the company of her cat—a cat that Troy was desperately jealous of at times but secretly had his own moments with. The feline stayed with them for all their years, living far longer than any animal of his kind should have lived. Hector got to see Troy and Aria’s wedding and the births of both their children–a boy and a girl. The cat was around to ease Aria’s pain during the difficult time of President Clarke’s passing–a peaceful death due to old age. The animal lingered, becoming the playmate of the couple’s grandchildren and eventually their great-grandchildren and even their great-great-grandchildren. He was around to watch Aria and Troy grow old together. He remained by her side during the devastating time of Troy’s passing due to heart failure and stayed in bed with her for the entire week following until she finally passed at the old age of one hundred and fifty-four. She lived a long life. A life that she was able to claim was somewhat quiet and comforting and full of joy–a life that left her with very few regrets.

  Once all was done, and Aria and Troy’s bodies were laid to rest in the same beautiful cemetery that housed their previously passed friends, Hector finally took his leave. He was simply gone, with no evidence left as to his whereabouts. And he was never seen again.

  "Aftermath"

  Epilogue

  20,000 years earlier: O S.F….

  Watching Saturday cartoons was becoming a dull and painful process for nine-year-old Brody. Every station had some form of boring newscast. Where was his typical superhero cartoon? He had waited all week to find out whether or not Captain Brawn had actually died by the hands of the evil Lord Vice and his creepy monkey minions. The boy was slouching on the couch, a can of soda in one hand and the remote in the other. He heaved a tired sigh, his eyes only darting to the open window a fleeting moment as a harsh wind rushed through the trees, tossing the cream curtains about. Impatiently pressing the channel button again, he found the next station was, of course, another news broadcast. Something about this report, however, caught his attention.

  The video on the television was taken from a large naval carrier. Ocean waves splashed against the sides of the ship. Men in their uniforms scurried
to all edges, pointing and shouting while some gave orders. The camera jolted over the rushing crowd upwards to the sky. Zooming in, the camera fuzzed and blurred as it tried to gain sight of the strange dot in the clouds. Once focused, the video revealed a massive structure in the air. It was triangular in shape and seemed to be made of shiny metals. Brody sat forward in his seat, his mouth hanging open. The video condensed in size and replayed in the tiny corner of the screen as a female news anchor gave her report.

  “As recent events have tossed the world into disorder, and confusion plagues the nations, yet another bizarre event has occurred, this time taking place over the Indian Ocean. What was first thought to be a hoax recording of a strange unidentified aircraft hovering over the ocean waters southeast of the southern tip of Africa, has been verified as truth. Dozens of videos, all from different sources, have surfaced along the coastlines of that continent, providing more unexplainable evidence. Officials are reminding citizens to remain calm and to stay inside their homes until further notice. I repeat: stay calm and remain inside your homes. Previously covering a story on a recent oil spill, NCB News was close enough to get in on the action. Our team is currently onsite where we will be receiving live video coverage from our reporter, Scott.”

  The television switched to a live newsfeed, revealing a man wearing goulashes and a funny yellow hat. A rogue wave washed up against the side of the boat, crashing against him. He sputtered, holding tightly onto his microphone. Pointing to the sky, he led the camera to the sight of his angle on the strange airship.

  “We can verify that the bizarre phenomenon is indeed very real! For the past hour, that aircraft has reportedly been sitting in the air, not moving, not doing much of anything. As the entire world waits, we can only hope that whatever this is, wherever it came from, that it has peaceful intentions.” The man came back into camera view, his eye taking up nearly the entire screen as the cameraman struggled to zoom back out on his face. “It seems to be hovering. It hasn’t moved an inch. It has been quiet. We’re not sure how it appeared, as once we were on location it was already in place. We’re currently probing other sources to see if any militaries can confirm whether or not this is their aircraft.”