I had walked home, the night time air was cooling and refreshing. As I was walking to the store from my home, I saw a small puddle on the ground from a nearby sprinkler. My short brown hair was in perfect uniform fashion, parted down the middle. I looked at my watch, it was eight PM. Even though I knew it was too good to be true, I still watched the sky waiting for midnight. I had already eaten dinner and was just biding my time till midnight. Under the pretense of going to the store for some ice cream, I left home for a bit. I had my heavy Sherpa coat with some jeans that I liked. Under the coat, I had my favorite T-shirt on. Under that, a thermal.
I don't know why I pulled on my favorite clothes, I guess the thought about having a wish possibly fulfilled made me want to keep my favorite clothes with me. After getting the ice cream and going home, only thirty minutes have passed. Up in the sky, it was still covered by clouds. I shook my head and walked home. Giving my parents the ice cream I went to get, my mother scooped it out and served it to us. Time passed and soon it was eleven. I waited in my room, watching the sky. When it turned eleven thirty, the cat from before appeared outside my window looking up at the sky.
“What ever happens, do you accept responsibility?” “If it makes the world less droll.” “You are quite the adamant child, no?” “I'm tired of a boring life,” I shook my head, “and plus, you're a hallucination conjured by my psyche to give me false hope.” “Is that so.” “Yes.” “Very well. Things are going to get interesting so I might as well bestow upon you the important part of your wish, the object that will embedded into you, your status as the hero.” the cats eyes glowed and a small jewel appeared on the windowsill. “For now, it does nothing. But once midnight comes, it will become a weapon suitable for a hero.” “Alright...” “You know, this wish, it is still you can still cancel it. I will refund the wish if you want to.” “No. I am quite happy with it. Even if nothing happens.” “Very well.”
It turned eleven-fifty-nine. “Come out the window with me.” I followed the cat, against my better judgment. I opened the window and climbed out. “Look, up in the sky.” I turned and looked up into the sky. The clouds were swirling, lightning lighting parts of it. A storm was coming. The moon revealed itself and around it, millions upon millions of tiny orbs appeared around it. “It's starting.” the cat said, as it turned to a soft mist and disappeared into the wind.
I continued to watch the sky as the orbs rocketed downwards. I couldn't believe it. My wish had actually been fulfilled. Thoughts of happiness, excitement and wonder paraded through my mind. It was amazing. The orbs began to rain down, I climbed up to the roof of my house and stared at the sky, clenching the jewel tightly in my hand. “This is... surreal...”
While I was atop the roof, a song began to play from an unknown location. I believe it was my neighbors home. “I see trees of green~ Red Roses too~ I see them bloom for me and you, and I think to myself, what a wonderful world~” the tiny orbs hit the world and waves upon waves of strange looking tides of translucent tides varying in colors zoomed across the world. When I looked up at the sky and noticed one of the orbs heading straight for my town, I got off of the roof. I threw myself to the ground as a shock wave shook the trees and my home was engulfed in a strange mixture of fire and electricity.
My body began to convulse, inexplicable pain shot through out my body. I tried to speak but it was too unbearable to even manage a word. I couldn't handle it, my body was in extreme pain and I wanted to scream. Managing to stand up slightly, pain caused me to drop to my knees. I opened my mouth, trying to muster a scream, when blood gushed from it. The jewel in my pocket glistened slightly and began to glow. It floated into the air and hovered directly in front of my heart. It pushed into my body, slowly, it felt as if it was burning through my body. I looked down and saw the jewel melting away my flesh and pushing itself to my heart.
I could feel it touch my heart, it cooled down extremely fast and then I could feel it growing. I looked down and saw the jewel growing out of the wound it created. It came out of the wound and then covered my heart and some of my chest. It solidified and then began to heat up once again. I felt it grafting itself onto my chest, I should have passed out from the pain, I don't know why I didn't, but I should have. After managing to live through it, I fell to the ground. “GRAGHHHHHH!” I screamed out loud, my breathing was labored as I stood up.
The pain before was excruciating but had all but subsided. I threw up all over the ground, most of it was blood but there was also some water and undigested bits of dinner, I recall there being a rather large piece of chicken there as well. Stumbling backwards, I put my back against the wall of my home. Looking around the corner, I saw the entire neighborhood had changed. Flora had covered most of the buildings. The streets were covered with vines and had been cracked. Stumbling forward, I opened the front door to my home. Inside my parents were hurdled together with my brother. “What's... going on?” I went over to them, they looked at me and saw the hole in my shirt. “Oh my god! Ace what happened!” my parents ran forward, “Take off your shirt son...” my dad said as he ran up to me, I took off my shirt and my parents screamed in shock. “Oh my god! What is that!” my father put his hand against it, “I don't know... It feels like... Diamond...”
I explained to the what had happened outside and they were shocked. I omitted the part about the cat who granted my wish. “God...” my parents held me close to them. “It's alright... Hey, listen, I have to go check on Alexis.” my father shook his head, “No, you're staying here.” I pushed away, “No. I have to go check on her, she's my girlfriend.” even though she wasn't the one who I really wanted to be with, it was still an obligation to check on her.
Running out of my home, my father tried to stop me. My brother on the other hand held them back. “Thanks man!” I said as I was running away, “No prob! I understand ya!” while I was running down the street, I wasn't really thinking about Alexis. Instead, I was thinking about what had changed, who the boss was, what I was going to be fighting. I made it to Alexis' home and kicked open the door, inside, I realized the house had been hit, hard. “ALEXIS!” I screamed, running forward. I ran up the stairs and up to her room, I banged on it. “ACE!” she screamed.
The door flew open and she wrapped her arms around me. Tears were flowing down her cheeks, “My parents their... their...” I looked in the room and saw her parents on the floor. The ceiling had collapsed on them. Her mother had a spike through the skull, her fathers body was split in half. I turned her around, “Don't look...” I held her close to me. That was what a boyfriend does, no? I rubbed her hair and swept her off of her feet. Going down the stairs, I went straight to my home. My parents were angry at me, but then I explained what happened to Alexis' parents.
“Oh... Oh my god... Alexis...” my mother said, rubbing Alexis' shoulders. “You can stay here for now, Alexis.” “No. Shit. She can stay here. I am not letting her go back to that house.” “You can stay in Aces' room.” And yet, my nickname still had not disappeared, even after the apocalypse. “Come on...” I put my arm around her shoulder and brought her to my room.
She sat down on the bed, weeping. “I want to check out what happened, alright, stay here with my family alright?” she shook her head, “No, don't go, please stay here...” I shook my head at her, “Come on now, I need to check out what happened.” I didn't really need to check it out. More like my curiosity about my wish was making me want to find out more. And while I might have seemed like a bastard, not caring about her parents, I couldn't really not hate them. To be honest, they were abusive pricks who got away with punching their child because she was so used to it she thought it was normal parenting. Even when I tried to tell her otherwise, she called me a liar and said they loved her. They didn't.
I left the house, my brother covered for me while I was leaving. Walking down the street, I looked at the new landscapes. People were walking out of their homes, distressed and scared. The cafe that Alexis and I had gone to before had been destroyed, a large crater had replaced it. While I was walking down the street, I saw my teachers home in the distance. Out of curiosity, I ran towards the home. As I was running there, that cat from before appeared beside me.
“Do you regret your wish?” “Not in the slightest. I'm... Quite pleased with it.” the cat laughed slightly. “You are quite the interesting one.” “Thank you... For fulfilling my wish...” “No problem... You might want to check on that teacher, Ms. Rosalyn Cross was it?” “What... are you talking about.” “Oh nothing, but I suggest that you hurry. I think the big bad just found her.” “...” “You wanted this to be like a game. Did you not? There is a boss for you to defeat. And once you get to that house, the plot line begins.” “..."
I ran towards the house, worried about Ms. Cross. If she was hurt, I was going to go ballistic. “This boy, he doesn't seem to regret the devastation much.”
