WHEN THE DARKNESS COMES I NICK CLARK

At The Crossroads

At The Crossroads

Lourdes stared unseeingly into the distance, whilst Nick sat on the kerb, holding a smoldering cigarette aloft with a shaking hand, threatening to drop it at any second. Traffic roared past, the world hurtling on, unaware it was on a collision course with cacophony. Lourdes pushed the hair almost absentmindedly out of her eyes, the gesture bordering on robotic, an automatic response. The dead were walking, and Nick now had blood on his hands, blood shed in her name, spilled so she would survive.

"Lo," Nick said, his voice cracking, "look at me."

Lourdes just ignored him, only hearing the sound of a single gunshot, the memory reverberating through the caverns of her consciousness.

"Lourdes," Nick said, something in his voice finally making her face him, "I'll – I'll take the blame – I – I take the blame now. But it was done for a reason, and you have to understand that." But he barely understood it himself, how he had done this, killing Calvin, his friend, his mentor, the one who had led him into the light, killing his pain with chemicals.

They had left Calvin lying in a crimson pool, blood breaking the banks of his inert body, Nick dragging a shell-shocked Lourdes away. Terror had driven Nick to Travis, his trembling fingers taking Lourdes's cell and making the fatal phone-call, Travis answering on the first ring. Nick had gave their locale, telling Travis to come alone, before cutting off Travis's torrent of questions, silencing him with the simple push of a button.

Nick took another drag of his cigarette, leg ticcing, feeling like he was freefalling through reality, withdrawal symptoms striking him all over again, the nicotine hit barely keeping them at bay. A horn honked, making Nick's head snap up, only to see Travis's truck slow to a stop at the side of the road, Travis and Madison piling out of the vehicle, faces white, the sight of his mother sending Nick reeling to his feet.

"I told you not to bring her!" Nick yelled at Travis, flinging his cigarette aside as the older man advanced on him, throwing off Madison's restraining hand.

"What the hell have you done now!?" Travis demanded, looming over Nick, who leant back, nearly falling over. "What's with the cryptic calls!?"

"Enough!" Madison cried, throwing herself inbetween them. "What is goddamn going on, Nick!?"

Nick just stared blankly at her, shaking from head to foot.

"Nick, baby, what happened!?" Madison demanded, grabbing Nick by the shoulders, forcing him to face her.

"I – I did it to protect Mother Hen, Mom," Nick whispered, "I – I had to do it."

"Do what?" Madison pressed.

"I – I shot Cal," Nick stuttered, his eyes going wide with almost wonder, "I killed Cal."

Madison looked up at the sky, half closing her eyes, almost as if she asking God for guidance. "Get in the truck," she ordered abruptly, grabbing Nick by the arm, Travis taking Lourdes by the elbow, manhandling the teens into the truck, their respective parents brooking no resistance.

As Travis kicked the engine into gear, Lourdes and Nick sat wedged between him and Madison, Madison talking ten to the dozen, trying to convince Nick that killing Cal was nothing more than a drug-addled dream. But Nick simply stared straight ahead, her words washing over him like rain, whilst Lourdes tried to stay lost, refusing to come back to reality, but the sound of Madison's voice sliced into her skull, cutting her adrift from denial, forcing her to face facts.

"The dead are walking," Lourdes said in a low voice, making Madison do a double-take.

"What did you say, sweetie?" Madison said, exchanging a worried glance with Travis over their heads, but he frowned, both him and Madison unaware of the unfolding chaos that was being broadcast on every news channel.