Dead Clouds

Chapter 9 (1/2): Tkese

Everything began with a single flash. A solitary street light flickered until it ignited, illuminating a sidewalk bisected into several crumbling triangles of concrete. Following the first light, Nube City erupted into artificial luminance.

The Skeleton Man and Kiri viewed this moment from atop a surviving office building. A sea of city lights stretched out across the horizon. All surviving parts of the western end were touched by this soft glow of light. Behind the heroes, however, were the areas ravished by the stratus cloud. Instead of artificial city lights, the natural light of the moon and stars illuminated this decimated section of the city.

Dents and scratches marked the body of the Skeleton Man. A noticeable tear climbed up its purple cape. Seated on the roof's ledge, legs dangling in the open air, memories of the long battle replayed in the hero's head.

Only the top of Kiri's shoes were visible. Everything above was cloaked in his dark attire. His hood fell over the top of his head partly covering his eyes. Both of his arms were housed inside of his large sleeves as he crossed his arms. The stranger stood behind the seated Skeleton Man.

"This is a beautiful city," started Kiri, admiring the gorgeous view of the skyline, "I understand why you went to such great lengths to protect it."

"Not all of it," said the Skeleton Man.

Looking back wasn't necessary. The amount of destruction behind them still stuck to the back of their minds. Millions of dollars of damages. Hundreds of hours of repair. After the people spent an entire day cleaning-up the western end, they would now have to address the area between the central and western part of the city.

For Gold, the taste of victory was sweet in the jaws and sour down the throat. His immediate jubilation distracted him from the consequences of his war against the gods. This was simply another battle. Other clouds would come, and the city would suffer once more. He knew that the war had to end. But how could he end a war that started with him?

"Thunderstorms are normal. Hurricanes are normal. Earthquakes are normal. These cloud attacks aren't normal," said Kiri.

"We can't keep referring to them as scientific anomalies, if they keep happening," said the Skeleton Man with a sigh, "At some point they just become normal."

Kiri paused in agreement before continuing, "Everything in life has an origin. The arrival of the stratus cloud follows the cirrus cloud. But what happened before the cirrus cloud? What made the gods angry enough to attack their own worshippers?"

Radius understood the Fog's assessment as basic science. Cause and effect. It wasn't necessary for him to ponder about the cause of the cirrus cloud, however. He knew the answer to that question. The death of Gold was the cause. Deep inside, he also knew that the cause of Gold's death was his inaction. In which case, he was the origin point.

But he quickly refused that thought. There were causes to his inaction and causes behind those causes. It dawned on him that the search for an 'origin' was endless. The chicken or the egg paradox. He reasoned that looking forward--not backwards--was in the best interest of all parties.

"We'll have time to hash those questions out later," said the Skeleton Man as it rose, "For now, let's focus on you. What exactly is a Fog?"

Violent coughs and tossing stones interrupted the Skeleton Man. The two heroes on the roof stared down at two shapes surveying the destruction. One held a bulky camera over his shoulder, while the other scurried around clutching a microphone.

"The lightning strike had to come from here! Now, where's the Bone Crusader!" yelled Reporter Wallace.

He wore an expensive gray suit dampened by rain water. The stainless silver ring on his pinky glimmered as he pulled out a pink cloth from his breast pocket. Rage swelled within him as he dried his face with the wet cloth.