earth

chapter 10

                                                                                     *William*

"Dinner's ready," she called out, her voice echoing through the empty house. We scrambled to our feet, eager to fill our rumbling bellies. Following her into the kitchen, the aromatic scent of homemade stew hit us like a wave, making our mouths water in anticipation.

But our excitement was short-lived when she uttered the dreaded words, "make your own." Without missing a beat, she grabbed a purple plastic bowl and dumped some of the piping hot stew inside. My stomach grumbled in protest as I reached for the large spoon, ready to dig in.But before I could take a bite, Ava snatched the spoon from my hand, insisting on serving it herself.

"I'll do it," she said, her gentle voice bringing a sense of calm to the chaotic scene.Moments later, we all had bowls of Riley's infamous "stew from hell." The silence should have been soothing, but instead, it felt heavy and oppressive, like an unwelcome guest at the dinner table. We listened to the sound of our own chewing, each of us lost in our own thoughts.

"How did Riley and I meet, you ask?" Jason exclaimed with enthusiasm as he placed down his empty bowl. I scanned the room, unsure of who had posed the question.

"Not now, Jay. I'm thinking," Riley replied nonchalantly. With a lethargic posture, she slouched on the couch, indicating that she wasn't in the mood for storytelling.

"Come hither, my children, and I shall regale you with the tale of when I met the most radiant woman on the planet Earth," Jason persisted, inching closer to the edge of the couch.

"We don't want to hear your damn story!" Ava barked, and I couldn't agree more wholeheartedly.

"I do," I piped up. Ava's looked at me with furrowed eyebrows and narrowed, curious eyes

"Someone appreciates me," he mouths, as his eyes light up with a sense of pride that seemed to have been long lost. I sigh, feeling his words resonate within me as I look away from her and turn towards Jason. "I remember it like it was yesterday," he begins, his voice lowering as he delves deeper into the story, "I was ordered to kill a gang - usually I don't kill multiple people, but the money was good~"

"How good?" I couldn't help but interrupt, curiosity piquing within me.

"104 fucking million dollars good," He beams, his eyes Utopian as he sits at the edge of his seat. "I killed them all...and that's probably the best and worst decision I made in my life," he muses. "Because I went to prison for about- ... 3 months," he recalls, his voice heavy. "Before I was transferred to another prison to get executed...the night before it was time...My cell door just unlocked - I thought it was just loose but no..." his voice trails off.

He looks lost in memory, trying to recollect the events of that night. "I came up from the shit bed they provide for us...staring into the dark hallways...and saw everyone doing the same thing as me in confusion..." he continues, his eyes now serious. "It wasn't long before a riot broke out," he concludes, his eyes dimming as he leans back into his chair, lost in thought.

"Enough already," Riley snapped, cutting Jason off mid-story. I struggled to keep my eyes open, barely hanging on after the long day we had.