Sparks and Bullets

Memories

We walked out the alley, hiding in the crowds of commuters and headed for a nearby taxi stand. Judging the flow of the crowds, we picked our moment and got in one of the many taxis.

"Take us to Artimas Drive." I ordered the robotic driver

"Route confirmed, setting off." It replied in a very primitive robotic voice.

We set off through the city traffic moving incredibly smoothly along the cross grid roads. Soon we broke through the skyscrapers and tall flat blocks, reaching the roads that snaked through quiet suburb neighbourhoods.

Eventually we reached a ghostly street. Street lamps that had lit the way up the road were no longer working and Potholes dominated the road making it look like something from a post-apocalyptic film.

"That will be 1300 chips please." The robotic diver requested. I reached for my badge to pay.

"Wait best not to leave any trail. We will need a day to prepare." Sparks said, reaching over to the driver and frying it with his lightening.

"let's go, lead the way."

As I stepped out of the taxi, the weight of my memories beared down on my shoulders. We passed the shells of my neighbour's homes, all empty and bordered up, as we slowly walked up the street.

All too soon I stood frozen in front of my home. The large mansion peered over me like an angry parent. Weeds had climbed up its walls and through the windows. The old door was still smashed in half and laying at the entrance, just like that day.

"Is this the place?" Sparks asked. I could only nod in reply as speaking would cause a rampage of tears down my face.

I forced myself forward walking one step at a time, towards the front door. Each step was harder than the last until eventually my feet refused to move. Giving up I walked around to the back of the house, slumping onto a rotten bench in the back garden. Looking up I faced a broken swing that was barely hanging on to an old dead tree, Memories rushing around in my head.

A memory of my mother sitting on this bench watching me play with my brother, weighed my head down. No longer able to hold it up, I let it collapse to my lap.

Sparks silently sat next to me in an effort to support my struggle. I lifted my head up, tears now unstoppable, streamed down my face leaving a bitter taste of makeup in my mouth. I breathed in, preparing myself to face the memory, and explained.

"It happened a long time ago now. Back when this country had only just been formed, so a lot of bad things happened.... terrorism, kidnaps, murder, skirmishes with the army and police force, those sort of things happened all too often. But not here."

"I remember we were playing in the living room, when someone broke the front door down, cutting it clean in two. We rushed out into the hall to see what had happened."

"There were three of them. They walked in as if they owned the house, staring at us with such hatred, such evil in their eyes. I wanted to run but I was so scared we both were."

"Then my brother stood up and shouted go away! I remember pulling at his clothes trying to get him to run but he wouldn't. He stayed firm, arms spread out as if it would scare them away."

"One of the men then just smiled. His arms stretched towards my brother with a knife in each hand."

"My brother, he could make things from thin air, so he made two metal shields and managed to stop the man's knives, but then."

"I.." I had to pause for a second, swallowing some of the pain. "I heard a gunshot. I didn't know what it was at first, but when my brother collapsed in front of me I realised. Yet I still couldn't move, just watch, as the men walked over to him, and dragged him out of the house."

"I never saw him again. That's also when my mother started acting strange, treating me like a pet and never letting me out of her sight."

The weight of my memory slowly lifted as my tears turned into uncontrollable blubbering. The only thing I could do was to clutch onto Sparks who never spoke a word, just putting his arm around me.