A hardened man of his late forties, Drew's feet finally came to halt as he reached the door of the apartment. His hand reached out and gripped the rusted gold handle of the door and he began to pull. There was a thud as the door refused to open, and Drew sighed.
"I left the key in the door. Why do I keep doing this to myself?"
Suddenly, a voice seized him in the background.
"Excuse me, sir?"
Caught in the surprise, Drew turned around briskly and stared down the boy in front of him.
It was a young male, in late teens, maybe even young twenties. He seemed soft, less sharp than Drew. His jawline was less prominent, his face more optimistic and features less defined and rigid. He wore a simple t-shirt and jeans, and had a scruffy hairstyle -- making him seem frowzy and untidy in appearance. There was a certain thing about this boy that made him seem more innocent than the average person.
Innocence.
Drew smiled.
"You have my attention," he said to the boy, who then proceeded to inform Drew of his request.
"Would you happen to know where I would find Sarah Kelly?"
Sarah Kelly.
The woman who broke his heart.
Vividly Drew recalled her long, flowing golden blonde hair and her spontaneously indulgent romantic lifestyle. Something that he missed being in possession of deeply since the world went to perturbation. In his mind he still floundered on the biggest mistake he had ever, the slip up that tore his world apart, the day he lost the one thing that still mattered in his life.
A demanding desperation for quittance randomly came over him.
"I would, actually," Drew said in an uncouth fashion, "But why on earth would I want to?"
The boy smiled in an unsettling way that made Drew feel uncomfortable. "I'll make it worth your while," the boy promised.
"In what way?"
"I'll sort out your door."
"I can do that myself."
Suddenly, the boy reached into his pocket, and held out three $50 bank notes. Immediately, Drew's eyes gladdened in a way that made the boy repeat his previous macabre grin.
"Come on, kiddo," Drew announced, follow me, it's a bit of a walk."
Immediately, the boy shifted to the side to allow Drew to walk ahead and lead the way. Stiff legged, Drew jaunted forward forcefully. From behind, the boy watched his legs with interest in the peculiar way he moved. "You're walking looks stiff, are you okay?"
"Ain't none of your business," Drew croaked. Only now did the outstanding southern tone of Drew's voice become significant to the boy. "Alright then," the boy said, and hung his head low, watch as the ground slipped away from him. He watched the stained, dank scenery of wrecked buildings as they ventured further down the street. The sky was ashen and grey, lacking all kind of personality. The bricks of buildings were stained, sodden with moss and decay. All life was gone from this street, as with every other in the city, in the state, in the country, in the world.
This world they lived in was just one more planet it the universe to be sucked dry of life by those things. The demons. The fruits of Satan's finest engineering. Beasts of finest creation to do their one, sole purpose. To destroy. They were magnificent apparatus of terror and pain. Monsters that slaughtered, robbed, raped, tortured and devoured. Some were human, some weren't. The worse thing was that they were impossible to tell apart.
These streets were their playground. This world was their sandbox now. Now it was humanity's turn to play the mouse. Someone else's turn to play the cat. The constant sound of misery was ever present every street of this world.
There was a piercingly exasperating silence between them for a good few minutes before Drew turned round, finally cleared his throat and began to speak.
"Listen, kid," he began, "Uh... what's your name?"
"Elliot, the boy chimed.
"Right, Elliot," Drew explained, "This woman. Miss Kelly. We were in a relationship once. Before all this crazy shit happened. She broke my heart."
"Right," said Elliot statically.
"Do you know what it's like having a woman break your heart, Elliot?"
Elliot shook his head shamefully. "I wouldn't know what its like."
"Why not?"
"Don't worry."
"I'm sure a kid like you could get a girlfriend," Drew added convincingly. He scanned Elliot's picturesque crystal white face. He had dirty blond hair that was left in a bed head style and clean riptide blue eyes that were refreshing appearance. He had a trim build, and seemed frail and weak. But still, he would be attractive to any female of his age group.
"I could," he said, "But that's not the issue."
Confused, Drew sighed. He had no idea what this kid was getting at. With all of his esotericness, he didn't seem like the kind of guy that would be good in a relationship. Maybe that was the problem.
"I see what your problem is now!" Drew said, smiling, he slapped his, knee and opened his mouth to speak.
"Uh..." Elliot cut him off, "Can we talk about something a bit different."
"Sure," Drew said. "Let's see... hmm..."
"How about what's your business with Sarah?"
"Errrr..." Elliot stuttered, "She's..."
"She's..."
"She's my mom."
