The Remainder of the Equinox

Chapter One

The white stretch of land looked as if it were to go on for forever. It was nighttime, yet the moon was covered by the never ending canopy of thick, gray clouds. Muddy snow and dirt clung to Zenyatta's shabby shoes. The air bit at his skin and throat, his lungs threatening to give out at any given moment in time. The snot running down his nose was surely frozen against his upper lip. His worn-down coat gave little to no protection against the wind that almost ripped it apart. Perspiration turned to tiny droplets of ice against his bald head. Autumn was turning into winter soon, and it was cold and unforgiving. He shivered so much his coat almost fell off.

But he continued.

If he kept following the icy road beside him, he would eventually reach his destination. All roads lead somewhere.

He had been walking for so long that he forgot where he was going. He knew he needed to at least get to the town over. Sure, he could have made a better decision to bring a bigger coat, but how was he supposed to know a blizzard would hit? He needed to focus on the present.

And the present had come with many problems.

He wheezed out a cough that strained his throat and made his ribs and back ache.

Zenyatta's spirits lifted when he saw the lights of the town. He picked up his pace in hopes of getting to his apartment as fast as he could. He could feel the warmth of his raggedy blankets already. Maybe he would put on some tea and watch the snow fall until he fell asleep.

The wind picked up, breaking his daydream.

Finally, he reached the edge of the town. It was almost empty, save for a few people running to their cars and shops for warmth.

Zenyatta heaved a big sigh and marched along. Maybe he should have just stayed in his own shop. Maybe he shouldn't have made himself walk all this way just to pay some minor rent. The buses would have been running by the next day or two at most. It didn't matter, anyways. He was almost to his apartment. The ground swayed beneath his feet but he paid no mind. He repeated almost there... almost there... like a mantra in his head.

He could feel his heart pounding. It was a resonating sound in his ears. His stomach felt as if it were devouring itself. He was sure his feet were blistered, since walking on them was like walking on fire. And God, was he tired. At least he stopped shaking so badly.

The lights slowly began to mesh together. He easily lost focus of what he was doing. The pavement was almost like liquid, and he found it hard to walk in a straight path. His vision was so poor that he bumped into a pole.

He was shocked when the pole spoke.

No, wait. The pole was another person.

"I'm sorry. I didn't see you." His voice came out wobbly, and the person didn't seem to hear him.

"...Did you say? Are... alright?" The person's voice did not register clearly with Zenyatta. The only thing that he could clearly see was a bright green mess of hair.

Zenyatta took a step back. He swayed back and forth until the the pavement finally came rushing up to him.

* * *

"Genji!" Hanzo's voice called from upstairs. "I'm staying over at Jesse's tonight, so behave!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Genji called back, not looking up from his old DSi. The beeping and exploding noises didn't disrupt his cat from his sleep. Mr. Shi snored contentedly on his lap, purring ever so slightly. His brother bounded down the stairs, buckling his bag.

"You know what I mean," he crossed his arms. "I'm serious this time. If I come home to find another drunken 'friend' of yours in my bathroom one more time-"

"Okay! Okay," Genji threw his hands up innocently.

"There's leftovers in the fridge, or you can order something if you have the money. If you need anything, call me." Hanzo swept a stray hair out of his face and shrugged on his bag.

"You and Jesse will probably be balls deep in each other, so I think I can handle myself," the younger brother laughed. Genji winced after a hard smack on the head was delivered. This startled his cat, and made him jump down and move somewhere more comfortable.

"We're just friends. I'm tutoring him," Hanzo said slowly. He turned on his heels and headed for the door.

Genji shouted, "You and I both know you're in love with him!" As the door slammed shut. He mocked, "Behave, Genji. Don't have fun, Genji," as he heard Hanzo's car pull out of the driveway.

Alone at last.

He soaked in a few moments of peaceful silence. Then, he hopped up and took out his phone. After placing an order to a pizza place near him he hung up and turned on his stereo. He flicked through the channels until he stopped on one that suited his liking. He turned it all the way up, then continued to dance throughout the house. Maybe just for tonight he would keep to himself. His friends were all either making out with one another or doing something mildly illegal anyways.

He shuffled through the stacks of movies inside the shelf under the television. He knew nothing good was on Netflix (he had checked that morning). He plucked a movie that looked the most interesting and slammed the doors shut.

After a quick run through of the cupboards and refrigerator, he decided he was in need of a couple of snacks. The house was almost barren of anything sweet or artificially produced. When was the last time they went shopping? He grabbed his jacket and keys and headed out.

When his feet hit the porch, he ended up slipping on ice he never knew was there. He landed with a thud on the ground.

How the hell did this get here? He thought to himself. It's only the middle of freaking November!

He studied the snow steadily climbing higher and higher. Sure, it got cold quickly here, but this much snow so soon? If he wanted to get home in time for the delivery, he needed to make the drive quick.

He went back inside to grab a real coat and his scarf. He then carefully walked to his car, started the engine, and promptly blasted the heat. The snow was pretty, yes, but he didn't like to be cold.

A few songs up the road, he pulled over to a little convenience store and dashed inside. The only people there were a little old woman and a bored looking cashier.

He skimmed the aisles as a boring elevator-esque tune played softly from the speakers. He spent a while trying to decide on what he wanted, but when he remembered his pizza was most likely being delivered at this moment, he ended up grabbing a random pint of ice cream and rushing to the check out station.

When he finally got out of the store, it was dark. He walked as fast as he could along the icy sidewalk. He tried to keep his balance as the wind made his scarf dance. The snow was coming down hard and fast.

He was nearly to his car when something bumped into him. Normally, he would aggressively tell off whoever it was, but he was in a hurry. "Hey, watch where you're... going..." Genji stopped and looked at the shrouded figure.

Genji couldn't tell if he was an really short old man or a freakishly tall child. The hunched figure was shivering violently. He was frail-looking, with dark circles engulfing his eyes. His lips were almost blue and his dark skin was flushed. His face was so thin and tired, Genji swore he could see his skull. Specks of some sort were littered on his forehead. His entire head was shaved clean.

The man stuttered something he couldn't understand.

"What did you say? Hey man, are you alright?"

The stranger stepped back, then promptly fell on his face.

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