Invisible Death

On Holy Ground

The graveyard extended till the eyes could see, the odd mix of small headstones, elaborate statues and even mausoleums disappearing in the horizon. It was a city of stone, of marble, white over the greenish brown of the dry grass under the young woman's feet. She walked down aisle after aisle, occasionally looking more closely as a name plucked a string in her brain, as a hieratic figure depicted someone she thought she had met in a previous life. The woman lifted her eyes from the plaque she was studying. The sky was overcast, but not with clouds of rain. They were clouds of smoke. Gone were the days when pollution was a ribbon in the sky far away, over the sea she could see from her bedroom window. Now, after the great crumble, everything was dirty, soot covered every surface. Gone were the days when the sun shone bright in a blue canopy. Now, it fought an inglorious battle to pierce the leaded clouds of smoke and vapor. The filth covered the earth, covered the marble statues, the concrete headstones, her dress, her arms, her heart, her very soul.

Lux Windsor had flowers in her hands. She looked down at the tomb by her side and read the name on the slab one more time. Connor... He was there and he deserved flowers. The small bunch of color made a garish contrast against the white tombstone. And on she went. Another tomb waited.

They were all there, not one was missing: Rahyll, Riley, Jax... Her people. And every other new mutant in the world, all were gathered there, all buried there. Lux sighed as she walked, approaching the main alley, final home of Shal, Brennan, Jesse and Emma, plus Angela, whose grave was graced by the figure of a soaring angel. On every tomb, she laid at least a blossom.

Down the main avenue, to the right of the cross that marked the center of the graveyard, the massive block of white Carrara marble marked Donna's burial site. Simple, unadorned, pure and unblemished, as if even the filth that covered the earth had somehow avoided it, respected it. It was, nevertheless, the centerpiece of the whole graveyard, as if the person there lying had been the first to fall and be taken to that site.

Standing next to the grave, an old man had his back to Lux. No matter, she knew who he was, even though he didn't look like the man she had met so many years before, not in the least. This version had long gray hair that reached his bent shoulders, the wrinkled skin of his hands was spotted almost totally brown, his fingernails so long and black they reminded Lux of Angela's talons. His usual clothes were dusty and unkempt, looking more charcoal gray than the usual black. Lux cleared her throat to announce her arrival and the man nodded, acknowledging her presence. Slowly, he turned to the woman and blinked a few times, as if his eyes were not as keen anymore. He nodded again, a small, sad smile in his thin lips. "Thank you for coming, Lux. You can't imagine what it means to me." He used Donna's grave to steady himself as he took a few steps in Lux's direction. Instinctively, she reached for his arm and held it, lending her support to a man in his nineties. "You haven't changed," he remarked, then lightly shook his head. "You can't say the same about me."

"Adam, I..." At a loss for words, Lux offered the flowers she had to the man. With a gesture, he indicated the grave and the woman knew what she was supposed to do. She scattered the flowers over the slab stone. All the flowers she had. All the great bouquet of lavender. The blue and fragrant flowers covered the tomb.

Together, the old man and the young woman turned from the graveside and, arm in arm, they started through the main avenue, stopping to visit the home of their long gone friends. When they finally reached the iron gates, they turned and the whole graveyard was spread before them.

"Don't let them come here. Don't let them build it. Don't let the world turn upside down, Lux."

The woman woke up with a start, a hand on her shoulder, shaking her less than gently. Her eyes took a few moments to refocus and she stretched to loosen the cramps on her back. So much for dozing off sitting at her desk with her head cradled in her arms. She brushed off the hand on her shoulder, grabbing it at the same time and using it to balance herself as she stood up from her chair. She stretched some more. Suddenly, a bout of nausea shot up from her stomach, flooding her mouth with a bitter taste.