Adeline

Chapter 11 - London Burns

Arthur's life, from when he was a child to the present, had been exactly as he had expected it to be. There had been some unexpected points, like his parents both dying. That was something that he hadn't expected to happen until they became grandparents, at least. Another thing was that very point. When he was a student and a bachelor, he expected to be married by the time he was 25 – that was what his parents and grandparents did. Going on 30, it wasn't uncommon, nowadays, lots of men devoted their lives full-time to their careers. That was something that Arthur liked to think he did, as one of the top financial lawyers in the country, he felt satisfied in his career. It was just something he hadn't expected.

Other than that, a lot of his life was planned already. Or, he had planned it out himself. From his birth, his parents had figured out what schools he should go to, what subjects he should study, when he should leave home, they had even picked out a firm for him to work at. Knowing that he would excel in his studies and projects for the simple reason that he was their son. It was simple genetics. Success was passed down through generations, and Arthur had exceeded at that. He had done everything that he was meant to do, and he knew that he will do everything that he had yet to do, in due time.

But now, everything had changed. He was dying, lying face-down in an ash covered street beside where the bombs had gone off, throwing the buildings outwards and hitting the people that stood on the streets. As he lost consciousness, he could hear loud bangs as bombs went off in other parts of the city. Where were the authorities? Why hadn't they got here yet? Perhaps the paramedics couldn't get to him, perhaps the hospitals had been bombed too. As Arthur lay there amongst the snow and debris, he began to lose hope until he had completely given up all together. In his mind, death would have been a blessing now, and rest was welcomed with a hand shake and a smile. He was so tired, and in so much pain, he supposed that it only made sense to fall asleep and forget about the havoc that was wreaked about him. The people screaming, the injured limping down the blazing streets, the smoke that billowed out from the bombs and swathed the entire city, making it near impossible to see much of anything at all.

The footsteps that ran both over and past him fazed out of reality and soon it was nothing but black. Survival, a hope that fluttered across his mind began to fade away along with him, and soon nothing of his surroundings remained in his mind. Arthur thought about his parents, what they must think. He knew that he would see them soon, and he would apologise for wasting so much of his life on waiting for something, or someone to come along and give him colour. He thought about his sister and what she was doing right now. Tomorrow morning she would be given the news that her brother was killed in the bombings of the previous evening, and he imagined that she would drop to the floor, placing her hands over her mouth and she would sob with no one there to comfort her. His sister. Arthur stirred uncomfortably, knowing that if he was gone, she would have no one. There was no one left in the family apart from her and she would be alone. He couldn't bear the thought of Celeste being alone in the world, and, of course she had her friends, but that wasn't the same. Celeste and Arthur had always been thicker than most siblings, so he apologised to her too.

As he was making his apologies in his unconsciousness, he suddenly felt something, heard something. Was this the other side? Was he going to see his parents, finally? Would he know what happened after death? He listened again for the call, and as it became louder, he noticed that it was a man. A man calling his name. Was it his father? Was it some kind of spirit? Arthur's eyes opened slowly and light flooded into them. He wanted to shut them again, but the voice became louder and louder and thus clearer.

"Arthur!" The voice called. Arthur felt hands on his shoulders, shaking him awake. It was all so surreal, it was like he couldn't feel anything at all. It was like his whole body had that static-feeling that you get when your leg falls asleep – so he could feel it but it was like his body wasn't his own. His eyes opened to see what was on the other side, but then reality kicked in. He wasn't on the other side, he was in the road, where he had passed out. A man sat in front of him, his eyes wide and white in terror and his dark eyebrows furrowed in seriousness. Arthur didn't seem to understand the urgency in his eyes – he still felt dizzy and confused.