Life in an Apocalypse

Chapter 6

     I looked back at Marge in confusion. Project Zephyr? I had never heard of the thing in my life. "Sorry, I don't have a single clue about that. Honest," I replied back.
    "I see," was her response. 
    "If you don't mind me asking, what is it? Project Zephyr, I mean," I asked tentatively. It seemed really serious to her, too. I wonder if she had some history with this "Project." Her expression remained the same; I thought that she would give me a subtle reaction. She just stared back at me, unfazed, like a ream who retained their human reasoning. It freaked me out, honestly.

    "Project Z.E.P.H.Y.R," Marge began, "was a project that began a long time ago, way before the Catastrophe. Z.E.P.H.Y.R isn't an acronym, but there was a reference as to why it was called that way. It was meant to be an experiment to allow modern technology to evolve into a higher form that did not fear starvation, injury, nor death. It was an attempt of creating an immortal. A god." I swallowed hard. That little bit of information was a lot to take in. Moreover, it made me wonder why she would wish to tell me, only me. Why she would trust me with the secrets of Project Z.E.P.H.Y.R?
    "Just about one year ago from this day, I lost my entire family to an explosion that occurred in the outskirts of Las Vegas," Marge continued, crossing her arms nervously, "I didn't know at the time, but we were living right next to the facility with Project Z.E.P.H.Y.R in it. There was an explosion from one of their earlier experiments, and the next thing I knew, I was laying on the ground covered in debris with smoke as the only thing I could clearly see. My house was completely torn apart, and I was carried to an ambulance. I tried to ask about my family, but I had taken in so much smoke that all I could do was wheeze in an attempt to take a breath. I found out the next day that they were all gone. Never got to say goodbye." At this point I noticed a shift in Marge's expression. More specifically, I noticed her eyes begin to water. This was a very sensitive topic indeed. I almost felt like I was not supposed to hear some of the things she was telling me. 

    "I'm... sorry for your loss, Marge. I had no idea," I finally mustered out. I knew that I had to say something to alleviate the awkwardness in the air. She was close to tears, a sign of vulnerability that she had let her guard down in front of me and me alone. It was a sign that she trusted me with her life despite only knowing me for a short time, and I was grateful. "What was your family like, if you don't mind me asking?" I continued cautiously. Marge looked over to me, eyes red from struggling to hold back tears from the painful memories she kept close to her heart. I watched as she shook, trying hard to remain strong, and eventually crumble to the ground in a crying mess over her loss. I sighed and approached her, kneeling before her before embracing her. Right now wasn't a good time to talk about it, so I decided to leave it that way with my questions unanswered. Whatever Project Zephyr was in relation to me was something i decided to leave unanswered. I thought about how long she dealt with this inside and how she remained so strong throughout this entire mess of events caused by Project Zephyr. It looks like I'll have to look into this soon, I thought to myself. 

    Marge and I remained in the tiny office for about an hour in silence, with only Marge's quiet sobs occasionally breaking it. I continued to hug and comfort her as she slowly recovered and recomposed herself. I'll admit this much, I completely understood how she felt about losing her family. "I completely understand how you feel. About your family, I mean," I started saying, "You don't need to tell me about them now. Feel free to talk about them another time, yeah?" Marge stayed silent, but I could feel her nodding her head against my shoulder. I smiled, thankful that she was getting better, and just stayed there with her until she felt a bit better. What I didn't realize was that Cynthia had been sitting just outside the door sobbing as well, most likely having eavesdropped on what Marge had told me. It was when we came out of the office a little while later that I realized this. As Marge walked away from the office, I noticed Cynthia with her face to her knees, shaking. I was concerned, obviously, so I knelt beside her and began hearing soft sobs as well. I put two and two together, and decided to confirm it by asking if she overheard us. Cynthia nodded, muttering a soft apology.