Telluric

Chapter XIX: The Clock Tower

XIX

With a loud bang the door opened. Noah's father stared his son down evilly, with blood on his hands and shirt. Noah's eyes widened, and he embraced for impact. It came like a raging bull, and Noah whimpered as his father threw more and more hits, until Noah was on the ground bleeding.

Darkness began creeping out from the closet as Noah's father continued a one sided fight with his son. Blinded by rage, his father didn't notice the shadows that were creeping up from him. His father was blind to the tendrils that were beginning to wrap themselves around his legs.

Noah opened his eyes in a blurry haze, setting them on his father, before closing them shut into slumber for the second time that day. The darkness crept up and morphed into a creature no human that could comprehend. Suddenly, Mr. Fitzgerald was consumed by the darkness as it wrapped itself around his neck and slid into his throat. This was when he finally realized what was going on, as the creature began to consume the life out of him.

Out of the darkness of the room came Death in his plague doctor attire. He watched apathetically at the scene, with Mrs. Fitzgerald, until the red on Mr. Fitzgerald's face turned into a royal purple. He slumped like a ragdoll as the shadows crept back into the closet. As the doors opened, Diego sped to Noah and sat by him, tears in his eyes. Death looked on and waited until Mr. Fitzgerald finally went to his side.

Looking upon him, Diego stared blankly at the inadvertent death he had caused. The melancholy grayscale and mute room stayed so as Diego stared, with Death and Mr. Fitzgerald quietly leaving the room as if nothing had happened. Mrs. Fitzgerald followed closely behind as well.

Time seemed to come to a halt, until suddenly Diego was pulled back into the palette of reality by Noah's sudden motion at least an hour later. The colors painted themselves onto the walls and universe through dips of atoms and particles, and Noah stood warily up to look at Diego. His head held in pain, Noah hugged Diego emotionally and the two stood there for however long they did. Eventually they made their way downstairs, only to be shocked into monochrome once more.

On the floor in a bloody heap was Mrs. Fitzgerald. Red was the only color that stuck out in the sea of gray, and the waves pulled them to her lifeless body. Noah stood soundless, and Diego hugged him as the sea continued to drip from his face.

After a while, Noah asked where his father was. He spoke in a gruff voice that Diego could not recognize.

"He's... dead." Diego's crimson eyes dimmed as the ocean of gray thickened into a fog. The red of the blood on the carpet provided a light for their subconscious minds to follow. What shocked Diego the most, through more of a subtle touch than anything, was that Noah cried equally for both of his parents. He spoke of his parents as a conjoined being of authority and guidance to him.

Diego felt a guilt creep up on him when he heard Noah's next words.

"What happened to them?" It was more of a rhetorical question than anything, but Diego couldn't shake the suspicion that Noah was sincerely asking the question. Shaking his head, Diego couldn't find any voice to answer. After the corpses were soaked with tears, Diego knelt by Noah and placed his hand on his back, closing his eyes. They stayed silent for a while, until Noah slowly got up and walked calmly to the kitchen.

Diego followed behind him and watched Noah glide down the stairs. He picked up the phone and dialed a number; 911. After asking them through a shaking voice to come to his residence, Noah hung up the phone and both he and Diego stayed silent.

It was a little while before men in black SWAT-looking clothing arrived. They decided to relocate the two boys to Carlos' residence for the time being until they could bring them in for questioning. They sped quickly to the dark car waiting outside the house, with moans and groans from the undead whispering in the distance.