DarkWing (Final Editing in Progress)

Chapter 10 - Family

"Family." I used to care. That word used to actually mean something to me. But I wasn't me anymore.

He begged for his life. "Please! Please don't kill me!" When he fell to the ground, his wallet flew out of his pocket. It opened and emptied all over the ground. The cop didn't care, he was focused on me, but I looked. There was change rolling around, money blowing away in the wind, his credit cards and badge shining in the moonlight. But then there was more. There were pictures. Young girls, young boys, laughing, playing, and a beautiful woman. A house, modest but... But it looked perfect. A house that could easily be made a home. No wonder he begged, it wasn't for his own life, it was for his family. It took me back. I could remember.

I fell into the dark recesses of my mind. I woke up in a park. It was hot and sun was high in the sky. Had to be around lunch time. I got up and I began looking around. Children laughing, playing, dogs chasing balls and frisbees, footballs flying through the air, it looked... familiar. I was turning my head, and saw something in the corner of my eye, or rather, didn't see something. "My wings? Where are my wings?!?" Then I heard it.

"------" It was that ringing. The night my mom died. When her heart stopped, that sound, that screaming that came from the machine that had been just moments ago giving out that comforting beep reminding me that her heart was still beating. "------" There it was again. It came, and then went just as quickly. "------!!! Comeon! It's time to go!"

"That voice..." I thought to myself. "That's my..." I turned around and there she was. "Mom..."

"------!" She opened her mouth, and out came that sound, the sound of her death.

"What the-" I thought to myself as I saw a little boy run to my mom. "Wait a second... That's... That's-"

"------" I grabbed my ears. The sound wouldn't stop coming. My mom would open her mouth, and sometimes there would be her words, and other times, there would be her death. It cut at my ears for no more than a second, then would vanish. "You ready to go home?" asked my mom.

"Yes, mommy!" said the boy.

"That's... That's me..." I whispered to myself.

I blinked, and it was night. I wasn't at the park anymore either, I was standing outside of a house. It was a beautiful small house. White picket fence, a bike on the lawn, the whole nine yards. It smelled like it had just rained. I watched the house from the street. I could see clearly through the open window. That place, that night gave me a comforting feeling that I hadn't felt for such a long time. Then, I remembered why.

"Happy birthday to you!" I began to cry. "Happy birthday to you!" It was my last birthday with my dad, my 7th birthday, year 2075. "Happy birthday dear ------!" I grabbed my ears. "Happy Birthday to you!" I looked up as they finished the song, and slowly took my hands off my ears. I saw myself blow out the candles.

"That's not right..." I said to myself. "That sound... That wasn't... They didn't say my name... What... What was my name?"

"One thing never comes back..." I could hear Jinx's voice whisper through the trees, like an autumn wind. I looked around.

"Jinx?!?" I yelled. There was no answer. I turned my attention back to the house, and suddenly, it was day again, a bad day.

That black car was parked in front of my house, that black car that I will never forget. My mom was on the couch, and a man in a black suit was sitting across from her. "I'm sorry Mrs. ------." I covered my ears, but this time, not because of that sound. Sure, I hated that sound, but I was getting used to it. I covered my ears because I knew what was coming next. I watched that man's mouth move, and my mom fall apart. I was only 7. I wasn't old enough to completely understand. My mom called me from my room, I walked in confused, stared at the man for a second, then ran to my mom. She pulled me close and began to talk, "------."

I didn't even care about the sound this time. "------. Your dad. You're... You're not going to see him for awhile. Okay? It's not his fault. Stuff like this... It happens, okay? I doubt you really understand, but you will one day. Hopefully you will one day. Just remember one thing. Your dad was a great man. He was the greatest." I looked down, and started crying, and there they were. Through my tear-filled eyes, I saw the pictures again, the cop's pictures.

"Please! Have mercy, I'm begging you!" I was back. A single tear rolled down my face. I turned my head, and saw my reflection in one of the turned off television screens. My wings were back, but my eyes, they weren't black with blood anymore. My irises weren't even black. My eyes were back to normal, they were my old eyes. I turned my head back to the cop. He was looking down, his tears rolling off of his face and soaking his uniform. Then I looked at the pictures again. There was a little boy, blowing out the candles on his birthday cake, seven candles to be exact. I looked at the cop. "Cherish your family," I whispered. He looked up, but I was gone, just a whisper drifting through the trees, like an autumn wind.

"Family." The word that used to mean something to me. The word that still means so much to me. No matter what anyone says, I'm still me, I'll always be me. The so called past that is no longer mine has brought me to where I am. My past has created this present, they are inseparably intertwined. Although I can't remember my name in the past, I can remember the past by knowing my name now.

The cop looked around. He couldn't believe it, couldn't believe that I just left him alive. He looked down and started crying.

"Thank you..." he whispered.  He turned his head and wiped his eyes. When he did, he saw something in the corner of his eye. He saw a word carved into the wall, a name. DarkWing.