Armageddon: The Broken Man - ACT 1

Chapter 1 - Silence

Chapter 1 - Silence

>CADMUS LIDDEL

Everything is blank.

Blank eyes, blank silence, blank sheets, and a blank monitor, devoid of any vital signs. Everything, everything, seems to have died with him, brought down into the black holes of his gaze.

In case you're wondering, my dad died of a stroke while I was busy screwing around.

Slow footsteps echo in the corridor behind me, the sharp clicks of a pair of high heels. I stare dead ahead, too ashamed to say anything, not even a greeting, not even a little hello. We both know what we could have done, but I'm the only one who'll accept it.

She's still in denial, complete and absolute denial.

She stops and puts her hand on my shoulder, trying to reassure me, trying to tell me that it isn't my fault, something dumb like that. I look at her over my shoulder, to her blank pale face and black hair pulled up in a tight bun. Her eyes are soft for once, and she seems almost lifelike, unlike her usual mannequin-like expressions.

If you were expecting my mother, she hasn't even called yet. As far as I know, she couldn't care less.

The darkness of her eyes is like a mirror; a walking corpse in all black stares back at me, calling me out on all the things I've ever done wrong. I look away, back to the empty eyes, an exact replica of mine.

Death's mock sympathy is far too obvious when she speaks: "It's really not your fault, Cadmus-" I stand up and stare her back in the face. She stops, wide eyed, just as incompetent with predictions as ever. I swear, she can see right into my head, but she can't read emotions for shit.

"Do not," I growl, taking a step towards her, forcing her back. "Do not give me that bullshit." She clears her throat and begins a retort.

I cut her off before she can finish the first word: "We both knew full and well that possibility of this happening." I clench my fists at my sides and continue. "I was hoping you wouldn't pick him, but no," I pointed back at the corpse laying in the hospital bed behind me. "-you couldn't resist picking one of the maybe ten people whose deaths would destroy me."

"Cadmus, I'm sorry, but I didn't choose-" Death half-stutters, struggling to get the words out as I press her back farther and farther. I narrow my eyes to slits, and she stops.

"I hate you." I hiss, and she almost flinches as my tone wavers. I don't even care what she thinks. She obviously doesn't care what I think; she does whatever she wants, no matter what she'll cause. I step off of her and wipe my eyes with my sleeve.

I didn't realize that I was crying. She lays her hand on my shoulder again and I whack it off.

More silence, broken only by my ragged breaths.

Since I had managed to break my phone in a fit of rage, the only way I could communicate with the outside world was through a dated landline. I had held the speaker in my trembling hands for almost 15 minutes before I could decide who to call and tell what happened. I knew that I couldn't just bottle this up. I'd explode in a matter of minutes, probably at the worst time possible.

"Hello?" Her voice sounds expectant, as if she's been waiting for the call. She probably has; I took off without warning almost three hours ago.

"Hey Verena, it's Cadmus." She audibly sighs of relief at my voice and I continue. "If you're wondering why the hell I left so suddenly, the thing was-" I swallow heavy, all of a sudden having cotton balls shoved down my throat. "It was, uh, my dad."

"Well, is he okay now?" She asks, allowing an edge of concern slip into her tone. I hear her move to another room, probably to get away from the rest of the team.

I can't answer. I can't even open my mouth to try. I can only stare down the empty hall, right at the door that hides a dead body.

"Cadmus, are you still there?" Verena asks, almost scared.

"Yeah, sorry." My voice drops to almost a whisper. I don't even know if she can hear me anymore, but I just need to say something to keep myself going. "It's just that I'm kind of-"

"If you can't bring yourself to say it, Cadmus," Verena's lowered voice soothes. "-then you're not ready to. Let yourself get used to whatever you're dealing with, and ask me for help if you need it."

"I'm sorry, I just-" I inhale and lean against the wall, stopping myself. "Thanks. I'll come back sometime - sometime soon, okay?" I can imagine Verena making her adorable 'worried' face, and a smile spreads across my lips.

"Come back when you're ready." Verena rumbles, and we both take a deep breath. "I love you, okay? Remember that for me."

I can't help but smile like an idiot, despite the situation.

"I love you too."

She hangs up and I set down the speaker. Before even 2 minutes pass, I surrender to the oppressive silence. It rises in my throat, swallowing my only positive thoughts and drowning me in the emptiness beckoning my mind.

Death watches me from a mirror down the hall. Her chest heaves up and down, and her eyes are locked in mine. A cloud of moisture from her breath covers her face, and after a minute, she draws a short message with a thin finger.

I'm sorry.

She wipes away the message with her sleeve. Her eyes beam back at me expectantly, and the corner of her mouth perks up slightly.

I shake my head, and all the brightness in her eyes fades.