Sub Terra: Et Reditus

Four

Devi

The moment we entered the backyard, the energy was high. So many friends I didn't expect to be there, as well as some who I knew would come to a party of that sort. The fresh summer heat empowered us as we had the time of our lives. But alas, the night wouldn't stay young forever, and most people had already left by 2 AM. By then, the only ones left were Gus, Mrs. Martino, Nani and a handful of Alana's colleagues. Not long before we left, I met up with Gus.

"Hey, D, how's it been? I know I congratulated you when you walked in, but I didn't get the chance to talk to you properly." He said, getting up from his seat as his mom continued to stare at her Screen, not noticing our conversation.

"It's been alright for the most part, thanks for asking. I haven't done anything besides studying for the last month. I think I'll start catching up with Daniel after tonight. What's going on with you?"

"Ah, nothing much. The school year ended a couple weeks ago, so I'm just gonna chill for the next month and a half."

"Oh, sounds fun... also, have you heard anything from Gianni? I'm just curious."

"Uh, yeah. He talked to me last week. The Ciudad military is transferring him to the Monarchy Front."

"Wait, really? Why?" I asked. It was astonishing given that he served with them for three years and had a clean record. He was the model soldier, exemplifying good behavior and loyalty.

"He still isn't a citizen of La Ciudad yet, neither are me or Mom. He told me that they felt it was more appropriate for a guy fighting for peace in his birthplace to serve in an organization that was completely dedicated to that."

"That's reasonable," I said. "I get why-"

A tap on my arm interrupted me. I looked to see Mrs. Martino looking at me, with a slight bit of concern in her eyes.

"Devi, um, would you mind checking on Daniel over there?" She said, pointing to the opposite side of the backyard. Daniel was seated at a table, surrounded by some of Alana's colleagues, all of whom were at least twice his age. I knew this wasn't like him. He never hung around crowds. I looked at a man seated near him, his face scrunched up in anger. He caught sight of me, and moved his lips.

"Hey, Miss, get your damn boyfriend away from us! We're trying to play a good old game of cards and the kid's ruining it for us!"

"Look at his hand," Mrs Martino pointed out. He was holding a bottle of tequila. "He's drunk."

I sighed, and hurried over to Daniel's side. I grabbed his empty hand, startling him and causing him to stop the bottle, shattering it.

"What gives? Am I not allowed to have a lil' fun?" he said, his speech slurred as the alcohol took its effect.

"He's not trying to have fun. He's testing our patience." Another one of Alana's colleagues grumbled.

"Daniel, I think it's time to go home." I said, pulling him off the chair with the hand I was holding his with. I apologised to the group, then dragged him towards the back door of the house.

"We just got here." He pouted.

"It's been seven hours. We've been here long enough."

"It's your party, princess." He said. I stopped. I didn't expect him to call me that. I'd usually act shy, as I really was, but the fact that he was drunk and incapable of controlling his eye ability made me stand guard.

"Keep going." I said, half bluffing. We made it into the family room, where Kenny stood in his default position.

"Going somewhere, Devi and Daniel?" He asked with a calm voice.

"He's drunk, I don't want him to stay here."

"Understandable. I'll tell Ms. Kumar. Have a good night." He said. I returned the farewell.

We walked into the living room where were met by a another voice.

"You two are going home?" Nani asked as she sat on a sofa, with Elias' head resting on her lap as he dozed off.

"Yes. I'm sorry I couldn't stay any longer. I promise to come back soon."

"Yes, come back soon. Have a safe journey. I love you."

"I-- I love you too." I spat out. It felt bizarre to say it to someone I barely knew, but that person loved me more than the person who was supposed to love me.

Barely 10 minutes later, we made it to our shabby little one bedroom apartment, an entire different world from the one we left.

~~~

I walked into our room, wearing my pyjamas. I slid into the blanket where Daniel was already lying. I pulled my shirt up slightly so I could wrap my charging pad around my waist. Then, as was the nightly ritual that I'd been subject to for so many years, I became more and more the equivalent if what a human would call drowsy. The proceed was long and tedious, but it was the most convenient. I closed my eyes as the world once again shutting off from me. I turned to my right, where Daniel had been, unresponsive since even before I got in the room. His half naked body was perfectly straight, his face parallel to the ceiling as he quietly snored. As I continued to admire him, I started to think of our relationship together.

Not long after I woke up after my coma, Daniel began to act, for a lack of better words, strange. He started to act more stubborn, more rebellious and aggressive. He was almost always mad, cocky or completely emotionless. The only times he'd try to control his mental state was when he was around kids and animals, like Elias and Zanjeer. Even I had trouble trying to get him to act normal. Not only that, he changed. In the four years we'd been living in the city, he unexpectedly grew almost four inches taller, to exactly six feet tall. Even though he didn't work out too often, he became much more muscular, and exponentially stronger, without any reason. After lots of thinking and predicting, we concluded that all of it had to be the result of my father's work on him. The thought was heartbreaking. My suffering ended four years ago, when Martinez shot his fateful shot, but Daniel's didn't. My father's actions still tormented him years after his death. I wanted to be human my entire life, but after realizing what was happening to Daniel, I didn't want to be anymore.

As everything around me faded away, I heard him speak.

"Princess...?" he said, in his drunken tone.

I couldn't respond verbally, as my bodily functions began to shut down. I didn't know he woke up. But when I did, I inched closer to him, lifted my head, and put it on his chest. I wanted to hear his heartbeat before I went to sleep. I didn't hear him call me something like that in a very long time, maybe because drunk words really are sober thoughts. He still loved me, even though he couldn't show it. So many times during our relationship, I felt compelled to break up with him so I didn't have to deal with his issues, but after remembering what he did for me, and realizing that he couldn't control his actions all the time, stopped me from doing that. Maybe drunk Daniel was the real Daniel. He picked his right arm out of the blanket and put it on my head.

"Why are you awake?" he asked. "It's bad to pull all-nighters, silly girl."

With his hand on one side of my head and his chest on the other, I let him lull me to sleep.