Sub Terra: Et Reditus

Eight

Gus

I was pressing away at my Mayer Industries gaming controller when I heard the knock at my bedroom door.

"Give me a sec' guys," I spoke into my mic. "Someone's here."

"Gotcha Cap'n." One of my friends teased as I took off my headset. I hated that nickname. I'd been called that ever since my friends found out my brother Gianni was a captain with the Front. Their youngest ever, in fact. At 20 years and 7 months old, he'd been promoted from corporal directly to captain due to his extraordinary feats, including 217 confirmed kills during his first month at battle. It was crazy that he was now leading patrols of soldiers his own age, even some older than him. If only they knew he was forced to assassinate rival gang members when we still lived in the Citadel.

I got up off the floor and walked to the door to see who it was.

"Playing games again?" My mom asked.

"Uh huh." I said.

 "You're a growing kid, Gus. You need to go outside more." she sighed.

"I know. Doesn't hurt to stay inside and relax every so often."

"Every so often? I see you playing online all the time.  You're gonna get chubby."

I sighed. My mom was extra cautious of my well-being, especially after knowing what Gianni had to go through. She didn't want a repeat of that.

"Fine. I'll guess I'll take a walk after I take the trash out. Why are you here, anyway? Shouldn't you be at the flower shop?"

"My boss let me off early. We didn't get a lot of orders today."

"That's nice to hear-

"Oh, I just remembered why I came here. I saw your Screen ringing. You left it in the living room."

She handed the green case clad device to me.

"It's from Devi." I muttered to myself, seeing the missed call notification. I turned my Screen on, found my contacts, and called her.

"Don't let me catch you here the next time I walk in, alright?" My mother said, pinching my cheek with a grin on her face.

My mom's smile had always been something I loved to see. There was once a time in my life when all her smiles were fake, artificial. My dad was taken away when I was eight. Gianni joined the Crims not long after. Each night after she came back from searching the dumpsters or bribing some random old Authorized men to escort in exchange for food, she'd smile at me as I welcomed her home. Even at that age, I knew something didn't seem right about the way she'd smile. Perhaps it was to give me hope. Perhaps it was to hide the shame she felt after having to take part in intimate actions with other men, knowing that my father could've still been alive. Or to hide the fear she had that her older boy could be killed at any moment. She sacrificed her emotions so I could maintain mine. Thankfully it all changed after we met Daniel and Devi. She became the happiest woman alive, even though I knew she still missed my dad.  Looking at her turning around to leave my room, I silently hoped all her smiles to come would always be genuine.

"Hey Gus. I've got so much to tell you!" A voice said, breaking my train of thoughts.

"Oh, hi D," I said to my Screen. "You sound excited." I remarked.

"Mhm. You'll never guess what happened!"

"You got a job?" I asked. I knew she'd be eager to get work that would put her new diploma to use.

"No... not yet," her voice sounded less energetic, but elated nonetheless. "It's even better. It's about Daniel."

"He quit that garbage job?"

"No, Gus. It's not about a job."

"So tell me." I said gleefully.

"Daniel found his dad."

I froze. The same man he told me about that went missing when he was a toddler? Would there even be a chance that he's alive after all these years?

"They found him in Morocco."

I found this impossible to believe. How did they find him on the other side of the planet?

"How is he? Is he-

"Alive.  Someone we know told us about him. He wants to see his son."

I felt a burst of serotonin rush through me. I was so happy for Danny. Not only did he accomplish the goal he was trying to reach his entire life, but it gave me hope. The belief that my own dad was out there alive, somewhere, reawakened.

"That's- that's amazing!" I exclaimed, making sure my feelings were known. "When are you guys going to see him? Are you gonna go there or-

"I was just about to get there," she chuckled. "There's apparently a minimum number of people required in a civilian aircraft to leave La Ciudad. We already have four people, but we need another. I just wanted to ask... would you be willing to come with us to Morocco?"

The butterflies in my stomach went flying, but at the same time, I began to worry about my mom. Would she allow me to travel thousands of kilometres to see a man I never even knew? More importantly, was I ready to leave her alone? For how long? The last thing she needed was another man in her life gone from her.

"Umm, I'm honoured, Devi. But the thing is... I don't know if my mom would let me go. You know how protective she is of me. There's gotta be other technicalities we need to consider too."

"Don't you worry about that. Daniel's speaking to her right now. He'll be able to convince her. We'll take care of you. As for technicalities, we've got that covered too.  The guy who told us about his dad has the influence to get any papers you need prepared quickly.  It's only gonna be a one month long trip. Just relax, alright?"

I breathed a sigh of relief. Danny's a smooth talker. I didn't need to worry about any documents. They had my back.

"Really? If that's the case, I'm coming!"

"We're leaving in two days, start preparing now. See ya, Gus."

"Bye, D."

I ended the call. I had an immediate urge to see my mom. I ran to the living room of our two bedroom apartment, where she usually stayed when she wasn't working. There I saw her sitting at a couch, hands folded, head tilted down, staring at her Screen which lay on the coffee table in front of her. I feared that Danny couldn't get her to say yes.

"Mama?" I asked, keeping a few feet away from her in case she was upset.

She looked up at me. I stood still, not knowing how she would respond.

Then, smiled.

"Yes," she said. "You can go."

Tears silently fell down her cheeks, but they were tears of joy.