Of Storms
A young man and older woman sat across from each other in a lit only by the light that shone through the room's one window. The drapes that hung over the one window in the small round room were tattered throughout and shredded at the ends. Despite the numerous tears and holes in the thick drapes, the drapes billowed with each random gust that blew into the small room.
Between the man and woman, stood a short old wooden and round table. The table was so short that it forced the two to remain hunched over while they continued their game of Chess. Like the board, the pieces were also old with most of the pieces missing bits.
It was the man's turn. He placed his fingers where the head of knight should have been and picked it up. He clenched the piece in his hand tightly while he thought out his next move.
"So how do you remember it?" the woman asked politely.
The man didn't reply.
"Anthony?" she asked.
Anthony placed the knight in its new position and smiled. "Check," he replied.
The woman sat back in her dusty, leather chair, crossed her legs and brushed the dust off her very faded blue jeans. "How do you remember it?"
He sighed. "Like it was yesterday."
He threw himself into the leather chair he was on and slouched. "One of my earliest memories. It was sometime in the middle of the night." He paused, tilted his head back and fixed his gaze on the ceiling. "I heard voices, sounds, coming from my mom's bedroom. At the time, I had no idea what she was doing, but as all children are, I was curious."
He paused to take a peek at her. In that moment, the light that shined through the billowing drapes had encased her face in such a way that it highlighted a beauty that he had not noticed. The light had also highlighted the brown and streaks of white in her long hair. He initially didn't notice how smooth and silky her hair was. The most surprising part of this moment in time was her brown eyes. No, not brown. Hazel. Her hazel eyes sparkled like gems.
"Anthony? You were saying?"
"Sorry," he replied and fixed his grey eyes back towards the ceiling. "The door was shut, but not all the way. I remember because I pushed the door open without having to turn the knob. The first thing I saw was my mother's back. She was moving in a strange way, I thought at the time. When the door opened all the way, it creaked loudly. My mother turned, saw me, yelped, and threw herself around pulling the sheets on her."
The woman shifted in her chair. The rubbing of her arm against the leather of the armrest seemed to break his train of thought. "Sorry," she quietly said.
"After she moved, I saw a man. He looked as shocked as my mother. Before my mother could say anything, that's when it started. The ground shook. It was as if I had tripped on something, but I wasn't walking. I fell to the floor. My mother yelled and jumped from the bed. The man followed. She picked me up and as soon as she was standing, I felt a sheet draped over me. I couldn't see anything, but I felt my mother stumble and strong hands and arms grasp over us to keep her up. Before I knew it, we were outside. I pulled the drape from my face and..."
"What?"
He let out a sigh again.
She noticed he was gripping the armrests tightly. "I'm sorry, we don't have to talk about this."
He raised his hand and took a deep breath. "No, it's fine. I saw that my house was crumbling. It was as if something reached from below and pulled it down. My mother began to sob and I felt the man wrap his arms around us. I looked towards the sky. All I saw was light streaking across the darkness of the night. I tried to find the moon, but I couldn't. 'Fire' the man was yelling. 'Fire everywhere' he repeated."
"What happened then?"
"The rest is a bit hazy. My entire house was destroyed. We walked for a while. I only knew it was a while because I had fallen asleep in my mother's arms and when I woke up, it was morning. I remember not being able to see the sun. I've always loved the sun, but it was cloudy that day. The clouds were a dark grey. The type you see during a thunderstorm. I actually heard the thunder starting."
"Were you scared?"
"No. I don't ever remembering being scared of thunder. At that time, I felt safe maybe because my mom was holding me the entire time. I don't know. But that's when it got worse. Once I heard the thunder, I saw the lightning. The fiercest lightning storm I have ever witnessed. I remember seeing the bolts dance across the clouds. Trees around us were getting struck. My mother and the man began to run. It was a short while before we found ourselves in some part of a house that was barely standing. I remember half the roof was gone. For some reason, I remember thinking it was so neat."
The woman chuckled.
He glanced again at her and noticed she was leaning forward with her head placed below her chin, her elbows on her knees. He leaned his head back and turned towards the window. The maroon drapes continued to billow. A few beams of light were shining on his knees. He stretched out his hand till a beam struck his palm. He immediately felt the warmth and clenched his fist. He felt that he could almost catch the light.
"Go on," the woman said.
"We huddled together in a corner of the house. The man and my mother were talking, though I can't remember what they were saying. A loud boom had interrupted them. I remember clutching onto my mom tighter. Another boom followed. And another. My mom pulled me from her, tore a large piece of the sheet she was using to cover herself, and wrapped it around me. She placed a finger over her lips. I remember tears clouding my vision." He paused to wipe a tear that had formed.
"What made the booming?"
"At the time, I didn't know. Before my mom had left me, she said 'find Apollo.'"
The woman nodded slowly.
He leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees. "She repeated it as she stood and walked away from me and the man. The man called out for her, but she kept walking out and into the street. And that was when I saw it."
"The monster?"
He nodded. "The biggest thing I had ever seen."
"Body of a man, three heads of a dragon, black wings, and serpent legs," the woman said quietly.
He nodded again. "I don't remember much after that. The storm had eventually passed, as you know. The man took me took a small gathering of others who survived the storm. Everything after that gets hazier. I lived with that group up until I felt I was able to fend for myself."
"And the man?"
He shook his head. "He left shortly after he arrived, people had told me."
The woman chuckled again. "Did you ever find Apollo?"
He returned a confused look. "No. I didn't know if I should be looking for a place or a person."
The woman began to nod slowly as she began to turn her gaze elsewhere seemingly caught in thought.
"What is it?"
"Do you want to know what really happened?"
"What do you mean?"
"How the world ended."
He sat up. "Yes," he replied sternly.
"But first, we haven't been introduced," the woman stretched out her hand and said, "My name is Artemis."
He reached out and gently grasped her hand. He noticed she had the smoothest and softest skin he had ever felt. "Nice to meet you."
