Ch 2: In the face of evil, we must only smile - Gen 1 -

Bouts of yelling and arguing rang out loudly in the night, emitting from the Ellis-Maroof household. The tension was rising with every passing moment as every single issue that the former couple had ever had came to light in one explosion of raw emotion.

"You wanted this baby! Not me!.. I told you that if you got pregnant I was fucking gone!" Luke bellowed loudly towards his ex wife. The rage boiling inside him turned his blood rippling hot, causing his eyes to glaze over in a red luster as if to a bull that was prepared to charge. Clinching his fist tightly, Luke took a firm step forward and raised his arm to her sternly, "You listen to me god damit. You take care of this shit, or ill take care of it for you! You understand me?" 

Kary was left momentairly speechless. How could the man that she had loved so dearly turn out to be such a person? How could her judgement of character have been so drastically off, and even more so what did that say about her? That she could love such a monster, someone with the ability to drop so low into fits of rage that he became distinguishable from a sim or a beast. Opening her mouth slowly, her lips began to tremble under the weight of her own words, "I...I'm.." she stuttered along each and every word, scrambling to find some way to resolve the situation, wanting to believe that this could all be fixed, telling herself over and over that this was not as bad as it seemed and that all she needed was to find the right way of telling him how she felt. Surely this was some sort of misunderstanding! Surely there was something else at play here that was causing him to be this way! Surely..Surely this was not the man that she fell in love with, and surely he had to still be there somewhere.

"Im not getting rid of this baby! It's yours and you just need to accept that! I didnt lay down by myself and get pregnant you know!" Kary clamped her mouth and took a step back away from him, what was she doing? She was literally standing here arguing with the father of her unborn child, trying to convince him that he should be supportive, as if it was something that warranted argument in the first place. 

Before she knew it, Kary had lost control entirely, "Fuck you then you bum! I dont need you, no matter what you say I'm having this baby rather you like it or not!" As her anger peaked as did her courage, stepping in close to him and solidly planting her arms on her hips and speaking with a sassy and somewhat mocking tone, "Ill see your butt in court.."

Just then, as if on queue, the door bell sounded. Luke turned abruptly towards the door in confusion, only to spot Kary blasting past him and twisting the lock open. It was Drake, fresh off the subway and more apprehensive than he had ever been in life. His heart was drumming against his chest from the sheer ambiance of the small one bedroom home. Through his skin and all the way down to his bones he could tell that something wasn't right here, and that he had just been summoned into a spirling situation that he honestly had no place in. Pausing before he entered the door, Drake considered for the first time what he had just gotten himself into. He had no business here, this was not his battle, nor was it his place to interject. His presence, was only going to make matters worse. 

But none the less, he was already here and turning back was not an option. Stepping into the living room, Drake approached Luke to ask him for his take on the situation and to find out what he could do to defuse it, if only for tonight. "Whats going on here? Is everything alright?.. I got a call saying that I should stop by.." Luke's scowl told him that there was about to be little room for peace, "Who the fuck are you!?" Luke snarled, "What? You the new guy thats screwing my wife now huh!? You coming to fight her battles big man?" Drake raised his arms in a defensive motion, "..No no, its nothing like that. I'm just a concerned friend, I just wanna make sure that shes alright." Luke bite down on his lip for a moment before returning to his verbal assault, "Bull shit! You and that bitch over there can go to hell for al.." before he could even finish his sentence  Drakes fist was already making raw contact with Lukes pasty face. He just could'nt take it, to have Kary insulted right in front of his face! It was more than he could stand, Drake was a man, and as a man he would do what needed to be done to protect a lady in need. "Funny.." he thought, "I guess the old fashioned ways of Pleasentview taught me something worth while afterall.."

As if two warriors set against each other for the sake of honor and the love of the fair maiden, Drake and Luke brawled all throughout the living room until Luke eventually broke free of the scrap and started off towards the kitchen. With a rustic growl, Drake set after him, stopping only when he was met with the tip of a sharpened knife aimed directly at him. Luke had slung a knife from the counter and proceeded to swing wildly at the man who had disrespected his home. Drake ducked rapidly, throwing a well timed right jab into Lukes right rib causing him to be thrown off balance and fortunately missing with the blade. Drake then did the only thing that he could think to do under such a circumstance, leaning his body down and diving forward, throwing his shoulder into Lukes gut and tackling him to the floor. The two tumbled to the ground and rolled violently across the kitchen tiles. Drakes fist were met equally as Luke landed a solid pound against his noise that inadvertently caused his head to be sent back, crashing bluntly against the solid ground. Drake's vision began to blur as the world around him spiraled out of control, he fought vigorously to maintain consciousness but he could tell it was a battle he was soon about to loose. In a matter of moments, the world had turn from vividly colored due to increased adrenaline, to a dark obstruction of reality. 

Waking up what felt like hours later, Drake crawled to his feet, one handed rested against the back of his head. The room was rocking back and forth as if a ship lost in the middle of the sea. Reaching up towards the kitchen sink for leverage, Drake pulled himself to his feet and immediately sprung back into action, headed towards the front door from where he could hear further screaming and the lingering slurs of a continued domestic waring. The last thing that he could remember was Luke coming at him with a knife, what if he still had it! "Fuck!" he screamed from the pits of his gullet as he fought against his faltering muscles to get to the front yard, "Please..Please god no!" 

 

 Without thinking Drake burst through the front door and slung the handgun from his waist band all in one fluid motion. Trembling against the pressure, leaving him in a state of conflicting chaos of preserving his moral sanity, and protecting the innocent. Drake closed his eyes and fired. 

The hollow tipped bullet made contact with Lukes lower right side, almost precisely where Drake had punched him just awhile ago. Luke dropped the knife and brought his free hand up to his wound before leaning his head back and coughing up a chunk of coagulated blood. Kary stood there, awe stricken as she watched her former husbands life slip away in an instant. Like a rag doll, Luke hit the ground. Leaving Drake with nothing more to do than to stand there, looking at his now lifeless body, and face the sinking guilt that immediately set upon him. He had just taken a mans life, in an instant, in one simple gesture. Drake was appauled by how easy it was, and even more so how capable he was of doing it. The gun was a gift from his father, meant only to serve as a tool to grant his dad some peace of mind when thinking of his son living in the dangerous zoo that was the city. Never had Drake thought that he would actually have to use it, never would he thought that he would become a murderer, never before had he questioned his simanity more so than now. What was he capable of? What did it say about his character? What did it say about his soul?

Drake raised his left hand to his head and began to bang against his skull roughly, as if punishing himself for his sins against simanity. "Stupid. Stupid Stupid! Why the fuck did I even come here!? Awe god!" his eyes began to clintch tightly to hold back the oceans of tears that soon followed, dampening his face and setting off towards the ground like a waterfall. Drake gripped the gun tightly, trying to figure out what to do with it. This device used for killing, this hunk of metal that had just condemned his soul to a lifetime of torment and guilt, Drakes knees began to shake under the weight of his own sorrow. How he would be able to face Kary was the furthest from his mind. 

From the empty street a black cloud formed from nothing before in a matter of moments formulating into a solid figure. Instantly the night grew darker, became colder, and set forth an invading sensation of grief that could be felt for miles. The trees themselves stood still against the now frozen wind, time as they saw it gritted to a screeching hualt sheering out of his presence. Death had arrived to claim the soul of the wicked, his face covered by the overhanging cloak, his presence shook terror through the living. Turning his head slightly to the left to look down upon the fallen, Death returned his gaze to Drake and spoke in a rather surprising tone. "Wuddup dude? You aite?" Drake, too far gone to react, simply gazed upon him. Death lifted a hand to him and began to speak again, "Dont sweat it man. Your souls fine with me. Dont beat yourself up about it bro, seriously its depressing."

Kary let out howls of agony as she mourned the loss of her ex husband, even with all the events of the night in mind, she had loved him once and in now way wished death upon him. Besides the obvious, she now had even more worries on her plate, what was she going to do? She couldn't go back to work and face the students. The moment this story hit the news, her career would be over. How was she going to take care of herself? More importantly, how was she going to take care of her soon to be born child? Her tears brought her no comfort, but what else could she do?

Just then, the body of Luke began to sink down into the ground, replaced by a hollowed purple figure that turned over casually and stood to its feet. Cracking an corrupt smile in the face of death, he awaited his fate. The reaper of souls approached him and began to speak, "Game over dude, you loose. The sorrow you have felt in your last hours of life, will pale to the torment you will experience in the next. Do you have anything to say for yourself bro?"

Luke leaned his head up towards the reaper and let out a thunderous laugh that echoed out into the neighborhood. The haunting chill of his ghostly voice caused the waves of the ocean to ripple in response. Turning his head slightly and looking over the reapers shoulder Luke spoke words that would haunt Kary's dreams. "See you soon." His stoic laughter returned yet again, as his body and the reapers faded from existence.

 

 Drake regained an ounce of his composure and approached Kary, "Im.. Im so sorry, I.." he was cut off by a hand placed over his mouth, "Shut up. I know.." Drake turned his head down as his apology was cut short, "Ill take care of you, I promise. Ill take responsibility, if you will have me"In truth, Drake spoke entirely out of guilt. Pain and simply, this was his fault, or at least he felt as though it was. The only way to make it right was to do everything that he could to make this better for her. Love? Such a thing was unneeded and was at this point undiserved, Drake decided then and there that he would comet his life to her and her child, it was the only way that he could save his soul. It was all that he had left to give and the only thing that could save him from a lifetime of night terrors from the frightening beast of guilt. Drake leaned forward and hugged her before planting a solid kiss on her lips. His life had now been changed, it had been sold off to another to pay for his sins. Turning towards the end of the street, the sun slowly rose over the horizon. The day was coming, life was restarting. In the face of everything that had just happened, life would continue to go on as normal. As normal as they could possibly be.

 And so began his life, he had been granted the excitement that he desired, been bless with the spontaneous adventure of reality. But at what cost? Trading his soul, for a life? Drake braced the question every day of his life. The alarm is ringing, time to go to work...