Chapter Text
Why?
Thats the only thing i can say right now...
Why would Fang do this?
Why would they do something like this?
I was always by her side...
I always supported what they wanted to do...
I always helped them with everything...
...
Actually... no.
I was never truly with them...
I always forced them to do what I believed was right...
Now that I think about it...
There was never a single moment where I truly helped, supported, or guided her...
I was just lying to myself...
I only pushed her away from the people who loved her...
I took away everything she held dear...
I took her voice...
I took her freedom...
I took her soul...
I can’t believe I was the reason they did...
What they did...
I...
I...
I killed her soul...
The only thing I ever gave them was one more reason to break...
...
Being so far away from them now...
I start to wonder...
What would’ve happened if I had never come into her life...
What would’ve happened if I hadn’t been such an idiot...
What would’ve happened if I had never been born...
The rain covers my entire body...
But instead of washing away my sins and mistakes, it only soaks me deeper in them...
Her funeral is just a few meters away...
Should I approach? Should I ask her, or her family, for forgiveness? I should...
No...
This is better...
I can’t even begin to imagine what Samantha and Ripley must be feeling right now...
No parent should have to bury a child...
Much less both of the children they had...
It’s just Samantha, Ripley, Moe, and the father...
No one else...
No Reed, No Trish, No Rosa, and obviously, No Naomi...
The woman, Moe, and the father leave...
But the pterosaur stays...
For several minutes... which feel like hours...
Eventually he too leaves, with an empty gaze and a few tears on his face that blend into the rain...
Now only the two graves of the Aaron siblings remain...
Unconsciously, I step closer...
...
Here lies Lucy Aaron
2003 – 2020
Beloved daughter, sister, and rocker
'You’ll never fade away'
...
Here lies Naser Aaron
2004 – 2020
Beloved son, brother, and athlete
'Just another player in your game for two'
...
The tombstones look new, the light gray granite now darkened by the rain...
I slowly approach Naser’s grave...
“Hey bro, how’s the afterlife treating you?”
No response...
“I know you hated people who stole, but look—”
I pull a gold medal from my pocket...
Engraved on it: First place in the 100-meter dash.
I place it gently on the freshly turned soil...
...
“Rest up, man... you deserve it...”
Still no answer...
Now I stand before Fang’s grave...
“Hey Fang... how are you?”
...
“That’s good... I’m not doing so great...”
...
“Why? Well, now that you’re gone, everyone thinks I’m a hero, but I know I’m not. The shot you gave me still hasn’t healed and I can’t even leave my house anymore. I’ve got no one left to talk to...”
...
“Why? Stella’s parents transferred her to another school, Rosa won’t answer my texts, and Reed and Trish... I’d rather not talk about it.”
“I haven’t been able to eat, sleep, or think of anything but you...”
...
“But besides that, there’s really nothing left in my life... haha—”
A hollow, melancholic laugh escapes my lips.
From my waistband, I pull something out...
A gun...
“What is this?” I ask the air.
“It’s a gun. No idea what caliber or brand. But it’s pretty…”
I examine it...
Make sure it’s loaded...
“Hey, can I tell you something funny?”
...
“The guy who sold it to me was weird, he was missing an eye, had a metal leg, and spoke with a strange accent...”
“Don’t worry, Naser wasn’t the only one I brought a gift for...”
From my other pocket I pull out one last gift...
Raymba...
“Remember that time we went looking for a place to play and a Jamaican guy sold me a phone-Roomba? I modded it a bit and now it’s yours. Just promise me you’ll take care of it...”
I glance at the gun one last time... and place it against my head...
Sigh
“Goodbye, Fang... I hope to see you on the other side... even if I know I won’t...”
A stream of memories rushes through my mind...
But only one lingers until the end...
Fang...
Her... with her makeup ruined by tears and a sad smile on her lips...
...
If only I had a second chance...
In an instant, everything goes black...
Seconds pass and now there is light.
A blinding light...
Now everything smells sterile...
And a voice can be heard through all the noise...
“Congratulations, it’s a boy.”
?
I already know I’m a man... or something close to one...
But why congratulations?
Shouldn’t they be shocked or neutral upon seeing a corpse?
I now feel a cheap blanket wrap around me and I’m placed into someone else’s arms.
Through my half-open eyes I can make out a dinosaur, a Suchomimus tenerensis with brown skin.
“He’s beautiful,” the woman says, her voice full of emotion.
Beautiful?
How can a corpse be beautiful—especially one like mine?
“Look Hanna, he’s got your nose,” says a male voice coming from a cream-colored Suchomimus.
“Josh, look, he has your eyes.”
Josh and Hanna...
Why are they saying I have their features?
“Kait, what’s the birth time?” — “October 17th, 2003 at 01:34.”
Birth time?
My questions are interrupted by the woman’s voice.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart? Why that face?” says the woman now identified as Hanna.
“Maybe he’s hungry, honey,” Josh replies.
Hungry?
Please no...
Anything but this...
I’m interrupted by a nipple in my mouth...
DAMMIT, NO, GET IT OFF ME! GET IT OFF!
“Come on, sweetheart, eat. I know you’re hungry,” Hanna says tenderly.
As I try to turn away from my... mother’s? breasts, I feel something smooth fill my mouth...
It’s... milk...
My mind starts to overload, and by pure instinct of self-preservation—I swallow.
The feeling isn’t bad, and neither is the taste. What’s strange is that I’m drinking it and fully aware of what’s happening...
The nipple, after a few minutes, is removed from my mouth...
The first thing I want to do is ask why I’m here.
But my newborn vocal cords aren’t exactly helpful.
“Blaghrlabrgh.”
Damn it, why me?!
“Don’t worry, son, soon you’ll be able to speak and tell us everything you want. Don’t try to run before you even know how to walk,” Josh replies to my... questions?
A new voice enters the room.
“Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Linder, congratulations! Your baby was born healthy and is in perfect condition. Good color, breathing well, everything looks normal,” says the man.
“Perfect! And from what we can see, he’s a very smart boy—he already tried to talk!” Hanna says energetically as she strokes my... hair?
“How sweet! Have you thought of a name for this little gray-skinned troublemaker?”
Gray-skinned?
“Yes, doctor. His name is Robert John Linder,” Josh said with pride.
...
Robert John Linder...
It can’t be...
They just named me...
Robert John Linder...
LIKE FREAKIN' JOHNNY SILVERHAND...
THIS IS EITHER A DREAM, I’M IN A COMA AND LOSING IT, OR GOD HAS A REALLY SCREWED-UP SENSE OF HUMOR!!!!