The tears of the endless cloud pour down in torrents, silencing all
other sounds. The rain covers the land as far as the eye can see and
the dark clouds do not give the impression of letting up anytime
soon. They cackle with energized laughter, the laughter of Zeus.
Night has fallen and the forest that is under attack from an
unrelenting waterfall attempts to keep itself in one piece. The dirt
road that leads deep into the woods is facing possible destruction
and is impassable by cars. The man-made path finds its end at a small
house. Deep inside what is left of the home hides a child close to
adulthood. One more year and that child will become a woman in the
eyes of the world, but to her she'll always be a child. Her name is
Jayden Hurst.
She sits alone in the dark home waiting for someone, anyone, to come
save her. The reality of it is that she doesn't even know what she
wants to be saved from. Maybe it is from the endless torrents of
sky-tears, or maybe it is from the endless torrents of her tears.
She's crying with the world, yet alone at the same time. The sky is
crying because the weight on it is too much for it to handle, so it
breaks down and lets some of that burden fall. Jayden is not so
lucky. Crying is what seems to have gotten her into this mess.
There's an idea in her head that is blooming because of the tears and
it's starting to make her believe that the entire world hates her.
At this point, she'd believe that even her white hair wants to rid
itself of her. It is falling out after all, but it's for a different
reason. Maybe it is because she hates herself.
Far away, someone comes for her. Anakin Donovan is what he was named
when he entered this strangely familiar world. He will be her earth
if she will be his sky. He'll absorb all of her pain and create
something new, something beautiful, but only if she allows him to.
His dirty-blonde hair is kept short so that he never loses sight of
what he's aiming for. In a sense he is the lightning tosser himself,
for lightning goes from the ground to the sky, connecting them for a
split, but powerful, second. It will take more than Zeus' powerful
lightning bolt to save Jayden now. Slowly, but surely, the sky is
falling into nothingness without the earth holding it up.
Anakin's car pushes through the downpour, but eventually gives in.
The Oldsmobile rolls to a stop, leaving Anakin overwhelmed by the
limitless rain. He stays sitting in it, trying to figure a way to
travel another mile before getting to the all too familiar dirt road.
It's a path he's travelled many times, normally without much tangible
reason. All of a sudden the route is impossible to pass, but that
isn't going to stop him. Jayden wouldn't have given up on him, so he
isn't going to give up on her when she needs him most. The car door
is violently pushed open against the will of the endless torrent of
tears. Anakin prepares himself and jumps out into the pummelling
rain. He pulls his leather jacket over his head and begins running in
an attempt to make up for some lost time.
Meanwhile inside of the small house, Jayden places pots under the
holes in the ceiling to collect the water. The drops of water cause
the kitchen to be overcome by a loud crashing sound. Jayden quickly
retreats from the room and disappears into the living room where the
roof is more water resistant. Close to no drops fall from the ceiling
in her living room and candles are swiftly lit around the room,
replacing the artificial light created by the electricity. Unlike
most houses, Jayden's house does not lose power during severe storms,
but it often seems like it does because the residents always shut off
all electronics. They always fear that a lightning bolt will strike
the house and cause them to explode. Whether this is possible or not,
Jayden follows the tradition and allows the warm light of the
multiple flames to dry some of her tears. Still crying, she lies down
on the couch and contemplates suicide.
Just as she begins to consider suicide as a serious option, Anakin
reaches the halfway point before he reaches the dirt road. He begins
to feel sky-tears fall on his head, where his jacket is covering him,
and realizes that the rain beat holes through the leather. Exhaustion
overwhelms him, but instead of stopping and giving up, he throws the
jacket away and begins to run even faster. Worry washes over him as
he nears the dirt path. His mind starts to consider that he might not
make it to Jayden at all. After a short while of running, Anakin
reaches the dirt road, which has become more of a rushing river than
a road. He seriously considers turning around, but takes a step into
the rushing water nonetheless.
Jayden wanders about her house with a small flashlight, looking for
something that her father used to keep for self protection. She knows
that he hid it somewhere in the house before he passed away, but
never told anyone where it was. No one quite understood why, but no
one really cared all that much anyways. Jayden slowly makes her way
towards the stairs that lead down into the basement. She sees a small
light reflect back and starts to sprint towards it. She doesn't
notice the side-table until it is too late. She trips over it and
disappears into the watery darkness.
Anakin comes up for a breath and clings desperately to a tiny tree
that is hardly even rooted into the ground anymore. Suddenly giving
up seems like a good idea, but it's too late to turn back now; he has
to finish this. The raging current pulls at him and the tiny tree. In
moments both are dragged under.
Jayden bursts from the water and finds her way towards the first
floor. She climbs out of the flooded basement and realizes that her
flashlight is at the bottom of the staircase. She considers diving to
get it. Instead she finds herself walking away. The blinding dark
surrounds her, consumes her, but in the distance the candlelight can
be seen. She follows it and finds her way back to the couch, where
she will hide away for the rest of the night. Without her flashlight,
she can't navigate through the house. Having given up on finding her
father's prized possession, she repositions herself on the couch,
trying to escape a strange solid lump in a cushion. In an instant she
realizes what the lump might be and tears through the pillow, only to
reveal a small pistol. Now she has the means to meet the end.
Anakin resurfaces, having found stable footing. The raging current
tries to pull him away again, but his strength keeps him solid in his
resolve. In the very near distance he can see the glow of the
candlelight through the trees. He slowly starts to take a step,
fighting the torrential currents. He succeeds and continues to
sluggishly make his way across the newly found river. Anakin bursts
free of the crushing grasp of the flowing sky-tears and takes a
breath once back on land. His break is cut short when he remembers
the danger that Jayden is in. With all of his remaining energy, he
sprints towards the candlelight.
“Nobody is coming, Jayden.” The confused teenager convinces
herself. “The world will be so much happier after you pull the
trigger and cause the worthlessness of you to go extinct.”She tells
herself, subconsciously recognizing the words as lies. If only her
subconscious could scream out the truth before it's too late. Knowing
that this is the end, Jayden cries even more as she brings the cold
metal chamber to her temple. The storm outside worsens, but far off
in the distance a quick moving light approaches. Jayden goes to pull
the trigger.
“Jayden!” Anakin yells out to her as he breaks through her glass
sliding door, causing her to drop the gun in shock. The gun goes off
and shatters the leg of an unstable table. It crashes to the ground,
along with the candles on top of it.
“Anakin...” Jayden says in a daze. He doesn't say anything in
return, but just smiles instead. He walks over to her slowly,
exhausted from his trek to reach her. She stands up and mimics his
slow walk. They meet each other in the middle and turn so that the
broken glass door is to their side. A gentle smile stretches across
Jayden's face as she stretches her arms out. He mimics her movements
this time and the two teens find themselves hidden from the torrents
of tears within each others arms. Lightning strikes, connecting the earth with the sky.
-Zero
