Sweet Odium - Chapter 36: Chapter 36

3 months later
[Raven]
After the end of the battle, all the Mellontikos members including the ones that had stayed hidden in a basement had been brought to the Inoue headquarters. Me, Vince and Jane had started a long task of investigating each member and bringing them to court for their individual actions. More and more gifted families had agreed to take them in but there were many who were satisfied with staying out of the groups from now on. They couldn't simply drop their hate for the gifted society so they were promised support from all families to secure them a normal and secure life.
The ones who had managed to flee were only small in numbers so special task forces were continuously tracking them down.
I had tried reaching out to Rune's sister Vera many times, I even went by her house and called her agency but I was strictly turned down and told she was currently taking a break from any activities.
It also failed contacting his grandma. According to Jane, the old lady had left them as soon as Celeste was safe to survive and they never saw her again. Even in the deepest areas of our data network we were not able to find out about her whereabouts.
At some point I assumed they had to give me the fault for Rune's death and I couldn't be angry at them for that because I often felt the same way.
It was only that spark of hope for the Falcon family to reunite that made me want to help them. Just as Rune, Vera was a daughter of the leading family so I expected her to act as a new leader to a new era of the Falcon group... but that thought never became reality.
From all the survivors that were still out there, not even a single one had dared to step up for themselves or came out of their hiding even after the most influential gifted groups had all stated their apologies and promises of support and peace for the Falcon group.
Especially Inoue had promised to do everything in their power to help the Falcons rising up to their ancient power again. I knew very well that this was by far not enough to compensate for the hundreds of losses they had to endure but the fact that not even a single one of them showed their face was upsetting me even more.
Rune had been celebrated as an honored soldier that died for the sake of the gifted families so his name had spread to many parts of the world and yet no one would go as far as calling him a hero... maybe they still held prejudice against him for being a traitor from the Falcon group despite all the lifes he had saved.
It was halloween today... but I wasn't going to celebrate or party. I hadn't done that the last three months.
Instead I was sitting on top of the Inoue buildings roof, were a small playground stood empty in the dark.
The streets and bars were as busy as always and even the sky looked the same but the emotions I felt when taking all that in were totally different. When was the last time, I had felt at ease? The last time I fell asleep without waking up from a nightmare? And the last time I honestly enjoyed what I usually loved?
Life simply wasn't the same anymore. It felt empty, like I was going in a circle and stumbling over every possible hurdle.
Even before Jane and Vince advised me to see a psychologist I knew that I suffered from serious mental problems. I tried many things to make it better just like my psychologist said. I tried to structure my every day life again and find a positive meaning in the smallest events in life. I tried hanging out with people that were usually fun and I also asked others for advice.
But everytime I was supposed to have fun I kept remembering Rune being there with me. He simply didn't leave my mind and I also didn't want him to, even if it was hurting me.
With tears in my eyes I stared at the banana milk that I had bought from the convenience store. Why didn't I try it the first time he had offered it to me? Thinking back, I really hadn't deserved to have someone like Rune with me.
He had always been self-sacrificing... more than I realized at the beginning. But that trait of him was what I hated. If he hadn't taken all that on himself, he'd be sitting on that roof with me.
Maybe I should just jump. This thought had crossed my mind many times but then I always remembered how that would throw away the sacrifice that Neil and Rune had made. I was caught in this situation with no option to take the easy way out.
"Rave, you can't continue like this." Jane had followed me up the roof and sat down next to me. She had cut her her in a short style for a few weeks now and after the incident with her eye she had started to wear an eyepatch, sometimes sunglasses, to cover the artificial eye that the doctor had given her.
"I'm doing all my tasks at the company. I'm not falling behind." I justified myself in a slight annoyance. The last thing I wanted was to fall back on schedule because of my mental condition.
"I'm not talking about that." The girl sighed and handed me a pumpkin shaped cupcake that I didn't take.
"See? You refuse to eat much but train in the gym like a maniac. You drown yourself in alcohol and medication whenever the nightmares become too much to handle, you haven't cut your hair in three months, your apartment is a total mess but you refuse to take some time of. This isn't being strong, Rave. This is self torture." Her voice got louder by the second so she had to take a deep breath to calm down.
"As if I don't know that..." I sighed and buried my face in my hands. I wasn't blind after all. Every morning when I looked in the mirror I saw how bad I looked, the circles under my eyes and the unclean baggy clothes. I knew that I was supposed to take care of myself, take some time of and stuff like that but to be honest I was afraid that if I stopped working now, that there was really no reason for me to get up in the morning. Working was my routine... my only routine that I could rely on so I would not stop that.
"His whole family had been taken down by Inoue and other groups, Jane... and yet he always smiled at us." The thought of Rune's smile pained my heart but at the same time it filled me with warmth.
"I know..." she sighed probably realizing that she had to give up talking sense into me for today, too.
"He... he was such a good and generous person so why- why was his life taken from him?" I couldn't prevent my voice from breaking when I felt new tears well up in my eyes. I never cried... I had been raised like that but since Neil and Rune weren't there anymore it happened whenever I was reminded of them. The pain was unbearable and even after crying I usually felt the same as before.
"Shhh Rave, there is no one here. You can let it out." Jane moved closer and put her arm around my back to give me a light hug.
I never liked skinship when I was sad but at the moment I could not say what I wanted and what not. I couldn't even say if I might have taken a step over the edge of the roof several times if Jane hadn't always followed me up here.
"Their death will not be for nothing." Jane whispered with confidence but I was sure her voice was trembling.
"We will find the Falcon family survivors and we will revive their family as well as the whole gifted society to lead them into a new era in which no one needs to feel left out... we'll do it for Rune and Neil, Kate and Ed and for everyone else who has left their life... only you can do that Raven." She pulled back a little to look me in the eye. Although she was crying just as much as me there was a bright smile on her lips. I saw hope in her eyes despite all the pain we were feeling.
"You mean only us two and Vince can do it." I answered and for the first time in a long while I saw a small light in the darkness... a goal that I aimed to achieve. Something that I could not give up nor fail.
"Speaking of that. How is it going with Vince? Did you confess yet?" I wondered but Jane didn't show much of a reaction but stayed at ease.
"Even if I wanted, now is not the right time... it would drive us three apart slowly no matter his answer and if there is something all of us need most right now, it's being able to trust each other and find comfort in our friendship." She encouraged me to smile with her and I knew she tried hiding it but in the end she was not confessing to Vince because of me. I wasn't delusional enough to not get that since I would have done the same.
"Thank you... for you and Vince never leaving my side."
"Don't worry. I promise it will stay like that until the day we say good bye to this earth. And if that happens... we're all going to die together, you hear me?And until then we will do it like always. Fighting our way through with everything we've got!"
(Venice, in a small house near Ponte di Rialto)
"Do you think he will ever wake up, Sam? I haven't seen Granny smile in weeks..." Vera sank down on the opposite side of the small table right next to the chimney where Sam was peacefully drinking her espresso.
The red haired doctor looked up at Vera and sighed.
"To be honest, I cannot say when he will wake up nor if he will wake up at all... but rest assured that I will take care of him and hide him for as long as you need me to." She promised and put down her cup to take in the sight of the snowflakes that floated like tiny fairies outside.
But Vera's mood stayed the same and she couldn't think of anything to answer.
"You should head back to LA." Sam then stated making the girl's head shoot up before she took a deep breath and nodded. Autumn was already over and the Inoue family trying to contact her had stopped so there was no rational reason for her to stay here any longer.
"I know... it's just that I don't want to leave Granny and you alone here with him." She said making the other smile at her, feeling with the family and the pain they went through.
"You took your vacation from business long enough. I'm sure your fans are worried sick and if there's any news about your brother I'll call." She promised and offered Vera a lemon biscuit that she took with a grin.
"I'm sure my manager is gonna give me an ear full." She inhaled sharply remembering all the calls during which she had to come up with excuses for taking a break from work for almost 3 months.
"We're very grateful for your help Sam... both of us are about the same age but you keep giving me advice. I'll be sure to make it up to you some day." The blond haired girl thanked her making Sam laugh a little. If she told Vera that she was in fact much older it would only make things awkward.
"There is no need to. This is my way of paying back your grandma for something that happened in the past." She explained and gladly Vera noticed that it was not the right time to ask about that.
In the same moment the lock of the entrance door was heard clicking and Mrs. Falcon returned from the market so Vera got up to help her grandma with the groceries.
Sam watched them silently and took another sip of her espresso.
As a doctor and friend of Mrs. Falcon she was supposed to wish for her grandson to wake up as soon as possible but there was that nagging dark premonition that she couldn't get rid of.
Sam had done several tests on his blood and analysed his brain activity but even though he was not in danger to lose his life, the results were concerning.
It was as if his body had lost its balance under all the gifted abilities that had manifested in his core.
They were coexisting peacefully untill now and Sam was sure he could manage to control them with enough training... but the pure power that was concealed in his body was so insanely strong that it could wipe out a middle size city at its maximum. She expected that in the process the boy's body would destroy itself.
In other words... if Rune Falcon woke up he'd be like a ticking nuclear bomb.