Present Time.
When you have a name like Salmon people don't expect you to be anything aside from ordinary. Having a name like Salmon meant that not much is expected of you because well, most people would think you're named after a fish - even though Salmon is short for Salmonius - and no one has ever conquered Europe or waged war against Capitalism with a name like Salmon. Right?
Salmon turned to You.
'Right.'
Yet here he was ominously standing by the entrance of a dark alleyway clad in a black jacket with a grey t-shirt peeking under its sharp collar and dark jeans tucked into heavy combat boots about to do something that was definitely not ordinary. He inspected his heavily lined boots, pressing down to feel the hard padding. He didn't like wearing heavy boots but they came in handy when he needed to kick down doors.
The ticking of Salmon's wristwatch is the only sensible sound his ears could pick up over the trickling sound of rain pelting against the translucent plastic umbrella over his head.
Salmon stood in the shadows, cigarette between his lips. His tousled silver hair drooped over his clear cerulean orbs. The warmth of the cigarettes burning ember licked his fingertips and Salmon relished the feeling.
'You don't even smoke.'
Of course he didn't, he just needed to sell the image of a forbidding presence surrounded by wafts of smoke.
Taking a drag, Salmon glanced down at his stop watch. 10 minutes and 4 seconds left.
It was exactly 10 minutes and 4 seconds to midnight and the street Salmon was watching was fairly busy for late night walkers on a rainy night; the usual party animals, occasional late night shift employees getting home from a tedious day at work and a few miscreants here and there. The passers-byers were all bathed in the glow of the neon lights plastered against the concrete walls all over the streets, signs to gain attention from passing pedestrians to enter. None of them saw him standing in the shadows, save for the light contrast of his silver hair.
Salmon watched the smoke waft up, disappearing into the endless dark night. He sighed out of boredom, tossed the cigarette onto the wet concrete and crushed it under his boot.
Now he was left alone with his wandering thoughts, the slow raindrops, the aching cold and of course the ticking of his stopwatch.
Or the lack of it.
It stopped ticking. Times up.
'Finally.'
Salmon straightened to his full height. He was a seventeen year old with a brooding 6'1 height, so even if Salmon didn't straighten to his full height, he'd still tower over her 5'2 figure.
Like clockwork, because it was, she appeared in front of him.
Aikio Yamori, a petite young 21 year old woman. She was now on her way home with a plastic bag of groceries in one hand and the other stuffed into the pocket of her jacket.
She appeared just as he first saw her, only her red hair was more vibrant, even in the hollow dimness of the night. Nevertheless, it was her.
Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun, scarlett strands falling over her cold blue eyes. The expression on her face was aloof. The eye bags under her eyes heavy, made more obvious by the exhaustion on her face. She was looking down, hands stuffed in the pocket of her trench coat. Her hair was wet, strands sticking to her pale cheeks. As soon as she stepped into the alleyway entrance and her eyes adjusted to the dimness of the alley lights, she noticed his shoes.
Freezing in her step, she dreadfully dragged her gaze up.
Her eyes met his enigmatic orbs and she quickly staggered back, recognition and fear flashing in her face in an instant.
The plastic bag in her hand slipped out, splashing onto the wet concrete as the contents spilled out; a retro sunglass, a bunch of wrapped bananas, a bag of chips and four Kit Kat bars.
Salmon shifted his gaze towards the fallen bag and back to her.
"You gonna get that or-"
She broke off into a sprint down the bustling sidewalk.
'Why do they always run?'
He tucked his hand into his pocket and watched her scurry off like an escapee from a high facility prison camp. She bumped into a girl with a large school bag, pushed through a couple nuzzling against each other by the sidewalk and rushed through a group of kids street dancing near the curb.
"Watch it!" A lady shrieked, pulling her child Aikio almost stepped over into her arms.
"Where you running to babygirl." A boy teased, his friends sniggered behind him as they leered at her from under a street lamppost, shadows dancing across their hooded faces.
She could barely hear all the shouts, taunts or swearing as she blindly surged though the crowded street; crippling fear numbing her senses.
The light drizzle picked up to a heavy rain, the droplets pelting against Salmon's umbrella. He had picked up her grocery, slipping all the contents back inside the white plastic.
He watched her look back in a panicked frenzy but she was too far ahead to see him disappear into the dark alley.
Aikio slammed into the door of her apartment. It smacked against the wall with a loud thud and she stood in the open doorway, shaking and completely drenched in rain. The torrent behind her was relentless, heavy raindrops smashing onto everything as if at war with the earth as the wind howled like dying phantoms.
"Christ, Aikio what happened?" A tall burly man with a gentle face quickly rushed over, pulling her quivering soaked body into his arms as he shut the door behind her, muffling the violent storm outside.
Even though the heater was on, Aikio was shivering profusely, muttering frantically under her breath. He carried her to the couch, one hand holding her up while the other swiped away all the newspaper articles littering the couch.
He placed her gently onto the couch, worry flashing in his gentle brown eyes. He'd ask questions later, right now he needed to get her dry.
He got up, "I'll go grab your towel and-"
"Callum-" she grabbed his arm.
He turned, although her fingers felt like ice it was her wide haunted eyes that made him shiver.
"I saw him."
Callum sucked in air. "Are you sure?"
"I felt it. It's him."
He leaned down, held her face firmly in his large hands and stared into her vibrant eyes.
"I'm gonna ask you one last time, are you sure it was him?"
She nodded.
He paled, all the life leaving his eyes.
"I felt so cold when I saw him, it was like staring at the end and I - wait where are you going?" She sat up, worry heavy in her voice.
Aikio watched Callum rush into the only room in the apartment, emerging a few seconds later with two suitcases in each hand; a bigger red one and a smaller grey one.
Callum didn't answer her question. He placed the grey suitcase onto the table in front of the couch. He pulled a dark corded necklace with a key attached to it under his shirt, all the while struggling to keep his rampant thoughts at bay.
'There's no time.'
'Should've known this day would come.'
'Did you really think Sisyphus wouldn't find out?'
'This is the en-'
He shut his thoughts down and fumbled with the lock on the grey suitcase with a small key, cursing under his breath when it wouldn't go in because of his shaking hands.
"Callum."
He took a deep breathe and steadied his hand; the key finally went in and it clicked before the lock unlatched itself. Sweat trickled down his temple.
"Callum talk to me," Aikio pleaded.
He opened it. Inside there were two compartments; one held a revolver with seven golden bullets and the other held a plain brown notebook with (_) printed at the center, matching the (_) tattoo on his right wrist.
Glaring at the notebook, he ignored it and took the revolver into his sweaty hands. He thought he had time, as ironic as it sounded. He'd spent his entire life living for something else, fighting a cause he was born to fight; but not anymore. He had someone now, someone he loved - who loved him back - and he'd be damned if he didn't go down without a fight.
The sound of thunder rumbled through the torrent with a roaring
BOOM!
Aikio screamed and jumped at the sound, looking around frantically as if she saw a flash of silver somewhere in the apartment.
The suspense was killing her.
"CALLUM!"
His eyes darted up, as if finally hit out of a daze and noticed her on the couch. Aikio's blue eyes were wide, brilliant red hair sticking to her wet face. There was confusion and fear across her stunning features.
"What does this mean?" She asked with dread heavy in her voice.
There was a stretch of silence, save for the leaky faucet in the cubicle kitchen and raindrops hammering onto the rooftop.
He swallowed, "It means we're fucked."
Aikio shook her head vigorously, getting up. "N-No we could run and-"
"Hide? From the White Death?"
She blinked rapidly to keep her prickling tears at bay.
"We have to do something."
"We can't there's nothing we can possibly do. There is literally no time or place we can go to hide from him. It's 13. No one can hide from him." Callum said hopelessly, jaws clenched, "He's practically the Death Reaper; the last person you wanna see, why do you think he's known as the White Death?."
Lightning flashed outside, detonating the room in a white glow.
"It's not fair." She rasped.
Callum sighed, placed the revolver and bullets aside and reached for Aikio.
She climbed into his lap and wept in his arms, her drenched body pressed against his. He felt warm. She never wanted this feeling to end. She felt safe here with him, even if this moment was fleeting.
When she was calm enough to breath properly he pulled away and cupped her soft tearstained cheeks in his callous hands.
She frowned, her glittery eyes pensive. "Why can't they just leave us alone? It's not like we're hurting anyone."
He sighed through his nose and held her close. "Because you're a Remnant and I'm a Time Traveller."
"It sounds cute and perfectly healthy in theory." She muttered.
He laughed and she felt light-headed. Aikio gazed at him. His brown eyes were gentle and kind, just as it had been the first time they'd met. He was different.
"I don't regret anything." He kissed her forehead.
Aikio's eyes slipped shut and she smiled softly.
The moment ended with the door shattering off its hinge with an earsplitting crack. They both whirled around and found a leg pulling back from the hole in the door.
A tall lean figure stood in the broken doorway, clad in dark clothes with white hair and electric eyes.
"You left this."
He held up a plastic bag and smiled cutely as if this was a warm housecall.
They gaped at the person that just kicked a hole in their door.
Lightning slashed across the sky behind him, illuminating his ominous figure and highlighting the XIII tattoo on his wrist.
"Room now!" Callum roared.
Aikio wasn't going to be told twice, she scrammed.
He quickly grabbed the revolver but Aikio knocked the table in her rush towards the room, scattering the bullets onto the floor.
"Shit."
Callum growled and grabbed the nearest two and dived behind the couch. The door to the room slammed shut.
"You don't have to do this 13." Callum called out, slipping the two rounds into the empty barrels. He cocked the hammer, feeling the chamber align with the barrel.
There was no response, just the sound of heavy boots against the creaking floorboards, crunching over splattered wood from the broken door.
"I love her." He said, casting a furtive glance at the door to make sure it was shut, "Is that so wrong?"
The footsteps stopped.
Callum looked around the dimly lit room where he had vision, clutching the gun harder in his sweaty hand when he didn't see any signs of life. He turned and pressed his back against the couch. 13 had to be behind the couch.
There was still no sound. Not even breathing aside from his own but he knew exactly where his intruder was, he just needed more bullets.
He peeked around the edge and saw four in front of the couch, hallway hidden by the newspaper he had swiped off earlier. Another flash of lightning lit the room up, casting a sleek iridescent glow on the surface of the golden bullets.
13 was probably just waiting for him to make the first move but while he had time to kill, Callum did not. If Aikio waited for too long she'd step out of the room trying to be a hero again and then they were both truly fucked.
With a deep breath he dove for the bullets.
When Aikio heard the first gunshot she flinched, burrowing deeper under the bed. She squeezed her eyes shut, wondering how any of this escalated so far. She just wanted to fix her mistake; that's all she wanted.
Now here she was cowering in fear under a bed while the love of her life was out there fighting a literal force of nature. Callum had warned her about him; they knew the consequences and yet it was worth it. They were happy but now their time had run out.
Another gunshot sliced through the air. She pressed her hands to her ears to stop the ringing sound that ensued. She heard the sound of wood breaking, followed by grunts and the sound of someone's fist meeting something hard. Aikio squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the sounds and praying that Callum would walk through that door any moment now covered in blood and bruises but still alive.
She was struggling so hard to block out the fighting that she didn't realize how quiet it was now. In the silence of the night all she could hear was the constant droning of raindrops and her uneven breathing.
She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Why was it quiet? That could only mean-
Panic, fear and worry latched onto her. She crawled out from under the bed and rushed to the door. Twisting the doorknob, she ripped open the door to find a scene that made her freeze and her blood run cold.
Her eyes widened.
Callum was slumped against the white wall facing her. There was a piece of wood from the broken door lodged into his abdomen. Blood seeped out of his wound in a thick red gash.
The silver haired boy was facing Callum with his back to her. There was a peculiar glowing orb in his open palm. Streams of blue sparkling light were flittering from Callum's chest towards the ball as if 13 were sucking his very essence. The ball floated just above 13's pale palm, buzzing larger by the second with a thousand small dots of light that looked like fireflies burning into one ball of blue light.
Seeing Callum in this state petrified her. She screamed at herself to move, to do something. Yet her legs stayed glued in place. She couldn't even breathe.
Shockingly, the silver haired boy known as 13 scared her more than the image of her dying lover. There was something about him. The energy around him was like a buzzing electric shockwave; it stunned her in place.
Callum looked up at the boy and smiled, the corner of his lip trailing a line of blood to his chin. "It's ironic. You know you were the first thing I saw, and now you're the last."
"Sisyphus thanks you for your Service, 12." The silver haired boy said, his voice was oddly deep. "The forgotten will never forget you."
Callum smiled weakly, he looked genuinely content at those words.
Then the final trickle of light joined the ball. It glowed like a thousand bright stars clumped together, illuminating brighter and brighter until Aikio had to shield her face with her hands before the light burned her eye sockets.
When it dimmed down she lowered her hands and opened her eyes to find 13 leaning over Callum's body, gently closing his open eyes. Seeing him touch Callum after he had taken the life out of him snapped something in her. She clenched her jaw, her anger burning away her fear.
"Get away from him!" Aikio shrieked and rushed towards Callum.
He didn't make any move at all when she brushed straight past him and took Callum's cold, lifeless body in her arms.
She could only cradle his head and torso, crying silently as she touched his dull cheeks. She played with his dark hair and gently traced is thick eyebrows as her tears trickled onto his already pale face.
13 said nothing, her quiet sobs filling up the silence.
"It's not fair," she croaked, tasting her salty tears in her mouth.
She finally looked up and her glassy red rimmed eyes met his. There was no emotion on his face, as he stared down at her; silver hair sweeping over his startling blue eyes.
"We were happy. We can't love? Is that it?" Her voice cracked, "I'm just as human as you, maybe even more."
That was the first time she saw a flicker of emotion on his face, a hollow smile, a flash of sadness in his blue eyes.
"You're not human. You're just the memory of a dead girl."
Aikio's gaze dulled and she stared off into the distance, as if his words shattered a glass dome around her; pulling her back to reality. A reality where the man who was meant to kill her became her savior, a reality where she wasn't even a human, or a ghost; just the result of a dying girl's regret.
Salmon held his hand out and the (_) tattoo on his wrist glowed hot white. From the light a fuzzy shape materialized out of thin air in his hand. It glowed white, sharpening and morphing until it outlined the shape of a handgun. When it dulled down the white light peeled off of a obsedian black gun. It looked ordinary with no special barrel or casing. But the color was opaque, even in the dimness of the room it seemed to suck the light from around it.
He pointed it to her head.
She didn't even flinch.
Then he fired. An onyx black bullet launched from the barrel.
A tear rolled down her cheek and she hugged Callum to her chest.
The bullet landed between her eyes. For a moment there was silence as she stared off with glazed dull eyes. Then she started to fade in and out of existence; like a glitch in a video game, pieces of her body disappeared and reappeared as if struggling to remain tethered. Her skin blurred translucent, blending into the white wall behind her.
The curtains she pulled aside every morning changed from grey to baby blue, the couch she cuddled with Callum on murky days with morphed into a lime sleeper sofa, the bedroom behind Salmon changed at the seams, bedsheets blended into a different color, the clothes, pictures, books, and nick-nacks around the apartment vanished into thin air. Even the door went back into place, each shard and splinter of wood pulled itself off the ground and flew back into door until it stood agar and perfectly intact with it's hinges as if it were never broken in the first place, refurbished and in a fresh new coat of milky white paint.
Everything Aikio touched faded into nothing, everyone who'd ever come in contact with her forgot her existence; until she finally vanished with Callum in a single second.
Now all that was left before Salmon was a bare yellow wall inside a new empty apartment and the pitter patter of a slowing storm outside.