The Last Aeon: Chapter 2

It’s funny, the old unfinished building promised to bring this town nearly two-thousand jobs was never completely erect. I never understood why back then, though I was young-didn’t care about things like that. They just up and quit building it and now it stands there rotten and unfinished. Sometimes, I’d look at it, it’s three-hundred stories which were towering over the city’s highest skyscrapers, and stare at it and laugh. It was like they were racing to touch the sun. And now... With the biodomes and everything being built underground-it now remains to be a strange site of the past.
I was eight years old back then. I’d walk the streets, sometimes-I’d meet with friends in town and walk through the city, in the stores, in central park. I barely ever seen my parents; they were always at work, so I’d always be running around. I had a lot of, what you might say, unofficial guardians. Most of them were parents of my friends and old folks that lived by or even along my running grounds. However, there was one special ‘guardian’. I met him when I was dared to walk inside the One Forever Skyscraper. We all thought it was abandoned. We thought wrong.
We meaning I- Isabel and the others: Jack, Yuri, and Charlie. We were playing truth or dare and it was my turn. I was feeling brave and I picked dare. It wasn’t like we had any secrets to hold from each other, like adults usually do, so truth wasn’t that fun.


“C’mon, Isabel! You picked dare! You gotta do it! You made me eat a bug!” whined Charlie. He was wearing a faded orange shirt with some name brand on the front, red cargo pants and plain black and white shoes. He had hair long enough that covered his eyes. It seemed like his parents were like mine because he wasn’t well groomed or with such restrictions a child with close parents whom wouldn’t let an eight year old run around freely in a city like New York.
“No!” I shook my head and sat on the curb down the street from the deserted One Forever building. I was wearing a white skirt with a deep red trim down the sides and bottom, a sleeveless semi-formal shirt with buttons down the front, and sandals with bucklers on the front and back of both feet. They were pretty worn, though surprisingly still comfortable.
“Let’s think of a different dare... That place is pretty scary looking!” Yuri argued. Yuri was about a year older than me. Her parents owned a restaurant down the street and was always wearing an apron because she’d forget to take it off after helping with business. Yuri, that day, was wearing that black apron over a white sun dress with light blue trim that ran along the collar, where it was tied up as a small bow, the arms, and the waist. She wore black and grey clogs on her feet and her brown hair up in a white scrunch.
“Nope, I made the dare and it can’t be taken back!” Charlie said, “I played by the rules so you have to too!” Charlie points down the darkened street-darkened by the shadows made by the other towering buildings.
“What if I get in trouble?” I pleaded. I didn’t want to go. I heard stories of that old building-I heard that it was haunted-I heard that a bunch of bad people hide there from the police- I heard that it wasn’t a place for kids to play truth or dare. Yuri concurred.
“You won’t! Just walk in and stay there for ten minutes and we’ll come in and call you out! That’s all, Bell!” Jack told me. Jack was a scraggily looking kid who didn’t ever seem to go home. We never really questioned if he had a home, though, because we didn’t want to be intrusive. We just want to be good friends, I guess. He was wearing dark blue cargo jeans and a red shirt with a few holes in it.
It was about 2:00 pm on a Tuesday in July. We stood on Washington street, about forty feet away was a hotdog vendor, across the road was a few apartments stuck between skyscrapers, looking north was central park, and the other direction-you could see a part of main street flooded by traffic as usual. I stood there thinking, the surroundings seemed to delay my decision making process.
“All right... Fine! But after this dare, I quit!!” I began walking down that dark street, brave, but dumb- I had felt chills as a stomped down the pavement street, hearing Yuri calling my name.
“Izzy! You don’t have to do this!” She yelled. I ignored her, my best friend’s good advice that I didn’t take. I kept walking.
“She’s actually going for it!” Jack says. Both Jack and Charlie follow Yuri and I up to the building’s entrance. It was boarded up partially-Just enough room to squeeze in between loose boards. I look in and turn around to look back outside, look at those three one last time and smirk.
Jack had that holly heck look in his eyes, Yuri shook her head and winced, and Charlie was inspecting the outside of the building, watching it attentively as he looked at me peeking my head out the loose boards I slipped in through.
“This place is big! Wow...” Charlie looked back up.
“Yeah,” Yuri concurred.
“Well go on! Walk inside and wait ten minutes and we’ll come in to get you,” Jack says as he crosses his arms.
“You promise you won’t leave me here alone?” I asked them all.
“I promise,” Yuri replied.
Charlie nodded and Jack wasn’t paying attention.
“Okay... Heh... See ya in ten minutes!” I grinned slightly. I wasn’t all that scared of going inside that building because I was actually wondering what was inside.
The whole place was dark, so dark that I could barely see my hands when I’d put in front of my face. The first floor felt very empty and open because when I walked, my shoes made a pinging sound echoed loudly against the unfinished concrete walls. A few pillars stood nearby and seemed strong, though lonely in the dark-performing their duty without anyone to appreciate it-like vanity. The over all architectural genius in it’s magnitude felt lacking and foolish. They probably spent millions of dollars to start it and didn’t have enough to finish it.
Even though it was pretty dark, against the walls in the distance, I could see with just enough light sifting in through the boarded up windows, plenty to see that there were a set of stairs about three-hundred feet from where I had walked in. I didn’t even know if the stairs were finished, but I decided to walk up them anyway. I reached the top where the ceiling became the floor and I on the second flight. I looked around to see nothing but darkness so I walked up to the third floor.
At first, I saw nothing but darkness, but I then, as I started walking up the steps to the fourth floor, I heard a noise. It was like a metal clank hitting off the floor. I looked around, though, saw nothing once again. I began walking back up the stairs and reached the fourth floor.
That’s when I heard voices. Immediately, I thought of ghosts and wanted to run out of the building, then, I remembered how silly that was because I didn’t believe in ghosts. I turned around from running down the steps and came back up to peak into the room. A few dim lights were emitting from the room in the distance but I couldn’t see what or who it was. I decided to walk to it. Hearing more voices, and the occasional laugh, I knew it had to be somebody there.
I walked over to them slowly, staying in the shadows.
“You’re right man... This was a great idea! Nobody will find us here, hehahahah!” A man’s voice echoed out. It sounded like he was around twenty years of age as he spoke low and raspy. And, perhaps, he wasn’t without a sort of drunkenness that numbs him stupid.
“Clay, shut up you stupid bastard! I hear something!” A second voice wasn’t of a man without alcohol either as he moaned an outcry of mispronounced words.
“What? You’re bein’ louder than me! Asshole!” The man, so- called Clay, replied even louder.
Suddenly, I heard a stampede of foot steps coming up the stairs. For a moment, I stiffen in fear, though, soon enough I reasoned to myself that I had to hide. I crept into the corner where it was dark enough to keep from being noticed.
“Did you bring it?” Said a man whom had just arrived.
“Of course.”
“You ready?”
“We’ll go over the plan one more time.”
“Do we gotta?”
“Yes, you moron!”
“Easy, boss...”
“Don’t start with me!”
“Alright, I’m cool, I’m cool. Let’s get this over with.”
I watched them as I shivered in fright. For some reason I knew that I was in the wrong place at the right time. I saw five men, carrying these black cases that looked very heavy.
“Graunter, you’re the man. You plant the first one up stairs and we’ll plant the other thing here. We’ll meet you at the bottom.”
“Haha! Great! This whole blocks gonna be nothin’ but dust when we blow this shit up!”
“Yeah yeah, get going!”
The man, the one they called Graunter, took one of the black cases and walked up the stairs. Another man took the other black case
Suddenly, after hearing what was just said, I let out a blatant “No!” All those men stopped what they were doing and looked to the corner where I was sitting.
“What’s this? A spy?”
“She’s kinda cute... haha.”
“Yeah, wanna chill with us?
“Who sent you?”
“Shut up and get her!”
These voices were all that I could remember hearing. I could feel my blood pressure rise as I got up and ran down the stairs. I managed to make it to the third floor, but my little legs couldn’t carry me fast enough down the stairs. Tripping, hitting my head on the cement, I fell unconscious.
And, for a moment in time, I dreamt of fireworks. The atmosphere was hazed, warm, blurry to my eyesight. Perhaps it was because I was in between a somniferous state which rubbed the lining of reality, though I began to see what was truly happening.
Someone, or something, was carrying me over it’s shoulder. Running extremely fast, dodging flames, avoiding falling debris as the building shook and crumbled. As I was carried, breathable air becomes a rarity as I fall under yet again, victim to induced slumber.
Finally, I awoke for good. I was lying over the shoulder of what appeared to be a young man. Much taller than I, and older, my guess would be somewhere in the lower twenties. I opened my eyes and saw the rags which he wore, brown, old and musky. He spoke with a kind voice, almost calming as any voice could of been in the moment.
I hear him talking.
“Get out of here,” I could feel the low vibration of his diaphragm as he had my small body lying over his shoulder.
“What you gonna do about it?” One of the men from inside the building confronted him, standing ready with the others which were inside.
By this time, the old building, the tallest, was inflamed, falling apart little by little as the sounds of sirens echoed through the city. It was as if the whole town awoke, as if it ever slept, just to see what was all the ruckus.
“Just go! You have no right to be here!” The man holding me, yelled at him.
“Graunter, Karma, Junk! Lets get him!”
The man ran over to put me in a safe spot away from them and ran back to fight. And, in that fight, I saw something astonishing. I saw the face of what could of been- no, what was my guardian angel. And, at the same time, the devil’s demons, the notorious street gang back then. I believe their name was Dark Infinite.
“Yeah! Let’s not let Kikolan down!! Fight for the stars and the stars are ours!!” One of them screamed.
“For the Dark Infinite!” The four of them draw their weapons. Guns, knives, iron knuckles, I even saw a linked metal chain, all were being used against the man who saved me. I screamed for help, as I slowly came out of shock from the explosions which had thrown my reality into vivacious proportions of fire and the crumbling of the One Forever Building which had begun to intensify.
Then, surprising to me, the five to one battle was outstanding. I watched as the man batter and bruise them all, one by one, none of them could touch him. His speed, his strength, it was unimaginable, amazing. Come to think of it now, it sounds impossible that any one person could achieve enough strength to defend himself against five hoodlums such as the ones he fought that night.
But, eventually, a gun shot rang out into the night, as if it silenced the city that never sleeps. It was inevitable, I knew it was coming. I looked away, I didn’t want to witness the death of the man who would of almost saved me. Surely, if the man would die, I would be next, I was a witness. They would just up and shoot me right there and run to shut me up. Even I was only eight years old.
“No!!” I couldn’t hold it back. I had seen the man who tried to save me, fall to the ground, holding his torso, firmly grasping a wound as I screamed bloody murder.
I’ll never forget the look in his eyes. The man who then pointed the gun at me and had the most uncomfortable expression on his face. I remembered every single feature: the eyes were bloodshot, the nose-slightly pointed, his ears point outward from his miss shaped head with the, dirty brown hair. I can’t remember what he wore, the type of gun, or even how old he was. I was too nervous to take any notice.
“Say goodnight, little girl,” after he cocked the gun he looks at me and smiled.
At that moment, I had to close my eyes and done something my mother taught me about. Something people used to do during hard times. Some people did it even when things were just fine. I didn’t know anything about it, but I prayed for an angel, silently, and clenched every muscle in my body.
“Boss! He’s not dead!!” Yelled one of the gang members. The man who was shot, got up, turned that bastard with the gun, and punched him in the jugular.
Of all places to punch somebody, it was effective. The man’s body went numb and caused him to drop to the ground, bashing his nose on the pavement. The sirens which wailed before, stopped, as the policemen, fire department, and ambulances arrived. Helicopters hovered the perimeter, even SWAT arrived at the scene.
The gang members stood frozen as the man who saved me started running away.
“Holly shit! That was him! It had to of been! Holly-fucking-shit!” Said a gang member.
“I can’t believe it.” Said another.
“The rumor was true...” Said the gang member who’s nose bled on the concrete, fifty yards from the building front which was inflames. I was lying there. I stood up and watched him run away.
Everything after that becomes a little hard to make out. Now, twenty years later, I’m on the hunt for that man to thank him for saving my life. I didn’t see my friends until the next day. They all visited me in the hospital, coming up to me with sorry-filled expressions written on their faces. Charlie, the one who made the dare, got me flowers. They, the flowers, were nice, but I can’t remember anything else besides that.
The hospital stay wasn’t for any injuries, though, just for a check up, to make sure I was okay. As for the man whom was punched- he was told that he would be confined to a wheel chair for the rest of his life.
About a year later, I was at one of my “guardian’s” houses, watching television. She turned the channel to a news briefing. It talked about a creature whom was called an “Aeon”. Then, after giving the public all his whereabouts, it was stated at a press conference that, a year ago, the One Forever building was blown up by it, the Aeon. I was shocked, because right afterward, it showed a picture of the Aeon. It was my Angel, the man whom saved me.
The news coverage cut to the clip of a man being interviewed. He looked angered, sitting in a wheelchair, breathing with the help of an oxygen tank. He said, “That son-of-a-bitch struck me down with his massive arms and cracked my neck! I won’t be able to walk for the rest of my life!!”
So, sadly, the man, this so-called Aeon, is falsely accused. I hope to find him, if he is still around today, and prove that he isn’t guilty. He saved me, so my hope is to do the same for him.

Table of Contents for:

The Last Aeon

The Last Aeonautical-Chapters 1  (13+) The begining of a long Journey for a man named Karber and a cyborg called Aeon. #850775 by Aeon

The Last Aeon: Chapter 2  (13+) A woman tells a story of her savior. #856996 by Aeon

The last Aeon (outline)  () Aeon outline #854434 by Aeon

COMMING SOON!!