Roland: "William? What are you doing man?"
The lifeless body of the man Roland shot down leaned against the wall, along with the dozens of other bodies alongside it. I crouched down to it's level, observing every part of it from face to shoes, and as for what I was looking for? No clue. I cleaned up the blood that flowed down it's forehead, adjusted his collar, fixed his tie, straightened his posture...But there was something missing.
I grabbed a piece of white cloth from my pocket —don't ask why that was there—and carefully wrapped it around the wound on his head, covering it up. Roland snickered from behind me, although I couldn't see him doing it, I could hear him just barely capable of suppressing a laugh.
Roland: "You know that's not gonna bring him back right?" He asked, not a genuine question.
I stood up, my eyes still fixed upon the lifeless body.
William: "I...Don't know man. It's just something about what Howell told me."
Roland: "And what did he tell you?"
William: "'The best we can do in a world like this is have a little dignity.' Or something like that."
Roland: "Dignity huh? So what, you're tidying up his corpse so the dead guy has dignity?" Roland scoffed.
William: "Yeah, something like that. Plus I do feel a bit guilty."
Roland: "Huh? For what?"
William: "Killing some of his friends back at Ulgrad—whatever the name of that place was."
Roland furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
Roland: "Why do you need to care about that?" He asked.
The question was stupid, yet his tone and the genuine confusion plastered over his face said it was a genuine one.
William: "What does that mean?"
Roland: "I mean, come on man. You didn't even know the guy—nor his friends. Who cares if some guys drop dead?"
William: "Come on, they were living people too-"
Roland: "Oh shut up about it." Roland said, interrupting me before I could finish my sentence.
He gestured to the carcasses placed near the walls.
Roland: "Look at this place, there's like dozens of them dead and we don't even bother burying them—why would we? It's unnecessary, not like we have a soul or anything."
William: "Hmm...I guess you're right."
Something about Roland's words didn't sit right with me. His logic was solid, it was true I didn't even know the guy. There's no need for me to be cleaning up his corpse or even feeling bad about his circumstances....But that logic would be assuming we're all just bags of organic material waiting for our next turn to pass, is that really all these is to it?
Roland shrugged, clearing his throat as he brushed off the dirt off his back.
Roland: "Just don't think about it much."
...Don't think about it huh?
....
......
........
The man in front of me—Don Pablo—waved his hand over my face. Did I blank out again? The environment was different, I was sat down upon a seat in the middle of nowhere, Roland was nowhere to be found. We were outside, the scenery the same crimson poisonous sky, but the difference was the sun was out. There was me, the man crouched in front of me, the chairs beside me, and a cooler box filled with beer. Pablo was shirtless and fat, like really fat. He wore hawaiian shorts with flower patterns.
???: "Yo, Mr. Nobody? You good man?"
William: "Oh, yeah. I'm good."
???: "You sure man? You haven't spoken like a person in like the past 30 minutes."
William: "Yeah, I'm fine Pablo.
Don Pablo: "If you say so."
After Pablo confirmed my comfort, he had quickly sat back down to the chair beside me. Grabbing a can of beer from the cooler, popping it open, and chugging it down.
William: "Sorry, remind me again why we're here?"
Don Pablo: "Dawg, You don't even remember? You came here to visit me on your break remember?"
He tossed his can of beer into the air, it levitated off the ground, defying gravity as it shows no signs of falling back down.
William: "Honestly I didn't even know we had breaks."
Don Pablo: "That's what I said!"
I squinted as the rays of sunlight shone brightly, I placed a hand over my eyes, and pablo seemed to notice my discomfort.
Don Pablo: "Yo what's up? The sun too bright?"
William: "A bit. Could you turn it off?"
Don Pablo: "I got you fam." Don Pablo complied.
He grabbed a single shotgun submerged inside the cold water inside the cooler box, aiming straight at the sun, firing a single shot. In an instant, the sun disappeared completely without a trace, no explosion, just a quick pop. The sky went much darker than ever, but the area was still somewhat seeable due to the floating light bulbs that surround, which materialized the same instant the sun went out.
Don Panlo: "Mejor?" He asked, grabbing another can of beer and handing it over to me.
William: "Mucho mejor. But we seriously just ignoring the fact that you just shot the sun out of space?" I replied, accepting the can of beer.
Don Pablo: "Yep."
I like this guy, don't even know much about him other than the fact that he's a fatass.
Don Pablo: "So, Mr. Nobody-"
William: "Woah, wait. Mr. Nobody? Is that an insult or something?"
Don Pablo: "What do you mean, man? You called yourself that."
William: "Ohhh right, I call myself that."
Don Pablo: "You called yourself a lot of things. Lucius Grahams, Danya Kristofiette, William Lidenberge, but you told me if it got confusing to just call you 'Nobody'."
William: "And I get called a lot of things. Like: Dirtbag, deranged maniac, moron, mentally ill guy, but the most—well, I don't know if this is recent—but most interesting I've been called which I can recall is 'Void worshipper'."
Soon after the words had left my mouth I chugged down my can of beer, emptying it out to the last drop. I then wrapped my hands around it, slowly tightening my grip around it, crumpling it down into one flat and compressed circle. I placed it's flat body atop my index finger, and gently spun it round and round, twirling it using my middle finger as it perched on top of my index.
William: "You know, I think consciousness is like this—this can I just crushed."
Don Pablo: "How so?" He asked, taking another sip of beer.
I twirled the can again and again, observing it with concentration.
William: "Imagine this—this can is a vessel. A vessel for ideas, thoughts, and memories."
Don Pablo: "Go on." He says, taking a sip at his beer side-eyeing and expressing mild intrigue.
William: "And think of the thoughts, ideas, and memories as the beer itself." I replied, showing the squashed can in front of Don Pablo.
William: "And me? The guy that drank all the beer, and squashed the can itself? The horrible world, fate, reality. Whatever you wanna call it."
Don Pablo: "Hmm...I think I get it."
Don Pablo leaned backwards, softly scratching his chin as he attempts to decode my cryptic cipher.
William: "We—existing, sentient beings—we're filled with rage, emotions, thoughts, ideas, but that's only at the starting point of it all. The world—the void of meaning drinks away and drains every part of you, until there's nothing left."
Don Pablo: "Then what happens?"
William: "..."
I couldn't answer right away, I looked up at the sky, my eyes were met with the same crimson eyesore. Clouds began to twist and contort, clouds separated from each other began to attract pulling each other closer and closer, all accumulating into one compact area. The large mass of sheer clouds began to twist and contort even more, but now in a more ordered manner. It began to form circular shapes, forming the outline of a human skull, clouds began to gather to the spot where the eyes would be and bent into an X, then the teeth, then two scythes. My gaze were fixed on the event, unflinching, and motionlessly concentrated solely on it and it alone. I observed every detail with great attention, it was as if the void I've been screaming at had decided to finally speak back to me, and this was it's way of communication. It was...mesmerizing to say the least.
Don Pablo: "Mr. Nobody?"
Don Pablo noticed my inattention, softly tugging at my clothes as he calls out my name attempting to snap me out of it. I remained motionless, like an unbreakable trance—I couldn't look away until it was over. I couldn't look away, the void I've been mindlessly shouting at for god knows how long has finally decided to give me an answer.
...And by the end of it, it was fully made. An imagery of two scythes—two crescent blades encircling a giant skull sitting dead center wrapped in chains....I knew what it meant, I knew what the void was trying to tell me and I understood what it meant...No, I knew that was the answer I was looking for all this time, I was just pretending I didn't know...
William: "Hey Pablo?" I said to Pablo, my eyes still fixed at the sky.
Don Pablo: "Yeah bro?"
I reached my right arm out into the sky, and opened my palms. I waved at the sky, and the grim imagery it gave birth to.
William: "...There's nothing there, right?"
Don Pablo: "...Uhh, yes? I don't see anything except the same gloomy space."
William: "...Exactly..."
I paused, the sheer gloom emanating off my presence was felt by Don Pablo, unsettling him into complete silence. The imagery upon the sky, the skull, chain, and scythe were things only I could see....Man, I need help.
Don Pablo: "...What are you looking at Mr. Nobody?"
Pablo broke the deafening silence, clearly confused by my unusual behavior.
William: "...Ahhh, oh it's nothing. I just realized something. The abyss isn't deep underwater or in some secret realm, it's all around us, the void of despair we're all desperately trying to climb up through."
Don Pablo: "...Bro. That was DEEP man!"
Pablo cheered, practically jumping out of his seat in sheer hype and excitement. He snapped his fingers again and again, like uhh...Like uhh...Man I don't know, narrating is hard. Like a thing that snaps it's fingers repeatedly or something!
William: "I know right? Man, I'm such a poetic genius dawwwg!!"
Don Pablo: "Hahaha! I mean, you're kinda rude, socially awkward, and bordering on corny. But damn, you drop some cold lines sometimes."
William: "Ouchie Don-don. You hurt my heart!" I said, grabbing my chest and dramatically flailing around like a fish out of water or something like that.
Don Pablo: "Man, this is so stupid I love it!"
William: "I know ri-"
Ring-ring-ring!
I was abruptly interrupted by a sound of a ringing device strapped to my ankles.
William: "O-Oh man we have lost the plot! Sorry, I gotta go. I just got a call...Of duty."
Cue random dramatic background music and sunglasses teleporting to my face.