The Prodigal Son - Chapter Three
22 Oct 2017XxHyde840xX
She used to be so vibrant and full of life. Hyde remembered the pictures of his mother and father from their high school days. The last time Hyde had seen her, well over a year ago, she had just looked tired, and worn down. Now she looked downright exhausted. Dark circles had formed under her eyes and her graying red hair was unkempt and messy. They sat in the living room in an uneasy silence, neither one of them wanting to break it. After a few minutes Rose drew a long breath.“I knew the moment those bloody black trucks showed up...I knew that it was either Sei or you...just like Keiji. The only difference this time is Hudson didn't bother to deliver the news in person,” She shook her head, and regarded her son with trepidation. Sei had suffered the same fate as his father, part of another Federal fleet in an ever growing list destroyed by the Thargoids.
“I suppose you'll be heading out there too? To the Pleiades...”
Rose looked away, clutching a crumpled tissue. The thought of the last of her family, gone, was too much to bear. She had lost her husband, her youngest son, and now her last remaining child would be leaving, off again on some mission she was sure would inevitably end with her alone. Sei had left much as Hyde and Keiji had done, leaving to seek his purpose in the stars. Just like his father, his story had been cut short. Hyde pursed his lips.
“You know I have to...things are getting crazy out there. And you know full well what the report said. Sei's escape pod was taken by those damn bugs.”
The words were blunt, but inside Hyde wanted to scream. Rescind the order to hold fire on the Oresians. Fly the Highwind straight into their alien hearts. Destroy every last one of them. He wanted to burn everything, just to have Sei back. He was greiving, just as much as Rose was. Scared, angry, hurt, empty. Hyde thought back to the last time him and Sei had spoken. They had fought and made up, over something stupid as they always had, but Hyde couldn't stop from thinking he should've been around more. Spent more time with Sei. Been nicer to him. He shook his head clear of the trainwreck of emotions. He couldn't let his mother see how broken he was.
“I'm so sorry Mom...For Dad, Sei, me. Everything.”
“Whats so goddamn important that you all had to leave everything, everything behind!”
Rose had stood up abruptly, glaring at Hyde with bitter resentment, her fists clenched at her sides, white knuckling a crumpled tissue.
“For what? So you could go off and die in some fucking gods-forsaken system? Get killed by those damn...Things! And who picks up the pieces every time!”
The tears flowed freely down her face. “You, Keiji, and Sei, all left. All I ever wanted was a family, but Keiji could never stay still. And you and Sei inherited that from him...Do you have any idea how much it hurts? I tried so hard to build a home for the four of us...We gave you everything...”
Hyde opened his mouth to speak but stopped, realizing that there were no words. Keiji was gone. Sei was gone. His once vibrant and youthful mother was gone. All no more than memories now.
“I do, Mom...and I'm sorry.” Hyde stared at the floor. He felt nothing but shame that he couldn't be the son that she had hoped. Nothing but regret that she couldn't see what drew him, just like his brother and father, into the black.
“Maybe if I had just stayed home and got an office job, maybe Sei would still be here...I'm sorry I'm never around. I'm sorry I left...I don't know what else to say Mom...I'm just sorry. For everything.”
Hyde got up, brushing a few wrinkles out of his jacket. “Let me know when the service is. I'd like to be there if possible. The Pleiades Sector isn't that far out, I can be back from Merope in about an hour, less if I push it...”
His head cocked sideways as Rose's hand struck his face. The sting was immediate and intense. She collapsed against Hyde's chest, sobbing. He held his mother close. He had probably deserved worse. The redness in his cheek wasn't even a fraction of how his mother must've felt, he thought to himself.
“I'm not doing another funeral, I won't! I can't lose you too, you're all I have left...”
After a minute or two, they parted. Wiping her eyes, Rose looked at the welt across Hyde's face and frowned.
“I'm sorry too...”
The walk back to the landing pad where the Dolphin was situated was much darker than when Hyde had first arrived, and the wind brought with it a deathly chill. He made his way up the ramp, shaking from the cold. With a deep breath he pinged Zaylah's comms on his dataslate and she swiftly opened the hatch. Hyde made his way in, collapsed on one of couches and stared at the ceiling of the darkened cabin. Zaylah poked her head in through the door for a moment. Hesitantly she made her way over and gently sat down beside him.
“You know, if you need to take some time off everyone will understand...”
She was interrupted by Hyde burying his face in her lap. He rolled over and pulled her by the jacket towards him. Wide eyed, she held her hands up, not quite sure how to react. She had never seen him like this before.
“Just let me stay like this. Please...”
Wordlessly, she messaged the Dolphins pilot and placed the dataslate down. She put her arms around Hyde and after a moment, ran her fingers through his messy hair. The ships drives spooled up, and before long the pair were airborne, on their way back to Mars High and the Highwind.
Zaylah sat staring out the window, thinking of her own daughter, off on some adventure of her own, and her Admiral. Hyde quietly sobbed, never letting go of Zaylah the entire trip back to the orbital.