Chapter 17: Chapter 17

Monday was when the university properly re-opened - it had apparently taken about a week because, unofficially, the government needed time to completely erase all evidence that a battle had happened there. And to their credit, they had done a rather excellent job, making it as though nothing had actually happened.

It was a little past midday. Anja was walking around looking for a good table to eat her lunch by herself. Sonia wasn’t available for talking to, she had a class this period, and she wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone else that she could think of right now.

That changed when she bumped into someone by accident. “Oh, sorry.”

“Sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was-Anja?” The young man she had bumped into had brown hair tied back in a ponytail, blue eyes that looked like he hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep lately and pale skin, along with a long-sleeve dark red dress shirt and jeans. He had a black backpack as well.

She immediately recognised him, despite not having interacted with him in quite a while - Harlan Hamblett. Guess it was only fair to at least talk with him a little bit. “Hey. Been a while.”

Harlan was an old friend from high school, he knew both her and Sonia. But he had started drifting away from them after, well, the incident.

“That’s fairly true, yes,” Harlan agreed. “Are you headed to class or having lunch?”

“Lunch. Same?”

“Yes, pretty much.”

“Wanna eat together and catch up?”

Harlan hesitated for a moment, before he nodded. “I don’t see why not. Sure.”

It didn’t take long for them to find a table. Anja couldn’t help but notice that the both of them had just made sandwiches - she had gone with peanut butter and strawberry jam, while apparently Harlan went with Vegemite instead of the peanut butter.

It took about half a minute before either of them spoke. Harlan initiated the conversation. “So, how’ve you been?”

“Been alright. Therapy’s helping a lot,” said Anja.

“That is good to hear, I suppose. The last week has been… Very unusual, to put it mildy, don’t you agree?”

“What, you mean the whole school being attacked and then the shopping district? Yeah, I’ll say.”

“You actually believe that’s what happened? I didn’t take you for a conspiracy theorist like Sonia.”

Anja shrugged. “First time could be explained away by the ‘gas leak’, same thing can’t be said for the whole damn shopping district. Multiple people went missing after that incident.”

Harlan leaned back contemplatively, clearly mulling it over in his head. “That’s fair enough. I cannot deny something incredibly strange is going on, at the very least, and it’s distressing. Nevermind federal police seem to be swarming all over the place. What the hell happened to our town?”

“Some asshole decided to try and kidnap people and take over the town? I know what I saw, the government is trying to cover it up using hypnotic suggestion.”

“I’m hardly an expert on hypnosis, but I suppose it would make sense that using it to make someone believe something wouldn’t work if that person is exposed to contradictory information. Unfortunately for the government, the contradiction happened when a more public area was attacked.”

“Well, we know aliens are real now… I mean, just look up,” Anja said, pointing upwards to drive her point home. “Maybe there’s already aliens on our planet abducting people. I don’t know for sure, but it’s sure as hell as possibility.”

That got a chuckle out of Harlan, who smirked, stroking his chin. “Never would I have thought I would ever see the day when such a line of thinking was not only plausible but could be linked to concrete evidence.”

“I know, right? Sonia has been insufferable about being right about aliens being real for the past week.”

Both of them laughed. The mirth didn’t last.

There was another awkward silence. Anja looked down at her half-eaten sandwich. “I wonder what Matt would say.”

“He’d probably joke that he should’ve gone into astronomy rather than acting,” Prometheus interjected in her head.

Anja barely even gave it a thought before she continued with that exact line. That was exactly what he’d say, really.

“He’d still be with us if it wasn’t for me,” said Harlan, before ripping into his sandwich.

Anja frowned. Seriously, this shit again? “You just suggested going to that party, Harlan. I’m the one who stopped in the middle of the damn road.”

“I saw you look both ways and there wasn’t a car in sight! If I hadn’t suggested going to the party, he’d still be here!” Harlan snapped, despite not even having swallowed yet.

“You didn’t know that was going to happen! Why are you trying to take responsibility for it?!”

“Why are you?!”

The argument stopped as Anja contemplated where it had gone. It seems Harlan was mulling it over too. “How did we end up trying to blame ourselves for what happened?”

Harlan finally swallowed, and huffed. “Because Matt was an amazing friend and he didn’t deserve what happened to him. And he didn’t do what he did, you wouldn’t be here either.”

“He wouldn’t want us to be wallowing over it like this. It’s stupid.”

“The human brain isn’t totally logical. We get hung up over things that normally would be absolutely foolish. Psychological trauma can’t just be gotten over through simple logic. If it could be, there would be significantly fewer therapists.”

“Then… Can we try to agree to stop blaming ourselves for what happened, Harlan?”

Harlan finished the remainder of his sandwich, leaned forward, resting his arms on the table, and his head drooped forward. “Logically, I should. I just wish I could mentally tell myself I should do that, because my brain won’t let me. All I can promise is to try.”

Anja took a deep breath. “Guess I gotta settle for that. I promise to try, too.”

“That works for me.” He got up, taking his container and putting it away, before walking off. “Let’s talk again like this sometime. It was good seeing you again, Anja.”

“Likewise,” Anja said, as she began finishing her sandwich.

“I got a weird feeling from that guy,” Prometheus said mentally. “I dunno why, just something’s a bit off, you know?”

“It’s probably because he’s so broody,” Anja replied mentally. “Then again, could be anything, considering what we’ve been experiencing lately. Maybe put him on the ‘persons of interest’ list just in case.”

“Good call, I’d say. Also, I think I have a pretty good idea of what happened now, but I think it’s high time you told me the full story about Matt. You’ve been putting it off long enough. I know, it’s been a week, but you can’t stop ducking the subject if everyone else knows what happened.”

Anja took a deep breath. He was right, she had been putting this off for long enough. Everyone knew the story but him, and he was her partner, it was only right he knew what happened.

She opened her mind to him as the memories came flooding back.

❖

It was only a few years ago, when Anja was still in high school. It was midnight on a Saturday, she and her drama friends were walking home together after leaving a party, passing through the commercial district on their way home. The streets were illuminated by street lamps, and to a lesser degree, any shops that were still open.

“-you saw the way it just went ZOOM, right across the room, right? Amazing!” Anja laughed.

Matthew Braeman chuckled as he shook his head, walking alongside her. “That party kinda got out of hand, don’t you think?”

Matt was Anja’s boyfriend, and the star actor amongst Angel Bay High School’s drama clique. The drama club was only for Year 8 students, so they had to make do with being an informal club outside of school hours. Matt himself was a rather handsome young man - blonde hair down to his shoulders in a ponytail, and green eyes - and was considered by his peers to be the most likely person to be the next Chris Hemsworth or something to that effect.

“Eh, could’ve been worse,” Sonia shrugged, walking in front of them - she still had gone with her mild goth look to this party. “There could’ve been alcohol.”

“Fair enough. Then it definitely would’ve gotten out of hand…”

Anja giggled, nudging Matt in the side with her elbow, “yeah, but if things didn’t get at least a little chaotic it wouldn’t be fun, now would it?”

Matt smiled. “Maybe for a party like that. But it wouldn’t suit every single one.”

He had his arm around Anja’s waist as they walked. They had been dating for several months, and Anja felt like the happiest girl in the world right now. Matt was funny, charming, courteous and looked out for everyone, including her.

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As they walked, Matt glanced towards her, “you sure your parents aren’t gonna be mad we were out so late?”

Anja shrugged, “it’s fine, we’re not that late. Es has late night parties like this regularly. As long as I don’t come home drunk, it should be okay.”

“Well, if they do get upset, I’ll do the talking. Say it was my idea,” Matt winked.

“Ever the shining knight, aren’t you, mate?” Harlan said, walking behind them.

Matt shrugged. “Someone’s gotta be.”

The conversation quickly died down, causing Anja to change the subject. “Hey, you know when I said I’m considering going into biology when I graduate? Yeah, I’ve made up my mind. I’m gonna go for it.”

There were whoops and cheers from the group as they got close to a pedestrian crossing.

“I told you it was your calling, babe,” Matt kissed her on the cheek. “That’s great to hear.”

Sonia grinned, throwing up her arms with a whoop, “awesome, just make sure you don’t become like Dr. Frankenstein.”

Harlan snorted. “Victor Frankenstein? The fact that you called him a doctor means you never even read the damn book - and you should, by the way, it’s a really good book. Victor Frankenstein didn’t even graduate from college before he created his monster. Dr. Jekyll was a far more professional medical expert who actually took responsibility for his unethical scientific experiments!”

“Ah, yes, who could forget Victor Frankenstein?” As the group started crossing the road, Anja made sure to look both ways, but it felt almost unnecessary - at this time of night in Angel Bay, the streets were quiet and the roads had few vehicles driving about, and there simply wasn’t any in sight. Matt slowed down as he started making dramatic, overly hammy gestures. “Oh, woe is me! I, Victor Frankenstein, in my out of control thirst for knowledge have created a remarkably handsome undead abomination of science and nature, but the whole thing is a failure because his eyes looked creepy!”

Anja stopped in her tracks in the middle of the road, howling with laughter as she nearly doubled over. Sure, it was perhaps a slight oversimplification, but it was still hilarious. “Holy shit that is SO TRUE!”

“Okay, settle down, Anja. You really are in a good mood tonight,” Matt said as he stopped alongside her, as everyone else passed them.

Anja took a deep breath, turning to him as she moved in front of him, her back to the rest of the group, and making eye contact with a smile. “I had a great time, and I’m with my amazing boyfriend and my friends. Why wouldn’t I be?”

Matt smiled back. “I absolutely feel the same way, babe.”

They leaned into each other to kiss, embracing for several seconds as they locked lips tightly.

Anja barely registered the sound of a roaring car engine in the distance roughly to her left that was slowly getting louder.

After breaking the kiss, Matt blinked as he turned towards the direction of the sound. “Okay, what the actual hell is that no-”

Anja turned to her left to look, only to see a car veering right around the corner at high speed.

Matt shoved her out of the way, and tried to leap out of the way as well. “LOOK OUT!”

He was only moments too late.

Anja watched with wide eyes after landing on her rear as she saw the car slam into Matt, sending him tumbling right over with multiple sickening crunches, with one last crunch echoing as he hit the ground.

The car itself veered out of control, crashing right into a nearby wall - the car looked modified, painted over amateurishly.

Anja could hear screams and gasps behind her, along with panicked exclamations to call triple-zero.

A few other cars slowed at the corner, only to immediately zoom away in the opposite direction of the scene as soon as the drivers had seen what had happened.

Matt’s bodied body wasn’t moving.

Anja scrambled over to him on her hands and knees, moving him onto his back. “Matt! Are you alright?!”

Matt was conscious, but barely. His eyes looked cloudy, and his voice slurred as he groaned. He looked into her eyes, and weakly brushed her cheek with his hand as he formed a weak smile. “Oh… Good… You’re okay… I don’t know what I’d do… If you…”

He then lost consciousness, his eyes closing.

“No… NO! MATT! WAKE UP! PLEASE!” Anja screamed, her very world falling apart around her as tears flooded down her face.

❖

An ambulance and the police arrived shortly afterwards. The driver of the car was arrested before he could try to escape the scene.

Matt, however, died in a hospital bed only twenty minutes later. When the doctors broke the unfortunate news, Anja could not stop crying for the whole night.

The driver had been involved in an illegal street racing ring that had moved into Angel Bay not long beforehand, likely due to it being a quiet town without a lot of cops. Of course, after Matt’s death and the ensuing uproar, the crackdown from the state police was immediate, and everyone involved either fled the state or was swiftly arrested.

Not that this was of much comfort for Anja. The brightest light in her life had been snuffed out without warning, all because she threw caution to the wind and stopped to laugh and have a kiss in the middle of the road. Nobody blamed her, not even Matt’s parents, but she felt it was all her fault. The funeral and the criminal trial where she was forced to give testimony only made things worse.

Despite the best efforts of her family and friends, Anja quickly shut down emotionally. She stopped acting. Without Matt… What was even the point anymore?

It took years of therapy to recover to the point where she felt like she was even somewhat of a functioning human being again. But even then, she still felt like she had a hole in her heart that could never be filled again.

❖

Prometheus was silent for most of the day after he learned what had happened. It was only after Anja was walking with Sonia on the way home that he spoke up. “Fuck. Just… Fuck.”

“I told him about what happened to Matt,” Anja explained to her.

“Ah, right. Yeah, ‘fuck’ is a pretty apt word,” Sonia nodded.

“I mean, I figured it out, but to absorb your memories of the whole thing… Bloody hell, it’s way more visceral,” Prometheus said. “No fucking wonder you were so traumatised. Matt was a good guy. He didn’t deserve what happened to him.”

“I still have nightmares of that night,” Anja said.

“So do I, from time to time,” said Sonia. “I guess Harlan probably does as well, judging by what you said to him.”

“Dude still blames himself for what happened. Not that any of us expected that to happen, but…” Anja’s words failed her for a few seconds. “Why is it so hard to just move on?” She said, tears welling up.

“Because Matt was such a big and bright part of our lives,” Sonia said. “The fact that he’s gone is still something I can’t believe sometimes…”

Anja nodded solemnly. “He would’ve told us not to obsess over his death, but… That’s easier said than done.” A thought suddenly entered her head. “Prometheus… You barely knew anything about Matt. How did you know what he probably would’ve said, earlier?”

“I dunno. It just came naturally, I said it without thinking,” said Prometheus. “I don’t know why, but the whole memory of the car crash gave me a weird sense of deja-vu. Maybe I was absorbing your knowledge and memories subconsciously or something? I dunno.”

“Well, one way or another, he’s gone, can’t change that, even with magic,” said Sonia. “As much as I would love there to be some kind of revival spell, apparently that’s impossible. Apparently God’s actually out there, so hopefully he’s with him.”

Anja smiled weakly. “Still having a crisis of non-faith after finding out that gods and demons exist, Sonia?”

Sonia rolled her eyes. “Ugh, don’t remind me. I still want to deny that they’re really gods and demons, maybe they’re just super-advanced aliens from other planes of existence or something…”

“Sure, sure, keep telling yourself that if that helps you sleep at night,” Anja said as she let out a chuckle, continuing to walk with the sombre mood hanging over their heads.

Sonia looked up to the sky, trying to ignore the fact that the planetary shield was there, thinking to herself, if you’re up there, Matt… I hope you don’t blame me or Harlan for what happened.

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