17 Winter: Coldness; While Walking That Leads To The "Last" Circle

The blaring of my alarm clock reached my ears, but the alarm wasn't meant for me to wake up today. I grabbed my phone from off the desk and turned the alarm off.

"Damn it, it's that late already?" I muttered, tossing my phone on the bed, exchanging it for a black tie that was already tied together. I put it around my neck, making sure it fit snugly underneath my black collar.

Okay, tie? I looked down at my tie before nodding. Shirt? I looked down at my black button up shirt, nodding to myself again. Alright, I guess that just means…

I looked down at my pants less legs before sighing. Do I even have pants that fit me anymore?

I heard a knock on the door, signifying that my time was just about up. Shit, she's gonna lecture me, isn't she?

I dragged my feet to the door, failing to push my hair, which just about reached the bottom of my nose, out of my face. I unlocked the door, opening it wide open to let in the person I had been waiting on.

"Why aren't you wearing any pants?" Lachesis asked, her hair pulled back in a ponytail.

"I don't have any that fit me anymore…" I said, trailing off as I looked away from her.

"I suspected as much. Here, try these on. They should fit, but if not, I have another pair you can try that should work." She handed me a pair of black jeans before walking in. "I'll be on the couch."

I nodded. "Right." I closed the door before heading back into my room, where I tried on my pants.

"How the hell does she know my sizes better than I do?" I grumbled, inspecting pair of jeans that fit me perfectly. "Well, whatever."

I stuffed my shirt in my pants before putting on my belt, sighing to myself. I picked my phone off my bed, putting it in my pocket before grabbing my black pair of tennis shoes that were just about new.

I walked out my room and plopped myself down next to Lachesis, who glanced at me while I put my shoes on.

"What took you so long to get ready? Don't tell me you woke up late."

���No, that wasn't it. I was trying to find something to eat, but it seems I don't have anything."

She just patted me on the back. "After all this is over, you can eat at my place today, got it?"

I guess it also means it's that time again. My thoughts wandered back to the conversation I had about a month ago with Pandora, but I quickly shook it off, feeling my heart beat faster just thinking about it. Tomorrow. I'll do it tomorrow.

I looked at Lachesis, who was wearing a black dress with black heels, along with a black necklace I hadn't seen before.

"When did you get that?" I asked, pointing out her new accessory while finishing up putting my shoes on.

She looked momentarily shocked before looking down at her chest. "Oh, this? It was in my mom's collection, so I decided to borrow it without telling her."

"Wait, isn't that just stealing?" She let out a small smile.

"Nah, she doesn't mind. Besides, she knows what day it is so…" She trailed off, her smile fading away before shaking her head. "No, enough of that, what're we gonna do about your hair?"

Eh? I pulled a strand of my greasy hair away from my face, frowning. "It isn't that bad, is it?"

"What am I gonna do with you?" She sighed out, rolling her eyes. "Well, it's too late to cut it, so this'll have to do. Here, turn around."

I did as I was told and waited while Lachesis did her thing. She raked her hands through my unkempt hair, humming to herself.

"You really need to take better care of yourself, you know that?"

"I took a shower yesterday."

"You should take a shower every day!" she scolded, starting to pull the hair in front of my face to the back. "Man, at this rate, you're gonna have hair longer than mine, you know that?"

"Does it really matter how long my hair is?"

"You look better without your hair covering your eyes Depra," she said, finishing pulling all of my hair back before tying it with something. "There, all done. Turn towards me please."

I turned towards her, her soft blue eyes looking at my face with a vivid curiosity. "When was the last time I saw your face I wonder," she murmured to herself, and it was then I noticed that her hair was down.

"Did you use your hair tie for my own hair?"

"Wow, you noticed quicker than I was expecting," she said, standing up, smoothing out her dress as she did so. The dress went down to just above her knees, and she pushed her hair away from her ears as she smiled at me. She was also wearing a black jacket to cover her bare arms. "Well, I think I look pretty good with my hair either way, so it doesn't really matter to me. Anyway, ready to go?"

"I just need my wallet."

She nodded, walking towards the front door, while I walked back into my room, grabbing my wallet from off my dresser and putting it in my left pocket.

I reached towards the back of my head, feeling the length of the ponytail that Lachesis gave me. I guess it is long, huh? It went all the way down to my shoulders, and I let out a sigh.

Maybe I should cut it soon?

I walked out my room to see Lachesis holding a small black purse. "You have everything right?" She asked, looking me up and down.

"Yeah, do you?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not the one who forget things you know."

"I wouldn't dare mess up anything today, you know that," I said, scowling, and she nodded.

"I know. Now if you could only dress up this nicely every day, the girls would come flocking!"

Ugh. "Let's go already." I opened the door to see a grey sky inviting me outside. It was cold, but not windy, with nothing left on the trees but the branches that grew from them.

In other words, it had officially become Winter.

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After we had grabbed everything from our two destinations (I went to a toy store and Lachesis went to a grocery store), we walked in silence to a nearby bus station to take us to our final destination.

I sighed, looking up at the sky above before frowning as I felt something cold touch my nose.

I looked around to see more of the thing that made me cold, and a realization dawned onto me on what this phenomenon was:

It was snowing, just like it was all those years ago, on that day.

The bus arrived, and we got on, paying for our ticket before heading out away from the city, towards the farmlands I had run away to some years back. I glanced over at Lachesis, who was sitting closest to the window, and she was gazing outside, a sad look upon her face, and her blue eyes had an even softer look than they normally did, one mixed with sadness and grief.

She caught me staring at her, but her usual reassuring smile didn't show up, so instead I patted my hand on her leg, the only way to reassure both her and myself.

It was all I could do, since I couldn't smile for her either.

We rode the bus to the stop just before the one I would take if I were to go see the nice old couple who stayed in their little house with their land.

We got off, looking at the wooden gateway accompanied with a set of well-worn stone stairs leading up to the mountain, Olympus.

We started our long way up, taking our steps as slow as possible, a sense of foreboding weighing down on us.

Even after 12 years of coming to this place, the walk upwards never got any easier. Not for Lachesis, and certainly not for myself. It wasn't as if we dreaded coming to this place; it was the opposite actually. We liked coming here but hated ourselves for doing so. It was unfair after all, being able to enjoy each other's company like this.

But for me, there lie another, albeit just as important, more recent reason. This was the only day of the year in which I had complete and utter guaranteed silence. No incidents, no voices, nothing but my own thoughts to keep me company within my own head.

I felt Lachesis pull on my sleeve, snapping me out of my thoughts. We had reached our destination.

It was a graveyard, filled with names I didn't care to know and names I didn't want to know were there. However, what we were looking for wasn't a grave within this graveyard.

We walked among the graves, most of them so worn down that even if I wanted to try to read the names, I couldn't. We walked and walked, until we reached the edge of the graveyard, where a small path within a grove of trees awaited us.

We both stopped, hesitating. I glanced at Lachesis, whose eyes were locked onto the path. I looked back at the path and took a deep breath. I walked forward, into the path that would lead us to the place we come to year after year after year, always on the day before it occurred.

And then, we arrived.

It was a small ledge that overlooked the entire eastern side of Olympus, with the endless sea in the background. And near the edge of the ledge was a small monument, shaped like a stone pillar with a pointy edge at the top. And inscribed on the monument was the very reason we came here for.

Lachesis and I walked to the monument, setting down our gifts. I pulled out a giant toy car and placed it gently on the ground, while Lachesis pulled out a liter bottle of fruit punch with some cups along with a family size bag of cheddar chips.

December 24th, 2021, 12:00 pm: "In Honor of our Dear Friend, Captain," I said, reading what was inscribed on the Monument. Below that was his name, the name of our dear third childhood friend, the cause of my first regret.

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"Achoo!"

We had finished with our conversation with Captain, with Lachesis sending us off with a sneeze.

"Bless you." I said, standing up from the cold ground. I offered her a hand, and she accepted it, lifting her off the ground. She sniffled (she cried earlier in our conversation), wiping at her eyes.

"Thank you," she said, sniffling again. "Do you think we told him everything we needed to?"

I nodded. "Well, I had a pretty shitty year, so I don't know if he'll be too happy with me this time around as well."

"You're probably right. Maybe this'll motivate you to be better?" She suggested, and I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever, are we missing anything before we leave?"

"Nope, all that's left is for you to do your thing," Lachesis said, and I nodded, turning to the monument, where two empty cups and a third cup filled to the brim were left, along with the unopened bag of chips and the toy car.

I knelt down before saying what caused me the most grief, before I continued.

"I'm sorry, Captain. It seems I'm a complete failure of a Major. This, this is all I can really do. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sor-!" I could feel tears welling up in my eyes before I felt Lachesis hug me from behind.

"It's okay Major." I felt myself tense up as she used my old nickname. "It'll be alright. You're just doing the best you can, and I know he sees that. So, keep doing what you need to so you can proudly say to him what you've been holding deep inside."

I sniffled, wiping away the tears that would never fall. "You always seem to know what to say, you know that?"

She released me from her hug, giving me a small smile. "Of course, I've only known you for my whole life you know."

I stood up, nodding to myself. "Goodbye Captain. Until next time, whenever that might be," I said, knowing deep within myself when exactly I would see him again."

We walked away from the monument, and Lachesis stretched her arms out towards the sky that released the cold from above. "It's been snowing for quite sometime now. Think it'll stick until tomorrow for Christmas?"

I shivered just thinking about it. "I'd rather not have to shovel snow on Christmas you know." I looked up at the sky. "It's quite cold today, isn't it?"

"Hmm? It's not as cold as it could be. That's probably because you aren't wearing a jacket," Lachesis said, bringing her jacket closer to herself. "Oh, I have to pee really quickly, so wait here for me, alright?"

"Hey, are you really gonna leave me alone in a graveyard?" I asked, and she shrugged.

"Eh, you'll be fine. I'll be back in a jiffy!" And then she was gone, and with it the remnants of summer that her hair brought.

I watched her walk away and let out a weary sigh. I pulled out a piece of paper I had grabbed earlier from home, one that I had written a while back when I had confessed my love for everyone.

There was only a single name on that paper, and with it the reason why. I've struggled for quite some time, trying to figure out when I should tell her. I put the paper back in my pocket and shook my head.

Today. I'll most definitely tell her today.

I let out another sigh and started to walk. Taking out my wallet, I pulled out a picture I found last night of the three of us together, Captain, Lachy, and myself, otherwise known as Major. In the picture the three of us were playing in a kiddie pool together, all of us having big grins on our faces while giving off peace signs. I was on one end, Lachy on the other, with Captain in the middle. He had light brown hair with dark blue, almost purple, eyes, with tanned skin.

Somedays I have to wonder what would've happened, what could've happened, what should've meant to be, if I didn't screw up that day 12 years ago. If only I didn't listen to him, then maybe things would've been different…

I shook my head. No, it was bound to happen eventually, right? If not him then someone else, possibly even Lachesis instead. I'm not saying it would've been better if it had happened to him, but it could've been a lot worse if not for him.

I stopped, gritting my teeth. I really am a bastard, aren't I? A selfish son of a bitch who can't even do a damn thing right. I shivered, clutching my arms.

"Now that I think about it, it was snowing that day too, wasn't it?" I murmured to myself.

Now that I think about it, a lot of strange things happened that day, I thought as I continued walking. There wasn't meant to be snow, it being too warm for it, and yet overnight there was enough snow to reach halfway up our door. My parents were quite worried about it, but I went outside to play with those two anyway in my big backyard.

I winced as I felt my head start to throb. This again? But I feel as if I'm close to something important…

"HEY, CAN YOU NOT IGNORE ME!?"

Eh? I turned to see a man, who looked to be about in his thirties, yelling at me. "Oh, am I blocking a grave you're trying to go to? My bad, I'll move then."

I proceeded to move out of the way and the man just shook his head. "I can't believe it. How could you possibly not have heard anything I've said to you?"

"Oh, sorry. Did you need something?"

He smiled at me, and he took off his hat as he bowed gracefully. "My name is Iapetus, pleased to make your acquaintance." He looked up at me, his brown eyes almost piercing straight through me. "I have been looking for you for quite some time, and it seems you might truly be the one who can make my wish come true!"

Huh? Wait, huh? "Uh, okay? I really don't think I can help with anything to be honest. I'm pretty useless."

"No, you are indeed the one! Oh!" He hugged himself tightly, and his dark brown face flushed red. "If only my wife could be here to see you! Alas, she is too famous for her own good nowadays, and couldn't make it."

"So, you're someone famous then?"

He let out another grin as he put his hat back on, hiding his face. "Something along those lines. My wife so happens to own Clymene Corp! You must have heard it, right?"

"Nope, never heard of them."

He let out a blank stare as I said those words, and I frowned at his reaction. "Are they famous or something? Sorry, I'm not really up to date on all that stuff."

"Oh Mother, please spare this boy's soul!" He yelled out, causing me to tense up. He noticed, and a small smile appeared on his face. "Now for the true test my boy! Now come Mother!"

Test? What the hell is he talking about? However, it didn't take me long to figure out what.

I started to shiver as a fierce wind started to pick up around us, and the snow started to pile on the ground at an alarming rate.

Another weird weather phenomenon? I glanced at the man, who was beaming at me, as if fully expecting me to live up to his weird expectations.

I started to shiver even harder now, the cold really starting to get to me. Wait, this could actually be bad.

I breathed out, sighing after I did so, with nothing left except for the large amount of snow around us and the sun sending down its cold rays.

"He, hehehehe, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" He raised his arms in the air, his grin showcasing all of his teeth as he laughed.

"YOU PASS! You, you are the one who will make my dream into a reality!"

I felt something whizz by me, and I frowned, looking at the man who called himself Iapetus. "What just happened?"

"Oh, someone protected you just now. Intriguing!" Iapetus yelled out, and it was then I noticed he was holding something shiny in his hand.

I looked behind me to see trees in the distance fall down, and I slowly turned back to the man who was still grinning his all at me.

"Allow me to introduce myself once more!" He spun the shiny thing in his hand, as he bowed once more, taking his hat off with his free hand, his grin all teeth.

"I am Iapetus, Iapetus the Piercer!"

Shit. Who the hell is this guy? Just as I was about to breathe it out, I felt a pain like no other, one that I immediately recognized as my body rejecting myself, albeit slightly different this time. I fell to my knees, gasping out for air.

"Well, looks like he arrived then!" Iapetus yelled out, turning around to see a boy carrying a girl over his shoulder. "Well done! You arrived just when I needed you too! You're quite the lovable Catastrophe, you know that!?"

"Shut up."

He tossed the girl down on the ground, and the girl with the hair of summer looked up at, and my eyes widened.

"What the hell?" I muttered, struggling to get back to my feet. "What the hell did you do to her!?"

"Hmm? Oh, that one. She is unimportant, so as per our agreement, you can do whatever you want with her Catastrophe!"

The boy looked at me, and I could see a rage grow within his glowing red eyes. "I've met you once before, a long time ago. If it wasn't for you and that damn bastard, none of this would've fucking happened." Suddenly, the same pain I felt earlier flared within my body, and I crumpled to my knees, unable to scream, just thrashing around the ground in pure agony.

"But I can't kill you, no matter how much I want to. Not now anyway. Unlike you bastards, I keep my damn word. So, I'll just take this one instead." He kicked Lachesis, who screamed out in pain, and I felt my own pain get released as I started to breathe heavily.

"Who, the hell are you?"

"A Catastrophe. A living fucking Catastrophe." He picked up Lachesis and started to walk away.

"Shut up!" I tried to breathe it out once more, but again, I felt nothing but pain.

"Ah but but but, I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Iapetus said gleefully, looking at me, his grin still on his face. "Now come with me, so we can together fulfill our own dreams!"

"The, the weather, that was you?" I asked, trying to piece everything together.

"Oh yes, each and every single time, with the help of Mother of course!" He started to giggle again. "Oh, I can't wait for you to meet the rest of my family!"

"Like hell I-!"

I felt something stab through me, and I blacked out, the fading image of Lachesis and the boy who called himself the Catastrophe walking away.

December 24th, 2021, 3:00 pm: Depra gets Captured by Iapetus.

And So, let the Beginning of our End, Start