The Silence of a Somber Day

The Storm

"Dadza left us," Wilbur complained as he pressed his cheek against Techno's arm. The latter groaned as he tried shaking Wilbur off for the twentieth time in counting. Wilbur had not received the message because he merely continued in his dramatics. Techno finally gave in, slamming the back of his book against Wilbur's forehead. Reasonably, Wilbur stumbled back away from Techno while rubbing a hand on his forehead where the skin was in pain. Wilbur took this as a declaration of war, so he grabbed onto Techno's arm even tighter than before. The two kept arguing as they rounded the street corner.

"Oh my god!"

"What is that thing!?"

The young men stopped their squabbles as they looked up. A crowd of people had gathered around the small river way that passed through parts of the town. They were leaning against the railings, pointing at something in the water. Techno edged towards the crowd with Wilbur trotting behind, preparing his voice for whatever amalgamation made a crowd gather to react in the way they had. Techno shoved his way before stopping at the railing. Wilbur ran right into his brother's back. Wilbur whimpered as the pain surfaced in his head. Wilbur stepped back to see that Techno was frozen in place.

"What is it?" Wilbur asked as he stood beside his brother, eyes searching the water for what could made even the great, monotone Technoblade react with a dismal, fearful expression. Wilbur stumbled back when his eyes saw it.

A body floated in the water. Around it, a red liquid had tainted the lapping waves. The body was face down, the face half turned up for people to see that look on his face. It bobbed up and down, the clothes soaked with water and blood. Those eyes seemed serene. It was definitely a suicide if those eyes were anything to go by. The way the face seemed at ease, eyes showing peace in their final moments.

Tommy. It was Tommy. Dead in the water. Wilbur knew it was him that screamed even though he didn't feel it. Wilbur rushed towards the railing, trying to throw himself over when Techno grabbed onto him. Wilbur clawed at the arms that restrained, squirming with every bit on strength in his body. Techno took each hit without flinching, and that made Wilbur even more angry.

Anger was a powerful force, but not in the way people thought. Anger wasn't some ignition of a burning, vengeful fire. It was being trapped in a burning house, all alone, not knowing who set the fire but knowing someone wanted you in there to die. It was a helplessness that came with desperately trying to pull through what held you back, but someone was there, being the chains that you thought you had shed. It was what singed your skin, the smoke that suffocated you until your vision blackened.

Wilbur stopped fighting after a solid fifteen minutes. He let his body fall limp as silent tears streamed down his face. His face didn't contort with the sadness, it remained passive as the waterworks rushed around. Wilbur felt hollow and helpless in a way that he hadn't felt in a long, long time.

What about tonight had pushed Tommy this far? What about the past few days had? Wilbur thought Tommy was getting better, learning to be independent. Wilbur had been proud of Tommy to the point that Wilbur had been planning to tell Tommy the truth. Now, it didn't matter. He was gone. The person that made Wilbur feel something other than shit was gone. Wilbur didn't know how to feel, much less how to react.

Techno didn't let Wilbur go until Philza was there to cradle to boy who had gone into shock. Techno watched as the police removed Tommy's body from the water. Techno watched as people began to disperse. Techno memorized their faces. Because when Techno felt grief, he worked. Now, he would work to make sure no one knew what happened that night.