Anomaly [Undergoing Editing]

Chapter 6

Tonight would be one of the lonely night's without Clara sleeping next to him. He got stuck in his flat after working hours. Bradley called a state of emergency at around thirteen hundred, and everyone was ordered to go to their homes.

Now, Louis loved his flat. It was covered with pictures, and those small lights on the string. All sorts of toys, electronics, radios, and pretty much everything that was forbidden except for books. He left those for Clara to keep.

Tonight wouldn't be boring, just lonley. It would've been fine if Clara let Kai come over. She would've been able to sleep comfortably, and the two boys would've had such a great time together. All Clara would do is feed the "monster" and go hide from him in her room.

She wouldn't eat with him. She wouldn't watch Bradley's speech with him. She would'nt read to him, tuck him in or give any good night kisses. Kai had to do that himself.

Louis had basically become the boy's father since he told Clara what happened to them three years ago. She was no longer the loving mother she once was. Protective? No. Scared? Definitely. 

She was now terrified of the son she had been raising, and Louis took over as Kai's parent. There was no other choice but to. What is a child without his mother? Father?

Louis loved Kai as much as he loved Clara. He couldn't watch his nephew-who was now technically his son-fall down into the depths of hell as a lonely and lost soul. So he scooped the boy up in his arms and did everything that Clara would do, with the exception of giving him his own room in his flat.

Louis' eyes scanned the room, looking for something to do. He had the sudden urge to listen to some music.

Louis picked up something called an iPod, a strange looking metal plate that could hold a lot of information, and could be worked with just your fingertips. He bought from Aadila once when he took Kai out to see her. She gave him the charger and earphones that went with it.

He turned it on, and scrolled through the list of songs he could listen to. He did not know what their names were. He could only distinguish them by the pictures on them while they played.

He picked one, and tapped the triangle that somehow made the song play.

The beat started drumming at his ears as a smile spread across his face. Louis loved listening to music. It was something unexplainable. It was like a drug to him. He would press that triangle printed button and the music would flow from the cord to his ears.

Music was a dangerous thing. The kind of dangerous that is forbidden by Father. He found out about music when he was younger, in the Free Market with his sister and Aadila. He remembered they were running around, terrorizing the other shopkeepers as they stole their candy and chocolate. Aadila took them to her cousin's shop, and they were playing msuic that made him feel happy. Like nothing else he had felt before.

Granted, he was nine years old and had never had sex before, but that's a different story.

Louis danced around his flat, filled with all sorts of things he got from the Free Market. He shook his hips as he started playing with random toys and flicking on different colored lights that hung on a string. He turned on the toy train and watched it speed across his living room, making choo choo noises as it moved along.

Clara's right, he thought. I'm such a child. His thoughts drifted back to Kai. He must be so lonely right now. .I hope she's not doing anything stupid.

They were both in the same situation when it came to their loneliness. Even with all of his music, he was still alone. Here he wass. The little American sitting alone in his flat, thinking of only one thing: Kai

He took one of the headphones out, cutting down on his buzzing atittude, and moved to the alarm clock on top of his television. He liked the sound it made.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

The constant sound of it kept him at a calm, steady pace, even when his mind was racing. He liked them more than the digital clocks they were given. All they needed was two of those metal bars, the ones with the plus and minus sign on them, and they were good to go.

He watched the big hand move closer and closer to the top, trying to decide if he should watch Bradely's speech or not.

"Yes or no. Yes or no," he murmured to himself. The alarm sounded, ending him on a yes that would force him to watch the dictator's right hand man on the television.

Louis flicked on the television, just as Bradley came on with his charismatic smile and authoritative demeaner. There was something different about him though.

Maybe he was a little bit paler than normal, or maybe it was that huge gash on the right side of his face splitting the skin into two reddened halves. Whatever it was, it made him seem vunerable and not like the Bradley everyone knew.

Louis could hear the shocked gasps of everyone in his building as they turned on their televsions. However all Louis could say was, "Damn Bradley. Get into a fight with one of those homosexuals you hate?"

He climbed into his...his... What was this thing called again? He thought. A...hammock that's the word.

Bradley sighed and took off his glasses. "Today, was a grave day for this country, and myself. As you can see, I have been attacked. By a terrorist who decended from America."

He stopped talking, allowing all of his mindless followers to protest and get furious with this "American terrorist"

"Now ladies and gentlemen. Please, don't get angry at this person. This person, who attacked me. This person, who broke into my own home. This poor, insane young man, who tried to kill me in my sleep. Do not be angry with this person. We know who is, and who he has conspired with. We will show their images on the screen now."

"This is complete bullshit," Louis murmured. He watched, as pictures of men and women appeared and disappeared on the screen. They all seemed to be around the same age. Early thirties or late twenties. They all seemed to be regular people.

Then, Louis saw one picture that made his skin crawl. It made his blood run cold and his feet feel as if they weren't there anymore.

"You can't run from us," Bradley said, pointing at Louis with his glasses. "We know you were apart of the attacks today. We know where you live, where you can hide. We know everything about you."

They allowed the pictures of the six men and women to linger on the screen. "Why am I on there?"

"LOUIS FREDRICKSON!" He jumped in his seat as a heavy fist cracked at his door. "WE ARE HERE UNDER OFFICIAL WATCHMEN BUSINESS! OPEN THE DOOR NOW OR WE WILL COME IN BY FORCE." 

His blood ran ice cold. His body was stiff as a board, eyes were fixed on the TV in front of him. 

Bradley pointed at him, and with a stern, hardened look he said, "We are coming for you."