Under the City Lights

CALLUM'S POV

It was dark and the air felt thick, as if I had to wade through it rather than walk as normal. There were muffled noises, people talking and something else... but everything sounded like I was underwater.

I looked around at my surroundings as best I could, but all I could see was darkness. I walked forward, wondering what I had done to end up where I was. Had something happened? I couldn't remember what had gone on before I ended up here. There was nothing but this black place in my memory.

I came across something small that was glowing on the ground, and as I got closer, I realized it was a key. I picked it up and turned it around in my hand, looking at it from all sides. There was nothing remarkable about it, except for the fact that it was the only source of light anywhere near me.

As soon as I touched the key though, color and light surged up around me and I was suddenly faced with a familiar scene. A small boy was running in a playground, being chased by a young man, who had a light in his eyes and was laughing along with the small boy.

"I'm gonna get you!" he said, jogging after the small child, finally leaning down and scooping him into his arms, tossing him high in the air before setting him down and starting to tickle him mercilessly.

"Let him be, Darrel." a woman called from a bench off to the side, wide smile on her face. Her stomach was expanded in a way that could only mean she had a second child on the way. Mom, I thought to myself. I don't know how I knew, as I had no memory of her. There was something, though, that just told me she was my mother.

Then I realized, I was watching memories. This was me and my family when I was younger...

The young man let the small boy go, patting him on the back and telling him to go play for a bit.

"Jessica, how are you doing?" he said. "Do you need anything? A drink?"

"Honey, I'm fine." she said, smiling. "It's okay. You don't need to hover over me all the time."

"The doctor said to be careful, though. That this pregnancy would be hard for you."

"I know." she said. "And I'm being careful. But you need to stop worrying so much."

She kissed him gently and turned to look at the small boy who was now running towards the monkey bars. "Callum, honey, be careful! Remember last time on the monkey bars? We don't want a repeat of that."

"I'll be careful, Mommy." the little boy responded. I then realized that the little boy was me, back when I was younger and more carefree.

The scene dissolved, and now there was a hospital waiting room. The young man was sitting in a cold plastic chair, head in his hands. The young boy was nowhere to be found, and neither was the woman from before.

"Mr. Moore?" a doctor said, standing in front of the man, causing him to look up.

"Yes?" he said. "Is she all right? What about the baby? Callum?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Moore, but the crash caused Mrs. Moore to go into labor. The premature birth meant that they baby could not develop his lungs properly. When she was born, she couldn't breathe, and died shortly afterwards."

"What about Jessica? Is she okay?"

"Mrs. Moore suffered from a severe amount of blood loss. She's very weak, and it's doubtful that she'll make it through until morning. Again, I'm very sorry, but even with a transfusion, she's lost too much blood."

"What?" he said. "You can't be telling me the truth."

"I'm sorry, sir." he said. "You can say goodbye if you'd like."

"And Callum?" the man said, wiping his cheeks dry from the tears that were flowing freely.

"He should be all right. He's still asleep from the anesthesia, but we were able to stop the bleeding."

The man nodded, but stayed silent.

The scene dissolved again, this time shifting into the inside of a hospital room. The woman from before was lying down in the bed, looking very pale.

"Jessica, I'm so sorry, I-"

"Shh, Darrel." she said. "There was nothing you could do. This isn't your fault."

"I can't believe I'm losing you." he said, his voice thick from the tears.

"You aren't." she said. "You'll never lose me. I'll always be with you, in one form or another. Just promise me you'll make sure Callum is okay. I love you, Darrel."

The heart rate monitor started to whine and doctors flooded the room, trying to see to their dying patient.

Darrel slumped against the wall, getting out of the way, but keeping his eyes on his wife's face.

"I love you, too."

The scene shifted again, now to a home, my own home. There were no pictures on the walls, no photo albums on the shelves. I remember my father burning them all after my mother's death. He didn't want to remember. But he didn't want to forget. Then, he started drinking...

My father came into the room, carrying a bottle of beer and looking broken. He sat on the couch and stared into space, taking a large sip of beer every few seconds, as if he were waiting for something.

"Daddy?" a small voice called from the top of the stairs. "Daddy, I can't sleep."

"Yeah?" the man said, chuckling derisively. "Join the club."

"Daddy, will you tell me a story?" my younger self said.

The man shook his head and stood up, walking towards the young boy. "You want to hear a story? There was once a man and a woman who were so in love, and had a beautiful baby boy. Then, one night, the three of them were driving home from the park where the little boy had been playing until dusk. there was also a drunk driver on the road that night, and he hit the car the family was traveling in." My father was getting closer and closer and I remember the fear that was coursing through my veins that night.

"Daddy?"

"The mommy died, and the ungrateful little boy survived. How is that fair, Callum? Tell me. How is it fair, that you're alive and Jessica is dead?"

"Daddy, you're scaring me."

"Am I?" he said, laughing. "I'm scaring myself too."

That's when the hand came flying across my face, leaving a red print in its place.

"Stop." I said, watching, unable to move, as my father hit me for the first time. "Stop it. I was just a little boy! I don't deserve this! Mom wanted you to love me, to keep me safe. Stop."

My cries fell on deaf ears as my father, if you can even call him that, pushed me along the hallway back to my room.

"I was just a little boy." I choked out, tears coming to my eyes.

The scene distorted, and now, I was looking up at my father, a murderous look in his eyes as he kicked me in the ribs.

"Stop." I said, coughing. "Stop!"

He just laughed and kept going, bringing me more and more pain, not caring that my vision was starting to go fuzzy.

"NO!" I yelled out and all of a sudden, all was black again. I was alone and the key was gone.

I sat down and let the tears come out in choked sobs, trying to hold myself together.

"Callum? Callum, baby, please wake up. Please. I can't handle this anymore."

A voice was calling me, asking me to leave this dark place. It had a calming tone to it, like a lullaby, but something was wrong. Whoever the voice belonged to was crying.

"Don't cry." I said. "I'm here. I'm still here."

"Callum, please. I can't lose you."

"Why can't I wake up?" I yelled out, trying to figure out a way to get out of this black world and back to whoever wanted me there so badly.

I stood up and looked around, searching for something, anything, that could lead me out of here. I reached out, feeling around in the darkness to try and figure out a way out of here.

I stumbled slightly, tripping over something in the floor. I knelt down and felt for what it was. There was smooth wood, and a handle... A trap door?

I lifted the door, shielding my eyes from the white light that shone through the small square opening.

"Well, here goes nothing." I said, and jumped through the hole.