Forgotten Memories

by Kristofer Kaos June 5th 2009, 11:22 pm

The camera flickers on to show darkness. The World is plunged in such a dense black that nothing can be seen and all light succumbs to the darkness. Footsteps are heard off in the distance slowly approaching the camera. The footsteps increase in volume until it seems that they are right on top of the camera. A light begins to glow, faint at first but increasing in illumination till it is blinding. The light is seen to be from a rugged, bent halo on top of the head of Kaos. He has his head lowered and his hair hangs heavy on each side. The halo is place on the top of his head and tilts slightly as his head droops. His body is limp and he simply stares at the bottom of the abyss. He begins to lift his head and you see a slight smile scribbled on his face. His eyes glow a brilliant red, and the scars adorning his face are more noticeable than ever before.

Kaos raises his hand and the title droops from his grasp. He moves his head to look at the belt and begins to laugh. His grasp loosens and the belt falls and is seen no more. Kaos moves his attention back to the camera, the slight smile becoming a cataclysmic smirk. A light begins to shine in the distance far beyond Kaos. He does not turn to view the source of the light, just continues to stand as stone and stare into the camera.

Suddenly the camera quickly moves past Kaos directly to the source of the brightness in the distance. It is seen that the light is coming from a window. The window floats in the air, no attachments and nothing around it, but inside is another World to be held. The window paints a picture of a magical evening. A family sits cozy beside a fire that roars in the fireplace nearby. Pictures are upon the mantle of the families happy times and joyful days. The father sits in his chair, glasses upon his face, a pipe in his mouth, and holding a young boy upon his lap. The young boy has pajamas on and his tasseled black hair sits open his head like velvet. The mother enters the room out of nowhere and in her hands she carries a tray filled with cookies and glasses of milk. She sits them down on a table that is centered in the room. The son jumps from his father’s lap and races to be the first to sink his teeth into the delicious goodies prepared by a mother’s love. He delves into the cookies and slurps the milk down hungrily. His father stands and reaches into the now crumbled cookies and pulls out one of the few left intact. Taking his glass of milk he sits back down in the chair. The mother stands admiring the way her time spent is honored.

The camera pans back to show Kaos has came to the window and is viewing the scene inside. His smile from before is now a saddened grimace and the halo has lost some of its shine. He stares longingly at as it all unfolds further. The child, now stuffed, clambers back onto his father’s lap and curls up resting. The mother is cleaning the table and making her way to sit down for the evening. The father pets his son and stares into the flames that burst forth into the chimney from the fire. Kaos leans into the window and places his hands on the glass, slowly sliding them down to the frame until he reaches the bottom. The father leans in and kisses the forehead of the sleeping child. Kaos begins to breathe heavier and thrust his hands forward through the glass, shattering it. As he removes his arms he pulls the window from its frame and casts it aside. Blood drains from wounds on his arms and drips into nothingness.

He reaches into the realm of tenderness and pulls himself through. The father jumps from his chair, holding the little boy tight. The mother stands and lets out a piercing scream. Kaos begins to scream with her. He moves forward and backhands the mother and she falls hard onto the couch, blood dripping from her mouth as she lays unconscious. Kaos then moves towards the father. He stops and stares at him. He holds the son, who has awakened and cries softly, tight against his chest. His eyes wide and his demeanor no longer calm, the father backs closer to the lashing flames. Kaos moves closer and begins to chuckle, reaching up to his head he pulls the halo down and bends it in his hands until it has broken and becomes jagged. He then takes another step forward, causing the father to move further back. Kaos then speaks gently.

“I have been encased in darkness my entire life. Just when I think I have escaped from its clutches, I am returned to the inner core of dementia. I thought that the little girl would save me; that I would finally be a hero and admired in the eyes of the World, but I was wrong. I slaughtered her loving father and I remember how well it feels to see someone’s life crumbling before you, especially when your own has fallen long ago. I have ran from my inner demons for years, but it is time that I embrace them and the first step is always in the beginning, so here we are…”

Kaos tilts his head back and breathes in deeply. The father steps forward slowly while Kaos has his eyes averted and begins to run through the home. Kaos watches as he runs and looks down at the broken halo that still shins dimly. Looking back at the father Kaos clutches the broken halo and thrusts it forward as if it is a javelin. The halo strikes the father in the bend of his right leg and he collapses as it penetrates to the other side. The boy tumbles from his father’s hands and lies still on the floor. The father screams in anguish, clutching at the broken halo that impales his leg.

Kaos walks to the mother that still is upon the couch unmoving. He bends down and brushes her hair out of her face, gently wiping the blood from her lips. He leans in and kisses her upon the forehead and begins to whisper to her.

“Why did you forsake me?”

The mother stirs and Kaos throws her upon his shoulders. Moving to the window he places the mother in the opening to the abyss and once more kisses her forehead before pushing her from the window. As she tumbled from the opening dull shadows emerged upon her. Kaos watched as they gained speed and crept further until they were on the mother. She awoke just as they descended, letting out another scream that is cut short. The shadows stir and vaporize, the mother nowhere to be found once they are gone. A tear forms in Kaos’ eye and it slides down his cheek. He then turns and stares at the mantle housing the pictures the family. Shaking his head he looks back at the father that has struggled to crawl away from harm.

Kaos approaches the blood stained floor and sees the father moving down the hallway slowly. Quickly Kaos moves up to him and grabs his foot jerking him back and dragging him to the living room once more. Kaos picks the father up and throws him into the chair he once sat in, taking a seat on the couch he begins to talk.

“You think you are something special? Is that smile in those photos that sit on the mantle real or does it hide a crack in your soul that nothing but sin and adultery can fill? You are worthless!”

Kaos jumps from the couch and raises his hand high into the air bringing it down across the face of the father. Blood spurts from his mouth and he topples into the floor. Kaos looks down at the father and spits on him before grabbing his hair and sliding him forward towards the flames. Kaos begins to laugh maniacally and speak between laughs.

“Here is a taste of Hell, old man.”

Kaos thrusts the father into the flames and jumps back placing his foot onto the father’s head. The father screams as his flesh melts away to show his skull. His screams become muffled as the heat lacerates his mouth. Kaos begins to bellow as his boot is melted onto his flesh and the heat continues to build on his leg. When the father is silent, Kaos jerks his foot from the flames and puts the fire on his leg out with his hands. He stares down at his foot, mangled and covered in burning plastic. His eyes trail to the corpse of the father, continuing to burn to ash as the fire makes its way down his body and begins to spread across the room. Kaos moves to the mantle before the fire engulfs the room and grabs something from the mantle before rushing from the room.

He races down the hallway and stops as he nears a small door near the end. Smoke begins to fill the home and the fire alarms blare. Kaos grasps the doorknob and turns it slowly. The door opens to reveal the small child trembling with fear. Kaos squats to become eye level with the child. He reaches out and grabs the child by his chin and forces him to look at him. In a low voice Kaos begins to speak.

“Remember who you are. You are not one of them. You are more than that. They are gone now and you take care of yourself. You do not need their loving touch nor their punishments. You do not need their praise nor their adoration. You are a magnificent creation. Life will be hard, but it will help you to reach your true purpose. You will find out that things are how they are, but you are not a victim of destiny or fate. You are a creator. You are a sustainer. You are a destroyer. You are more than man. You are more than God. You are more than what this universe can allow. Don’t cry over the fallen. Don’t shed a tear for them. You do not need them. You have yourself. That is all you will ever need. Do you hear me!?”

The smoke has become dense and the boy coughs as soot forms on his face. He nods slowly and Kaos nods back before rushing back through the home and diving through the window to the darkness. He lands heavy on the ground and the breathe is knocked from his lungs. He rolls unto his back and sits up. Groggily he shakes his head and looks down into his hands. A picture frame holds a photo of the family. The mother stands proud, the father stern in his stance shows a smile that is true, and the child sits between them smiling as an Angel. It is as if you can see a glow around the child and wings jutting from his back. Kaos breaks the frame and pulls the picture from the broken glass. Tears well up in his eyes and he flips the picture slowly. In scribbled writing the back of the picture says: “Kristofer Kaos age 4.” Kaos turns the picture back over and stares at the image once more, before folding it and placing it in his pocket. Standing he moves to the window.

It is as if nothing had happened. The window is intact and inside is equally calm. The mother sits on the couch, her head tilted back and resting. The father sits peacefully stroking his son’s hair and staring into the flames. However, the child’s demeanor has changed. His eyes are wide and sweat drips from his brow. He shivers slightly and his mouth hangs. Tears are seen in the young child’s eyes. As Kaos stares at the child he lowers his head. He then turns and walks away until the camera can no longer see him in the abyss. The camera moves to show the inside of the home once more. The scene is unchanged and the child continues to tremor. The camera zooms in on him and he coughs, a puff of smoke escaping from his lungs.