As it turned out, all the words in the world that Jake sputtered couldn’t actually prepare James for his date that night.

This may have been a mistake.

They met the two girls at a cafe a short walk away from Melbourne Central. It wasn’t early but the meteor shower wasn't coming until later so Jake had decided ahead of time that the plan was to get food, watch a movie, or just shop. Probably with James’ money, knowing him.

He had almost reached out a hand to give the two girls a handshake when they’d met up, and since then he’d been steadily drifting a little bit behind Jake, who was walking behind the two girls, chatting with them amicably. From introductions, they were both University students as well.

Amy, Jake’s girlfriend, was apparently very excited to meet her boyfriend's best friend. She was majoring in architecture and the only common point between her and himself was that they both hated the boring bits. Other than that she had a hobby of surfing, which must’ve been a pain in Melbourne with no real beaches. She was also as infectiously social as Jake.

Jess was… there wasn’t really a nice way of putting it. She had tried to be subtle about it, but both Jake and Amy had anxiously laughed when she’d made a rather pointed comment about James’s clothing. That was the main reason he was hanging back. She made it semi-clear to him that she didn’t want to be there, and he had no intention of making her uncomfortable.

“Did you get lost and end up in your work clothes.” who says something like that?

He felt it was objectively rude.

James felt a buzz of his phone and read it.

[Dad gave me money for pizza and my friends are coming over. Return at your own peril] - Micheal Mc moron.

That made him chuckle a little. But then he thought about it and realised even if he politely excused himself from the date somehow tonight, he’d have nowhere to go.

Dammit. Micheal you little…

Eventually, they arrived at the shopping centre with two hours left before the meteor shower. The girls led them towards whatever stores they pleased which gave Jake a moment to hang back as well and talk strategy as he called it.

My friend is a womaniser. Quite possibly a misogynist too. James realised as Jake gave him the rundown of how they would win by the end of the night if they played their cards right.

“I don’t want to be involved in this.” James said bluntly.

“You already are involved dude. Too late to abort now.” Jake said, wrapping his hand over Jame’s shoulder.

He does this before he asks me to do something.

“Look man, I’ll level with you. You and Jess are-” He made a flat plain with his hand, symbolising how kaput their chances together were. “But if you rub my back, I think I can spin it in your favour.”

James sighed. The things he did for this man. “What do you need.”

Jake smirked. Greedily. His hand was outstretched like he was a goblin. “Money!”

Oh for fuc-

“Wait, wait, but I’ll pay you back, and it isn’t for me,” Jake added hastily when he saw James’s expression souring. “I just don’t have the money on me but I’m thinking it goes like this. We steer them towards that jewellery shop over there”

He pointed out a place that had polished black walls and nice glass casings that the clerks could walk between. James knew that kind of place. They would almost certainly try to force anything he even glimpsed at down his throat. Jake must’ve known that so clearly this was somewhat planned.

“Right,” James muttered. ”How much.”

“Trust me, I’ve already been there with Amy. There’s this bracelet there and she lit up when she saw it. I wanted to surprise her with it.”

“How much?”

“Dude trust me-”

“How much?”

Jake's head hung low in a guilty way as he whispered. “350.”

James sucked in air. And thought about it for a moment. As much as the reasons behind him wanting to gift her it today were selfish in their own right, James knew Jake. The real reason was probably just because he wanted his girlfriend to feel special.

“Fine.” James finally said and Jake’s head shot up.

“Yes dude, you're the best!” He said, his expression brightening about tenfold.

Someone who wants to live a good life is generous. James told himself as he begrudgingly handed his card over to the man and watched him stroll over to the two girls as if it was his, right before tactfully suggesting they go to the fancy jeweller.

The sight of Amy's face lighting up like Jake made the money worth it. Money for that pure joy wasn’t even a question in James' eyes. That’s how his dad has raised him. That’s how life had raised him.

Oddly enough, as the two real love birds rushed towards the sleek shop, Jess didn’t look at them. She turned and looked at him and for the first time since meeting, James saw her expression relax. He hadn’t even realised she’d been tense, but the comparison between how she’d looked before and now made it clear.

As James slowly caught up to where the couple were heading Jess waited. For him.

She was smiling. He had to admit it was a pretty smile.

It made sense, considering she was gorgeous.

“That's your money he’s spending, isn’t it.” She asked quietly when the couple was far enough away.

James was a little taken aback that Jess had guessed and it must have shown on his face because she nodded to herself.

“Thought so.” She said, smiling to herself.

Weird. His nose crinkled for a moment as the scents of fast food and musky air were overcome by a nicer, floral aroma. Is that her? He wondered but kept his questions to himself. He could also hear her breathing. Did he normally hear people breathing?

Hers sounded nice.

Pretty girls are every man's weakness. Now he was sounding like Jake and his dad.

“You know.” she started taking a small sip of her coffee. He copied her as if it made him less nervous looking. “Amy’s been talking about him buying her the bracelet for a whole month now. But it’s not like She’s an idiot. She knows Jake works casual shifts and is really bad with money, so Amy accepted it probably wasn’t happening. Still, you can see it in her face.”

Jess’s face turned to look up at his and he could see his misty grey eyes and fountain of midnight black hair reflected in her two opal iris.

“She had hope. Even in the despair that comes with knowing your hopes won’t come true. Then, you made that hope come true. There was nothing for you to gain from it. But you did it anyway.”

“Jake said he’d try to convince you I was a good guy if I did,” James interjected before she made him seem like the angel he was not.

“But you didn’t believe him did you?”

I…

“Not really, no. Jake’s not the type to try and manipulate someone into something if he knows that’s what he’s doing.”

“Does it make a difference if he does it unknowingly?” Jess asked. There was a certain tip to her tone that made it sound icy. Like an accusation. That was when James realised she wasn’t smiling anymore. She just looked cold.

Cynical.

Does it make a difference?

If they were speaking truthfully part of the reason Jake had even made it a double date was so he could ask James for the money. Jake wasn’t the type of person to realise that he’d done something like that by accident.

Realistically, James knew it didn’t. Doing it knowingly and unknowingly were two sides of the same coin.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

But.

“To me it does,” James admitted.

Then there was silence. It hung in the air and separated the two. Then there was something warm on his hand. It steeped and slithered its way between his fingers. He had to look down to believe that Jess was holding his hand after all that.

“I’m sorry about the joke.” She said, and somehow James knew it was genuine. “It’s my defence mechanism. You're pretty intimidating, in my actual defence. I sort of put you in a box in my head. That was wrong of me.”

I mean, I did the same to you. The only reason he hung back was because he had assumed Jess would just dislike his presence.

“I assume I’m no longer intimidating?” James asked.

He’d never thought himself intimidating, but he was tall and fairly muscular from his job. Not the type of muscle Jake had from going to the gym but enough to make it clear he was strong and capable. James could understand where she was coming from.

“You have done a good job convincing me you're a good person. So no.” Jess wasn’t so much smiling anymore, but her face looked happy. “Oh, and if you let go of this hand, you're not getting it back.”

His loose grip on her soft fingers tightened instinctually at those words. They stood outside together like that, waiting for the two true love birds to come out of their shiny paradise. Neither of them said anything, but it didn’t feel awkward. Which James found weird.

Honestly, he found Jess weird.

Don’t know if it’s good or bad weird. He was leaning pretty hard one way though. Jake and Amy came back and while Amy did a good job hiding her shock Jake didn’t. James wasn’t sure he’d ever see the man look so… proud. It was almost unsettling how he jutted out a thumbs up towards James every moment he got.

It also wasn’t subtle at all, but Amy and Jess seemed to find it funny. Like that, the night went on, with a new air of ease to it that they hadn’t quite had with the tension between himself and Jess. They chatted, joked and laughed while they were having dinner together and grew closer as a cohort than James would’ve ever expected.

He loved every minute of it, although James would’ve never admitted that at the time. As the night reared towards the meteor shower celebration, they explored the Queen Victoria Market and got ready to watch the light show unfold.

None of them knew how the night would turn.

***************

“I’m pretty sure that one is Mars,” James said, pointing out a particularly red star to his group. He was lying on a blanket next to Jess while Jake and Amy had one next to them, preparing for the view from the park.

“Shouldn’t it be Venus?” Amy asked, snacking on her small box of chips.

“What if it’s a comet heading towards us?”

“Shut up Jake.” James and Amy said in unison before the latter started giggling.

“I think it’s just a star,” Jess added after everyone had finished laughing.

“That’s boring.” Jake spouted. “Why can’t it be a planet?”

“How are stars boring.” James protested. “They’re gigantic cosmic spheres of power that can warp physics. How is that boring!”

His phone blared. A text. From one Michael Mc moron.

What could it be now? Is he telling me to stay away again?

He grabbed it and read the text while his group continued chatting. A slight chill ran down his spine.

[Dad got hurt at work. It’s nothing serious, for him. But apparently, some of the guys he was working with are in critical condition?]

James didn’t like the sound of that one bit. He leaned upright and his friend's conversation slowly halted as his face paled more and more at the thought of what might have happened.

[Did dad tell you what happened?] He texted back.

The reply was immediate.

[Someone went nuts and attacked him. It was one of the foremen. He was acting off for the last two months but today of all days he cracked Dad said. He took a hammer to the nearest worker and- you get the picture. Dad didn’t describe it in detail. I think he's pretty shaken right now.]

James could imagine. That sounded horrible. A shiver went down his spine again at the thought of facing a hammer-wielding manic.

[Where is he?] he texted back.

[Home. The hospital said it was nothing serious and kicked him out. He and his crew weren’t the only ones who just got randomly attacked by someone.]

What?

[What do you mean?] James asked.

[James, it’s happening everywhere. Not a lot, but there have already been reports. They disappear after a few minutes though. I don’t like this James. Dad doesn’t either. You should come home.]

What the hell is going on? That last sentence sounded so ominous he almost didn’t want to know.

“Jazz, dude. What's wrong?” Jake asked after he stood up out of the blue.

“Dad got hurt at work. I’m gonna have to go home.” James said, lying just a little. He had an itchy feeling in his throat after what Micheal had said. Reports disappearing? A bunch of identical incidents being hush hush? It didn’t take a genius to guess it probably wasn’t the best idea to stick around in…

James looked around them, slowly. They were far from the only people waiting in the park to see the meteor shower. All grouped up together he realised how hard it would be to get out if a panic was to occur. That made him more nervous.

This is a bad place to be.

He knew he had good instincts, and they were giving him warning signals. Bad ones.

“How long away is the meteor show Jess?” James asked, his voice shaking a little.

He refused to sit down again and refused to take his eyes off the people around him. Jess didn’t seem to feel relief at his worried glances towards her but she checked her phone for the timer all the same.

“About a minute. Why? Do you want to stay and watch before you leave?” She asked.

“No,” James said in a shaky voice. “I think we should all leave.”

“What, when?” Jake asked, standing up as well. He looked worried, but more for James than anything else.

“Now,” James said.

Why does it feel like we’re heading off a cliff?

He couldn’t keep his eyes from darting all over the place like they were looking for something in specific. James couldn’t see where his intuition came from, but it was screaming at him to find something, so he kept looking.

James could feel his heart starting to quicken as a familiar ringing returned to his ears.

It felt like he was being driven straight off a cliff, but he couldn’t see where the cliff was.

“James.” Suddenly two hands grabbed onto his shoulder with a firm grip.

Jake had never been taller than him, not even when they were kids. For some reason, he felt small with Jake's hands on his shoulders. He leaned close to James’ ear and whispered something. For a second, James’ was frightened Jake might’ve been the cliff.

“Be honest, are you having a panic attack? If you are, that's totally chill. We can all leave together. Hell if the girls want to stay I’ll go with you.” Jake gave him a reassuring smile. “Just remember you're here and grounded. Like always. Nothing bad is going to happen.”

James… felt peace for a moment. He loved Jake like a brother, and it had never been clearer why.

That was when he saw it.

The cliff. He stood at about two inches taller than James and was dressed in all black. The wear was clean and uniform. His hoodie was on as far as it could be and a face mask left only the top half of his face exposed.

The mask was metal and he wore gloves with combat boots. The way the hoodie contorted weirdly around his midsection made James realise he was wearing body armour. He doubted anyone else would’ve checked.

His pants clung to the side of his leg in the same weird way.

He’s got a weapon.

And it wasn’t just him. Now that he’d spotted the nearest one, James could see them, littered between hundreds. Maybe thousands. Not all of them were as obvious as the masked man, but their expression betrayed them.

They’re waiting.

Was it for the meteor shower?

“Dude?” Jake shook him out of his stupor. “What’s wrong?” We need to leave. Now

He tried to say that, but the words wouldn’t come out. Panic was setting in. What were they waiting for?

Run. I need to run. But he couldn’t leave them. But they wouldn’t listen.

Not in time.

Not before.

A small tug pulled his attention.

He turned for a moment from James and the armoured man to see Jess pointing at the sky. Jake was looking at it too.

James gazed around and realised he might the only one that wasn’t. Anxiously, he turned his attention to the sky.

Brilliant azure streaks were flying across the night sky, painted with a brilliant drop of midnight black they flew past James. Countless little embers falling to be tinder in their atmosphere. Burning up one by one.

They whizzed past one by one after the other but instead of slowing down they just kept coming. Azure strips of pure light flew overhead painting strips of brilliant light in the dark night sky. Then one of them zipped straight past a gleaming star. And instead of painting over it in the sky, the stars started falling. Those gleaming lights visibly started coming crashing down to the earth.

Most people started to panic at that part. All the people around him, including Jess, Jake and Amy started shouting, yelling, screaming and filling the whole park with noise. Maybe the whole world had just erupted with noise considering the stars were falling.

James kept silent. Letting the noise wash past him like a wave. His ears could barely hear it. His eyes stayed transfixed on the sky.

They were the silent few. And apparently, he was one of them. He could feel it. Something… calling to him in the sky as the stars streaked across the sky crashing in blazing glory to the ground.

The azure strips of light stayed in the sky, but he could see it more clearly now.

They weren’t burning like fire.

The azure was fire. Lighting up the night sky in endless heat as the atmosphere combusted.

What is it? James wondered, frozen stiff by the terror.

The azure kept burning until the entire sky above their heads was on fire. Jake was dragging him but James never looked away from the sky.

It’s coming.

He felt it.

The wave of azure soon reached its peak and while everyone was screaming in horror at the falling stars and burning sky, the rare few, some chosen, some just unlucky, got to witness what was coming.

The center of the azure slowly started to peel back, like the fire was rotting away, as an inky nothingness slowly infected it, seeping inside. It devoured the azure from the center outwards till it was comfy in its shape and form, a large slitted pupil ate away the sky.

Then, the eye that ate away the sky, witnessed them.

And Judged.