Flint is driving through the dark highway at night. His hands are gripped tightly on the wheel. The roads are silent apart from his car’s motor rumbling as he drives.
“My duty huh?” he mutters. “When haven’t I used those words?”
Flint keeps driving along the highway, tapping his fingers on the wheel. He fails to keep his attention on the road as his mind brings him back to a special moment.
A younger Flint stands up proud in front of his peers. His new detective badge shines brightly as it is pinned on his coat by his mentor. His mentor, an older man, steps back as he lets Flint recite his oath.
“I vow to pursue and reveal the truth to all. I mustn’t waver, no matter how bitter the consequences may be. No one should live in the darkness of falsehoods nor should those who harm others hide have their sins be hidden away.”
“Can you still hold to that oath, Flint?” he asks himself as he keeps driving down the road.
*click click*
Flint snaps out of his memories and breaks out in a cold sweat. He can hear it coming from the back seat.
“No…” Flint mutters.
*click click*
His hands begin to shiver on the wheel.
“Why must you ignore me, Flint?” the familiar distorted voice murmurs behind him.
Flint turns on the radio and cranks up the volume to drown out the voice behind him.
“Flint…oh, Flint…” the voice says, trying to coax him in.
Despite the high volume of the radio, he could still hear the voice from behind. He cranks it up even louder, to the point where any outside noise is blocked out. It didn’t matter how painfully loud the radio was. He didn’t need to hear that voice.
“Flint…”
His hand shivers even more. Not even the radio can fizzle out the voice. He steps on the gas. The motor roars and the car speeds up immensely.
“Flint…do you really think you can drown out my voice?” the voice murmurs.
He presses on the gas even harder. He drove dangerously through the highway at the car’s max speed.
“Flint…do not ignore me, Flint…” the voice murmured.
Flint slams onto the brakes, hoping that the screeching of the wheels on the road would block the noise and slow down his car.
“FLINT. FLINT. FLINT. FLINT. FLINT. FLINT. FLINT. FLINT. FLINT. FLINT. FLINT. FLINT. FLINT. FLINT. FLINT. FLINT. FLINT. FLINT. FLINT. FLINT. FLINT. FLINT. FLINT.”
“Stop…STOP IT!” Flint cried out.
As his car finally slows to a normal speed, he pulls over onto the side of the road.
Flint turns on his lights and turns to the back of the seat. Nobody is there. The voice is no longer there. He wipes the sweat off of his head but still breathes heavily. The voice…It is a voice he is familiar with, something he wishes he had never been familiar with. He keeps hyperventilating as he starts up his car again and speeds down the road.
Flint pulls up to Shotkies, a small bar that he frequents, after several minutes of driving on the highway. He gets out of his car and enters the bar.
The interior of the bar is small. There are several tables in the extra space the tavern has. The bar itself has ten clean barstools and a polished wooden and marble bar. Many bottles of alcohol are displayed on a glowing shelf.
Flint hurriedly sits down on one of the barstools. The bartender approaches him, cleaning a glass.
“Good evening. Would you like anything to drink?” she asks him.
“Just…just a glass of whiskey. Whatever kind of whiskey you got.” Flint tells her.
She nods and goes over to get a glass. She grabs one of the higher-quality whiskey bottles and pours him a glass. She approaches him and places the glass near him.
“Anything else?” she asks.
“No…” Flint muttered.
He takes out his wallet from his pocket and grabs several bills. He places them on the bar top. The bartender takes the bills and leaves him there. Flint stares at the whiskey. He takes the glass and then a deep breath. He begins drinking.
*click* *click*
Flint shudders as he continues to drink from his glass. From the corner of his eyes, he spots a shadowy figure. When he turns his head towards the area, the figure was no longer there. His heart begins beating fast again.
“Um…excuse me,” Flint mutters. The bartender approaches him, ready to serve.
“I’ll just have one more glass.” Flint requested.
He takes his wallet out again and slams more bills. The bartender goes over and pours him another glass of the same whiskey. He takes a deep breath and downs the entire drink in one go. He slams the glass down on the bar. He stands up and leaves the tavern. He walks over to his car and starts it. He rushes back home, hoping not to hear the noise.
Flint walks into his home. He notices the living room lights are on. He turns over to see Lily kneeling on the carpet. Her t-shirt and shorts are stained with paint and ink, while her Seedling plush sits on the couch.
“Daddy!” she exclaims.
She runs over to Flint, who bends down to her level and they both embrace each other. Some of the ink and paint residue gets on his clothes, but Flint pays no mind to it.
“Yep, daddy’s back home. Early this time.” He mutters.
They both let go.
“How’s school going for you, Lily?” Flint asks her.
“It’s going great! I like all my teachers and they like the work I’m doing!” She joyfully tells him.
Flint forms a small smile. While he never can be around her a lot, he is still proud of her achievements. A few seconds later, he feels Lily tug on his pants.
“C’mon! I wanna show you something!” Lily exclaims.
Lily runs over to the table with Flint following behind. As he approaches the table, he can’t help but feel utterly astounded. On the table is this magnificent portrait of her, Flint, and Ronlo. Every line is clean and gracefully drawn on. The colors of paint she uses give a burst of life to the portrait. All of these elements create the loving picture of Ronlo, Flint, and Lily on the couch expressing heartwarming affection towards each other.
“I made this just for us Daddy.” She says, looking up to Flint.
“Sweetie…” Flint muttered. “It’s…it’s beautiful.”
Lily smiles. She motions Flint to bend down to her level, which he does. Lily gets closer to his ear.
“Don’t tell Dad though. I want it to be a surprise to him.” Lily whispers.
He nods but then stops in confusion.
“Sweetie, why are you telling me this?” he asks.
“Oh…you’re always working. I don’t think you’ll have the time to see what I want to show you.”
He didn’t know what to say to her. All he knows what to tell her is the same old repeated phrase of, “I’m busy at work.”
“But being a detective must be so cool for you Daddy! If you hated your job, then you wouldn’t be a detective, right?”
It takes a moment for Flint to process her statement.
“It’s my duty…” He mutters to himself, with a hint of uncertainty.
Even if his voice is quiet, Lily still hears what he says. She smiles upon hearing that.
“You sound so cool, Daddy.” She says out loud.
Flint snaps out of his silent state when he hears her say that. A light blush forms on his face upon hearing her compliment. He coughs a bit to compose himself.
“Lily, I’ll just let you work on that,” Flint says.
He pats her head before going to his bedroom. He approaches his bedroom door and puts his hand on the doorknob, tightly gripping it. He takes a moment, still contemplating what he should tell him. He takes a deep breath and turns the knob, entering his bedroom.
He slowly and silently walks into his bedroom. Ronlo is sitting at the desk on the other side. He is currently writing a draft of his manuscript on his laptop. Flint slowly approaches him. Ronlo stops typing and stands up from his seat. He turns around and is shocked to see Flint home early.
“You’re home early dear,” Ronlo says to Flint, still with a somewhat shocked expression.
Flint stops and shivers in place. He faces down.
“Dear, is something the matter?” Ronlo asked him.
“…”
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Ronlo sighs. Ronlo approaches Flint and embraces him. Flint tries to back away, but he can’t find it in himself to walk away from him. From this close range, Ronlo smells the scent of alcohol in Flint’s breath. He hugs him tighter.
“Flint. I can’t just let this continue.” Ronlo says to him. “We need to talk Flint. No more running away.”
Flint tries to break free from Ronlo’s hug to explain his new case, but Ronlo doesn’t let him.
“Please…stop pushing me away,” Ronlo begs Flint.
Flint sighs heavily and stops. He lets Ronlo speak.
“I’m not stupid. I can smell the alcohol. I’ve always been able to smell the alcohol.” Ronlo says, looking at him while still embracing him.
Flint struggles to say anything.
“Dear…I…” Ronlo stutters.
Ronlo takes and deep breath and sniffles before finally telling Flint, “I’m tired of staying quiet about this Flint. I just can’t bear to see you like this anymore. You’ve changed, you’ve been so distant and detached, not only just from me, but from everyone.”
Ronlo breaks into tears and buries himself into Flint’s chest as he hugs him tighter. Flint tries his very best not to cry, but yet he does nothing to console Ronlo.
“Flint…” Ronlo manages to tell him despite his tears, “We’ve been married for so long. You can rely on me. You don’t have to rely on your damned alcohol.”
Flint holds back his tears and breath. He wishes not to break the news to Ronlo, but he has to. Flint can’t lie to him. Flint forcefully pushes Ronlo off of him.
“What’s wrong dear?” Ronlo asks him, still tears in his eyes.
Flint’s breaths become heavier and heavier. Ronlo becomes increasingly worried about him.
“Please tell me what’s wrong!” Ronlo pleads to him.
“Dear…I know these are the last words you want to hear. But…I have another case.”
Ronlo falls silent, but tears still run down his eyes. Flint is still breathing heavily and his heart rate is still pumping fast.
“Look dear I know that…”
“Do you really know?” Ronlo asks, interrupting him.
“What..?”
“Do you really know?” Ronlo asks again. “Do you really know how these cases are affecting you?”
“Dear, please just let me…”
“No Flint! Just stop!” Ronlo shouts at him, with more tears streaming down his eyes. “I’m tired of you justifying your actions! How could you be so blind about what’s happening?”
“I know what I’m getting into Dear. I know.”
“You always keep saying I know, I know! I don’t think you know at all. You’re always trying to say that just to reassure me!”
Flint, takes a deep breath, before he shouts at Ronlo in frustration, “Damn it I do know Ronlo! I fucking know what I’m doing! It’s my damn duty!”
Ronlo is taken aback by his sudden behavior.
“Your duty is it?” Ronlo asks, wiping the tears from his eyes. “Can’t you see how much your duty has ruined us, you damn idiot?”
Flint tries to calm himself down with deep breaths, but he is unable to. His right hand tightens into a fist.
“You’re destroying all the friendships you have made, you’re destroying Lily’s entire childhood, and now…now you’re destroying our five-year-long marriage! Has our marriage ever meant anything to you? If it did, then you wouldn’t continue with your damn job! You’re just a selfish bastard!”
After Ronlo finishes shouting, Flint punches him in the face. Ronlo is sent back but retaliates by punching Flint back. Flint regains his balance and shoves Ronlo away. Ronlo stumbles back and crashes into their bed. It is only after this that the realization hits Flint.
He has never thought that he could hurt his beloved Ronlo, but yet he did out of sheer anger. The feelings of regret hit him immediately.
“I…I…I…” Flint mutters. As tears fall down his eyes.
Flint runs out of the bedroom and shuts the door behind him. He hears Ronlo shambling over to the door and locking it.
“Fine then! Go ahead and take that damn case, you selfish bastard! Go ahead and take it!” Ronlo shouts from the other side of the door.
Flint hears Ronlo crying from behind the door. He couldn’t find it in himself to go back in.
Flint approaches the living room, wiping his tears. He notices Lily still working on her project. As he gets closer, he notices some tear stains on her work.
“Sweetie, what’s the matter?” Flint asks her.
“Daddy…were you fighting again?” she asks.
Flint becomes silent.
“Sweetie…it’s not like that…”
“But, I heard you shouting and yelling…” Lily says in a low tone, still crying. “Daddy…you promised you wouldn’t fight anymore…”
“Sweetie… Look, I know what I promised…”
“Daddy…I don’t want you two fighting…”
Flint struggles to come up with something to say to Lily to console her. He takes a deep breath.
“Sweetie…why…why don’t you just head to bed? It’s late.” Flint tells her.
Lily stands up, grabs her Seedling plush hugging tightly, and runs to her room, closing the door. He can hear her faintly crying in her room. He takes a look at the portrait on the table. She has completed it. Flint sighs heavily as the tears flow from his eyes while he looks at the portrait. It contains such great beauty with all three of them. Something he has destroyed all in one night. He takes the portrait and hides it underneath the table.
He tries to calm himself down, but he is unable to. He still cannot fathom that he has hurt his beloved not only physically, but emotionally. He knows about the duty he must fulfill, but he cannot ignore the strain on his relationships it has caused. All of these thoughts continue to bombard him.
He goes over to the kitchen and opens one of the top cabinets. He pulls out an entire glass bottle of whiskey, his old reliable to help him cope.
He grabs a glass, fills it with ice, and pours some whiskey into it. He holds the glass in his hand and observes it. He grips the glass tightly in his hand. He knows he shouldn’t be doing this. He knows he should be going back to amend things with his dear Ronlo and precious daughter Lily. But instead, he downed the glass of whiskey. Then he had another. Then another. Then another, until the bottle was empty.
He becomes woozy after finishing the bottle. Even though the alcohol has already set in to numb himself, we could still feel the harsh emotional pain from earlier.
He stumbles his way to the living room. He sloppily turns off the lights in the kitchen and living room. Once that is done, he stumbles through the dark room and crashes right onto the couch. He immediately falls asleep.
*click* *click*
Flint is still fast asleep.
*click* *click*
It is louder this time, but he is still asleep.
*click* *click*
Flint shudders, finally hearing the noise. It is very close to him. He feels something sliding across his face. His eyes immediately open. He looks around in the dark room, breaking out into a cold sweat. Nothing is there, but he still hears the noise.
*click* *click*
It is coming from the kitchen. Flint slowly stands up and approaches the kitchen. He shivers when he sees a shadowy human figure in the kitchen. Its shadowy hand is on the empty bottle of whiskey he has drunk from. It is now filled with a black liquid.
“Flint…” the shadowy figure mutters.
It pours out the liquid into a glass, filling it up. It raises the glass and offers it to Flint. The scent of the liquid is intoxicating to him.
“It’s just one drink.” The figure tells him.
He began to shiver even more. He tried to resist drinking the liquid, but it became so difficult for him to resist.
“No…I…I…I won’t…” he mutters.
“Why resist? It’s only one drink.” The figure again mutters.
“I won’t. I won’t drink it.” Flint mutters again.
He then heard the cacophony of voices reciting the same line, “It’s only one drink.”
“Stop! Stop! I won’t drink it!” he screams.
The voices increase and become even louder, still reciting the same line.
“Stop!” he again pleaded.
The voices reach their maximum volume. He couldn’t hear anything except for the voices reciting the same damn line. His heart begins to beat faster and faster. He looks down at the drink.
Flint begins to drink the liquid. Its thick consistency runs down Flint’s throat. It tastes like old mud bathing in bacteria-infested water. No matter how repulsive the drink is, he can’t stop drinking it. It has intoxicated him. He continued to drink it, all until the very last drop.
He breathes heavily after finishing the repulsive liquid. He hears the voice no more. He is finally calm.
However, all his calmness was soon taken back. He begins shivering and sweating again. He sees the room slowly engulfed in darkness. He tries to move away from it, but the darkness slowly surrounds him. There is nothing he can do. He stands in the center of the room, waiting for the inevitable. Like the room, he too becomes engulfed in the darkness.
He is the only one standing there in the dark void. He begins to fall into the darkness. He did not know where he'd end up, but he did not panic. All he can do is to accept his fate.
He eventually stops falling and lands on his back. The area he has landed in feels like a concrete road. He stands up from the ground. He saw the darkness gradually retreating. It reveals a dark road in between many damaged and ruined buildings. The road itself has many potholes and cracks scattered throughout. Damaged street poles are aligned parallel on both sides, some off, some with flickering bulbs.
Flint looks around to find anything else. There is nothing else. He has no idea where it would lead him, but the only thing he can do is walk down this ruined street. He takes a deep breath and starts his walk.
Flint’s steps echo throughout the quiet street. He can barely tell if he is making any progress. The darkness unveils the same buildings, the same street, and the same street poles. He just keeps on moving on, ignoring the monotony’s attempts to delude him.
He keeps on walking and walking. His same steps continue echoing throughout the street. All of this is slowly getting to him.
*click* *click*
He looks behind him to find the source of the noise. His eyes widen at the sight of a shadowy figure standing there.
Its clothing is that of Flint’s, but physically it is a distorted shadowy being, who is hunched over. Its distorted hanging jaw and large unaligned purple eyes stare at Flint. This is not the first time Flint has encountered this being, but he knows it won’t be the last.
He tries so desperately to back away, but he can’t. He is placed in a frozen state. The figure takes crooked and odd steps as it shambles towards Flint, still keeping its hunched posture.
“No…stay back! Back!” Flint shouts at the being.
The shadowy being keeps on getting closer to Flint. Radio static comes out from its gaping mouth.
“I…will…take them…” it mutters.
Flint knows what it is talking about. He keeps on struggling to break free. The shadowy figure is now standing in front of Flint. It leans its face closer. Flint hears the harsh radio static.
“I…will show them…the darkness…they will drown in it…” It tells Flint.
“Stop! Don’t you dare lay a damn finger on any of them!” Flint shouts at the being.
The being turns Flint to behind him. The bodies of Sercas and Serena, his workmates whom he cares for, and Lily and Ronlo, his beloved family, are lying on the ground. All of them lay there unconscious and greatly wounded.
“Stop! STOP!” Flint shouts at the being.
The being slowly shambles to their bodies, ignoring Flint’s constant pleas for it to stop.
The being lifts Sercas’s body. A pool of darkness forms beneath his body.
“The man…who will take a mortal blow…” the being mutters.
Sercas regains consciousness and opens his eyes. The shadowy being drowns Sercas in the darkness below. Sercas screams and struggles as he is drowned in the darkness, but he still manages to give the being a hard time. Sercas hacks and coughs up shadowy sludge as the being slowly overpowers him. The shadowy being shoves Sercas down into the pool of darkness. The last that is heard of Sercas is his blood-curdling screams full of pain and agony.
The being shambles over to Serena next. He lifts her body, with the same pool of darkness forming from beneath her.
“The secretary…who is your guiding light…” the being mutters.
Serena’s eyes open and she regains consciousness. The shadowy being forcefully throws her into the darkness. She tries hard to escape from the darkness trying to engulf her, but she is unable to. She sees Flint and reaches out her arm to him. It is all for naught. She is dragged into the darkness, screaming in agony just like Sercas.
“Damn it…damn it!” Flint curses.
Flint tries to break free from his frozen state, but he is unable to. He is helpless as he sees the being lift up his beloved Ronlo.
“Don’t…you…damn dare!” Flint shouts at the shadowy being, still unable to break free from his frozen state.
The being turns to face Flint as it carries Ronlo in his hands.
“Your beloved husband…who you have hurt…” it mutters.
Flint stops struggling to break free. He stares at the being with a regretful look.
“Please…don’t hurt him…don’t hurt him!” Flint pleads.
The being throws Ronlo into the darkness below, as he regains consciousness. The darkness latches onto him as he struggles to get free. As the darkness slowly drags him down, it forms sharp spikes that penetrate throughout his entire upper body. Ronlo stops struggling and coughs up the dark sludge. He, like the rest, is slowly drowned in the darkness.
The being slowly approaches Lily.
“Don’t…don’t lay a single hand on my daughter!” Flint shouts at him.
The being lifts up Lily’s small body. She regains consciousness and looks around.
“What’s going on?” She asks.
She sees her father in the distance and sees the shadowy figure carrying her. She looks below and sees the pool of darkness beneath her. The shadowy being slowly raises her up.
“Daddy! Daddy help me!” she screams as the being prepares to throw her into the darkness.
Her cries for help give Flint a burst of determination. He uses all his might and power to break free from his frozen state.
Just before the being throws Lily into the shadowy pool, Flint manages to break out of his frozen state and rushes over to them. He pushes the shadowy being, causing it to release Lily.
He pins the being to the ground.
“I won’t let you do that to her! I won’t let her end up like the rest!” he shouts at the being.
Flint punches the shadowy being repeatedly. No matter how much he punches the being, it does nothing to harm it. The being pushes him off of it, throwing him a distance away. The being shambles over to Lily, who is nearby and too frightened to run away.
Flint recovers and looks over to the shadowy being. He sees the shadowy being about to throw Lily into the darkness. He hears her screams for help.
“No…” Flint mutters.
He quickly stands up and runs over to them. The shadowy being throws Lily into the darkness as Flint is mere inches away from them. He hears her screams of pain and agony as the pool of darkness consumes her.
“No…” he mutters. “Damn it! No!”
He turns to where the shadowy being stands but is no longer there.
Flint’s visage of anger and hatred slowly turns into one of sadness and defeat. He falls to the floor, with a defeated look. The streets and roads around him slowly become engulfed in darkness. The darkness eventually engulfs him, along with his surroundings.