Earlier, there was no sound. No screams, no leviathans, only the low creaking of the ship's hull as it echoed in utter ambience like a held breath.
The hall that once yelled of a thousand laughter's, felt silence in the day for the first time in a millennia.
Carlos leaned against the oakwood railing on the second floor, where surreal ceiling lights bathed the room in a heartwarming glow like a stage waiting for chaos to ensue. Arms crossed, fiddling with his frog charm hanging from his neck.
Amaya sat in front of him and Kaya leaning against the wooden wall behind, with her legs crossed. In the silence, she had gotten a warm cup of coffee that she sipped in pure quiet.
Kaya lay beside Carlos, arms tucked behind her head, eyes caught in the soft ceiling glow, like she was trying to read something that only caught her eyes.
Nobody spoke for what felt like an hour. Not because there wasn't anything to speak of, but simply that speaking of those matters felt like rubbing salt on a wound.
Carlos finally broke the silence. "Kaya, do you really want to know what happened with Atlas?"
Kaya stuck her head up in shock. "What?" She finally processed his question, "I-I'd be willing to hear it."
"Now Kaya I can't tell you about his mind and how you perceive it. That's out of my knowledge, but what I can tell you is something that happened that may have Atlas act the way he does."
Kaya stares into Carlos's eyes with pure intent of listening to every word.
"But before that, you have to promise me to not talk about this. Even Atlas barely remembers the events this, so be wary."
"I understand, and I promise." Kaya asserted in slight worry, but wonder.
"We sugarcoated this earlier to not let Atlas recall this, but he had an old crew just like us folks. They raised him from birth." Carlos resisted, but he said what had to be said.
"One day, it was a blue hour. The most gloomy day you can fathom. Captain was reading a bedtime story to Atlas. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew were having dinner on top of the ship, laughing it off. There were 5 boys, and 3 girls, about your age Kaya. Until something struck, that changed it. "
Carlos sighed, he strained saying every word, but now it was too late.
"And fate struck them right there."
Kaya's eyes widened in disbelief inching for the next word to come out of his mouth.
"Fate was a leviathan. Captain Vos called it that. Fate... to make sense of what happened. A large boom came out as the entire ship shook with despair, feeling as if it tore apart. Unfortunately far worse happened." Carlos said in a low voice.
"It had eviscerated the entire crew right there."
Silence. Even the waves were quiet. They know.
"Their bodies were mangled. Dismantled. They had no reason to die, they were young and happy. The ship was immediately destroyed, and the only room intact was Atlas's room."
"He rushed outside in a blink to see what had happened. Hell happened.
Why? Why them?
"The leviathan had stared Vos in the eyes with malice in it's soul. It wasn't hungry or anything, just feeling like ending life for the sake of it. Like how a human would squish a fly."
Carlos looked up in melancholy.
"They were good crew, they raised Atlas well, and he was the little brother of the crew just like now. Now seeing that they died for no reason." He paused.
"It pisses me off." Carlos continued in a vulgar manner.
"Captain stood in the remnants of the ship, staring at it's demonic face. Atlas woke up out of bed and crept closer to where he was, holding him tightly..."
"And after that, Captain Vos never told me exactly what happened."
"Jonathan, Aaron, Malcolm, Isaiah, Lee, Lucy, Chloe, Valentina. Poor Crew. Gone like nothing."
Carlos exhaled. "I can't believe I just said that."
Kaya had her mouth agape. "Oh... oh dear." A tear escaped her eye, but she quickly wiped it off.
Amaya adjusted her posture and forced out a sentence, "Carlos... I knew something happened to the old crew, but not like that... Why didn't you tell us this?!" She exclaimed.
Continuing, "And how do you know this? Because I know damn well Captain wouldn't speak a word of this."
He sighed in misery, it hurt to speak of.
"You're right Amaya. I never told any of you, because there was never a moment like this where it could be brought up. With Captain, and Atlas, there was never room to talk about that."
He paused, both women staring at him with a daring glance.
"And this ordeal... Was broadcasted across the realms. Live on the news, and that was the story. I remember viewing it vividly on that day. It was a tragedy."
"Wait so, shouldn't you know what happened after?" Amaya blurted out of curiosity.
"That's the thing. After they described the bodies, and put them in body bags. They had interviewed Captain after, and from my memory, he mentioned a camera."
He stared deeply into Amaya's vine-forest green eyes, with her Lucious brown hair flowing in the low air conditioning.
A camera that caught the incident of what happened after... Instantly, the news had covered his voice with static. Like something was silencing him. Hiding the truth."
With a stern look he added, "Wherever that camera is... I bet everything that it's in that room." Carlos pointed to the extra room that heard every word. It lurked without ever moving.
"And why? Why haven't you told us about anything about the camera or the ship?" Amaya asked persistently.
"I made a promise to Captain. But I spoke out of line now and that's my price to pay. Now that Kaya told us about Atlas's mind, I knew something was up. Now would be the time to mention it."
Kaya finally erupted from silence, "Something's still wrong… If the Captain was willing to speak on the news that day, then why has he hidden so much from us?"
"You have a point Kaya. That man, up until today I never knew he hid so many secrets. But maybe... Its not about what he said, but what was taken out." Amaya replied.
Carlos strained, but he couldn't hold himself.
God damn it. I want to tell them so badly. There was more, I still don't know the full story, but it'll be more questions to answer.
I have to tell them something. I'm sorry, Vos.
"It is." Carlos forced out his voice.
Both women turned to him, quietly suffocating in suspending ambience.
He tried to tell the truth, but said something no man was supposed to say.
"That it- the leviathan... was killed."
"Not by weapon... Not by fleet... But something small and unassuming, as if ripped straight from an urban legend."
"Before Captain's voice got cut out by the media, I remember what he said. Clear as day."
"He said: It was the badger."
Amaya blinked multiple times.
"What...?"
Carlos sighed.
"The black badger was what he called it. Small, didn't look all that tough. But resilient. Persistent. It didn't stop. It never did. Tore through that serpent like fate itself was mocked."
"They didn't even censor it properly. They just cut the line. Like they were scared of something."
Kaya stared with awe.
"And nobody knows what he meant by 'badger'?"
Carlos shook his head. His breathing quickened.
I started this.
"Listen ladies. You have to promise me to not speak a word of this. Its speculation, and I had not wanted to talk about this for everyone's sake. But I'm telling you this because I trust you two. I need you to swear."
"Please... don't tell anybody." Carlos begged.
The girls nodded their heads and asserted they would not tell a soul.
"I promise." They said in sync.
Carlos looked to the floor.
"There was no real name.. Only the black badger. But Vos meant it. In my career, he only used that word one other time..."
The room stilled. The air chilled. The lights seemed colder now.
"It was during a sparring match. Right there," he pointed toward the main hall staircase behind him.
"Atlas was sparring with me. Pretty casual. Vos was leaning on the railing above. Just watching, silent."
"Then I heard him utter so faint I barely rendered it; There it is again, the badger."
Carlos glanced around again, voice dropping lower.
"Right after that, I saw steam coming out of Atlas's ears like a charging bull. He hit me with a left hook that knocked the wind clean out of me. Flat on my back."
"When I looked upward, Atlas gave me his hand. But his eyes... they weren't on me. They were locked on Vos. There was somethin' in them."
He gulped.
"Not confusion. Not pride. Hate. Just for a second."
"And Vos? He covered his mouth. Like he'd said something he shouldn't have. Something dangerous."
He exhaled shakily, shivering at his own words.
"At the time it slipped past me. Just another daydream. But now... now I can't stop thinking about it."
Carlos paused staring at the wooden floorboarding between his leather boots.
"I kept my mouth shut because it was never worth mentioning. But after this conversation.. I know in my gut. Badger means somethin'. And its somethin' I don't think I'll like."
Kaya gasped. No word escaped her mouth.
Oh dear. Oh no. Don't tell me that Atlas has something to do with this. Oh.. please no. I cant afford this. It's too much. I only met him today, yet I've never felt anything for anyone like this before. Please Atlas...
"Carlos.." Kaya whispered.
"Yeah?"
"Don't... don't tell me that Atlas is him."
Carlos looked away with his eyes narrowing.
"I don't know, Kaya.. I'd like to think not. He's a good kid. There has to be something more to this."
"And Kaya, I know you care about him, but please.. For his sake, don't tell him." Carlos pleaded.
Kaya nodded whilst frowning; her voice was hollow.
"Okay Carlos."
What do I do? I cant just not tell him. Just because its true make it right. He's not an animal. He's never been. So why talk about him like he's some sort of weapon? Some monster?
"Carlos.. I don't know what to say... We must speak none of this to anybody else. Its between us now." Amaya intervened.
Then fate cried aloud. A violent wave hurled the ship like a doll in the hands of an angry god.
Knocking the three off balance, they were immediately alarmed, "What was that?!" Amaya exclaimed.
"Sounded like a loud crash." Carlos quickly got up, adjusting his frog charm.
They went past the extra room, took a sharp right, then went up the oakwood stairs shielded by the tough metal doorway. It was screaming like a spoiled child now that nobody was looking at it. It kept calling, but it only heard footsteps fading away getting quieter.
Captain Vos and Lieutenant Sark were already on the top of the ship observing the matter at hand.
"What happened?" Kaya asked anxiously.
Captain Vos watched from a distance, eyes sunken, as if the truth had finally taken form in flesh before him.
"That." Captain Vos pointed his finger at the headless corpse of the leviathan that was taller than the skies.
Atlas arises from hell with his true brothers: near lifeless, he coughs weakly whilst covered in bruises and a bleeding cut on his cheek by accident from the dagger he held.
Staring, they stare deeply at him in awe. Not in fear; a shock that keeps their eyes peeled.
"ATLAS! Are you okay!?"
Kaya gave a bloodcurdling scream as she rushed towards him, laying his head on her lap.
"Yeah.. yeah I'm fine. Just a little tired..." His voice drowns in a deep slumber.
She looks at her surroundings, clueless as to what happened until it clicked. She saw the blood-coated dagger he was gripping onto.
Atlas... Don't tell me you did this. It can't be... You did this in self-defense, you cant be a monster. YOU JUST CANT BE!
Kaya slowly began tearing up, sniffling as she caresses Atlas's dark-brown, nearly black wavy hair.
What draws me to you Atlas? Is it your fragile, ghostly, grey eyes? Your sense of humor? The way you take what life throws at you and give it back twice as hard? I can't read what you, but I know you mean well... I just know.
Noticing Atlas has knocked out cold, Kaya decides to try to pick him up to the medical center, like the captain stated whilst in her thought.
He's light. Like someone who carries more burden than body.
She follows Amaya and Carlos as they drag Zayne and Lias's unconscious bodies to the beds.
Bright; the room is blinding anyone who enters it. Through the light, Kaya laid Atlas on the third bed near to the right of the window. Zayne and Lias were placed on the first two, but on the empty fourth one facing Atlas, Kaya sits there, staring at him.
On the right of the room, the window takes the most attention. Shielding nobody's eyes from the illuminating day as they awake from injuries. The beds are covered in thin-sheet paper, to absorb any blood. On the side of each bed, a vital monitor is awaiting to be activated.
"Aye Kaya quit being a creep, you're watching the boy sleep." He laughs endearingly as he checks the pulse on the other two.
She blushes, staring into the huge framed window, covering Atlas's innocent yet perplexing expression.
Nevertheless she still locks her eyes on him.
Even if you were the badger Atlas, I wouldn't mind. You're so interesting. Like a maze of trivia.
"Alright! Alright! If you don't know how to put on some Band-Aids then get on out of here., flirt girl." Amaya chuckled as she prepared bandages for Atlas.
Wrapping gauze around Atlas's arm, Kaya observed carefully with precision.
"Careful Kaya, More you look, the harder it'll be to look away."
She smiled; however, hey eyes didn't.
Kaya watched the bandages coil around his arm, until her eye caught a smaller, darker mark etched into his wrist.
Is that what I thought it was? It can't be, because Atlas doesn't know what the concept of a trial is; Yet, it looks like a trial mark.
The bandage veils it, but a faint outline remains; barely visible. Just enough.
Maybe if I use my trial looking at it, maybe something will happen.
Don't... don't fall... stars...
Her concentration shifted, "Atlas? Did you say something?"
Ambience, only the 'beep' of the vital monitor.
Leaning in instinctively, she examines Atlas's face.
No, no there's nothing... I'm imagining things.
She looks down and notices it.
The faint outline from the mark on his wrist. A symbol. It pulses once.
Like a heartbeat from a monster.
Kaya stands up suddenly from the bed, "Nope. Nope. I'm being weird. I look like a stalker. Its time I sit down somewhere else."
Leaving the room with a hurried pace, she crosses Vos about to enter.
His bulky military frame narrowly fits in the doorway, he notices Kaya in distress, as he rubs his arm like something aches.
"Don't worry Kaya." he says watching Atlas from a distance with his keen dark azure gaze. "Even while unconscious, that boy's louder than most men alive."
She exits the room that asks more questions, while Vos embraces it.
He rests on the bed where Kaya sat, and talks to Atlas in his sleep.
"Its been years since I've seen you like this my son." He mumbles with his grizzled undertone.
Clearing his throat, he states clearly as his brothers behind him drift in slumber. But he knows Atlas can hear him. He just knows.
"You sleep like you've earned peace my son. Its such a shame that the world won't let you keep it."
"Atlas... I'm sorry for ever calling you that."
"That is my mistake that must be erased. No matter the cost."
Behind him, the window glimmered in metamorphosis; fading into a mirage of amethyst and dying copper.
The hour of purple commences.
Shedding into a grape like color, the sky eludes of its terracotta tint, accepting enlightening gloom.
"Soon... but not today, my son. The world isn't ready. Neither are you."
"You'll know... you'll know."
One day.
In hush behind his shielding eyelids, something inside Atlas stirred.
"...Father?"