The Fallen City

|Chapter XIV: Without Regret

"Hello, Da- What on earth has happened to you?" Alban practically did a double take at the sight of his father. He scanned him up and down, the man looked like he had cleaned himself, bar taking a shower. He locked onto the knife in his Dad's killer grip, still wet from shaving. He pointed at it, slightly concerned. "Err... Dad? Knife."

"What?" Gale said, confused, taken aback almost. He glanced down to his hand. "Ah right."

Gale's arm whipped out fast and almost lazily, throwing the bayonet with trained ease. The blade sailed through the air, landing with an audible thud as it impaled itself in a door frame. Gale turned back to his son, he still seemed to only be seeing the change. Gale wanted his boy to see him. He pleaded for it. But he felt that bitterness again, and quickly it took over.

"Happy now?" He grunted to him, the younger man only nodded causing his father to scoff. "Bullshit. You never are."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Alban growled back as his father walked away from him. The man didn't stop walking even when he pulled the knife from the frame. there was a loud clatter as he discarded it. Alban trailed his father into the living room, he stood at the door frame with his arms crossed. "What about the other day huh? I was happy until you decided to become suicidal."

"Well?" He asked pointedly. His father glanced up at him from the chair he now sat on, His expression loaded with barely contained venom. Yet it wasn't aimed at his son anymore.

"Well what?" Gale asked, his son's aggressive tone matched to his own.

"I come to visit you and you immediately insult me. What is that about?" He snapped at him.

"Sorry." He whispered. Alban scoffed.

"Sorry? Don't say something if you don't mean it." He sneered. Gale stood up, slightly stunned.

"What makes you think I don't mean it? Why do you think that?"

"Because you bloody actions you stupid old man!" Alban's voice rose. "Ever since Mum left, damn it the reason she probably did! You're a fruitloop in absolute obsession with your bloody City! It may be something fantastic, but you don't bloody give a shit about those that actually do love you!"

Gale frowned, he pointed with his lit smoke.

"Your fault." He growled. He gestured at his sun from head to toe.

"Yeah what the hell did I do you didn't?"

"You bloody ran!" Gale barked. "You ran and you buried your head in your work! I might've driven us down this path, but you sure as shit put us on it in the first place!"

"I put us down in the first place? You were the ass who drove Mum away! Why else would she have got in that car!" Alban's breath was heavy. He stuttered, then took a deep breath to quell the rage that threatened to explode again. He was definitely his father's son. "Do you think I want us to be like this?"

"Please!"

"It's what seems to have happened ain't it? Nothing but bad blood and glares sprinkled all over what remained of 'us'!" Gale threw his last words with the rhythm of a well trained vocal dualist. He let his frustrations of this out without volume, it wasn't needed. "What was I supposed to do? Where else was I supposed to go when I found out that my son became a belligerent angry man just like myself?"

"You love that place more than you love me!" Alban practically screamed, saliva spat from his mouth, tears began to break at long last. "Don't you see why I'm so fed up with this bullshit!"

"No." Gale's voice was low, his eyes were piercing with anger... "Never."

"Well you're a blind drunk then! Rather fit-"