Origins Stories

An Alternate Ending - Cal

Warning, somebody will die.

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It was still pouring rain when Xylo and Inpu pulled Cal out from the debris.

It was a disaster. Not a second passed where thunder couldn't be heard.

The air felt suffocating. It was hard to breathe in it. The feeling of static in the atmosphere was overwhelming. Not to mention all the dust and ashes from the things all the fire had burned.

At least the fire didn't get to Cal. No part of him was singed or ash. Nothing was missing. If you lied to yourself about it, that is.

They had tried to wake him up. But there was no reaction.

Cal simply laid there on his back. Beryl colored eyes closed. He looked like porcelain. If only it weren't for the bruises and cuts across his body. Maybe then he'd look like he was simply asleep.

The ceiling above the trio was gone. It had collapsed a few hours earlier. When Set took control.

They were exposed to the rain and lightning. As if the sky itself was crying. Each crash of electricity being an attempt to avenge what was lost.

Why did everything have to go so wrong?

Maybe if Xylo hadn't said hello to him, he'd still be here.

Maybe if nobody had said hello to him, he'd still be here.

Why did hellos always have to mean goodbye?

Why did laughter have to end in crying?

Why did "friend" have to end in those 3 letters?

Why did everything have to end the way it did?

Why did it have to happen this way?

Why...?

Why was the missing thing a heartbeat?

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Cal's statue was not made like the others were.

Xylo made it himself.

In the pose he most often found Cal.

Sitting with his legs to the side on a couch, reading. Or drawing. Sometimes he even fell asleep like that.

Set wasn't even in the area. But it wouldn't stop raining.

Maybe the sky was crying for Xylo. He couldn't bring himself to cry. It hurt too much.

All the good times ended too soon.

Xylo didn't even know how much he meant to him until he lost him.

So now Xylo just stood here. Alone and soaked in rainwater.

He had removed the bandages from Cal's arms. The ones that were intact, at least. And wrapped them around the arms of the statue. Xylo ensured they would never deteriorate.

Cal said his bandages couldn't be taken off. Maybe that changed when he stopped breathing.

And his necklace. Nobody ever saw him without it.

Xylo thought about placing it around the statue's neck. But someone might've taken it. So Xylo decided to wear it around his own neck instead.

He recalled a time where he was with Cal, and they had started talking about flowers. He said he liked lilies.

So Xylo planted those around his grave. He also planted dahlias. But he left it at that.

As much as he wanted to turn away, so he wouldn't have to look at what was in front of him, he didn't.