Dusk had already begun to cease.
A sense of vertigo warped Malik's vision when he looked down the five floors of the apartment complex.
The eve of night befell them, and Awan gave out a disappointed yawn into the air, dropping his prior jocularity. Soon enough, the night sky began to slowly blend in with the shadowy buildings from afar.
His face was sunk and began to develop lines of stress, and his eyes looked less youthful from when they first met on the island.
His skin was less tight, and slight grey formed at the tips of his once-dark hair. Malik reminisced on how youthful he once looked; now he appeared fully grown.
"Those things you speak of, I wonder if they're even human," Malik murmured.
Awan's gaze held a multitude of ugly memories he wished to wipe. "If they were, they definitely threw their humanity away a long time ago and dumped it in the deepest pits of the ocean."
A cold breeze passed as a light rain began to form above, and little droplets hung on the edge of the roof connected to the balcony.
Malik peered at the sullen expression on Awan's face. After a moment of silence, he fished in his dark pocket and felt the bayonet, the notebook given to him by Noam, and the golden nugget which belonged to Awan's headband.
He firmly held it in his palm and unfurled his fingers in front of the once-joyful prince of Marah.
When Awan recognized it, a very faint smile creaked as he looked toward Malik. "No, no. Keep it, maybe that gold charm is the reason you were able to find me."
Malik hesitated, but ultimately complied when he saw the light in Awan's face spark once more.
The stars above lit his face well in an assortment of different colors. Malik almost forgot the beauty of night, then asked another question to move on from the harsh events of today.
"Say, Awan, can you see outside right now?" Malik brought up.
Awan raised an eyebrow, but the corner of his mouth slowly lifted. "All I see is the moonlight hit those buildings, nothing special."
Malik took a long stare at the shiny stars that blinked at him. "One day, you'll see a much more lively sky. Don't know when, don't know how, but you will."
Awan laughed. "Ahah! I've heard a story like that before, man. By all means, nobody's stopping you."
His joviality returned as he took a deep breath and went back into the apartment. The soft fabric of his quilted clothes rubbed against the frame of the balcony door. "I'll sleep in the divan tonight. You can go get rest on the mattress in the other room."
Malik smiled with a quick nod. "I'll be there, just give me a moment here."
Awan waved. "Alright, joyous night to you, my friend," he signed off.
Malik sniffed, mimicking the phrase as a gesture of respect. "Joyous night to you as well."
Awan turned and sank into the black divan as he quickly fell into a deep slumber.
Outside, Malik enjoyed the presence of the stars accompanying him at this dark hour. Though the soft rain and muffled noises from afar made him wary, the blurry lights consoled him.
He spent a couple of minutes taking it all in. He looked down five floors and couldn't help but admire how carefully crafted the structure of this building was.
A beautiful night befalls me . . . this is a rare feeling, one that I might miss. But I'm all here for it.
Finally feeling a sense of serenity up high, his arms let go of the railing, and he allowed himself to be comfortable. A slight tingle ran up his spine as he embraced it.
Leisurely scanning, he saw the lights illuminate the ground below, and he saw the tub where the black water once was, empty. He ignored it and simply kept looking around.
He found nothing of note until something pranced around his field of view.
He couldn't mistake it. A white blur of ethereal strands danced below in the corner of Malik's eye. It had the elegant, voluptuous figure of a woman with a white regal dress.
Her dress flowed in the way a phantom would, and from the split-second view of her delicate face, bandages were covering her eyes. Her white hair rested on her shoulders, as the light of the stars didn't alter her alluring beauty, which held a maternal glare.
Malik rubbed his eyes to make sure what he was seeing wasn't an illusion, but once his vision adjusted, the woman was gone.
His mouth hung open, and he couldn't believe that the figure had disappeared that quickly. He even looked at the ground again where she would've been, but she wasn't there. Not even a trace of her was left behind. Even at the entrance of the tribe, there was nobody.
Malik shook his head and quickly entered the apartment again, slowly shutting the balcony door and moving the curtains in front of it. Though he tried, he couldn't get the image of the woman out of his mind.
Giving one last look at Awan, who was sound asleep, he passed by and entered the bathroom one last time, giving a quick look at himself. His face was much more rejuvenated, and he smiled at his handsome features, but it was evident he needed a quick rest.
He could hear the bayonet mock him from his pocket, and he ultimately decided to leave the blade on the kitchen counter so as not to disturb him in his sleep.
Entering the bedroom next to the bathroom, he was unsure of what to think. He saw a cloudy, untouched mattress laid ready for him, although one thing bothered him. Inspecting it, he was conflicted at the sight of the wooden bedframe connected to the mattress.
In an effort for a better sleep, he pulled it off the wooden frame and laid it flat on the floor. Then he turned and fell back onto the mattress, feeling himself being consumed by it.
Maybe this will feel like those lonely nights on the ship again.
However, it still hadn't felt like home to him. Though he twisted and turned trying to find the most comfortable position, he still couldn't feel the rocking of the ship below him, nor the waves dance outside the barred window.
The rain outside began to intensify, and he imagined himself as if he were lying in his old, empty room.
After a few minutes, his mind finally drifted as he fell asleep, peacefully this time.
. . .
An hour and forty-four minutes passed, and Malik was still soundly asleep. He slept in complete darkness, as there was no dream to disturb him.
Slowly, his crusty eyelids creaked open as he sensed something imminent, something lurking. He woke up sweaty and felt sleep lines on his torso from resting on his arm.
Feeling the need to go back to sleep, he closed his eyes again. Getting in a comfortable position, he controlled his breathing as he began to drift once more.
The calm light of stars rested on his face, assuring him that nothing would go wrong. Though it was pitch-black, he still felt the ocean's waves from outside.
They grew louder and louder, up to a point where it was indistinguishable. The waves he imagined sounded thicker and heavier than the ones he was used to. It smelled like iron, and a red overcasting light from the stars flooded the ceiling.
Suddenly, a deafening ripple formed outside which sounded like the sky was being torn in half and bleeding above him. It vibrated through the building as Malik quickly jolted upward.
A rumble occurred beneath his feet.
He didn't think; he lunged forward and quickly opened the door to the bedroom, ran past the bathroom, grabbed his bayonet, and shook the couch to wake up Awan.
"Awan! Wake up!" Malik shouted.
Awan rubbed his eyes as his face held a startled scowl. "What is it?"
Malik didn't answer as he rushed toward the balcony door. Dread loomed in his heart at that very moment. He couldn't decipher this feeling, nor this very moment. His heart rumbled alongside the floor under his feet.
Quickly opening it, it unmuffled the outcry of citizens below. Explosions detonated in the distance, red rain crashed like hail, and dead seagulls plummeted from the sky.
The people of Selicha were clueless, gathering bows and arrows, and the cries of young children rang in the vicinity. Chaos culminated with each passing second.
Malik couldn't help but think of the worst.
Kaya, Zayne . . . Kamil, Amaya, Lias . . . please, no.
Awan caught up behind him. He hadn't had the energy to yell, but his heart skipped a beat at the sight.
He could barely muster a word. "Now."
The people of Selicha dragged corpses of fallen citizens in armor onto their funeral attire, giving chest compressions to one another. Families were falling apart right before their eyes.
A woman called out the name of a man who was bleeding out on the floor. His face was sunken, and his hair was grey, but he seemed to be decomposing.
The man's hair grew to a bright white, yet it looked like the life was being stripped from him. Ultimately, his chest burst open, and a cloud of blood fogged the air around them.
Then the woman shrieked, "Yetzer Hara!"
Malik and Awan could do nothing but watch the events transpire as they stood frozen.
It echoed throughout the island, but none would respond due to the sheer rain and chaos befalling them.
Malik's grip tightly held the bayonet as he began to panic, mumbling to himself, "How . . . this, this can't be real, can it?"
The bayonet dug into his palm, answering his question as blood seeped like the red rain.
. . . .