The day Xavier appeared I was waiting for my daughter, Sadie, to get out of school. As I sat on the curb waiting with our dog Kilo, a great darkness covered the sun. I felt that something terrible was happening. Kilo began barking and I felt a horrible feeling in my gut that everything was about to change.
The bus would arrive any minute. I was filled with an intense fear. Dark clouds filled the sky and obscured the dark mass, with surprising speed. I sighed with relief as the bus came around the corner and screeched to a stop. The driver frantically opened the door and my little Sadie came bolting down the stairs. She tripped on the last step but I caught her. I began running towards our home with her in my arms.
I lived alone with my daughter in a town home I inherited from my late father, 10 years ago. It felt like an incredible stroke of luck when it happened. My dad and I never saw eye to eye, I was sure he hated me. You can imagine the shock when the lawyers told me he left me the house. It was a beautiful home, my wife Megan was so excited. When we got there Megan had painted a bunch of flowers on the front door with Sadie. Seeing the flowers used to make me smile. But now the place was just filled with darkness. I hated the place, it reminded me of my dad, and now it reminded me of Megan.
Two years ago Megan had died from a drug overdoes after years of a severe addiction to prescription pain killers. I hated what she had done to me — what she did to my little Sadie.
WE BURST THROUGH THE door covered in crudely painted flowers, and I immediately locked it behind me. I told Sadie to run into the basement. Kilo continued barking at the door as I looked briefly out the window.
I looked to the horizon towards the city. I froze as I watched a massive arm of darkness reach down from the clouds and wrap itself around the Kingston building. The arm effortlessly broke the sky scraper in half. My stomach was filled with dread. I backed away from the window in utter shock and terror. I closed the door to the basement as a massive dark cloud of dust billowed from the destruction.
SADIE WAS WEEPING FOR what felt like hours. But worse than the crying —she kept crying out for her mother, Megan. Part of me wondered how she could want a person who had been nothing but cruel to her. Another part of me understood. For some strange reason I felt like calling out her name as well.
Eventually Sadie fell asleep. We became very hungry and she woke a few hours later crying about her stomach pains.
I must’ve thought about going up stairs to try and get something for hours. Eventually my hunger and exhaustion gave me the courage to try. I began walking up the stairs. Sadie cried out and asked me to stay. I quickly went back to her. I sat for a few more minutes. I explained to Sadie that I was going to go get food. I told her to hold onto Kilo for protection and comfort.
AS I CLIMBED THE STAIRS quietly I saw a faint light emanating from underneath the door. I opened the door and took one last look back down the stairs. I saw Sadie’s desperate little face looking back up at me. I saw a strength and protectiveness in Kilo that brought me some comfort.
As I reached into the cupboard to fill my arms with as much food as I could carry, I heard a slight rapping on the roof. My stomach flinched and I froze completely. That’s when I noticed that light was only coming from one of our windows. I strained my eyes to look out the nearest window, trying to figure out what was obscuring the light.
I walked slowly up to the window and realized it was open. I reached my hand out to touch the darkness. I was immediately met by a wet and slimy surface. I lurched away and fell backwards; the food spilled everywhere. The surface, after I touched it, rippled flinched and tightened becoming hard as stone. The window pane cracked and broke off the wall. Shards of wood and glass flew at me.
I left the food and bolted to the basement door. But it was too late. A horrible deep and sharp snapping noise filled the air. The walls of the home began caving in. The kitchen chandelier fell and knocked me unconscious.
WHEN I WOKE I kept my eyes shut for a moment. I was confused. I had no idea where I was. For some strange reason I thought I was back in my childhood bedroom. Within seconds of opening my eyes I remembered the nightmare I was living in.
I got up and was surrounded by darkness. Everything was deadly silent. Though I could barely see anything, I knew my home was completely destroyed. I felt a breeze on my skin and the air smelled foul. The breeze indicated that my head was wet.
Suddenly I heard a scream from the darkness. It was Sadie. I called out her name and began moving towards her.
Suddenly a sharp pain came into my foot. I stepped on a nail. I collapsed momentarily from the excruciating pain. I pulled my foot up gently but quickly, and continued walking towards Sadie’s heartbreaking screams.
I trudged through the wreckage, getting I’m sure hundreds of cuts and scrapes. I had to get to her. I reached where I heard the scream coming from. The screams now seemed to be coming from below me. I began moving large pieces of wood, drywall and metal. That’s when I felt her hand. She grabbed it tightly and we both began sobbing in relief. I moved her as carefully and quickly as I could from the rubble. I felt Kilo’s fur as I moved things around her; he wasn't breathing and hit fur was wet. The dog had laid himself over Sadie and protected her from most of the damage.
I walked frantically away from the destroyed house. My eyes had adjusted better to the darkness. When I reached what felt like a field of grass, I collapsed to my knees and laid Sadie down. She had stopped making noise. I started to panic, but as I placed my ear to her mouth I could feel her breathing. I began crying at the top of my lungs, ”HELP!”
Almost immediately a voice from the darkness cried out, “OVER HERE! … Follow my voice!” For the first time since the darkness began I felt hope. I walked to the voice. As I got closer, I saw a faint cool light coming from the fog of darkness. I saw the man calling to me standing in front of the light, waving his arms above his head.
I walked into what I now could see was our local grocery store. I quickly examined Sadie’s body. The man who let us in, I briefly recognized as the store owner, Jeff. He was speaking to me, but I didn’t hear a single word he said. I saw that Sadie’s leg was broken; she had cuts and bruises all over her body.
I interrupted Jeff and told him to go get the first aid supplies. Jeff quickly came back with a handful of medication, bandages and ointments. Behind him trailed a panicked looking pharmacist. I cleaned many of Sadie’s wounds with the pharmacist. When we began trying to set her leg — Sadie woke up. She was screaming and sobbing. Tears streamed down my face at seeing her in so much pain. I picked up a vial of Oxycodone. I knew the pill well at this point. It was the drug that was prescribed to Megan after her surgery that started it all. I hated the drug, but also felt a deep sense of gratitude for it — it was my only hope for saving Sadie now.
The pharmacist helped me give her a child’s dose of the drug with a bottle of water. Sadie gulped the whole bottle down. I put the vial of drugs promptly in my pocket. When the drug took effect the pharmacist set the bone to the best of her ability while I held Sadie. After Sadie fell asleep we finished cleaning and closing her wounds. We injected her with a few antibiotics, and surrounded her in blankets to make her as comfortable as possible.
My hands were covered in blood. The pharmacist helped me dress the gash on the top of my head. She stapled the wound shut, and I rubbed an alcohol pad over my other scrapes and gashes. She injected me with an antibiotic as well, and gave me an over the counter pain medication.
I HADN’T NOTICED BUT when I took a deep breath and looked outside, I could see that the air had become brighter. I guessed that the sun was rising, and I could see that it was raining outside. I then observed that there were families huddled on the floors of the grocery store aisles. I heard the quiet conversing hum of people panicking and nurturing.
Jeff, the store owner, turned to me and said, “We have to leave the city.” I agreed, and I began getting my things together. Jeff got up and told everyone we needed to leave. Everyone agreed — we all felt the city was dangerous.
Jeff walked outside to survey for danger, and listen for if anyone else was crying out for help. I watched Jeff leave the store and look up at the dark rain clouds. He stopped completely, and then fell to his knees. I rose in fear along with the watching pharmacist. Jeff raised his arms and came down in a prostrate bow. He repeated this over and over again. We could hear Jeff mumbling words through the glass pane. He was praying.
The pharmacist rushed to the door. She opened it enough that I could hear what Jeff was saying. “Praise, Xavier! Praise, Xavier! I love Xavier!” Jeff cried over and over.
The pharmacist tried to speak to Jeff to understand, but he continued as if he couldn’t hear her. She walked outside and looked up. She turned back to me and began to say, “There’s nothing up th…” She stopped, turned and began doing the same thing. “Praise Xavier!” She cried with passion.
People from the aisles noticed this and began to gather and watch. Someone from the crowd came forward and said emphatically, “It’s the rain! This happened to my family. Don’t let the rain get on you!”
WE GATHERED AS MANY umbrellas as were in the store and began our trek out of the city. Jeff and the pharmacist, when they got out of the rain, returned to their rational state. They had no memory of what had happened. But subtly began speaking with respect about "Xavier." As we walked protected from the rain, they explained simply that the name of the dark monster in the sky was Xavier — that there was only one, and that he would help us.
I was repelled. This must’ve been the darkest thing I’d ever seen. I was filled with deep anger, holding my wounded daughter in my arms. I hated Xavier.
We walked through a large field covered in poppy flowers. No one spoke a word. It made the sound of raindrops hitting our red umbrellas and the petals of the flowers seem unbearably loud. It was distressing to not be able to look up into the sky. We moved as quietly and quickly as we could, hoping we wouldn’t be noticed or discovered.
Suddenly, I saw out of the corner of my eye a gigantic tentacled black mass move swiftly across the horizon. Before I could cry out, a massive gust of wind knocked me over. Our umbrellas flew into the air, and we all dropped to the ground to cover ourselves from the rain. I knew many hadn’t succeeded because I started hearing the name, “Xavier,” all around me. I held my jacket above my and Sadie’s head.
I heard a strange deep thunder above me. It cracked and roared like a lion. I knew Xavier was above me. Sadie screamed as she laid down and looked into the sky. I dropped my coat to look up, and saw Xavier looking down directly at me. His massive form hovering above us blocked the rain clouds. The monster had three green eyes that I knew were not just looking at me — but into the deepest part of me. It looked as if Xavier was making a decision.
Within seconds he reached a small tentacle down and wrapped it around Sadie’s broken leg. Sadie screamed in pain and I yelled in horror, "NO!" I threw myself onto Sadie and held on with everything I had. Xavier pulled her fast and hard from me. I flew off of her and fell back several yards. Sadie disappeared into the darkness above me.
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