Infinite Finity - Volume 1 Chapter 2 W H A T A M I?

The pee man’s vision was filled with pure white for a fraction of a second before a haven appeared before him. The dreary sky was replaced with the gentle blue sky. The dirt and sparse bushes were replaced with lush grass, beautiful flowers and noble, elegant trees. The people were gone and there was only a soft breeze. “Beautiful.”

“My loves and I decorated this place ourselves. This is my special place.” Chao looked around somewhat absentmindedly in response to the man’s whisper.

“This is the perfect place then.”

“Tell me, who are you? When did you join us? What is my name?”

“I joined 3 weeks ago? No, that can’t be right. Well, whatever. Time moves differently when you’re miserable I guess. But my name is…I am I’m Who am I? You are the Devil. Right? No. You have a name just like me. What is my name though? Who am I? No. That’s not the right question.” As the last question formed in his head and came out his mouth, his body heat steadily increased.

“W h a t a m I?” Finally when the thought formed in his head, his body was aflame and when his voice disappeared after the sentence fell, an emblem surfaced upon his forehead. Pure white flames crackled in the air and quietly seeped out from the man’s orifices. The emblem was glowing brightly without spilling the golden light out into the air. “So they found me again. I should get the other two so we can deal with them. I really hope no one dies this time around.” Chao sighed and closed her eyes.

. . .

“So who are your children?”

“They’re right over there.” The man talking to Furvus pointed over to the group of children that Chao had brought near her side.

‘What a coincidence.’ Furvus mused to himself. “If this man is your Father, please step up so you can get registered.”

“Actually sir, none of them are my biological children. I’ve adopted them all since their parents are no longer around.” The man smiled towards the children and waved at them. His pained smile caused the children’s eyes to water. The man was their father figure after all. Although they knew he did something bad, they couldn’t bear to abandon him. But what could they do? The lady would kill him no matter what and it was better if she did as well. If she didn’t kill him, the other people who hate him would torture and kill them to kill his soul.

Furvus ignored his statement since their bond is what mattered and not their blood. A true family will have love as long as family exists. Furvus believed in this strongly. “Step forward if you are the child of this man.”

The children stepped forward and looked at each other simultaneously. They all saw the same thing in their eyes and nodded at each other before taking a deep breath. “We are the sons and daughters of Rikki!” Rikki looked away and downward as he whispered, “They’re my children.” Furvus looked away from him as he noticed his voice shook and shifted his body to block the children’s view.

“Alright.” He walked to them and continued when he was 2 steps away from them. “I need you all to step into this room. When you all get inside, press the button that will show up next to your dominant hand. Are any of you ambidextrous? No? Good. Otherwise you would have to pull the bar down.” As he spoke, the children stepped inside the “room”. The “room” was a box that was purple on the outside and plum inside. The seats were leather while the floor was 100% alpaca fleece.

When all of them were seated, Furvus stepped in and pressed a button that showed up on an arm bar next to the door they stepped through. The spectators watched as the room seemed to have left a line of afterimages overlapping one another while moving north over the cliff.

. . .

One of the attendants pulled out what looked like a remote car alarm and pressed a gray button with a blender on it. The gray light on the button blinked three times before it stopped. When it stopped, a man suddenly appeared. His gray hair was braided into a single 3 strand braid that stopped just below his shoulder blades. He was tall with broad shoulders and defined muscles. He had a grecian nose, hooded silver eyes, full lips and almond skin. His voice was unique in how it seems to always be in a low growl.

The little attendant pointed over to the man with pets and in affirmation, the gruff man nodded his head. She in turn went over to the women who wanted their clothes recycled and playlist to be their requiem.

“Good day sir. I’d like to know where exactly your pets are and where your relatives live.” He tilted his head down slightly to respect the man and pulled up a globe. The man pointed to a small island where his pets were and two places on opposite coasts of the same continent. “The animals are all currently under the care of my hired caregivers. My nieces and nephews live on one side of the continent with their parents while my parents live on the other side.”

“If you’ll excuse me, may I know why they live on opposite sides.”

“Of course! The man who will care for and relocate the animals has the right to know the affairs of the future caretakers. My parents previously disowned my siblings and I because we refused to fund their indulgent, wasteful lifestyles. We didn’t like how they swindled the naive people who trusted them out of their money and property so we cut off their funds after we gained control over the supply. They tried to threaten the youngest twins who at that time were only 3 years old.” As he retold his family fragmentation, he saw red and shook.

“At that time, my brother was married to the police chief so he called him over as soon as he had the opportunity. When my brother-in-law arrived, my parents were about to inject the twins with a lethal drug. Even though our parents were such horrible people, we couldn’t bear to end them. There was a time where my mother was a kind yet stern woman who ran a tight household. Fights were to be resolved within a week, dinner was to be completely finished, homework was to be done as well as possible, gossip was to stay out of the house and our conversations.” The man’s eyes slowly reverted back to their state of clarity before they grew misty.

“Her favorite saying was ‘A human is only human as long as they don’t lose sight of the principles that promote life.’ I always asked her if eating snacks before made me human and she would always smile while chopping the top of my head playfully. My father was a playful, reliable man. He always teased my mother to illicit a certain reaction out of her.” At this point his tears were streaming down his face without any sign of stopping while the man had already taken him to a room for privacy.

“Father always said ‘A man isn’t a man if he doesn’t protect his happiness.’ I remember when I was 15 I asked him what his happiness was and he just smiled before looking towards the rest of the family. ‘Honey, we should just go to space with the kids.’ ‘Are you an airhead? Have you hit your head? Should I hang you upside down with an oxygen tank?’ My dad would laugh and slowly back away while hiding behind my sister and he would always respond with the cheesiest thing ever. ‘First, I’m an airhead for you. Second, I hit my head when I fell head-over-heels for you. Lastly, I’d enjoy anything you do to me, but remember that we have children around so keep it PG outside a private space.’

Without fail, my mom would blush every time and stutter as he ran away with her in his arms laughing.” The man’s voice then took a turn when he began after composing himself.

“Everything changed after a car accident when someone crashed into their car. Before the ambulance got there, apparently the culprits injected them with drugs that would numb the brain and cause memory failure. As a result, my parents forgot who they were. When my siblings and I found out, we tried to rehabilitate them but they just wouldn’t listen. We never registered in their minds.

Later on, they got into gambling, drugs, and human trafficking when the culprit approached them. Then that event happened and we didn’t have a choice but to leave them to their devices. Apparently though, the culprit is going against your lady and her forces. Additionally, they have to inject the drug every week so that my parents don’t suffer from a relapse.”

Silver eyes dulled until the man looked like a cold machine. “I understand. I will tell Lady Chao. Rani, we will destroy the enemies of your family. Rest easy. I’ll explain your situation to your siblings. If you come back again, you may join them. I’ll be leaving for your island. Would you like to come along?” Rani nodded his head and off they went to see a persistent, but happy family.