A Locket and a Promise

It was a good day.

A warm and sunny day, a gentle breeze carrying the laughter of children as their rubber ball bounced off the chalk goal they had drawn on the moss-covered wall.

“Good kick, Johnny!” A young woman, older than the rest cheers from her bench not far away

As the kids play outside a group of teenage boys peek around a corner inside the abandoned building. Three curious eyes trailing the movements of a lone girl as she looks through the numerous desks inside the room.

“What is she doing?” One boy asks.

“How should I know?” Another answered.

The third boy simply stares in interest, his eyes gazing at the girl's pretty features. The pink stripe of hair fell over her face before she tucked it behind her ear, melting into an ocean of black hair. Suddenly a hand slams square into his back and he stumbles forward with an audible Yelp. The girl looks up, eyes wide with surprise as she watches the boy fall to his knees in front of her.

He looks back angrily at the snickering doorway, wishing nothing more than for his once-upon-a-time-friends to die a painful death in that moment.

“What’s up Jean?” The girl’s serious tone causes his head to snap towards her.

“Uh... hey Victoria, uh you see...” Jean muttered and rubbed the back of his head nervously.

Victoria folded her arms over her chest, tapping her pointer finger on her bicep impatiently. “Well?”

Jean glanced over at the desk in front of her, tattered papers littering the floor by her black boots.

“What are you looking for?” He got to his feet and walked over to the large white board.

She sighed, and relaxed her posture. “Nothing really, just wanted to be alone.”

“Oh I’m sorry I can leave if you’d like?” Jean said, backing away.

“No it’s ok as long as it’s just you.” She stated, slamming the desk drawer and starting to move towards the door.

Jean followed behind her, relieved to see his two friends were nowhere to be seen in the hallway. The two walked to the next room and Victoria grabbed the rusted handle. The door creaked loudly as she stepped inside. Leaving Jean glancing at the worn letters of the sign above the doorway.

“What’s a principle?” He asked as he entered the room.

Victoria just shrugged as Jean and she gazed around the room. Bookshelves lined the walls, their various contents spilled out onto the red carpet. At the end of the room sat a desk, slightly turned askew and covered in a thick layer of dust.

Victoria moved directly to the desk while Jean curiously scanned the bookshelves. He lifted a book off of the shelf and blew the dust from the cover.

“Mind-controlled by fungi: An Encyclopedia on the Black Spore Victims.” He spoke out loud, “who in their right mind would want to study those creatures?” He dropped the book on the shelf with an audible thump.

“It would probably be useful to learn what makes them tick when fighting them?” She ended her sentence as a question. She closed a drawer and opened the next one below it, freezing as she gazed at the small object inside.

Jean noticed her change in demeanor and he moved next to her. “What is it?” He paused, looking down.

Inside the drawer was a small metal heart, a chain connected to it. An engraving of a dove graced the top.

Jean grasped the locket, flipping it with curious eyes. “What is this?”

Victoria grabbed the object from him, her fingers rubbing against his in the process. Shivers went down his spine but he pushed them away.

“My mom used to have something like this.” She mumbled. She pressed a small button on the side and the locket opened, revealing a picture of two people.

“I believe it’s called a locket or something.” She explained, “and people used to put a photo of them and someone they loved inside of it.” She glanced at Jean while she explained and Jean thought he saw a hint of a blush on her cheeks.

He reached for the locket and she placed it in his palm. His cheeks burned as he collected his courage for what he was about to do. He pinched the picture and ripped it out of the locket.

“What are you doing?” Victoria gasped.

Jean did not answer, instead took his knife out and began engraving something in it. Once he finished he spun around and showed her. Her cheeks lit up as she read the crude cuts in the metal. “V + J” it read.

“We are going to find a way to put a picture of us in here!” He yelled, voice cracking in anxiety.

Victoria simply stood, mouth opening and closing as her voice failed her. Finally she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before smiling up at him.

“I would like-“

An explosion outside shook the building, knocking Victoria into Jean’s chest. She immediately opened the curtains of the window behind them to see a horrific sight. Their convoy was under attack by a large horde of those creatures. She immediately ran out of the room leaving Jean as he stared out the window.

“Victoria, wait!”

He shook off his surprise and stuffed the locket in his pocket before rushing out of the room.

He sprinted through the halls until he reached the destroyed front doors. His boots crunched over the glass as he located Sarah, their “big sis” as the kids named her, outside their convoy. She saw him and beckoned him to hurry. He took one step before a familiar voice reached his ears. “Get the fuck off of me!”

Panic gripped his heart and he turned to the right. Victoria was on the floor, fighting off one of the monsters. He gnashed his sharp teeth and black spit flew from his grey lips onto her cheek. She planted a boot into his chest, pushing him off but didn’t have enough time to run as he immediately lunged at her again. She dug her forearm into his throat and gagged as she felt the creature crush its own windpipe as he pressed further into her.

Suddenly, she saw something slam into the creature, and tumble to the floor with it. She picked herself up and saw Jean holding the creature down as it thrashed violently. She moved to help him but stopped as two monstrous creatures jumped from the top of the building. The ground shook as they landed, and they turned their sights toward her. The creature’s black eyes petrified her with fear. Their darkened flesh oozed like tar and stained the grass beneath them.

“Victoria, Run!” Jean yelled, knowing full well what would happen if he let the creature below him go.

She stepped forward, still eyeing the creatures behind Jean. “But what about-“

Jean didn’t let her speak, instead yelling “Big Sis!”

Sarah rushed over to Victoria and grabbed her wrist pulling her to their motorhome.

“Take her and go!”

Sarah wanted to say no but was trained to think rationally in situations like these, so she nodded and ran with Victoria.

“Wait, we can’t leave Jean!” Victoria pulled in vain as her big sis grabbed her waist and lifted her up.

“Where are the guards?!” She yelled

“Occupied with the larger horde!” Sarah yelled back.

Their shouts dissipated and Jean looked at the two monsters that stalked towards him slowly. His arms began to tire as the creature pushed against him and he knew it was his time. Even as the behemoth towered over him and opened it’s maw, and even as he gazed into the lifeless eyes of multiple grey beings reaching out to him inside it’s gullet. He couldn’t help but smile, as he knew his first and last love was safe. He closed his eyes waiting for the inevitable end.

An end that never came as the creature and the boy were blown away from each other by a large explosion. Jean slammed into the grass a few feet away and he gasped violently, lungs searching desperately for air. As he struggled on the ground, his face and body burning with pain, a large robotic hound pounced over him. He collected himself and raised himself onto his elbows to see one of the rear guard’s D03’s dubbed Dogs by the people of the convoy. It’s large cannon on the spine shot through the second creature and it slumped forward, sizzling from the hole in its head.

The Dog pounced on another monster, swatting a smaller one away with its spiked tail. And Jean noticed a familiar insignia on the side of the Dog. The symbol of a man in a top hat holding a deck of cards adorned both sides of the mech.

“Uncle Jimmy!” He coughed out. The Dog clawed the creature apart and sprinted toward Jean, robotic mouth biting Jean's shirt collar and sprinting away with him. The dog placed him inside of the old school once more and turned around. 4 large creatures sprinted toward the mech, black claws upending the earth as they ran. The dog’s cannon thundered as it ripped through three of the creatures but the fourth reached Uncle Jimmy first. It slammed it’s shoulder into the mech, sending both sailing through the wall behind them and into the school.

Jean hid behind a nearby pillar as he watched the two struggle. The creature dodged a clawed hind leg aimed for its throat, instead grabbing it’s ankle. The screech of metal tearing echoed through the halls as it ripped the leg loose and threw it into the pillar next to Jean. The pillar collapsed along with a part of the roof above it, causing a couple school desks to slam into the rubble below.

The creature grabbed a second leg, preparing to tear it apart, but was halted as its throat was shredded by the robotic dog’s teeth. It slumped over the mech, twitching as black fluids spilled from its wound.

The halls grew silent, and Jean uncovered his ears. He glanced nervously from behind the pillar and saw both the creature and uncle Jimmy’s mech laying motionless.

“No...” The boy muttered, looking at the Dog on the floor.

He ran towards uncle Jimmy but stopped when the mech struggled to stand.

“It’s okay Jean, we’re okay!” Uncle Jimmy’s voice cracked through the mech’s intercom. “Joker is just a little banged up is all.”

Joker laid down on its stomach and it’s mouth opened wide, revealing Uncle Jimmy as he stepped out of its maw. He wiped his hands on his combat pants and exhaled a tired sigh. His brown hair was matted with sweat and his tank top looked as if he had just jumped into a pool.

“Damn it's hot in that thing.” Uncle Jimmy laughed.

“Uncle Jimmy!” Jean slammed into him, almost knocking him over in a hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Uncle Jimmy chuckled and ruffled the boy’s black hair. “I’m glad you’re okay too, kid. That was way too close.”

He pushed Jean off of him and examined the joint where Joker's hind leg used to connect.

“Shit... this is going to take at least a day to fix.” He rubbed the stubble of his chin.

He then turned around with a smile and his hands on his hips. “Welp, better get to work, we gotta catch up with that convoy.”

Jean watched as Uncle Jimmy searched through Joker for tools. pulling out the locket in his pocket he pressed the small button on the side. He stared at the engraving he had made and joy spread through his body.

“Hey Jean! Come help me with this leg would you?”

“Comin!” Stuffing the locket back into his pocket he walked over to him.

Uncle Jimmy gave him a second chance at life, and he made a vow he would not waste it