Me and You Part One

Rufus Two Taunts Rufus One.

“Unforgettable”

Dad has 'Unforgettable' by Nat King Cole blaring downstairs. He’s downstairs drinking his "medicine" past his bedtime. As I look around, the yellow light blinds me a bit, causing a frightening blur from left to right. But that’s okay, it’s better than being in the dark. When it’s dark, the monsters hide underneath my bed. I looked up at my Batman poster on the door. It’s comforting to know that my hero keeps watching over me every night, keeping the monsters under my bed out. Yet he can’t keep the one downstairs out. And for some reason, he doesn’t keep the one in the closet out. My scared eyes stare into the closet. A man is standing there, laughing. It’s not a typical laugh, not like the Joker's, Batman’s creepy villain. Something about looking into his eyes is different. He has the same hazel eyes as I do, with shaggy brown and gray hair, and wearing a blue janitor uniform. He’s as skinny as a toothpick, as Mom likes to say, with a name tag that reads "Rufus." His teeth are bright yellow, and clearly, Mama doesn’t tell him to brush his teeth. He laughs as he looks into my eyes. When he does, I can see some of his memories—how his mother left him behind. Similar to how Mom just left me and Dad. Even though Dad is going to be mad that I’m interrupting his happy time, I scream out for help. The man disappears. Dad prowls up the stairs in anger. He was so excited to tell me that I was a naughty child. I say that without cursing. He is so excited to tear my tail up with his belt. To let me know that I am worthless.

Now that Dad has gone out with his friends to drink his "medicine," I get to play with my friends, opening the toy chest underneath the bed. Taking out my favorite figures, Superman, Iron Man, and Batman, I then take out the Joker and some goons. Sitting crisscross applesauce like in Ms. Tery’s class, I imagine Joker on a rampage, using the K-Word of innocent lives. Iron Man must save Superman from a kryptonite bomb, while Batman takes on goon after goon. Still, I keep my inside voice so Dad doesn’t hear. But then, in front of my face, is an old olive-skinned hand holding my Jean Grey Phoenix action figure, one of my favorites. "Put it down," I cry out, but there he is again Rufus. He’s sitting across from me, and all the X-Men figures are out, lying as if they are dead, except for one Wolverine. His voice echoes at a different pitch when he talks, almost pulling my ears out of my skull. He switches the figure's hands and stabs Jean in the stomach. Like the movie, he has some tears coming down his face. I start panicking and scooting into the corner, trying to protect myself, face in my knees, and wrapped up like a ball. He talks, but I can’t understand him. His voice hurts my ears, and I try to cover them with my hands. He comes closer with his hand raised, perhaps signaling for peace? Dad opens the door, and the strange man disappears. Dad begins to unbuckle his belt. I scream at him about the man. Father doesn’t whip me for discipline. He hates me and I still don’t understand why? Dad turns, and his eyes are bloodshot with hate.

Gravel rips into my skin as he drags me outside. Dad has my ankles trapped in his strong hands. He screams naughty words at me. Through my tears, I can see that Dad has his "medicine" in one hand. It’s a bottle of Fletcher’s fine whiskey. He continues to scream in anger. I beg him to tell me what I did. Tears fall from my eyes as rocks dig into my face. He only continues to curse at me as my Iron Man pajamas get ruined. Tears fall into the rocks, and so does blood. A big rock bangs into my jaw, and blood flows out of my mouth. I scream at my Dad, "Why?" but his only answer is more medicine down his throat.

However, we stop, and through my tears, I see Father fall. Looking up, I see blue overalls. It’s the same man. Maybe this Rufus can stand up to my father. And maybe this Rufus will be able to destroy him. Father takes little time standing back up. He goes after Rufus, cursing him, but Rufus freezes. He protects himself, face in his knees, arms wrapped around his legs. He starts muttering the words, "Please don’t hurt me." Then he leaves me with Dad. Dad gets up, not even thinking twice, before unloading the punishment belt on me. It lashes on my back and arms. I scream at him to stop. But with his medicine, he never does.

The memory continues to burn a deep hole in my brain. The mirror is foggy, and I can’t see as I shave. Liv and I have been working on my brain lately. Liv deletes some of the bad memories, but she has a tough time choosing which ones. Not to mention, sometimes they resurface anyway. If it wasn’t for Olivia, I would be a sporadic mess right now. Thank the Gods for Olivia. These recurring memories have exhausted me, with each lash and beating from my father constantly appearing every single day.

Suddenly, the air is hard to breathe. The fog on the mirror begins to clear. Ice starts to cover the sink, burning my hand upon contact. I look back into the mirror to see a pair of hazel eyes gazing at me from behind. He stands laughing with his bright yellow teeth. I hadn’t seen him since the day he left. His laugh is like a knife scraping across Styrofoam, and then a fiery circle appears underneath his feet. And he turns to ash. The good news is that he must be in hell.

Olivia calls, 'Rufus, is everything okay?' she asks. Her tone of voice is sweet. Without trying to worry her, I lie. 'No, everything is fine.' She walks into the bathroom and begins coughing. "Nothing seems okay; I feel a presence here." Her voice is mixed with shyness and confidence. She wraps her arms around my torso. She looks back into my eyes, and I can feel her worrying about this. But if she feels a presence, this means that Rufus Two is real.

Muggers are never any fun to deal with. They are as vicious as they come. Kicks land on my head and stomach. At this point, I’m getting tired of my life tired of always being kicked down and beat up. A shy voice hits my ears, "You are more powerful than you know." The voice sounds like it’s deceased as if it were a ghost. "You and them just decide not to be." As I look up, red gushes out of the throat of one mugger while the voice continues. The other mugger’s head lies right next to me like a watermelon. The worst part was the sound of Rufus’s laugh. It’s almost like a banshee’s scream.

The dreams bring me back to the days before the orange sky.  When times were simple and superhero movies were fiction. Back when Liv wasn’t in my life, but now I wouldn’t have it any other way. Liv makes me feel comfortable and secure. I feel the ice burn my hand in bed. I wake up with a rush and see Rufus Two with his old crippled hands around her throat. "OLIVIA!" I scream, tackling Rufus Two into the wall. He lands the perfect punch into my ribs. Liv coughs behind me as I unload punch after punch. "You don’t get it do you?" Rufus’s eerie whisper sinks into my ears as Liv shoots one of her telekinesis blasts, sending him through the wall. "Rufus, what the fuck?" Olivia demands. I look back at her with guilt in my eyes. Suddenly, I find myself surrounded by darkness.

Olivia’s face dissolves in front of my eyes due to the darkness. My bones start to freeze. The cuts on my arms begin to burn. Water starts to fill my lungs. As my vision returns, I see Rufus Two pushing my shoulders down to the bottom. From the ice, I can tell it’s Lake Michigan. The sea floor is closing in fast. As survival instincts kick in, fists start to fly. Some punches land on his face, others on mine. "You don’t understand, you never do," his voice scratches in my ear as I land a punch to his throat. I follow up with a few more shots to his stomach. Then a rush of fire burns my face. Hitting the sea floor, ice surrounds my legs. Screams are unheard of at the bottom. "You never have understood, and every time, your own selfishness marks the end." Rufus’s voice starts becoming clearer.

"I’m not a part of your sporadic mind," he says. Out of survival, my arms struggle, fighting to get free. One hand breaks free, launching a wave of fire at Rufus Two. Ice blocks the fire, and a wave retaliates as my head crashes into the mushy bottom. "I’ve told you, you’re more powerful than you think." Turning to him, his shaggy hair is starting to change. His chest is beginning to swell with muscle. "She’s lying to you, holding you back because she’s scared of you." His janitor clothes begin to disappear. "I know what it is like to have a sporadic mind with infinite amounts of unwanted images crossing pathways in the brain."

Suddenly death and destruction are all around me. A world burning before my very eyes. So many different people all turned to ash.  A bright yellow light covers the sky. And, a stream of yellow energy wrecks everything on the surface. I see Olivia but she’s older. She screams in pain, like a banshee that echoes in my ears. Looking up she’s pulling energy from the sun. “I loved her more than anything.” Rufus Two says with sorrow in his throat. Her eyes look at me with fear. She’s wearing a superhero suit, with a battle-damaged cape. She seems to be saying the word, “Sorry”. Black tears fall from her eyes as she looks up. Light is shooting down from the Sun. I walk towards her, “It’s nothing but a memory now”. I turn to Rufus 2, he has tears in his eyes.

"You don’t think I loved her?" Suddenly, we find ourselves on a ship, gazing at Earth, which is half illuminated by yellow light. An energy beam from the Sun gets larger and larger until the Earth shatters into a billion different pieces. We're back underwater. "I’m not powerful enough to stop this one alone." He holds out his hand, "But together we may have a chance to." He drifts towards me, "Does she have to die?" I ask, knowing his answer. "You’re wrong about her." She appears again, "My Liv was good and caring, even when no one paid mind to me." I can see her. She’s training other kids with powers. "They didn’t hide in my world." Then she’s fighting against someone who looks like a gothic nightmare. She’s struggling, fighting tooth and nail. Yellow energy blasts bounce back and forth. Every time, she pulls more and more power from the Sun. Olivia was sacrificing herself.”

His black tears drift away in the water. His suit has changed into something resembling a golden-armored god. His hair is now clean, and his eyes are bright blue. "We are gods, boy, join me and save your world." I shoot a fireball at his face. A sudden whoosh! And now guts lay on my chest. A head is in my hands. Then he appears. "You think you’re so righteous." A face turns towards me. It’s the Cringer's face I would recognize anywhere. His black leather suit and the weapons birthed from a thought. His eyes are empty sockets, with his face changing in symbols. His yellow teeth are razor sharp, similar to an anglerfish. Blood and flesh drop from his teeth.

"You're still a killer." His tone is one of disapproval. There are so many excuses I can make. I choose not to say another word. Instead, it’s time to fight. With every ounce of strength in my body. I spear into his stomach. We bounce like a basketball on the lake floor as he grabs me by the throat. He’s an insane god with an extreme amount of strength. My feet cannot touch the ground, and suddenly, water fills my lungs. His eyes start turning gold as he stares into my soul. Everything begins to fade around me. As the water begins to fill my lungs, I close my eyes to imagine my beloved one last time. Her smile warms the soul even in certain death. The god will kill me, but that’s okay. I never deserved redemption in the first place. The light disappears, and now my story has ended.

©

01/29/24