The Compound

2010

Xander scanned his surroundings as the recurring dream materialized. He only vaguely remembered where he was - the backseat of a station wagon. A man with thick blonde hair drove the car while a woman sat in the passenger seat in front of Xander. Her brunette curls fell behind her seat and dangled before Xander. He reached his hand out and grazed her warm silk locks, sending a wave to undulate through them.

His focus on his mother's hair snapped as the man behind the steering wheel glanced back toward him.

"Isn't that right, Xander?" Xander didn't know the question and didn't care. He could only muster a disjointed thought over his emotion. It was a nostalgic declaration.

"I love you, Mom and Dad." A gushing awe sounded from the front seat. His mom unbuckled her seatbelt, spun around and sat up on her knees, her beautiful face popped up over the head rest. She had glacier blue eyes, dimples and a tight, thin smile.

"And we love you, Xander. You are so sweet." Xander was sobbing at the sight of his mother. He tried to speak through the tears.

"I miss you so much." Xander's mother reached back and wiped his tears away.

"We're right here, Xander." She didn't understand the meaning behind what he was saying. His father turned back to him from the wheel.

"Yeah, son we're not going anywh-" Xander's dad wasn't looking as an eighteen-wheeler drilled the driver side of the car. It happened so fast, yet in slow motion. The windows shattered like a grenade explosion - the debris floating by. Xander's dad's neck snapped on impact and his mother was thrown out of the passenger window out onto the asphalt. As the car spun out of control, a thump sounded under the back right tire of the car. Xander looked back to see his mother's body, skidding across the road. Xander's head was the last to hit, it hit hard on the window, cracking it.

Xander's world sped up as he shot up in the infirmary bed, sweating and wheezing. A shot of pain surged through his fractured ribs as his lungs inflated against them repeatedly. His body ached horribly from the wounds sustained during the battle in the Park. Xander,alert and raving, checked himself and his surroundings, the damp bed sheets grounded him back to reality. His head fell back to his pillow, but all he could see was his mother's face. It was the clearest memory he had of her. It was the only memory he had of her. Every time he dreamt of his parents, it would end in their deaths. Xander's hand reached up to his chest and grabbed the crossed around his neck, hoping to find strength that did not come.

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