By David C. Daoust
He was known to the rest of the family as ‘Charles the First’, a nickname given to him by his grandfather while he was still a newborn.
Grandpa Haul had hoped to start a whole line of ‘Charles Hauls’. His eldest son however, was never a fan of his father, he never forgave his father for his absence. Never forgave him for leaving for months, sometimes years, at a time. In fact, he’d preferred the name Chuck over Charles or Junior.
Once Uncle Chuck’s son was born, rather than being named Charles Haul the Third, he was given the name Craiden, after the newborn’s Great Grandfather, Craiden Swan.
While Grandpa Haul was disappointed, it was not truly a point of contention. The new Grandfather was not surprised, he knew how Mari felt about her grandfather. Whether or not it had to do with Chuck’s dislike for his father was smoothed over.
Charles’ father, Raymond, however, was far more forgiving, and had chosen the family name to please his father.
Raymond, the younger of the two sons, never truly knew the difference of whether or not his father was there or far out on the Crucible. After all, he had his brother there the whole time.
Raymond was the glue when it came to the Haul’s side of the family.
It was Raymond that pulled them all together when they’d first decided to move to Twin Crown. Without him, the two men would still be, stubbornly, living out their lives in silence.
Grandpa Haul’s hopes for a long line of Charles Hauls soared again, once his youngest son named his first son Charles! The bond between Grandpa Haul and ‘Charles the First’ was seen by all. And the family grew closer for it. Over the years, especially once Grandpa’s mind started to go, Uncle Chuck had even begun to show signs of liking the old rogue, as his rants were so truthful, they could only be endearing.
‘Course Uncle Chuck was gone now, along with young Charles’ mother, both taken by the infection. These facts sat like a rock in Charles belly, all day, all night. All the while his brother, Ratchet, just got more and more reckless, which just made Charles worry all the more.
Charles didn’t think he could take another loss.
The two had flown off after their Grandfather for this very reason. Charles could not guess what his grandpa was thinking, taking off in the first place.
All the vehicles had tracking devices embedded somewhere within, so it was easy enough to run the vehicle down, though now that they had the vehicle within sight, where was their grandfather?
Charles sat hovering over the rubble in his Sky Screamer, as Ratchet glided about the ruins as though it was an amusement park, ignoring Charles. He was almost envious of his younger brother’s carelessness, though he knew Ratchet was going through things in his own way.
Charles did not miss the darkness that passed over his younger brother’s face when he was forced to stop and think. As the days went by, his brother would just find more and more ways to keep busy, burying his feelings deeper and deeper.
Charles could not take being ignored anymore, and launched back into the air, the scream of the modified engine drowning out any thought of being ignored. Maybe finding his grandfather could keep him busy.
The ruins around him, made him feel almost serene. Connected. As though reality was reflecting his insides, as though the universe was trying to right the wrongs Charles had yet to fully absorb. It was satisfying, all those people that had come and pushed them aside, finally got pushed back.
It was more than karma though, it was by their hand. The First Wavers had taken it, forced it. It was justice, clean and simple, and it filled Charles with an exhilaration he’d never witnessed before.
It was in that moment of revelry, that he noticed the barracks ship suddenly launch into the air; as if in response to his thoughts, in response to the hatred he felt, and the secret wish he held deep within his soul.
It was in that moment, that he saw his brother look back at him, grinning foolishly, a grin Charles had not seen in longer than he’d like to admit…
In that moment, that he truly felt it all come together, like destiny, like the hand of God propping him up to witness the righteous light from the darkest pit of despair,
In that moment, that all his worries seemed to fade, the rock in his belly lifted, because look, look how the balance was maintained…
…All because the hands of the Righteous took action.
