In the Absence of Man/ Chapter 3: The Past Comes Back

The two locked eyes. “S-Starla?” Crane muttered in confusion. She passionately walked over to the captain. “You’re- okay, you are not here. But what are ya?” Crane softly spoke. Getting dry tickles in his throat, Crane walked over to her until they were close enough to each other. Starla smiled. Crane had his redhawk revolver at the ready, just in case.

“Hello, Crane,” she said. Crane thought deeply and quickly to himself. Her voice is the same, her appearance is the same, everything is the same.

Crane swallowed. “Hi, Starla.”

“It’s been a while,” she mentioned.

“I know it has been. I missed you so much.” There was a crucial pause and hesitation between Crane’s sentences. Starla sensed it. “You ain’t actually here, Starla. How is this even happening?”

“My love, don’t be afraid. Take the universe off of your shoulders and don’t be afraid,” Starla told Crane. “Now, give me your gun.”

“I-I can’t do that,” Crane told her.

“Yes you can. It’ll all be over soon, darling. Just give me your gun,” Starla repeated. Crane lowered his revolver a little bit until it was carefully taken away from him by Starla. She then dropped it to the ground, closer to her than him. Crane refused to look at Starla. Instead, he focused his eyesight onto the ground. More specifically, his gun. Starla took note of this. “Kiss me.”

This caught Crane’s attention. His eyes bulged. Kissing Starla? Was it really her? Both of their eyes closed and they leaned to embrace and kiss until Starla let out a grunt. Crane then realized that Starla had been jabbed with a dagger; which was highly reminiscent when Starla was actually killed seven years ago. Crane’s eyes lit up and a handful of tears cleaned his entire face as they rushed down. He held her in his arms. “Crane, why did you let me die that day? Why? I thought you loved me!” Starla barely could speak normally.

“I’m sorry. I do love you! Promise!” Crane then witnessed Starla’s pupils fall back to the other side of her eyes and her whole body disappeared into ash. Then the ash was gone as well. “Why did you have to do that?! Why?” Crane yelled at the top of his lungs.

A message came in from the loudspeakers that were in the same exact room that Crane was in. It was Clyde. “Listen, I- uh, I, too, fell victim to a similar fate as you with your wife. But it was the Republic who got my wife killed. Not only you failed as a soldier, Crane… but you failed as a husband. My wife was expecting. Now she’s not. You oughta be ashamed of your cause and most of all yourself.” Crane clenched both of his hands into a fist. His facial skin color immediately turned from tan to red. He picked up his revolver and shot at all of the loudspeakers in the room. Behind his computer screens and monitors, Clyde smirked and shook his head in disgrace. Watching Crane from the hidden cameras made Clyde Burrell want to get sick to his stomach.

“I’m going to kill you, you piece of scum! Ya hear?” Crane threatened.

“I’m sure you’re going to try,” Clyde fired back. Clyde released a button and practically ended the conversation. Crane fell to his knees and started to cry even more. Nobody knew Captain Crane for crying, hence being a very serious man. He looked around and quickly raced his way out of that room. Suddenly, a light bulb flickered on top of his head. He knew what Clyde Burrell was up to. Still looking around, he spotted a heavy stray pipe just randomly sitting on the floor. He picked it up, reloaded both guns and said, “screw this.”