Game of Thrones 2017

The Beginning of the End

Both Cliff and Alysia knew the balance they were keeping. Not only the balance of power in the kingdom, but a balance in their families. Four years of marriage and Cliff stood by Alysia while she pretty much did what she wanted. She built and orphanage, a woman's shelter and helped her brother begin his own project of a rehabilitation center. Alysia was always busy, always doing something for someone else. Cliff knew they were destined to be together and yet he also knew their time together was not long. That someone else would come beside her and walk beside her. He didn't like the idea of leaving her and didn't quite know how he would leave her but speculated - death.

"Bridget!" Her voice snapped him out of his memory, "how are you doing this evening?"

"I’m doing very well. Our fundraiser for the playground and water park came through above and beyond, thank you." Bridget smiled.

"Great, I'm glad to hear it!" He listened as he strolled to Alysia and casually placed his arm around her waist and grinned.

"Do you need some help cleaning up?" Alysia offered.

"Oh, no, I have people to help get this cleaned up. You head on out and I'll take care of this. You all head home, enjoy the rest of your evening." Bridget swung her hand across her body.

Cliff and Alysia gathered their things and strolled hand in hand from the event center. They found their car, Cliff clicked the keyless entry and opened the passenger door for Alysia. Walking around the car, he stopped for just a second thinking he'd smelled gasoline. After climbing in, he leaned over to Alysia and kiss her on the lips.

"I love you," he simply stated.

"I love you too," she smiled. Finally, he started the car and drove off.

"Let's go for a drive," Alysia suggested.

"Sure, where to?"

"I don't care, I just don't feel like going home right now."

"Sounds good," Cliff agreed.

Alysia sighed as she sat watching the scenery go by.

“What’s wrong?” Cliff wondered.

“There are times in my life when I just feel that something is missing. I can’t put my finger on it.” She frowned thoughtfully.

“I know. There are times I feel the same way.”

“We have everything we could want. Don’t we?”

“I would like to think we do but I don’t think so.”

“What are we missing?”

“I’m not sure, Babe. What do you think we’re missing?”

“We love each other and get alone well.”

“Of course,” he smiled.

“You can of course be overprotective at times.”

“You can be reckless at times. I have even more reason to be overprotective.” They paused thoughtfully.

“What about kids?” She offered.

“What about’em?” He wondered if this was going to be the same conversation they’d had a thousand times before.

“We could adopt,” she offered hopefully.

“I don’t think that adding responsibility to our lives would make us any happier. I know what you need.”

“What would that be?” She suspiciously asked.

“The one thing we both could use.” He paused, “Sex.”

“Nah, got to be something else.” She blew him off.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why do you keep dodging this piece of our marriage?”

“I-I don’t.” She became nervous. He hadn’t pushed her before but he needed to hear her.

“Alysia, I know you just about as well as you know yourself. There’s a reason why we have not consummated our marriage in four years. I want to know why you keep rejecting me.” He was growing impatient with her. She was silent. He continued driving as they came back into town. They approached the top of a steep hill that led to a neighborhood area of town. As they rode down the hill, picking up speed, Cliff noticed something wrong with the car. “Alysia, I think the breaks have been cut!” Cliff began to pump the brake pedal even though it simply went to the floor. The couple swerved around one corner still going downhill. Going around another curve, Cliff laid on the horn of the car hoping not to hit anyone. “The only way out of this is to crash. Are you ready?”

“Yea,” she breathlessly said. They grabbed hands and headed for a brick wall. Stopping almost instantaneously, both air bags deployed. Alysia was unconscious. Cliff slipped in and out of consciousness. At one point he reached over and released her seatbelt.

It was a weird feeling of not being able to breathe then able to breathe as Cliff slipped from his body and watched the scene unfold before him. A bright light shone in front of him. A soothing voice beckoned him to the light. But Cliff couldn’t leave his wife unprotected, so he decided to stay.

A woman stopped and looked at the wreckage he’d created. She began to walk away.

“No, please help,” he pleaded. She turned and ran towards the car. Opening the passenger door, she pulled Alysia from the car. After making sure Alysia was safe across the street, the woman jogged toward the car then the explosion. Cliff felt the heat from the car. The force of the explosion blew the woman backwards to the sidewalk. Instinctively, he patted himself down then realized everything went through him. “Great! I’m dead!” He thought throwing his hands up and letting them fall. “Now what?”

He turned as someone else walked up with a cell phone to his ear. The voice was indistinct. He hung up and dialed three numbers. Cliff struggled to hear what the man said.

Soon enough a couple of ambulances came and gathered the women up. Cliff rode with the one that held Alysia. He about lost his breath as he felt the EMT pass through him. He waited for the paramedics to realize who the woman was and how to proceed. They made it to the hospital where Alysia could get the care she needed.

With Alysia safe for now Cliff left her at the hospital to figure out what happened that evening. Making his way back to the scene of the accident, there had to be something there that would tell him what happened.

Word Count 1032