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“Alright, Chayanne, you ready?” Phil asked, hand resting on the gate that trapped the zombie against the wall.
Chayanne nodded and showed Phil his sword and shield as if to say Look Dad, I’m so ready.
Phil grinned down at his brave, strong son. “Remember, I just want to see how much damage you do, ok? Just kill the zombie like you normally would, nothing fancy.”
He turned to look at the zombie and eyed it critically. “It has . . . 100 hearts, fucking hell.”
Chayanne placed down the sign and Phil moved to read what he had written.
dont worry dad, i’ll be safe
Phil laughed and playfully bopped the pompom on top of Chayanne’s duck hat. “I know you will. This is just me being paranoid.”
Chayanne gave him a quick hug around his waist and Phil would forever lie and say that he didn’t almost tear up at the soft touch.
“Alright, you little warrior,” he said, reaching to unlock the gate but holding it shut still, “let’s see how strong you are.”
Chayanne raised his shield and braced his feet before nodding to Phil, who opened the gate and quickly stepped out of the way.
The zombie, who had already been pushing against the gate, lurched forward and began to turn toward Phil. But Chayanne quickly ran forward and hit it once with his sword before retreating quickly back to his previous position.
As Phil watched his son dance circles around the lumbering mob while keeping a mental note of how many strikes he had taken, he started to zone out, the methodical thwacks of a sword against the zombie lulling him into a sense of peace that seemed very . . . familiar . . .
-ˋˏ✄ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈
Phil opened the door of his cabin and peered outside, a steaming mug of tea held firmly in his hand. Techno had muttered something about ‘putting Wilbur through his paces’ before dragging his brother outside toward the shed where they stored the training swords and shields.
The yard was empty except for a small makeshift enclosure along the edge of the forest. Wilbur stood there, gripping his sword tightly and staring with wide eyes at the zombie trapped in the enclosure.
“Techno, I don’t think I’m ready,” he said nervously as Phil walked down the steps and started to head over to the two boys.
Techno, who was leaning against the fence, grinned at his brother. “You’re fine,” he scoffed, nodding in greeting at Phil, “just crit him out and keep moving.”
“But I don’t even last 10 seconds fighting you!” Wilbur cried out, nervously stepping back.
“Good thing you’re not fighting me then,” Techno said dryly and kicked open the gate of the enclosure.
The zombie turned and began to shamble towards Wil, who yelped and flailed his sword at it, barely managing to lightly graze its arm.
“Your sword isn’t gonna bite you!” Techno yelled, “Swing like it’s going to kill you!”
“It is gonna kill me!” Wilbur yelled back.
“Skill issue!” Techno responded.
“I hate you!” Wilbur cried, swinging at the zombie again.
“Yeah yeah yeah, join the club,” Techno drawled.
Phil grinned and sipped on his tea, watching silently as Techno continued to alternate between giving Wilbur advice and insulting him, with Wilbur returning jab for jab as he slowly managed to improve his strokes against the zombie.
It was nice, standing out in the sun, watching his kids have fun together, the methodical thwack of the sword lulling Phil into a sense of security. Nothing could break the moment, not if he could stop it . . .
-ˋˏ✄ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈
Phil felt a gentle tug on the edge of his coat and looked down to see Chayanne staring up at him, a look of concern on his little face. He pointed at a sign in front of Phil.
esta bien papa?
are you okay, dad?
Phil suddenly realized that he had been crying. He hastily scrubbed the wetness from his face with the sleeve of his shirt, sniffed, and smiled sadly at his son.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he murmured, “just . . . thinking about stuff.”
Chayanne nodded in understanding and tugged on his shirt, harder this time, until Phil knelt in front of him. Carefully moving his sword and shield so that they weren’t in the way, he reached out and squeezed his dad in a big hug.
Phil wrapped his arms around his son and looked up at the sun, which was setting and covering the sky in beautiful hues of pink, red, and orange. Smiling wetly, he placed a slightly shaking hand on the back of Chayanne’s head and whispered into the open air, “Miss you, mate.”
He could almost see the smile on Techno’s face and hear his voice quietly respond, “For you, Phil, the world.”