Forged Legacy

Chapter 124 - Home

With the address in hand, Harvey rushed through the massive neighborhoods to find his family’s new home. Even without a map, finding it shouldn’t be too hard. The entire city was a sprawling grid, with each neighborhood having 300 homes, a bell tower, a park, a small store filled with a dozen mirrors to access John’s shop, and a church with two Looms. The System had built the ultimate master-planned community, a stark contrast from the sprawling city the demons inhabited.

[It’s a little uncanny,] Julius commented as they flew over dozens of houses.

The houses were all nice and well-kept. The kind that were affordable when his parents were young, but vastly out of reach for him and his siblings without an engineer's salary like he used to have. But there were a few things that made it all look… off.

[No cars. No variety. Not even any fences separating the backyards.]

I guess you don’t need to worry about protecting your stuff when the whole neighborhood's the same.

[Better make sure you close all the first-floor windows.]

He knew Julius was joking around, but he couldn’t shake the feeling he was being watched. Sure, there was probably some angel that noticed him out their window, but it was more than that. Eventually, he noticed that the stone gargoyles' heads atop the towers would subtly turn, tracing his path through the sky.

They’re spying on everyone.

[That’s not creepy at all!]

There, Desert Highlands. Harvey thought, unsure why he felt the need to point it out to the extra consciousness in his head. The large sign for his parents' neighbourhood wasn’t far, and he adjusted Booster to slowly descend, touching down in the center of the wide road. The air smelled like wet, freshly cut grass, and he could hear the swell of birds nesting in the trees. The scene reminded him of a summer morning waiting for his friends to wake up so they could all go to the pool. All he was missing was his bike.

Meandering through the street, he looked for house number 71. He doubted his parents were home from their classes yet, so he didn’t rush. Instead, he drank in the sensation of feeling truly safe for the first time in a long time.

Even after finishing off the Undead, they’d spent weeks traveling through a forest full of hungry beasts. None were much of a threat to Harvey, but the same couldn’t be said for Elena. Protecting her and the other Veilstriders who’d chosen not to fight required constant vigilance. On top of that, the fear of what kind of hellscape his family might be trapped in had gnawed at his already frayed mind for weeks. Seeing they’d been living safely in homes that could be pulled straight out of Scottsdale took a huge weight off his shoulders.

Eventually, he found the house he was looking for. They’d been lucky, nestled right next to a park with a playground Max would love and a baseball diamond where Tyler could pitch for the rest of the neighborhood kids.

[And I thought the Hell Hotel people were lucky.]

Walking to the front door, his heart started to race. The scarred and dented armor that had protected him all this time was suddenly ten times heavier than before as he realized his parents were going to ask what had happened to him. Why his eyes turned gold and his skin looked different than before.

Should he tell the truth? That he’d lost control. Caused an accident that killed not only him, but Dean, Alice, and Ava? He’d come to terms with his mistake already. Even faced the family he’d hurt. Still, he didn’t want to see the look on his mom’s face when she learned he’d tried ending it all barely an hour after they last spoke.

“Shoot, I don’t have a key.” Harvey stammered, staring at the door handle.

[You’re okay, Harvey. I know it’s a lot. Just slow down and take a few deep breaths,] Julius encouraged.

“What if I scare them? A lot’s changed since the last time they saw me.”

[You’re their son. That will never change.]

Julius was right. He was making excuses. Harvey filled his lungs and held it in, letting his body wrest back control from his mind. Even with his Willpower, it took him a minute to calm down before he pushed open the door.

It was unlocked.

Before he could take a step inside, a voice from behind made him freeze.

“Harvey? Is it really you?”

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“Yeah, Mom. It’s me,” he replied.

Warm tears began streaming down his face the second he saw his mother. She could barely see him through the armor, but just his voice was enough for her to almost tackle him in a fierce hug. She was a small woman, around 5’4” with long auburn hair and chestnut eyes. He’d expected her to be wearing one of those floral dresses that she and his sister had always liked to wear to church, but it looked like the angels were fine with jeans and a wavy blouse.

“It’s so good to see you,” Harvey choked.

“It feels good to be seen,” she joked, barely getting the words out. It was one of her go-to phrases, and he was happy to see the trial hadn’t changed that. “Now take that stupid helmet so I can see my son!”

“Hey! I’ll have you know I made this stupid helmet!”

“Your eyes! Your hair! What happened to you?” she asked while tightly gripping his face, yanking it around to get a closer look.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” he laughed. Her hands were soft and smelled like lemon hand soap. “Where’s Max?”

“Dad’s picking him up. They’ll be here soon.”

“Is there some sort of angel daycare for him?” Harvey laughed.

“Basically,” she laughed. “He’s pretty popular in there. The cute angel that watches him all day absolutely adores him.”

“I bet!”

A familiar shriek echoed down the road, and he stepped out of the covered patio to see his brother sprinting down the road. His dad was trying to hold his hand, but finally relented when he saw his wife and son standing in the driveway.

“HARVEY! HAAAAAARVEYYYYY!” Max screamed, pronouncing his name a little better than he used to. The v in his name always sounded more like a w, but two months in angel daycare seemed to be helping his speech.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but did the angels do anything about his Down Syndrome?” Harvey asked his mom.

“Of course not! I always told you kids, he’s not disabled. He’s special!” she replied, lightly slapping his arm.

“Good,” Harvey smiled. “Hey buddy! I’m so happy to see you!”

Max was a beefy 12-year-old, but Harvey’s new Strength helped him avoid getting bowled over. Instead, he picked Max up and tossed him high into the air, enjoying the raucous laughter it produced before catching him and wrapping his brother in a bear hug.

“What’s this?” Max asked, jabbing his finger in Harvey’s chest.

“It’s my armor! Helps protect me from the bad guys!”

“Bad guys?”

“Yeah, this keeps me safe. Later, I can show you the cool sword I made for my friend.”

“Nope! No! Absolutely no swords in the house!” his mom interrupted.

“What? Come on!”

His dad caught up soon after, and he almost succeeded in tackling him. The power suggested he’d managed to gain a few levels, unlike his mom, who felt as normal as the day he left.

“Woah, dad! Those football instincts are kicking in!” Harvey chuckled. Somehow, he still managed to smell like a mix of sweat and sawdust even in this environment. Harvey loved it.

At least some things haven’t changed.

“It’s so good to see you,” his dad sniffled. “We were worried sick when we couldn’t find you in this place.

“Is Eleanor here? She was off at school when the integration happened, right?”

“Right behind you,” his sister’s voice called out. Harvey turned to see her and Tyler jogging towards them, both looking a little older than before. How long had it been since the last time he went home for the holidays? At least a year… Harvey saw Max all the time since he liked to steal his mom's phone and make video calls, but he hadn’t done a great job keeping up with the other two.

“Hey guys,” he smiled, pulling both into a group hug. Eleanor had the same build as his mother, but Tyler had gotten even taller. Harvey guessed his little brother was a hair taller than him, and years of baseball gave him a build much more like Julian’s or his dad’s.

[Handsome fella,] Julius laughed.

“That’s some sweet iron,” Tyler said.

“Steel, actually. I can make you some,” Harvey offered.

“Sick. Hear that dad? Harvey’s going to make me some armor!” Tyler jeered.

“Really? You just found out your brother’s alive, and you’re already back to picking fights with me?” his dad sighed.

“Picking fights?” Harvey asked.

“Nobody’s fighting. We’re discussing a few things, but that can wait until later. Come on, let’s head inside, and I’ll start working on dinner. Harvey, do you mind taking off the armor? I’m worried it will scratch up the furniture,” his mom asked.

“Oh no, not the furniture,” Harvey mocked, but started unbuckling the various belts and straps holding each piece to his body.

“Mommy, why Harvey eyes yellow?” Max asked.

“I don’t know, sweetie. Why don’t you ask him?”

“Harvey, why you eyes yellow?”

“Because I’m awesome!” Harvey teased.

“My eyes turn yellow, too?”

“No, you’ll get something different since you’re amazing! Not just awesome.”

“Hooray!” Max celebrated, running into the house.

Stripping down to the heavily padded clothes he wore beneath his steel, Harvey stepped inside and took off his boots. He had some normal clothes in his spatial ring from his night at the hotel, and was desperate to get changed. The strange cleaning gel Cash had given him had erased any smell, but it all felt stuffy now that he was back in a modern-day living room.

“Is there a bathroom I can change in?” Harvey asked.

“Yup. Down that hall, first door on the left,” his dad answered.

“Thanks.” To his right was a carpeted living room, complete with couches and a coffee table. There was a bookshelf where the TV would be, with various copies of the bible and other religious texts. Straight ahead was a tiled walkway leading to an open kitchen, and he could see a long wooden table jutting out from behind a wall. A staircase ran along the left wall, and the hallway that his dad pointed out was just before the first steps.

The house itself felt more like a dorm than a home, clearly lacking the lived-in feeling that only came with time and memories. It made it all even more surreal. Looking in the mirror, he instinctively waited for the shop interface to appear. When it didn’t, he realized this was the first time in months that he saw his reflection in something other than a magic crystal.

He washed his hands, enjoying the warm water while he lathered up a healthy amount of vanilla-scented soap. Cupping his hands over his face, he closed his eyes and took a long breath.

Home.

Emerging from the bathroom in shorts and a t-shirt, he walked into the kitchen and sat at a barstool along the granite countertop of the large kitchen island.

“So… what the heck happened to you?”