Last Night

• Gene Doolan, Grade 11
• Short Story
• 2009

Xavier stood alone. The salty breeze carried with it the smell of ocean, brushing against his cheeks and ruffling his already unkempt hair. The soft chorus of distant waves filled the air, mingling with the hustle and bustle of the coastal city nightlife, creating a harmony of nature and metropolis.
Xavier pulled tight his coat as a shiver ran the length of his spine, though the night was not cold. Taking the shiver as a sign, Xavier moved quickly, jumping from one rooftop to another, gliding the oceanic winds high above the city, until at last he reached the rendezvous point that provided a clear view of the sparkling ocean, glinting in the light of the stars above. Now he was to wait. Minutes turned to hours, and all the while Xavier stood like a statue: a ghastly figure staring silently to the watery horizon.
It happened suddenly – no less than twenty figures appeared on the rooftop, so quickly and quietly they seemed to have popped out of thin air. Xavier, however, knew better; he turned around to face them. The figures were cloaked in black, billowing in the salty wind so that they resembled vast and swirling shadows. They were the Society – a brotherhood of guardians. As to what they protected, Xavier was unsure. That was how the Society worked: secrecy was their maiden, and they worshipped her to the absolute. Xavier had no idea of their motives; they paid well, and that was all that mattered.
One of the figures stepped forward: he was the Ambassador, the spokesperson of the elusive Society, if spokesperson was indeed the right word. The Ambassador held out his hand, and clasped within gloved fingers was a scroll, crisp and yellow, bound in black ribbon. Aware of the unseen eyes watching him, Xavier stepped forward and took the scroll, and like smoke the Society dissolved, drifting away in the breeze that still blowed.
Xavier pocketed the scroll, and turned towards the ocean. An unnerving feeling descended as he watched the far-away waves – a feeling of unexplainable sorrow, as though tonight was his last night, and tomorrow he would cease to exist.
Turning away from the glittering sea, Xavier disappeared into the shadow.

Little did Xavier know that was indeed his last night: change had blown upon those salty winds, and Xavier’s fate was irreversibly linked to a destiny he could not refuse, a destiny that would in turn determine the future of the world. The Society’s Final Plan had been set in motion: a war was to begin, the likes the world had never seen. A war where Xavier would lead the fight for the freedom of mankind. . . \

Gene Doolan – 16 – P.O. Box 1357, GOONDIWINDI QLD 4390
Grade 11 – Goondiwindi State High School