KANE ALWAYS KNEW that his family was cursed.

They told him all about the harrowing tales plaguing their bloodline. The endless bouts of tragedy and death that followed them no matter what corner of the world they ran to. It was unavoidable. No matter how much his dad declared the curse to be "hogwash," Kane knew the truth.

His family was cursed.

What he didn't understand was why?

Kane spent years asking his family why they were cursed. Those that didn't know shrugged, choosing not to acknowledge their bad luck. Those that did know refused to be straightforward.

Instead they spoke in silver-tongued words meant to confuse him. It was a trait that drove Kane mad whenever he spent too much time around them. It was for this very reason why he had to run away before he lost what was left of his fragile mind in their presence.

Kane sighed. His brown boots scuffed against the wet pavement with a vengeance. The harsh downpour of rain tapered off into a soft mist. His natural red hair clung to the sides of his fair face, having wormed their way out of his deflated bun.

For the seventh time since he'd walked out of the hospital and plunged into the bleak night, his phone rang. Freddy Mercury's vocals echoed throughout the empty street. The city that never slept was eerily quiet. It sent a shiver up his spine.

A shrill scream suddenly slaughtered the stillness of the night. Kane fell to his knees. He quickly covered his ears to prevent bleeding and hunched over, clenching his teeth. All he could do was endure it until the screeching stopped.

The first time the world heard the scream was one month ago. That was the day that North and South Korea ceased to exist. Devoured by the flora and fauna that sprang to life, both countries were demolished. No traces of either country remained.

Shock turned into sheer terror when China was swallowed up the next day. One by one countries in the East were picked off, forcing the scrambling inhabitants to flee to the West.

Their efforts were futile.

The scream and the destruction that followed spared no country. Once the East was gone the devastation spread to the Middle East. Chaos descended upon the world. Not even those that swore to police it stood a chance against the tides of terror-stricken people. The stampede of the fearful caused just as much ruin as that wretched harbinger of death.

Rainwater seeped into his battered blue jeans. Kane shivered. The scream was gone. He bit the inside of his cheek, pushing down the feeling of helplessness that curled within him. His phone buzzed in his pocket. He knew what it was. An automatic alert letting everyone know which poor country was just wiped off the face of the earth.

Kane glared at the moon, not having the will to check anymore. He dropped onto an old bench, defeated. The knackered black leather jacket he coveted creased as he crossed his arms for warmth. Soft blue eyes traced over the abandoned park before him. The happy memories he made there were like a knife to the heart now.

Tears gathered at the corner of his eyes when his phone rang. He knew his mom was calling, begging, for him to come back to the hospital but he couldn't.

He couldn't watch his grandma die.

The knife in his aching heart twisted.

Heavy breathing wracked his body like a storm. Kane rubbed his eyes, forbidding himself from breaking down. When it was quiet again he dropped his hands, fingers brushing underneath the bench.

"Shit!" Heat scorched his skin. Kane lurched forward, whirling around to glare at the offending object. Iron. "Of fucking course."

Kane's hand curled into a tight fist. The biting pain from the burn shook him to the core. After all these years, he still wasn't used to the odd pain that came from the inherited allergy.

A heavy weight settled in his chest.

He couldn't take it anymore.

He wanted to disappear.

Then the hair on the back of his neck stood up. He froze. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the light in the lamp post change from a dull yellow to a vibrant green. He blinked, hearing his grandma's ancient voice echo in his mind like a rickety melody.

Never give anyone your true name. Never leave offerings in nature. Never trust a light that burns green. Never take off your necklace unless you have a firstborn son. Always leave when the hair on the back of your neck stands up. Trust your instincts.

He usually listened but...

It was the end of the world. What more did he have left to lose?

For the first time in his life, Kane ignored his family's teachings and turned around.

There was a taxi.

It was old. Dirty. Painted a very unflattering yellow hue.

Kane frowned, unimpressed. The hair on the back of his neck stood up because of a taxi. How lame-

"Hello!" The driver inched forward like a slithering snake. The green light illuminated the pale stranger's sunken cheeks, making him appear emaciated. He smiled. Kane's gut told him to run. "Nice to meet you! They call me Silver and I'm at your service! Hop on in and enjoy the ride to where you need to go!"

The back door sprung open. Kane jumped. He eyed the man wearily. "Excuse me?"

Silver's blank eyes sparked to life. A shimmering emerald green. Kane couldn't tell if it was his natural eye color or if it was the reflection of the light. It was suspicious, the whole situation was, truthfully, but he was curious so he didn't run.

His grandma often said that Kane's curious nature would be how the curse claimed him.

His dad said the usual: hogwash.

"You called, I answered, now this is the part where you get in." Silver motioned towards the open door. "I can take you where you need to go."

"I-" Kane stuttered, confusion clouding his features. "I didn't call you."

"Well, of course you did!" Silver exclaimed. "You wanna leave, right? I can take you where you need to go."

Kane squinted. There was that word again. Need. He could take Kane where he needed to go. The inflection in Silver's voice whenever he said that word stuck out to him like a sore thumb.

It sounded rehearsed.

"What are you even doing out here?" Kane asked. Curiosity had him in a dangerous chokehold. "Don't you know the world is ending? No one here is paying for a taxi."

Silver chuckled. "Oh, yes. I've noticed," he said nonchalantly. "I'm not too worried about it."

Kane went bug-eyed. Shock filled his pale blue irises. "Millions of people are dead and you're not too worried about it?" he repeated incredulously. "The fuck is wrong with you?"

The green light flickered. Silver went quiet. Then he said, "Death is the natural ending to all things living. Why mourn what was always meant to come? The world ended before. So what if it ends again? It'll come back anyway. That's how it's meant to be. There's no point wasting tears on the inevitable."

Bewilderment struck Kane like a whip. His mind processed Silver's words and the ridiculous insinuation behind them. But it was the tone of aloofness in the other man's voice that he couldn't quite comprehend.

"You're insane."

"Am I?" Silver raised a thin brow. "The white man's god, one time he ended the world in a massive flood. Odin himself has ruined the earth many times before in a fit of rage. Don't even get me started on Zeus. Yet here you and I remain. The world ends but it always comes back. Death isn't the end. It's another beginning."

"What?" he replied dumbly. "The white man's god... Are you talking about the myths?"

Kane groaned. Leave it to him to encounter a deranged man in the middle of the night while the world was ending. Even now the family curse prevailed.

Silver stepped out of the car, gliding towards Kane like a poised ballerina. Impeccable posture. They were nearly the same height at six feet tall. Yet Kane couldn't help but finally take a step back once truly in the other man's presence.

He wore a pristine white shirt, crisp black slacks, and sleek dark shoes. His arms were covered in scars. Long. Jagged. Short. Faded. It was a plethora of twisted designs etched upon his pale canvas.

Kane felt his cheeks heat up when he met Silver's swampy green eyes. He'd been caught staring.

"Sorry," he apologized, momentarily forgetting what an odd encounter this was.

Silver shrugged. An unashamed smile lifted his high cheekbones. It was as if his chiseled diamond face actually bloomed.

A floral scent wafted over Kane. He wavered when his body lost its tension leaving him a little dazed.

"These are great memories for me." Silver held his arms out so that moonlight poured silver over his healed wounds. "They come from battles I've fought and won. I'm proud to bear them."

Kane nodded, interpreting Silver's words as a metaphor for mental health. Depression. Self harm. Things that made more sense than Odin and the world ending.

"You're a clueless little thing," Silver said, "aren't 'cha?"

Snapping out of his stupor, Kane reared backwards, offended. "Ok, first of all, I'm not a thing. I'm a person, thank you very fucking much."

Mahogany hair fell past Silver's hips as he tipped his head back and laughed airily. "Chopsy too, I see."

"Chopsy?"

"You're mouthy."

"Excuse me-"

"Ah," Silver interrupted, "where are my manners?"

"Probably in the same place where you lost your mind."

Silver's lips curled upwards. He held out his hand. "As I said before, I'm called Silver. The man whose job is to take you where you need to go. I didn't ask before, my apologies, but may I have your name?"

Kane had been itching to shake the other man's hand. The urge, however, withered the second Silver made that request.

They locked eyes. Kane didn't move. Nor did he speak.

Silver's smirk widened. He laced his fingers together behind his back. "You're not as clueless as I thought, huh? You're smart enough not to give me your name. But clueless regarding everything else. How interesting."

Kane narrowed his eyes. "You're speaking..." He trailed off, failing to grasp the correct word to portray his thoughts. "Wrong." Kane shook his head, frustrated. That wasn't the word he was looking for. But he couldn't put his finger on what exactly it was that eluded him.

"Wrong?" Silver leaned against the wet cab, looking like a cat that ate the canary. "Been speaking English for more than half my life. I'm pretty sure my grasp on the language is sound."

Kane floundered, irritation bubbling within him. He clenched his hands into fists, reigniting the flare of pain from the iron burn. That's when it hit him.

Silver was driving him up a wall because of the way he spoke. Talking in circles, speaking in that tone, never failed to make his blood pressure rise.

Silver talked like Kane's family.

"C'mon boy, what's your name?"

"Boy? We're the same age," he hissed.

"Are we?"

Kane glared at the man with a smooth face that basically screamed youth. His eyes told him that they were the same age. Mid twenties. The longer he stared at Silver, though, the more his instincts had him second guessing himself.

Silver looked as old as he did. But the way he carried himself, the way he talked, made him... Mature? No, not mature.

Out of place.

"Are you the same age as me?"

"I don't know. How old are you?"

"Twenty-five."

"Huh, looks like I'm older." Silver giggled impishly. "What a surprise."

"The way you talk drives me insane," Kane muttered. "Reminds me of my family."

"Ah, not a fan of the family, eh? A universal issue."

"I love my family," Kane snapped defensively. His phone buzzed. Guilt clawed at him when he didn't immediately read the text.

Silver tilted his head to the side. "If you say so." He sprang forward like a slinky, chortling when Kane tripped over his feet in an effort to get away. "Calm down, boy. I don't plan on hurting you."

Kane huffed. "Says the weirdo driving a taxi around during the apocalypse."

"Weirder things have happened."

"I highly doubt that."

Silver shrugged, fingers dancing across the open door, drawing Kane's attention to it. "Believe what you like, but I wouldn't lie to you."

"Bullshit. You don't even know me. Of course you'd lie to me."

Silver's eyes glazed over, shining like sticky honey. "What's your name?"

Kane chewed on his bottom lip. His head hurt from the constant run around. He didn't trust Silver. But, as per usual, his curiosity won in the end.

"Kane."

"Well, Kane, there are some people in this world that simply can't lie. I happen to be one of them."

Silver watched him with a look in his eye that Kane couldn't quite place. It confused him even more.

"Everyone can lie," he said, a little unsure even as he spoke.

"Are you certain?"

Kane placed his hands on his hips, opening his jacket and exposing his shirt. "Who are you?"

"I already told you. I'm called Silver."

"You know damn well that's not what I'm asking."

The corner of Silver's mouth twitched. "Do I?"

Kane's phone buzzed. He snapped again. "You're omitting the truth and jerking me around."

"An omittance of the truth is not a lie. I'm not doing anything wrong here," Silver said carefully. "Plus, it isn't my fault that your family failed to properly teach you about your heritage. Don't get mad when-"

Silver's eyes widened like saucers, shattering his calm mask. Kane followed his line of sight to find Silver staring at his chest.

"Oh." Silver's round eyes darted away. "I see. Well, Kane, the offer still stands. I can take you where you need to go but my offer expires in one minute."

Silver scurried back into the cab and rolled up the passenger window. The back door remained open. All Kane could do was stare like an idiot.

Either Silver wasn't a fan of the kpop group his faded shirt advertised. Or he recognized the silver seven star pendant Kane always wore.

Also, what was that about his heritage?

His Achilles heel tugged at him like a leashed hound. He took one step forward. Paused. Wavered. Then he took a step back.

His grandma wouldn't want him to get in the taxi no matter what state the world was in.

Kane's phone buzzed and this time he took it out. His heart plummeted when he read the final messages.

Grandma's gone.

She said goodbye.

Kane's chest cracked open like a chasm, taking away the heavy feeling and leaving him hollow. He pocketed his phone, moving forward on autopilot. The door closed. Silver's questioning stare met Kane's in the rearview mirror. The haunting vocals of Skeeter Davis filled the void of the loud, silent night.

"You'll take me to where I need to go?"

"I will."

Kane lifted his necklace. "And can you tell me why you freaked out when you saw this?"

Silver blinked. "Maybe."

The doors locked. As they drove into the darkness Skeeter finished on what couldn't have been a more befitting note.

Don't they know it's the end of the world?

It ended when you said, "Good-bye."

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QOTD: What are your thoughts on Kane and the state of the world? Do you trust Silver and his yellow taxi?