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children of tomorrow -- part 6
short part today. have been stuck for days on the next scene. :\
The protein bars they found in the packs looked okay, if a little frozen, but they were edible and that was what counted. The water was frozen solid, though, and Gerard was certain that eating ice would lower their body temperature too much.
“We'll take some with us, see if it melts once we get Out,” Gerard said.
Frank nodded. He wasn't saying much. Gerard worried he had gotten shaken up a little too much in he cave-in, but Frank assured that he wasn't hurt, just thinking.
“Want to share your thoughts?” Gerard asked softly.
Frank shook his head. “No. Not yet. Just. Give me a little time?”
Gerard nodded and wrapped an arm around Frank's shoulders. Frank leaned in to the embrace and sighed. It was understandable. They'd been through a lot. At least now there was no one chasing them, at least not that they knew of.
The small hole in the side of the cave, the one that was letting in a bit of light, was carefully widened with blasts from Gerard's gun until it was big enough for a person to fit through.
“I'll go first,” Gerard said, stepping closer and doing his best not to slip on the ice that was melting the closer it was to the hole.
“We should look around before we bring all the stuff through,” Frank said, setting down a pack next to the rest of the supplies. It would be a lot to carry, and Gerard wasn't looking forward to the muscle strain.
Gerard nodded and climbed through the hole. The ceiling creaked in warning, and Gerard called for Frank to hurry after him.
Frank nearly had another ceiling collapse on top of him. The hole collapsed in on itself, sealing the ice cave from view.
“Shit,” Gerard said, thinking of the supplies they'd left inside. Hopefully Sanctuary was nearby now, a place with fresh water, food, and shelter.
They were standing on an outcropping of rock, looking out over a valley of green. It was mostly dark, but there in the ceiling – sky, Gerard remembered from history, sky was where the bombs had fallen from and where the pollution gathered – was a light. It was moving, coming up over a ridge of trees, and it was huge and bright.
“What the fuck is that?” Frank whispered, staring. The light from the thing in the sky traveled to them and Frank held his hands out to feel it. “It's warm.”
Like a heat lamp, maybe. But this was nothing like a light they knew in the City. There had been nothing under the dome of home like this.
Gerard wracked his brain for the name of this, trying to remember past lessons on the history of the City and why they were there in the first place. But nothing in his memories matched this gigantic light in the sky.
“I think I know...” Frank said. A light breeze came up from the side of the mountain and ruffled his hair and he smiled. “That's the wind. And the light is coming from the sun. There was a … a story, when I was small. I must've been a White, I was really little. And one of the 'bots that took care of me was strange, kinda off, you know? I remember them taking it away.”
“What was the story?” Gerard asked.
“Before the 'bot got reprogrammed, it told me something about the Sun and the Wind. I didn't really understand it. It was … well, the Sun and the Wind were having a fight about who was stronger. And the Wind was like, 'Hey, see that guy down there? I'm going to blow his jacket right off.' And the Wind blew and blew, but the guy just held his jacket tighter. And then the Sun came along and said, 'Watch this,' and shined hotter and hotter until the dude took his jacket off himself.”
Gerard understood the moral immediately. “That's a good story,” he said. He hadn't heard many stories in his life, and when he'd been a child, the 'bots were only concerned with training him to become a killer.
That thought made his stomach twist.
“So that's the Sun, alright,” Frank said, obviously proud of himself for figuring it out. “I can't believe I remembered that.”
“It must have made a big impression on you,” Gerard said.
“I think it was the 'bot. It was like having someone really care about you and look after you, you know?” Frank said. “I think that's how it's supposed to be.”
Gerard looked around. There was only one way off the outcropping of rock, and that was a steep climb down into the valley. Trees and bushes were in the way; they'd have to go through the brush.
“So this is Outside,” Frank murmured. “I think I like it. The sky is so fucking big.”
The walked down the side of the mountain, holding on to branches as they went so they wouldn't fall or slide down any more than they already were. It was steep going, but they were making it.
Then Gerard fell to his knees and Frank went down with him. The hard ground cut right through their trousers, scraping their skin bloody.
“Ow, shit,” Frank said, and got up just to have a low tree branch assault his face. He yowled and held his cheek, which now bore a bright pink welt.
Gerard was used to pain, but he wasn't used to not going immediately to a medbot and getting the pain dealt with and his wounds healed. He was sore and tired and nothing seemed to be going their way.
“I'm thirsty,” Frank said. “And everything hurts. Can we rest?”
“We should keep going if we're going to find water,” Gerard said. The sun was now high in the sky and he was hot, hot and as thirsty as Frank was.
“I'm sitting down,” Frank stated, and sat on a fallen tree. He stretched his arms out behind him and sighed.
“We really should keep moving,” Gerard said. “We're not going to find Sanctuary just sitting around.”
“I need a break,” Frank said. He turned his head to look at his arm and his eyes widened. Suddenly he got up and started shaking his arm wildly, screaming, “Get it off, get it off!”
“It's off!” Gerard said, inspecting Frank's arm. “There's nothing there. You got rid of it.”
“Oh, shit, it was terrible,” Frank said with a shudder.
“What was it?”
“A crawly thing,” Frank said. “It had all these legs and a furry body...” He rubbed at his arm as though he could still feel it there.
“It's gone now,” Gerard said.
“I fucking hate Outside,” Frank said. “I hate it. I want to go home.”
“We can't,” Gerard said softly.
“Fuck, don't you think I know that?” Frank said angrily, pacing back and forth.
“I don't want things to go back the way they were,” Gerard said. He'd killed people. People whose only crime was wanting to live. Now that he understood that, he wasn't going back. Not that he could, anyway.
Frank stopped and tilted his head back towards the sunshine, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. “No, I don't either, really.”
Gerard went to Frank and wrapped his arms around him. Frank stiffened at first, then melted into the hug. It didn't last nearly as long as Gerard would have liked, but Frank seemed to brighten and they were off on their trek again.
They walked down into the valley. The sun raced across the sky until it began going down behind the mountain.
The air turned chilly and Frank found another log to collapse onto. “I'm done. No more walking today,” he said.
Gerard was exhausted. Exhausted and cold. He sat down next to Frank and sighed. “I wonder how much further it is.”
“We should try to get some sleep. The sun will come up again tomorrow, right?”
“I'm pretty sure it will,” Gerard said. False cheer all the way.
“We hope it will, anyway,” Frank said with a tired smile.
“Yeah.” Gerard put his arm around Frank and squeezed him close. He felt comfortable.
Frank settled against him. "What do you think Sanctuary is like?" he asked.
Gerard shrugged and cut off a yawn. "Better than the City, right? So no Carrousel and no... no killing."
Frank turned and looked at him. "There's no way you could have known. You were only doing what you were taught. What we all were taught."
"You knew better," Gerard said. It bothered him. "I never questioned it."
"You had no reason to," Frank said. "And it was taught to you even ... more. I don't know. You were raised to be what they wanted you to be."
"A killer," Gerard said.
"But there's so much more to you than that," Frank murmured. "Look." He pointed up, through the trees.
Up above them were millions of twinkling lights, far away, and yet almost close enough to touch.
"Do you have a name for them?" Gerard asked.
"Nope," Frank said, but he didn't seem upset by this. Rather, he had a content smile on his face and he moved in a little more, so that his head rested close to Gerard's. He shivered slightly, and Gerard wrapped his other arm around him, too.
"Go to sleep," Gerard said. "We'll look for Sanctuary tomorrow."
"Stay like this?" Frank asked. "It's cold."
"Sure," Gerard said, not wanting to let go anyway.
Gerard watched the sky-lights twinkle against their black canvas until his eyelids grew heavy. And then he was dreaming.
cheerleading greatly appreciated! I kinda need it, actually.
The protein bars they found in the packs looked okay, if a little frozen, but they were edible and that was what counted. The water was frozen solid, though, and Gerard was certain that eating ice would lower their body temperature too much.
“We'll take some with us, see if it melts once we get Out,” Gerard said.
Frank nodded. He wasn't saying much. Gerard worried he had gotten shaken up a little too much in he cave-in, but Frank assured that he wasn't hurt, just thinking.
“Want to share your thoughts?” Gerard asked softly.
Frank shook his head. “No. Not yet. Just. Give me a little time?”
Gerard nodded and wrapped an arm around Frank's shoulders. Frank leaned in to the embrace and sighed. It was understandable. They'd been through a lot. At least now there was no one chasing them, at least not that they knew of.
The small hole in the side of the cave, the one that was letting in a bit of light, was carefully widened with blasts from Gerard's gun until it was big enough for a person to fit through.
“I'll go first,” Gerard said, stepping closer and doing his best not to slip on the ice that was melting the closer it was to the hole.
“We should look around before we bring all the stuff through,” Frank said, setting down a pack next to the rest of the supplies. It would be a lot to carry, and Gerard wasn't looking forward to the muscle strain.
Gerard nodded and climbed through the hole. The ceiling creaked in warning, and Gerard called for Frank to hurry after him.
Frank nearly had another ceiling collapse on top of him. The hole collapsed in on itself, sealing the ice cave from view.
“Shit,” Gerard said, thinking of the supplies they'd left inside. Hopefully Sanctuary was nearby now, a place with fresh water, food, and shelter.
They were standing on an outcropping of rock, looking out over a valley of green. It was mostly dark, but there in the ceiling – sky, Gerard remembered from history, sky was where the bombs had fallen from and where the pollution gathered – was a light. It was moving, coming up over a ridge of trees, and it was huge and bright.
“What the fuck is that?” Frank whispered, staring. The light from the thing in the sky traveled to them and Frank held his hands out to feel it. “It's warm.”
Like a heat lamp, maybe. But this was nothing like a light they knew in the City. There had been nothing under the dome of home like this.
Gerard wracked his brain for the name of this, trying to remember past lessons on the history of the City and why they were there in the first place. But nothing in his memories matched this gigantic light in the sky.
“I think I know...” Frank said. A light breeze came up from the side of the mountain and ruffled his hair and he smiled. “That's the wind. And the light is coming from the sun. There was a … a story, when I was small. I must've been a White, I was really little. And one of the 'bots that took care of me was strange, kinda off, you know? I remember them taking it away.”
“What was the story?” Gerard asked.
“Before the 'bot got reprogrammed, it told me something about the Sun and the Wind. I didn't really understand it. It was … well, the Sun and the Wind were having a fight about who was stronger. And the Wind was like, 'Hey, see that guy down there? I'm going to blow his jacket right off.' And the Wind blew and blew, but the guy just held his jacket tighter. And then the Sun came along and said, 'Watch this,' and shined hotter and hotter until the dude took his jacket off himself.”
Gerard understood the moral immediately. “That's a good story,” he said. He hadn't heard many stories in his life, and when he'd been a child, the 'bots were only concerned with training him to become a killer.
That thought made his stomach twist.
“So that's the Sun, alright,” Frank said, obviously proud of himself for figuring it out. “I can't believe I remembered that.”
“It must have made a big impression on you,” Gerard said.
“I think it was the 'bot. It was like having someone really care about you and look after you, you know?” Frank said. “I think that's how it's supposed to be.”
Gerard looked around. There was only one way off the outcropping of rock, and that was a steep climb down into the valley. Trees and bushes were in the way; they'd have to go through the brush.
“So this is Outside,” Frank murmured. “I think I like it. The sky is so fucking big.”
The walked down the side of the mountain, holding on to branches as they went so they wouldn't fall or slide down any more than they already were. It was steep going, but they were making it.
Then Gerard fell to his knees and Frank went down with him. The hard ground cut right through their trousers, scraping their skin bloody.
“Ow, shit,” Frank said, and got up just to have a low tree branch assault his face. He yowled and held his cheek, which now bore a bright pink welt.
Gerard was used to pain, but he wasn't used to not going immediately to a medbot and getting the pain dealt with and his wounds healed. He was sore and tired and nothing seemed to be going their way.
“I'm thirsty,” Frank said. “And everything hurts. Can we rest?”
“We should keep going if we're going to find water,” Gerard said. The sun was now high in the sky and he was hot, hot and as thirsty as Frank was.
“I'm sitting down,” Frank stated, and sat on a fallen tree. He stretched his arms out behind him and sighed.
“We really should keep moving,” Gerard said. “We're not going to find Sanctuary just sitting around.”
“I need a break,” Frank said. He turned his head to look at his arm and his eyes widened. Suddenly he got up and started shaking his arm wildly, screaming, “Get it off, get it off!”
“It's off!” Gerard said, inspecting Frank's arm. “There's nothing there. You got rid of it.”
“Oh, shit, it was terrible,” Frank said with a shudder.
“What was it?”
“A crawly thing,” Frank said. “It had all these legs and a furry body...” He rubbed at his arm as though he could still feel it there.
“It's gone now,” Gerard said.
“I fucking hate Outside,” Frank said. “I hate it. I want to go home.”
“We can't,” Gerard said softly.
“Fuck, don't you think I know that?” Frank said angrily, pacing back and forth.
“I don't want things to go back the way they were,” Gerard said. He'd killed people. People whose only crime was wanting to live. Now that he understood that, he wasn't going back. Not that he could, anyway.
Frank stopped and tilted his head back towards the sunshine, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. “No, I don't either, really.”
Gerard went to Frank and wrapped his arms around him. Frank stiffened at first, then melted into the hug. It didn't last nearly as long as Gerard would have liked, but Frank seemed to brighten and they were off on their trek again.
They walked down into the valley. The sun raced across the sky until it began going down behind the mountain.
The air turned chilly and Frank found another log to collapse onto. “I'm done. No more walking today,” he said.
Gerard was exhausted. Exhausted and cold. He sat down next to Frank and sighed. “I wonder how much further it is.”
“We should try to get some sleep. The sun will come up again tomorrow, right?”
“I'm pretty sure it will,” Gerard said. False cheer all the way.
“We hope it will, anyway,” Frank said with a tired smile.
“Yeah.” Gerard put his arm around Frank and squeezed him close. He felt comfortable.
Frank settled against him. "What do you think Sanctuary is like?" he asked.
Gerard shrugged and cut off a yawn. "Better than the City, right? So no Carrousel and no... no killing."
Frank turned and looked at him. "There's no way you could have known. You were only doing what you were taught. What we all were taught."
"You knew better," Gerard said. It bothered him. "I never questioned it."
"You had no reason to," Frank said. "And it was taught to you even ... more. I don't know. You were raised to be what they wanted you to be."
"A killer," Gerard said.
"But there's so much more to you than that," Frank murmured. "Look." He pointed up, through the trees.
Up above them were millions of twinkling lights, far away, and yet almost close enough to touch.
"Do you have a name for them?" Gerard asked.
"Nope," Frank said, but he didn't seem upset by this. Rather, he had a content smile on his face and he moved in a little more, so that his head rested close to Gerard's. He shivered slightly, and Gerard wrapped his other arm around him, too.
"Go to sleep," Gerard said. "We'll look for Sanctuary tomorrow."
"Stay like this?" Frank asked. "It's cold."
"Sure," Gerard said, not wanting to let go anyway.
Gerard watched the sky-lights twinkle against their black canvas until his eyelids grew heavy. And then he was dreaming.
cheerleading greatly appreciated! I kinda need it, actually.
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If that doesn't do it for you, here's a word from Neil Gaiman: http://www.nanowrimo.org/node/1065561
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