Of Gears and Humanity

| 27.2

[DAMIEN]

The forest outside of Homestead still smelled like Eon's damage. Smoke residue. Trees charred; leaves turned to ash. It wasn't something I would've expected to see on this side of the Gate. Hell, I wouldn't have expected it with the Attributions, either.

As we pushed through the trees, through the bushes, I couldn't help but think if this was what war was like. The smell, the fear in the air; the truths of what the Attributions taught me to believe were just stories. Ghost stories. Because there were no humans left.

Yet, here I was, pushing through nature with a crowd of humans. Each of us was on our way to see the Gate, to stand against what it meant, and hoped to see an Attribution. Not to fight, but to talk of peace.

Despite what Eon wanted.

"How much longer?" The entire time we walked, I never left Elena's side. Our hands stayed in each other's, but we were focused, looking ahead. We had a goal, and I wasn't one to back down once I had a mission in mind. Just— "I never actually made the full walk," I glanced at her, "and we've been walking for a few hours."

Elena snorted.

Good. It was what I wanted her to do. Laugh. We walked this entire way and I knew she was treading on pins and needles of nerves. Fear was something Attributions sensed. And according to Arvon's argument with Eon, it was also something they reacted to, evolved from. The last thing I wanted was for her to fall before she even tried.

"We're almost there," Elena said, pointing ahead. "Can you feel the change in temperature?"

I lifted my brows and looked ahead before glancing at the sky. I had only been this far out at night, and from my Sector, I only ventured away at night. Temperature was what I knew, but that was about it.

Yet, the sky above had changed. The color wasn't blue, but brown. Almost red. The lack of clouds in the horizon reminded me of home.

"And look there," Elena pointed at the trees, "they're losing their color, life—"

"Closer to the Gate, the less color we see. Got it." I rubbed the side of my face. "This is different during the day... Familiar."

Elena glanced at me. "Are there no colors where you lived?"

I blinked. Sure there were colors. Black, grey, silver, white, brown hues from the rocks embedded in dead soil.

"Not really."

My honesty brought silence. And we continued in it. I wasn't sure if it was awkward, because the closer we got to the deadlands before the Gate, the more at peace I felt.

My subconscious connected to it without the fear radiating off the guards around us. I wondered if this was what Eon meant by the air is human. It was thick with emotion, and it step forward, the denser it became. The shifting eyes of some of the guards solidified it all. Yes, they agreed to tackle the Gate and stand for peace at Elena's side. But they had been raised to fear the unknown, to run from the machines who destroyed the past.

I'd never known that type of fear. Even now, what I felt couldn't compare to theirs. I was afraid of what the Attributions would do, but not of them in general. For the longest, they were my family. My friends.

I have to let that go.

The green faded to grey. I passed the last living tree. As we stepped on dead soil, I grabbed Elena's arm, slowly pulling her back away from the crowd. "Did you bring that rock with you?" I looked at her face as she blinked. "You know," I continued, "the stone of morning glory."