It was as hot as it was when I first arrived and it didn't look like it was going to change. The barren land looked like it stretched on forever and one could only dream that somewhere along the forever a vast Lake of fresh water was there so that we could gouruge it's contents. But one can only dream. The only view from the concrete safe house was a white wall that stretched on for miles marking the boundary between us and Them. The first day I arrived I stared at it for the whole day, figuring out ways to reach it, to reach actual civilization. Can I walk all the way and still make it there alive? But I realised as the days went by, the place wasn't a safe haven, it was cursed land. "Are you coming Jay?" Thunder asked. I turned away from the white wall and walked towards the endless dessert, the land of the free and daring.
This was the daily routine. We do a perimeter search for arrivals. On my first search I was exited to see how other arrivals looked like but the excitement dies down after you understand the seriousness of the matter. They're usually unmoving and dead-looking but when Needle checks they're pulse, most of the time it's there. They're always butt-naked and curled up like a babies. Hector says it's because on their way here the clothes burn up. He has a theory as to where the Arrivals come from. Most of us don't really care. We're more concerned about our lost memories. Every time a piece comes back we seek more. All I remember is a girl barefoot wearing a dress that didn't suit her all that well, as if someone forced it upon her.
After the pulse is checked, the body is wrapped in a blanket and carried to the safehouse, a larger unfinished concrete building where the rest of us take shelter. We lay them down and when they wake up one of us will be there to catch the first thing they say, and that will be their name. When I woke up I didn't say anything, I just stared into the eyes of Thunder, the first person I met here. When he asked me who I was, I croaked, "Jay..." and bada bing bada boom, I got my name. Though I wish I said something cooler.
Today was like no other. We had walked about a mile when I saw her in the distance. I shouted to Needle and Thunder and they ran ahead towards the body. Needle checked her pulse. "It's faint but there. Come wrap her up." Thunder, on wrapping the blanket around her, picked her up and started walking towards the safe house. "It's been a while since I carried someone so pretty" he said. Curiosity consumed me and I had to take a peek. She had long black hair and, like all other Arrivals, there was dirt all over her. As I was staring she started squirming and a bit of the blanket came off her chest. I turned away blushing but Thunder just pulled it back up. "Your a feisty one aren't ya" he said chuckling.
It felt like hours passed by since I sat down next to keep watch over her. She would sometimes squirm but otherwise she was in a still sleep. I kept staring at her hair and wondered how it would look if it were managed. I reached forward to touch it when her eyes suddenly sprang open. They looked everywhere until finally they rested on me. She had bright auburn eyes. She stared at me as if she was trying to recall where she had seen me before. "what's your name?" I asked. She ignored me and started looking around again. After a few seconds she finally looked at me again and asked with a tiny hoarse voice, "Alive?". As soon as she asked Thunder came in. "Awake? What's your name then love?" He was smiling at her flirtatiously and bent for her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Your hitting on her as soon as she wakes up? And her name is Live". His smile broadened and her eyes widened with curiosity. "it's a pleasure to meet ya. Lets get to know eachother better after you get to know everything else here better, save the best for last." he winked at the poor girl and looked at me, " you know the drill". He got up and walked away leaving me with a now more dazed and clueless Arrival.
