Innova

CHAPTER SEVEN

Devian sighs and stops what he's doing. He thinks for a bit before talking.

"Okay," he goes, "You know how this planet used to be called Earth?"

I nod my head. "Well after the parasite infected just about everyone, things were pretty hectic. People killing and looting. No one was safe. That went on for about two hundred years."

I gape at him. Two hundred years? He looks over at me to make sure I'm listening before he continues.

"Those two hundred years are referred to as the Bleak Years, but they're more commonly know as the Blood Years, seeing as that was the only thing significant about them. After the Blood Years and the invention of Remedium people became more... civilized. People started farming again, teaching again, writing again, trusting again. And after that came Avis."

I am still so confused.

"But what is Avis?" I ask.

"Avis is what the world is now, and has been for the past three hundred years. There are no countries. There are cities, yes, and they each have different laws, but the cities are all a part of Avis. This is no more Earth. There is only Avis."

He pauses then adds, "And Innova."

"What's Innova?" I'm quick to ask.

"This is Innova."

I think about what he said as I sit on the counter and gaze at the ground. This is Innova. What does that mean? The Dome is Innova? But what is Innova? Or rather, what does Innova mean? Is it the name of the Dome? That seems like the most plausible answer. But he was confusing when explaining Avis to me. I still don't get what it is. If Avis is what the world is called now, than why be so cryptic about it? There is no more Earth. There is only Avis. What the heck does that mean? I know that there is more to this. Avis and Innova aren't just names. They're something different, something more.

I yawn and hop off the counter. "I'm taking a nap," I say to Devian as I stretch and walk to my room. "Wake me up at 13:00!" I shout out to him as I enter my room.

I don't even wait to hear his answer as I plop onto the bed. As soon as my face hits the pillow I'm out.

Someone is trying to wake me up. This person obviously doesn't value their life. They keep on shaking my shoulder though, oblivious to the murderous thoughts racing through my head.

"What?" I finally mumble into my pillow. "What. Do. You. Want?" I ask them.

"It's 13:00. You told me to wake you up," says a distinctly male voice.

I quickly roll over and flail around for a bit trying to get away from the intruder. After I finish making a fool out of myself that's when my brain finally decides to say, Oh, wait a minute! That's Devian!

Thanks a lot for the help, brain.

"Oh it's just you," I breathe out with a sigh of relief, closing my eyes. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

"You're very dramatic," he points out. I look at him for a bit trying to think of a good comeback. None of the ones I come up with are very mature so I just roll my eyes at him.

He rolls his eyes at me too before leaving my room.

I lay in bed for a bit and stare at my ceiling. After I had moved out of Children's Block and moved here, I had painted my ceiling black and added little dots with glow-in-the-dark paint for stars. Since the Lights are on in the Dome the stars are a light gray. I don't know why but every time I look at it this feeling of nostalgia fills me. Like somethings missing, or somethings not right. I reach out my arm to the ceiling. I let it drop back down to my side.

Sighing I roll out of bed and grab a new outfit to wear. I choose a long sleeved shirt and leggings, both black of course.

I quickly take a shower and change. The sleeves of the shirt cover my knuckles and I tug them further over my hands until I can grab the ends in my fists, completely covering my hands. It's a weird habit.

Walking out to the living room I see Devian passed out on the couch.

Awwww. He's sow cuwte.

I mentally roll my eyes at myself and walk to the kitchen, hunting for snacks. I find some white peppermints and put those in my mouth, sucking on them while I look for some real food.

I sigh as I search through the last cabinet. There aren't any snacks. My peppermints gone too.

I don't know why I'm so hungry right now. Honestly, this isn't like me. I turn back to the living room and see Devian staring at me.

I jump about three feet. I thought he was sleeping. "What're you looking for?" he asks.

"Food," I saw woefully. He sits up all the way and rummages through his bag. A few moments later he pulls out a silvery rectangle. Devian holds out the rectangle to me. "Want some?" he asks.

"What is it?" I ask while stepping forward and grabbing it.

"Granola," is all he says.

"What's granola?" I ask. He just stares at me for a bit before answering, "Food."

I bite back a snide remark and rip open the silvery foil. A sweet, appetizing scent fills the air around me. The 'granola' is a light brownish color and seems to be made up of bits and pieces of different things, mainly small ovals. I easily break off a small piece and stuff it in my mouth.

Glorious.

I close my eyes. "This is so good," I moan, taking another bite. I sit down on the couch next to Devian, slowly eating the little piece of heaven.

"I want to see you try cake," he says.

I spend the next ten minutes interrogating him about cake. It's not a normal conversation by far, but it's the normalest one that we've had. After our conversation does out and we're left in silence, I get up to go get ready to meet the police officer at the address he gave me. I don't have much to do, just my hair which I leave down anyway.

Soon I'm heading out the door. I don't tell Debian where I'm going. Even though he's helped me so far, I get the feeling he wouldn't hesitate to slit my throat if he thinks I'm putting him in danger. I close the door behind me and take a deep breath.

Here we go.