Remainers

Lost Mementos of the Past, Part 8

Caleb awoke just as the sun rose up into the sky. He emerged from his tent groggily and drank from his canteen as sunlight began to cast over the empty New York City. With the demolition imminent, everyone working in the city up to that point had been evacuated to a campsite a distance outside the city, which was where he was now. As he sat down and absentmindedly chomped on a piece of hardtack, he noticed Hope groggily emerge from her tent.

"How was it?" Caleb asked as she sat down beside him. "Working as a demolitionist, I mean."

"Exhausting," Hope replied as she stretched out her arms. "I thought knocking down buildings would be pretty easy work, but there's so much prep work to make sure nothing does more damage than is necessary."

"So I guess you're not interested in continuing work as a demolitionist?"

Hope grimaced. "No thanks. I spent all day washing off the dust and grime from the rubble. I'd rather not do it again."

"The demolition's today, right? That'll be exciting."

"I guess. It might not happen right away, but it'll probably get blown up by the end of the day."

"I see." Caleb looked out at the city with a somber look. He hadn't known it for long, but he had spent so much time here over the last two weeks that he knew that he would miss it once it was gone.

"What about you?" Hope asked blithely. "I heard you'd had quite the adventure. You sure you're okay with how it all turned out?"

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know. You just seem... a little listless, that's all."

Caleb was surprised. He didn't think he'd have heard such an empathetic statement coming from Hope of all people. It was such a shock that he ended up being more honest than he meant to. "I guess it's complicated. It's not for me to butt in on."

"What's that? You mean you've learned delicacy after all this time?"

Caleb smirked. Now she was cracking jokes. "Sure. Why don't we leave it at that?"

After a little more time, Hope got up and left to speak to the other demolitionists. Caleb, having finished breakfast for the day, made the decision to take a walk through the city one more time before the demolition began. As he approached the city limits, he noticed Kai standing to the side jotting down notes in his clipboard.

"Hey, Caleb!" Kai shouted out as he spotted him walking up. "You need something?"

"Just thought I'd go for one more walk through the city," Caleb explained. "Is that all right?"

"Er, as long as you make it back in a couple hours," Kai replied awkwardly. "Aside from a few last inspections, we're going to start blowing buildings up soon."

"No problem." A jolt of curiosity ran up Caleb's back. "Hey, have you seen Mina yet?"

"No. She should still be at the relay tower, right?"

"So she isn't back," Caleb sighed. He gingerly took out the poster he had found and held it in his hands. It was laminated, so it wouldn't fall apart that easily, but he was still worried about something happening to it before he could hand it off to Mina.

"I wanted to ask you something," Caleb said as he handed the poster to Kai. "This woman... she's related to Mina somehow, isn't she?"

Kai looked at the poster and raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised you could tell. You're right, though. This is Mina's mother, back when she was an up-and-coming actress."

"That explains it. I wondered why Mina would go so far for a movie, even if it was her favorite. You could have told me, you know."

"What would that have changed? You were already willing to help her anyway. Besides, knowing that wouldn't have helped you find it faster anyhow."