back 2 back

Paper Spaceships

By the time the sun sinks just below the blazing red horizon, they come up on their destination. Nestled between two massive sand dunes lies an old, unsafe looking building. It's huge, only getting bigger and bigger as they speed down the dust covered road.

Luka throws up a hand in some sort of signal and leads them into a roofed structure, a giant door swinging open for them as they get closer. From outside, Till can hear a mix of whirring, clanging, and screeching and noise is cacophonous, even as they have yet to enter. Once the door is open, the sound explodes around him and his ears pop unpleasantly. He barely notices when Mizi sidles her bike up next to Luka's and yells, "This is the motor pool! As you can see, it's kinda loud—!"

"Heads up!"

As if to prove Mizi's point, a shout and a very loud crash! cuts her off and Till's head swivels towards the source of the noise. His eyes nearly fall from their sockets with how wide he's opening them. Various vehicles and machinery fill the vast open space, countless men on giant floating platforms to reach the tops of the biggest machines. The sound was what seemed to be a giant metal arm that had lost its grip on a vehicle, sending it hurtling to the ground.

Luka and Mizi cruise the bikes to the back of the room and come to a slow stop, turning off their bikes and sliding off. Till's brows furrow when he sways on his feet, legs feeling like they're made of cafeteria jiggly, not to mention how bad his ass hurts from sitting on that stupid seat for so long.

He glances around, eyes slowly widening as he takes in his surroundings.

The vehicles, some as big as his cell back in the Stage and there are lots of them. They dot the motor pool, each one surrounded by a duo or groups of people, thoughtful looks on their faces. Some carry tools, some are lying on sliding boards, tinkering with the underside of the vehicles, others clamor around inside them, knocking out windows or putting them back in. That high-pitched whirring echoes throughout the motor pool, making it hard to hear Mizi when she calls for him.

Till tears his gaze away from one man, ultra concentrated and working passionately as he sprays color onto a bike, so much cooler than the ones they rode that Till actually has it in him to feel jealous among his shock.

"Like I said, that was the motor pool," Mizi says over her shoulder as he jogs to catch up, propping Hyuna up as they stagger forward. "It serves as a place to store and repair vehicles at our convenience." She looks like she wants to say more, but a glance down has her backtracking. "But Hyuna really needs Medcat, so we're heading that way first."

"Medcat. . . ?" Till echoes, brow arching in a silent question.

"You'll see." Luka smirks but peels off from them, heading in the opposite direction with a wave thrown over his shoulder. Till quirks a brow and watches him leave, and he's sure the blatant judgment is plain on his features.

Mizi throws her head back and laughs a while before sighing, something disgustingly fond painting her face bright pink. "Couldn't wait five minutes, huh?" And while Till knows it's not a question he's supposed to answer, he shakes his head, a little lost. Mizi's smile widens. "Come on, infirmary's this way."

Mizi readjusts her hold on Hyuna, wrapping her arm around her hips to avoid the wound, and Hyuna's arm slung over Mizi's shoulder. Till wordlessly assists her on the other side, hoping desperately that the blush isn't visible in the dank light and the three of them move forward together.

Mizi leads them deeper into the building and they pass countless rooms and bays, some larger open areas with tables and chairs and couches. People pass them every now and then and they nod at Mizi in acknowledgement, but completely ignore Till in the same breath. He doesn't mind at first, but it happens over and over again, to the point where he's thinking, How big is this place where they see a new face and don't even think twice? Is that Mizi and Hyuna's influence?