The sleepers

Chapter 5: the outside

Helicopters are loud.
I don't know much about helicopters, but I can for a fact, tell you they are loud. I was currently seated in a very loud one that was crawling above the ruins of the outside.

I've only flown to the outside once, they took us out there so we could see how "lucky" we were to be safe.
I remember my first thoughts being "why do we call them ruins?" Because it wasn't like you saw in old fashioned movies where buildings had crumbled to oblivion, the earth was cracked open and tumble weed blew down the streets. The outside was not completely visually destroyed, but you could see slight signs of chaos. Rubbish covered the streets, Windows had been smashed, and graffiti veiled the streets, but the sun still shone and more importantly some greenery was dotted about.

Felix tapped my shoulder and I retreated from my window.
"YOU EXCITED?" He shouted over the noise of the blades
"I CANT IMAGINE ANYTHING WORSE"
Although I couldn't hear it I could tell Felix was laughing, the corners of his eyes crinkled and dimples appeared, while his shoulders slightly shook.

Abruptly a shower of loud pinging noises, that were unmistakably bullets, fell against the helicopter door. I quickly retreated until I my back was pressing into Felix. Felix throws me a concerned look before leaning over to a guard and shouting something incomprehensible. The helicopter tilts upwards making us climb higher and the bullets are still shot but fall short missing the helicopters metal, Felix turns to me his features angry
"WE SHOULDN'T AVE BEEN FLYING SO DAMN LOW" he shakes his head "IF VONE OF ZOSE BULLETS HIT SOMETHING IMPORTANT.." He moves one of his fingers downwards, then makes a kaboom motion with his hands.
When my expression doesn't change he repeats the motion and shouts
"ZA KABOOMING VAS US"
I nod grimly "ARE WE GOING TO LAND"
"AS LONG AS VWE DO NOT LAND ENYWHERE NEAR ZA GUYS SHOOTING AT US"
"WHOS SHOOTING AT US?"
"LOCALS, SURVIVORS, PEOPLE WHO ZONT LIEK US....SO NEARLY EVERYONE"
Smiling and shaking my head I lean back and wait.

Not much later the plane starts to lower again and the two guards grab large machine guns that were hanging on the wall. They sling the guns over their shoulder and take a seat as the helicopter lands. The door next to Felix is already open and one of the guards jump out before us pistol in hand. Felix grabs my hand as we step out of the helicopter and the guard sets of with us following closely behind.

We had only been in the outside for 4 minutes and I was already hating it. This world had a sense of dread that not even Felix could ignore, and he walked with a grim expression plastered on his face.
There was little to no moisture in air and couldn't help but hear the guard on my left rasp every now and then, like he was in constant irritation as he breathed. I placed a hand to my own throats and thought about the little a-cells that were working their magic right at this moment. Walls of buildings had been brightly painted with spray paint, and I could read the the words God is our saviour. I moved to the base of the building and ran my hand along the base of the roughed wall, thinking of how these people could still hold onto such a faith as their own God left them to die on this wasteland.

I turned to Felix, "do you believe in god fe?"
A smile curled at the edge of his lips "I sink zats a trick question"
"What?"
He lifted a hand to his head and ruffled his hair "vwell if I tell you I don't believe in god, zen I'm going to hell, but if I say I do believe in god and zere is a different god to the one I believe in out there, then zat god might get pissed and send me to their hell, so I think I vill keep my thoughts to vyself"

The guard who had been rasping earlier nodded his head and spoke, his voice layered in a thick accent
"you're to right kid, once you die you ain't get no bloody say in what happens to you, pretty much the same as when you're alive. Hell when you're alive it's still pretty crap, 'specially now. If you ask me; gods a dick"
The guard in front of us shook her head "let's just stick to the tour Reggie"
Reggie threw back his head and a noise of coughing and laughing mixed together erupted for him
"sorry Julie, forgot you're a Buddhist, though if you ask me there's little to jack of anything to be reincarnated into."
Julie scowled "I didn't ask"
Rasping put his hands up in surrender "alright alright"