District Shade

Jack Bonlow.

My dream was so good.
I started to daydream, and eventually overslept.
I did feel a silent movement outside my dream.
But It was hard to believe it was the lady and suddenly woke up. By the way what is her name.
I ignored that thought, until a bright light affected my sleep, I still slept though.
Then I heard a faint gasp, it sounded a bit like
Tom
After that gasp a shout. Oh what now.
"Jack! She's awake!"
From those words I sat up and jumped for joy.
I felt the guilt fade away, I was very happy.
Tom said in a calm voice
"How do you do?"
She managed from her condition to pull up a thumb.
Tom and I could see that she was still weak.
And so Tom opened his mouth again and said that she needed rest more.
But from those words she heard how weak she is and almost over a week she realized she was sleeping in.
She nearly fainted from that.
But managed to fight it.
And after awhile, she just sat there. We looked at her and she looked at us.
It felt very awkward. Quietly I pulled Tom out along with me of course.
Don't ask me why, because tom already did.
I answered, "maybe we should just leave her alone for a bit".
Tom asked back again,"why don't we ask her where she lives, or Who perhaps is she?".
I shook my head. "You can't ask mutes who don't know how to do sign languages well"
Tom stood curious, "what does that mean?", (I sometimes think I'm smarter than him somehow.)
"It means what it means"
(But I do know he's older)
"She's.....?" Tom Asked confusedly.
I nodded,(why is it so hard for him to understand?)
That one sentence didn't even hide a meaning.
While he thinks it over how to communicate with her. We heard a rattle from the kitchen.
More like footsteps and pans clanging to surfaces.
With no fear I stepped in the kitchen floor.
Flashing the lantern over to a strange light figure.
Over sometime I panicked, how White it is.
And realized it was just the lady.
I asked her why she was there instead of resting.
I also knew she was mute of course.
I just couldn't help my mouth. Tom walked in.
Standing in cower like I'm talking to an undead person. Turns out it was just nothing.
All he sees before him are two people standing and only one of them holds the light.(that's me)
Though we thought we scared him off.
But after a few minutes (were still standing)
Tom came with something on his hands.
A pencil and paper. (Easier than before since you can see instead of feeling it)
She, the district known person,"Steve" knew where this is going. I remember just now that she was called Steve. The one they think who is Steve.
I remembered some stories about Steve, but I don't think she was the Steve behind THIS story, there was this boy, (yep boy, probably not that lady) he's an orphan.
He's really loud. One day foreign unknown un-encountered people came.
The fight for land is what they've only brought. But this Steve is not involved with the war, neither was he aware of it. Awhilst the war began, there was no explosion at first.
So he kept walking feeling like the town has been abandoned. But an ambush awaits.
He shouted for anyone. Then the foreign people were alarmed, so they began shooting.
Little Steve hid beneath the abandoned roofs. After awhile, the gun shooting stopped.
He peeked visibly, enough for the foreigners to see.
(They already saw) a gun straight for Steve's head but the bullet heads gave Steve's chin a thick scratch, it hurt his jaw bone. Steve pulled back and touched the aimed spot. Blood streaming as he confusedly cries on his hiding spot.
He didn't know what was going on.
But he knew it wasnt something good.
After awhile, the savage screams in war still continues. Steve still stayed on his post.
Sobbing himself to sleep and tries to forget the pain. He did sleep though.
Not in a comforting way, but little did he know,
The war was over, His people won.
But looking at the massive destruction of war,
They looked it down and bid it farewell.
As if the war was overall useless.
The people travelled in an army of homeless civilians. Looking for land and finding shelter.
And as for Steve, he stayed underneath the debris.
Awakened, he heard no screaming and heard no fire nor explosions. Even more confused, weak and scared he peeked through a hole. (Not visibly duh)
No hidden gun-men, no people of his kind.
Nothing but tumbleweeds and ashes with dust.
The grass turned brown and the sky gone dark.
All this for land that got lost in the end.
Steve eventually got off that land and find a town.
A new house to sweep the chimneys.
(Hopefully that's one job he can take)
The sun shone at him angrily, Steve was so dry, Thirsty and he can't even release those tears waiting to come out. After a while nobody really knew where Steve have gone to.
Many assumed he was driven here too.
Nobody really knows their pasts.
Here especially.

Even me.
Jack Bonlow, how did I know my name you say?
I didn't, and so I made it to myself a new name.
For this name was the first thing that popped out in my mind.
I don't know why. Tom himself too can't explain.
Except he wasn't the one naming himself tom, I called him that.
Good o'l Tom harps.
Tom handed her the papers. As she starts writing.
Tom impatiently looks while she writes on it.
While waiting for reply I grabbed me a snack.
An apple.
A simple little apple. From the kitchen away from the two elders.
I took a bite from it, and noticed juice oozing out, a lot of juice. Tasted a bit like rust mixing with dozens of disapproving flavours.
The apple's skin felt soft like it was rotten.
Just how weird and ugly it tasted.
I put it down, immediately I drank water.
Spitting every taste I bit from that apple.
I still knew where I left it.
It might not be an apple, I was sure of it.
I grabbed the lantern and face it to my little snack.
Only to know that I've eaten not an apple.
But eaten a spider. A large brown hairy spider.
That's why my mouth felt tingling.
Its blood still coming out and guts exposed.
Feet still moving on its dying minute left.
Upon that picture I vomited.
And never stopped.
Tom and the lady still on the other side.
My lantern collapsed as did I on my own vomit.
Shuddering mixed with twitching movements.
For awhile I'm still vomiting.
And also for awhile I was running out of digested food to release. And so I was forced to vomit my own blood. My eyes bulging and giving out tears.

I started to get weak, still lying on the spot.
It feels like, I don't feel anything on my skin.
I move very little, but my auditory senses can still work. My eyes closed, just darkness.
Then Tom I hear mentioned me.
I opened my eyes. To look over yonder.
My light faded, and so I see another one coming to save me. Or is it.
There came the white lady.
Maybe I'm saved, for now.