#12
Summary:
Michael and Gavin are both teenagers in the Great Depression. One night, while both are riding the trains, they make the decision to adventure together until they abruptly get put to a stop.
Ever since the start of the Depression, I was on my own. My mother and father kicked me out when I was ten, telling me that I had to take care of myself, that they couldn't care for me anymore. I wasn't exactly mad at them, but I wasn't happy either.
Life wasn't easy. Most nights I would fall asleep hungry. The cramps and pains in my stomach never seemed to let up and I had forgotten what it felt like to have a full belly.
That aside, there was the upsides to being a nomad. I had finally accomplished that sense of adventure that I had been striving for since I was young. Plus, I had met some pretty great people with some amazing stories to tell.
"Alcohol can really take the pains of hunger away. Especially if you get drunk enough," Geoff had told me.
"Being nice can get you a full belly. You should try it sometime," Jack had said.
"Have you ever thought about resorting to cannibalism? I feel like it isn't all that bad." Ryan had told me.
"Sometimes you gotta just take caution to the wind and say, you only live once," Ray had said.
I remembered spending long nights in the boxcars talking to each of them. They were my favorite people I had met through this. Geoff and Jack had actually taken me along with them for a little while before letting me go with the new knowledge they provided me.
Tonight, I was sitting in the boxcar, alone, the moon my only source of light. I let the sounds of the train and the rails lull me into a dozing state until I heard the familiar huff of breath and clamber of someone get on the train.
I blinked open my eyes and stared at the newcomer.
He was gorgeous.
The moonlight made his bright blonde hair look shiny golden. His green eyes looked silver green and his features stood out upon his handsome face.
"Hello," He whispered to me, before sitting on the opposite side of the boxcar, away from me. He had a heavy accent that I hadn't heard before, which made me curious as to where he came from.
"What's your name?" I asked him, hearing my voice crack in an awkward way. Damn puberty.
"Gavin. What about you?" He asked me, his voice making its own pubescent crack.
"Michael," I said. We stayed silent for a moment before Gavin got up and made his way closer to me.
"You sound my age. How old are you?" Gavin asked me.
"Thirteen," I told him. He nodded and said he was twelve.
"What's up with the weird accent? Are you from Canada or something?" I giggled slightly, remembering my father impersonate a Canadian.
"No. English. My family came to America during World War I so they didn't have to be sent off to war," Gavin told me. I nodded, taking note that Gavin's family was apart of the allied forces.
We had talked the night away, making me forget about where I was supposed to jump off and search the streets for food. This Gavin guy was actually quite interesting. Most interesting person I'd met on the rails so far. His advice that he gave me was so much for meaningful and lengthy than what the others told me.
Eventually dawn light began to stream in through the doors of the boxcar and I reminded myself that I had to get off at the next city as to not get caught by the engineer. Gavin knew this as well, and acted as though he were preparing to jump off as well.
I clutched onto my blue backpack, not wanting to say good bye to Gavin just yet. He was the only person other than Ray that I had met that was actually around my age. Plus, Gavin acted lonely, as if he could use a companion in this new harsh world.
So, when the next stop came up, I asked him if he would join me in my adventures, if he would tag along and be my companion. He had responded with a happy 'I thought you'd never ask' and that was that.
Days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months and months turned to years, but Gavin and I went on. We were still nomads, even by the age of seventeen, Gavin sixteen. We still rode the rails, every night meeting a new set of children that we would be helping instead of getting tips from. Every set began to look up to us and I heard our names being tossed around with the team name of Team Nice Dynamite. Gavin and I had become a type of celebrity among the younger children.
But, with age, food became incredibly sparse. Adults no longer saw us as the cute, young, starving children. Once in while we got lucky and found food in trash cans or an elderly woman would give us something but most days we had nothing to eat.
In December of 1934, food was so sparse that Gavin and I had been going day after day without food. We would walk the streets of a new city from dawn to dusk, only to have no food, empty stomaches, and crushed spirits.
Tonight, we were hoping to catch another train to New York City, just because it was more plentiful with people and had a higher possibility of food.
I raced after the train and easily leapt into it, pulling Gavin up with me. He crouched on the floor of the boxcar, heaving for breath, which was fairly unusual for him. I watched him in worry as he began dry heaving and coughing.
"You okay?" I asked him as I settled against a wall, pulling him back with me.
"I don't know. I've been feeling really dizzy and it's only getting worse," He informed me, leaning into me. I shuttered when I realized he was a lot skinnier than I was. I could feel every bone jutting out on him.
"Your starving, Gavin. Why don't you try resting," I told him, feeling him falling involuntarily into my arms.
"No... I can't," He whispered, almost pathetically.
"Why not?" I asked him, holding him closer to me.
"Cause, if I fall asleep, I'll never wake up," He told me, resting his head on my shoulder.
"Why do you think that?" I asked, hearing my voice waver.
Gavin struggled to sit up and when he did, he looked me dead in the eyes. I remembered the first time I met him, those beautiful silvery green eyes that I fell in love with almost instantly. He still had those beautiful orbs, but now the once vibrant, adrenaline filled and excited depths had a defeated and tired look to them.
"This is it, Mi-cool. I'm done. I can't go on. I honestly don't think I can stand up and I certainly can't walk," Gavin told me.
"What... What are you saying?" I asked, my voice cracking as I tried desperately to believe this was a dream.
"I'm gonna die, Mi-cool," Gavin told me, slumping against me again. I wrapped my arms securely around him, pushing my head against his.
"No, you're not. You're gonna be fine," I told him.
"Mi-cool, please don't make this harder than it has to be. I'm terrified. What's death gonna be like for me?" He asked me. I could literally feel him shaking in my arms, whether it be from the cold or his fear.
"I... I don't know... I heard it's not painful. Are you in pain?" I asked him.
"No... Just really tired," He whispered. I could feel him letting more and more of his weight fall back against me and I realized in that moment that his own body was giving up. He was actually about to die.
"Gavin," I whispered.
"Yeah," He asked, his voice coming out cracked and barely audible.
"I love you," I told him, pressing a kiss to his head.
"I love you too, Mi-cool. I love you so much," He whispered.
As his final minutes came upon us, I held him as close as possible. His shaking stopped and he closed his eyes, hugging me as tightly as he could, even though it was like he was barely holding on. I willed myself not to cry until after he was gone. It wouldn't be fair if the last thing he saw was his lover crying over him.
I felt him begin to heave as he fought for breath. I knew he was in a deep sleep so I rubbed his back soothingly as his heaving breaths turning to shallow ones and eventually stopped altogether.
Gavin was dead.
"What happened to Gavin?" A little girl asked me.
"What will eventually happen to all of us," I told her, letting her curl up next to me so she could warm up. Her brother curled up on my other side and clutched onto my arm.
I smiled at the both of them. Usually this was something Gavin would do for the younger passengers on the train but seeing as he was gone, I had stepped up and taken his place. I really wished I had joined in sooner. It was comforting to let these little kids curl up next to you for warmth.
Once they were asleep, I looked up at the moon and stars. I missed Gavin. I really did. Most nights I wondered if I should let myself starve as well. But then I'd be reminded of something Gavin told me a long time ago and I'd continue on, despite the constant ache of my heart.
"The world will keep turning without me, and I expect you to go on without me as well, just as I'd keep going without you."
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Sorry I haven't updated this in forever. Also, I'm sorry this prompt is kind of out there. I had this idea a while ago while I was studying the Great Depression and I thought it would interesting to do a quick writing piece on this.
If you enjoyed this, please let me know! I'll greatly appreciate any feedback you have to give me.
Thank you for reading!
