placebo's machine

Realized 16

Realized

“You’re back early today,” Gabriel commented dryly.

It was true. The sun had only just risen, and there was a fair bit of chill in the air, so much so that Eva had donned the clunky coat she wore to town. “I-I, um...” she tried to stutter out an excuse.

“Well, I guess I’m just that interesting, then,” Gabriel grinned, propping up his chin on his hand. “Shall I continue?”

Eva sat down eagerly, scooting forward.

“So...Leah and Mary, right? Well it wasn’t just us gallivanting around the forest. A little bit later- not very sure- this guy named Elijah showed up. Tall-ish, but shorter than Leah. Wavy brownish hair. He was so- so- there’s not a proper word for him. Over the top, I guess. He was always spouting off these ridiculous phrases that seemed forced but were supposedly romantic or dramatic or something. For a while we just-” He broke off and gave her a weird look. “Can you fly still?”

Eva touched her back. “Yes. Why shouldn’t I?”

“It’s just- I can’t tell you. I would, but I shouldn’t. I’ll just skip over that part, then,” Gabriel said. “So... We were all together for about a year. We got supplies in the woods from the Facility. Don’t know why. But some of us started to lose hope. Leah...she was the first to go. One day all of it was too much- it was cold- she was hungry- and we had been living in a cave for too long. She let out this unearthly scream, and ran out, even though it was daylight and the Patrollers were out. She flew up to the top of this cage that covered the enclosure and started rattling it and crying, shouting. We ran out, but she was the only one that could still fly for- reasons. We had to watch as a Patroller just walked by and scooped her out of the air. Took her away.” He looked down at his hands. “We never saw her again.”

Eva wasn’t sure what to say. “I’m sorry. That must have been awful.”

Gabriel shook his head. “That’s just the start of it. After that, we started getting careless. Mary went out one day- it was really hot out- and she was afraid the food would spoil. She said she would be back by sunset, but...well, she wasn’t. She never came back. Sometimes I wonder- I wonder if she did it on purpose. Because her best friend was gone. Did she just walk out there and let herself be taken?”

Eva didn’t say anything, out of fear that she would shatter whatever was making her hold her breath. Like it was precious that he would be telling her all this.

She didn’t want that moment to break.

Gabriel sighed and started again, his tone a bit thick. “So it was me and Elijah left. We did pretty well, for a while. Then we took a risk one day. We thought maybe the way out involved staying outside while the Patrollers were out, like a door opened during the day. We were looking for it when a Patroller found us. We were sprinting, but there was no way we could outrun it. So all of a sudden Elijah just stops. He said, ‘I’ll stay behind. Let them take me. You can go.’ For once, what he said didn’t seem forced or cheesy at all. Just a bit sad. I took one look at him, nodded, and ran off, back to the cave.”

He looked off, around the shed, as if trying to find the memories, like they could come and save him the trouble of having to tell it all. “And it was just me, for a while.”

“Until?” Eva prodded, feeling as though there was a bit more.

Gabriel gave a half-hearted nod. “Then, about a long time later, I met you. You were sobbing and hugging a-”

“Pine tree,” Eva finished breathlessly.

He looked up, surprised. “You remember?”

“No,” Eva said. “I still can’t.”