Trashmouse

Kid in the Dark

Chapter One

Jamison Fawkes looked out into the distance, squinting in the bright Australian sunlight. He was standing on the roof of his playhouse, pretending to be a pirate searching for treasure on the high seas. The five year old mumbled to himself words he'd heard on TV on his favorite show, Plunderers' Cove. 

"Ahoy, m'hearties! Captain Jamie on board! Gimme your pieces of silver or I'll set me parrot on you, ya scurvey-ridden rodents!" Jamison, of course, had no idea what any of this meant, but he thought it made him sound quite cool. Plunderers' Cove wasn't the only TV show that he didn't really understand. There was also something called The Current Affairs or The News, which mentioned things like Omnics and Bastions and carpet fraud. Little Jamie, of course, wasn't very interested, and would often run off to his room or outside to the garden while the grown-ups talked about something or other. They always seemed worried when they talked. Jamison didn't understand why, when they could just as easily be happy like him and play all day instead of thinking about boring things. 

CRASH!

A sound that almost ripped him apart with its intensity alone. Another CRASH. Then a BANG. Then a metal arm that knocked him over with one swift movement. 

"Surrender now, human" It said in a deep, unnatural voice. Jamison was scared. This didn't sound like a normal man or woman or boy or girl. Nor did it look like one. This... thing, whatever it was, looked like a Lego figurine, but it was huge and metal and clearly didn't like him very much. But Jamie was stubborn. He got back up on his feet and crossed his arms like mummy did when she was angry.

"No! I won't surrender! I dunno what that even means!" The robot snarled, or rather made a snarling sound, although Jamie could not tell where it came from. It swiped at him again, as though he was a mere fly. Then, while he was down, the robot placed its huge mechanical hand on Jamie's body, trapping him. The fingers moved ever closer, and Jamie was suddenly afraid. He screamed and squeezed his eyes shut. He didn't want to see this robot man anymore. But he could still hear the voice, coming from nowhere. 

"Jamie!" His mum came running out and from that point onwards everything was slow motion like the movies.

The robot let go of him.

It turned towards his mum.

It shot her. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6... too many times to count.

His mum screamed, a sound he would always remember. The sound of someone who he thought was invincible finding out that she was, in fact, not bulletproof.

Jamie turned away.

His dad rushed out. 

Too many bullets. The same scream.

Jamie curled up in a ball, fear paralyzing his entire body, while more gunshots rang out.

Chapter Two

It was a very long time before Jamison Fawkes opened his eyes again. And what he saw horrified him. He saw nothing. Literally nothing.

His house was gone, rubble littered everywhere. The playhouse had been flattened. And his parents were nowhere to be seen. The robot was gone too, so he supposed that was good news. The sun had gone down by now, a shiny egg yoke in the purplish sky. It was almost beautiful, at least, it would have been if the atrocities of the past few hours had not happened.

But they had happened, and now Jamie had staggered backwards to flop down on the ground. For the first time, he realized how alone he was, and it scared him. Where were mummy and daddy? Why weren't they here with him? Where was the house? Where were his bed and toys? When he called out, why didn't anyone answer him?

"I'm gonna be brave!" Jamie shouted out to nobody in particular. "I'm gonna go out an' I'm gonna do everything by myself and I ain't gonna cry! An' if I can, I'm gonna find mummy and daddy and bring them home because they're lost and I'm not so I'll find them!" Armed with this new facade of confidence, he set off, past the ruined fencing and into the road.

It was very quiet. Normally, there would be cars and people walking down the street but this time there was no one. Not a single person could be seen. There was debris everywhere, though. The street was a mess of wrecked metal, wood and various construction materials just strewn all about everywhere. Jamie picked a sliver of what might have used to be a car up, and held it in his little hand. It glinted and shone in the hot air, where he could also see a strange haze in the air. It was very thin, nearly transparent, but it made his lungs hurt when he breathed in.

"Mummy, what's thi..." He trailed off, breaking into sobs of grief. He wanted mummy to tell him what to do now, and where to go, and how to do it, but he couldn't because she wasn't here. It hit him again like a punch in the gut. Mummy and daddy aren't here now, he thought. What if they aren't here tomorrow? What if they never come back? What if... his overactive imagination went places that they shouldn't have gone, and once again he broke down crying.

"Well lookie here," said a gruff voice from the shadows. "Whoizit? Come outta ya hidin' place, wherever ya are," Jamie stiffened. He knew that he should never ever talk to strangers, but he was alone now. Plus, this voice seemed friendly. He walked forward tentatively, almost tripping on a bit of broken swing set.

"Ah' gotcha now, kiddo. Ya with me and m'boys now, 'kay?" The man had tight brown curls plastered on his head and an angry beard, but he looked like he cared. Jamie nodded, and held his hand as they walked away together. Suddenly, the little boy stopped in his tracks and turned back to look at what had been his house.

"Dun' do tha', kid. It's gon' remind ya of before. Let go. Ain't gon' help ya,"

Jamie averted his eyes, and walked away for the last time.