The Dying Generation

Chapter Nineteen

I laid there in silence, warm, from his hand being wrapped around me. I was growing bored from the long trip I was going on to God knows where. Yet, kinda curious.
What was his plan to do?
Waltz back into his house with me and assume everything will be fine after technically stealing me from the lab?
Since all they are going to view me as is an object, right? So, I'm now property..

His fingers twitches, drawing my attention down to them. They tightened around me, my curiosity peeking.
He pulled me out, being introduced to the dark world.

I was held in his fist, I held onto his fingers for reassurance. I could finally see Alton now, he had brought me out but kept me low like he was still trying to hide me.
He looked a little mysterious, almost sketchy with the dark blue jacket's hood over his head and his brown hair blocking out his eyes. The only thing that really stood out from his shadowy face was his nose piercing that shined in the street lights he had passed.

I glanced around the area. It was dark, a little chilly. Not a soul was to be found.
"What's the plan?"  I asked, looking up to him for the answer.

He brought his left hand up, brushing it over his head, taking his hood off of his head.
"I'm taking you to a friend's."
He brought me closer, to the back of his head. Placing me in his hood that hung at the back of his neck.

I sat up, leaning onto his shoulder with the other half of me in his hoodie. So I was right by his left ear.
"To your friend's? Do you actually have a friend that is not a future thug?"

"Well he doesn't hang with the right crowd but he's not a bad guy. Just a little stupid. You've met him."

I looked at him confused, even though he couldn't really see my face, I'm sure my silence told him about my confusion.
I thought back to his friends, all of them were crazy! Except, for one...
"Parker?" I looked up to him.

I took his silence as a yes.
"What about you? Are you going to leave me?"

"For a bit."

"Why?" I could feel the worry pound in my heart.

"I'm going to go back home to get some things, and I want to see how it all plays out the next day. It's just until tomorrow."

"But about Cedric, he'll know it was you when they realize I'm gone."
I felt worried for Alton. Since I technically belong to a lab, and I am the only human that they know of, I'm going to be a big deal. That means, perhaps bigger people will get involved. It's not just gonna be a simple: oh no, she's gone.

If Cedric's boss finds out.. he doesn't seem like he's a very stable guy. If he gets the idea that Alton may be behind this.. he may get Alton put in jail for real.

"I'm kinda hoping it would throw him off that you're not with me and if I play dumb. Having the type of friends I do, I'm not bad with lying either."

I sighed, and sunk back down into his hood. Laying back on it, it felt almost like laying in a hammock. Swaying a little side to side as he walked. I stared up at the nighttime sky, seeing all the billions upon billions of stars that shined brightly in the pitch black sky.

"Are you sure I won't have to worry about you being thrown in jail?"

"Pfft, I'll be fine."

I laid there for a moment, wondering where my future will lead. I pulled my glasses off of my face, taking the bottom of my shirt and cleaning them off.

"If you're coming back tomorrow, are you going to leave and go back-"

"No." He interrupted, staring ahead.

I stared at him seriously, I paused wiping my glasses off and just stared at him with shock.
"No? You aren't going back? Are you really running away?"

He didn't answer.

I pushed myself back up to how I was before, leaning on his shoulders. I gripped the fabric of his jacket so I wouldn't slide off.
I placed my glasses back over my eyes.
"Alton, don't run away just because of me. Don't make me the reason that you're leaving home."
I told him, having a bit of a pause.

"No, you are the reason I opened my eyes."

I remained quiet, waiting for him to say something else, anything else.

"What is the real difference between me and you?" He continued.
"You are practically one of us, my dad can't just let you go through these things just because you're human. Just because you're smaller."

"Cedric is only trying to support you." I spoke up.
"Without your mom, he's trying to find a way to support you financially. With the type of boss he has, I can see why it would be so easy to lose that job. I'm suppose to be nothing but a job to him. I was given to him as a task. If he really didn't care, I would have been suffering even when he was around. He's probably the only thing that was protecting me from enduring extreme tests."

He was quiet for the longest time, I thought he wasn't going to say anything in response to me.
However, he did.
"If I stick around any longer than I planned, he'll eventually find out it was me. I can only fool him for so long. They'll use me, and find you. If I'm going to keep you safe, I can't stay with him.."

I looked down slowly, easily sinking back down into his hood. I hate that I'm the reason why he's running away from his dad, however his reasoning was true.
So what was the plan? To keep running and running all my life? Running to the ends of the Earth? Or the ends of Novis?
Where can I even go? I wouldn't want to get Parker in trouble for being involved.
Going to the human world? Isn't there nothing left? Isn't everyone dead? What's the point? There's two ways I could go at this point that would be the only outcomes possible.

One, go to the human realm and survive for however long until I get viciously killed by a cannibal?
Or two, get caught by Cedric and his boss and be taken away to be tested on and for Alton to go to jail?
Maybe I should have stayed behind...
I may would have been suffering, but at least I wouldn't have gotten Alton in trouble. That way only one takes the pain for everyone else.

I felt tears form in my eyes. Taking my glasses off and wiping at my eyes with the sleeve of my jacket. I placed my glasses back on and stared up at the sky above. The light swaying from Alton's walking made my eyes begin to get a little bit droopy.

I yawned, curling up in his hoodie and closing my eyes for what was only meant to be a moment, turning out to be a lot longer.