Taking Route East, Not Calling "Home" • Twenty One Pilots

TRENCH: 1.0: chapter ten

a/n: The siren sounds in the first chorus of "Jumpsuit" sound like the ones in "Goner" to me. Am I the only one who noticed that?

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Tyler awoke the next morning, scrambling for his clothes after swinging his legs out of the tangled blankets after waking up. His mind was running as he was just going too fast for the moments that passed by at their constant tempo of a clock. Tyler undressed and redressed into his work clothes, shoving his nightwear into his almost-empty dresser and taking his bag. Before leaving the rusty apartment, claimed by a monochrome society, he bent down into his trunk, taking the same flower he examined the night before.

Four left to live at the bottom, one by one they'd fall.

Tyler looked to his kitchen, sighing at the thing. He never used it, and never really needed to as breakfast was served at work and he usually never took it. He shrugged, turning to the door and leaving, locking it behind him, nodding at the people passing by as he walked to the mines.

The mines of Nico tower were the source of the monochrome colors of the city. The lowest of classes worked here, and they mostly consisted of rebels. Tyler recognized many faces as he went that morning, most of them smiling hopefully at him. He took a muffin from the bin as he put on his hard hat. He threw his backpack into his locker, not locking the door as he took his rusty pickax from the inside out, thrusting it with his hands.

"Well if I live and breathe. Tyler Joseph." 

Tyler turned around, seeing a face he hadn't seen in a very long time. The blue eyes and pale skin of his old friend Mark complimented him, a highlight to the day. He hugged his friend, whose eyes were green from the safety goggles. The only one who wore them, it was his trademark.

"It's been too long Mark." Tyler replied, Mark nodded.

"I'm waiting for the next mass, you?" He asked, smiling. Tyler smiled back.

"That's great, I'm probably going to be the reason for it." Tyler replied, workers around them smiled, acknowledging Tyler subtly.

"You're a legend down here man. They're ready for you." He said, Tyler looked at him as if he were crazy.

"Man, I'm just trying to leave. This job is pointless. What are we? Stanley Yelnats?" Tyler asked, Mark shrugged.

"I don't know, but hey if you need your back said, I gotcha covered. Just tell me when." Mark said, winking. Tyler was correct in his assumption that the guard would be absent today, and he just smiled at it. Nodding.

"Is he gone already?" Tyler asked, whispering as others tried to lean into their conversation. Mark looked to the side of Tyler, a long winding hallway to the mines was where it led to out of the locker room. The path that cut int he middle that was usually blocked was lit up in blue. Mark smiled.

"Looks like baby boy is too tired today." Mark said, laughing and rubbing his hands together. Tyler nodded, smiling.

"We can ditch now if you want." Mark said, Tyler shook his head.

"We wait. We can't have a mass right now, you'll all die." Tyler whispered, Men started to line up with their gear to mine for twelve hours. Mark sighed.

"You know as well as I do ninety percent of us would rather die trying to get out of here than die in here." Mark replied. The warden of the job stood in front of the door.

"Alright, your shift starts now! Bathroom breaks are allowed to start in an hour so those who need to go better hold it in! You all better be ready you have a long day, Nico will be mad if that building on street 10 still doesn't have enough stone to repair it by the end of the week. Go!" He yelled, Tyler sighed, looking to Mark and rolling his eyes. Mark sniggered as they ran down the hall, most of the men looking at the empty exit astonished but unable to leave. Tyler smirked at it, knowing he had to leave within the hour, retrieving his bag to do so. The flower was in there, and without the flower, there would be no point to leave.