Wasteland

Chapter Eight

Frey-

 The sensation of my head spinning and my nose aching sprang me back into reality. Dreams of the void were left behind and my eyes opened and delved me into a new scene. I was in a room that featured a set of closed double doors, red carpet and an “L” shaped desk that sat in the centre of the circular room. There was a second and third door located at the back of the room and one to the left, but the back had been forced open to reveal the pristine white corridor beyond. Engrossed in conversation were three new people: a woman, a man and a child. The woman was dressed more strangely than the others, wearing a wide brimmed hat with a tight lacy dress that emphasised all curves. The child, however, was younger than myself by a few years, but clearly had more experience in whatever this was because of the way he talked. He spoke quickly with an accent, so I couldn’t really understand much of what was said, but he spoke with full confidence. The man seemed mute. He had said nothing, only acknowledging anything with the dip of his head. He was hairless. No hair could be found growing on his skull and his skin had patterns spiralling across it instead. He looks strange, I thought to myself. It was as if he had both dark and light skin. I tried to move but I found myself bound to something behind me. My wrists were tied with a thick rope made from what seemed like grain, and they were pulled in a tight knot that dug into my wrists.

 “Shhh. You move too much. They’ll notice we are awake if you keep that up.” Jason’s voice made me jump a little, but I realised I wasn’t tied to something, but someONE. 

 “Sorry” I whispered back. The three seemed to be having a merry old time, chatting away. I caught words like “Cryo”, “Status” and “Awake” but the general population of words were missed by my slow mind. 

 “Oh, crap…” Jason said finally. “They found them.” I was confused, but before he could elaborate there was a loud crashing and three faint cries were quickly silenced. The trio inside with us became alert, seizing their weapons and advancing towards the sounds. We were left alone. It was as soon as they had turned the corner when Jason burst up out of his broken bonds and quickly retrieved his gear, leaving me helpless on the floor. Once he had secured Elisia, his knife and a box of ammunition, he cut my restraints and hauled me to my feet. Two shots rippled the air around us, and Jace grabbed me by the hand, pulling me towards the door on the left. With a simple turn of the handle I could tell it was locked, but expertly, Jason slid his knife blade down the crack in the door and released the lock. We barely got inside the dark corridor beyond the door and the young child erupted from the back door, clearly terrified. The question of why was quickly answered. A man stepped out after the child. He was solidly build with short cropped hair and stood tall at a height of six-foot. His very presence scared me. With the agility of a fox, the big man moved his weight silently to the door and exited. There were cries of recognisation, then gunfire. The man was probably a goner, but as we hid the cries got quieter and quieter. They were getting further away. After around ten minutes, Jason squeezed my hand.

 “We need to get out of here. Come.” The door opened quietly into the deserted room. The coast was clear. I took a gland down the back hallway as we passed. I instantly regretted it. A pool of blood seeped out of the holes in the marked man. He must have been on the receiving end of those shots. The wooden doors that served as an entrance to this room had been left open, and I could see what seemed like an excavation site. Memories of the Great Collapse flood back; the day I lost my mother, the one person who truly knew me. They were washed away in the reality of the situation as I had to focus on not slipping on the boards that were soggy from melted snow which were threatening a broken ankle upon a fall. Up and over the lip of the excavation successfully without a scratch revealed we were on the outskirts of the city, to our front were the bones of ruined buildings, and behind us was a forest. I was dragged by the hand around the edge of the pit and with wrist teasing dislocation, finally lead into the depths of the forest.