Aer

5

'I just don't understand'.
'It's no one's fault'.
'No, she was okay'.

'Accidents happen,' Aaron takes his seat across from Alex 'The Freaks came out of nowhere, I lost someone today too'.
Alex sighs 'Charlie, I mean, come on, just doesn't seem real'.
    'Well, it is'.

   Alex never thought he'd be having this conversation with Aaron, he didn't think he'd have anyone to grieve, apart from his brother but there's no chance Conor would go up.

'I should've just gone up,' he says 'Why did I just stand back?'.
'Well, we've your part anyway'.
'That's not going to bring Charlie and Daisy back is it?' He pushes back some tears.
'No but it will stop more from dying,' Aaron says.
'I just....' Alex sighs 'Okay I'll get to it, see if it's working'.

Alex gets up, he doesn't feel anything, it's strange. He walks for the door when Aaron calls him 'I'm sorry, Daisy and I go way back'.
Alex tries to smile and leaves, Lily brushes past him.

     'You feeling good about this?' Lily hisses 'Are you happy now?'.
'Hey,' Aaron frowns 'you didn't have to do what you did, but you did'.
'Oh, whatever,' she says 'I was following orders'.
He rubs a hand down his face 'Well it's not like you killed them'.

   'Well, Daisy got hit pretty hard'.
    'You hurt her?'.
Lily frowns 'Well how else was I meant to leave them behind?'.
'I....' he shakes his head 'I'm not good at any of this stuff, I just don't know anymore'.
   'Don't know what?'.
'I don't know what I feel anymore, I feel like I've no set personality, I don't know who I am'.

Lily sits across from him 'This happens to all leaders, it's tough and you've to make tough choices, do I agree with your anger against Daisy and Charlie? No. But it's your call and these people follow you for a reason, just be careful'.
'Just be careful,' he repeats and sighs.

     'Morning,' Daisy smiles at Charlie as she hears him sitting up 'You're looking a lot better'.
'They're not bad burns' he says 'I'll need to have it looked at or something but it could've been a lot worse'.
   'That's very true. You have bad dreams last night?'.
'What do you mean?' He frowns.

'You seemed distressed, mumbling, like you were having a nightmare'.
'What are you doing?' He looks at her rummaging through a drawer, changing the subject.
'I need a weapon or something, gonna head out see what's going on around and hopefully, we can get to that camp, I need fuel too' she says.

  'I'll come with you'.
   'You will not'.
'Daisy you could have a concussion,' he says.
'I'll be fine, my arm isn't hurt like yours'.
Charlie leaves out a long exaggerated sigh 'Weapons are in that chest'.

Daisy follows his finger and opens a large black chest, she takes out a machete, it's extremely sharp, it could slice through anything.
'Good choice,' Charlie says 'You know how to use a bow?'.
'No,' Daisy says.
Charlie lifts his burnt arm, wincing as he does so 'I'll show you someday when this is better, it's handy to know for hunting and range'.
'I'd like that,' she smiles 'Will you be okay here?'.
    'Of course'.
    'Well, I will be back soon'.

   Daisy keeps scanning the area, unable to relax and take in the beauty around here. Charlie had told her they cleared the place of Freaks, but she still had to be careful. Daisy's being too careful, too paranoid.

She's not even sure what she's doing in all honesty, she just wanted to get out and clear her head. She thinks she'll probably just do a loop of the tower, go back to that garage get fuel and head on to that camp. She finds herself lost in thought.

   'Hands up,' a voice comes from behind her.
She freezes and raises her hands, she turns slowly 'I'm not trouble'.
'Either am I, girl,' it's an older boy, probably hitting the 18 mark, he's very handsome in a tough way, he has a large scar going across his face with brown eyes and brown hair, cut like Alex's, he is a tall boy but has a good build 'what's your story?'.

'Nothing,' she says 'I'm just out for a walk'.
'For a walk?' He looks at her carefully 'It's pretty dangerous around here, you not have a camp?'.
'What's your name?'.

The boy smiles widely, he somehow has perfect teeth 'So you're asking the questions now? My name's Darcy Brown, but I go by Dars, any more questions?'.
Daisy shakes her head 'No, just don't trust you, don't know you'.

'Well,' he smirks 'let me think of more information, I'm 18, was from Nenagh, my mother was a horticulturist, father was a paramedic. My camp is just up the way, it's a tourist resort, I'm the leader, it's walled, safe, we're good people'.

Daisy looks him up and down, he's quite scary looking but she feels something, she feels like she can trust him, not from what he says but there's something about him 'I'm Adriana Shea, but you can call me 'Daisy''.

'Daisy?' He frowns 'How'd that come about?'.
'My family called me that,' she smiles to herself 'I used to love flowers, I used to always make my brother wear daisy chains'.
He smiles 'We all have something don't we?'.

'I'm in that watch tower, I'm with a boy, he's been injured, his arm has been burnt,' Daisy says 'We need help'.
'Alright,' Dars says 'I'll go back with you, we'll bring him to my group, we've a good doctor'.
   'Okay, thank you'.

    They spend the whole way back talking about one thing and another, every change of subject makes Daisy grow fonder of this stranger, she can't put her finger on it. Perhaps because he's the opposite of Aaron, he seems calm, Aaron is always so tense and serious, he can't talk about anything other than the bunker.

'I've seen this tower,' he says 'could never get in, saw it was in use, wasn't a place for me'.
Daisy takes out her pass and the gates open 'You wouldn't have been able to get in anyway'.
'Very smart,' he looks down at the pass 'There are generators so?'.
Daisy nods 'Not much fuel though'.

   Daisy brings Dars to Charlie, who's sitting up in the bed as if he's ready to go somewhere.
'This isn't fuel,' he frowns.
'Dars has a group, a safe camp with a doctor'.
'So we're just picking up every stray we see?'.

'Attitude,' Dars says quietly to himself 'I can leave if you want, let your arm get worse'.
'Nope, I'm coming,' Charlie gets out of the bed 'And only because I need a doctor'.

Daisy looks back at Dars, who doesn't seem impressed with Charlie's attitude, it's all just an act, Daisy knows this, she can't do anything only tell him to cop on.

'I'm just being honest,' he replies 'I need this arm'.
'I understand,' Dars says 'Look I'll give ye some space to talk, I'll be down at the gate'.

     Alex and Lily wait for their eyes to adjust to the light, Alex isn't too bad he has his gas mask on already which shades his eyes a bit from the sun.
'Lily,' he says as she closes the bunker hatch.
   'Yeah?'.
'Can we go to the garage?' He asks.
Lily sighs 'I knew this would happen'.

   'Please Lily, I wouldn't feel right not going there'.
Lily thinks, and thinks quickly at that, Charlie and Daisy could still be there, waiting, but she hurt Charlie bad and they'd have to go get shelter for the night too.

She has a feeling they're in the watch tower she and Charlie always went to, nobody else really knew about it, especially not Aaron.
'Okay,' she says 'if it makes you more at peace but we've to be quick'.

    They make their way to the garage, it's a quick walk. Lily's heart is in her throat as they get closer, she desperately searches for any signs of life but it seems quiet.

'No blood,' he says, looking around.
'Freaks dragged them away,' she says quickly, perhaps too quickly as Alex frowns at her but leaves it pass.

   He opens his bag and takes out some fake flowers, daisies. He pulls out two slabs of wood with 'Adriana 'Daisy' Shea 2003-2020' and 'Charles 'Charlie' Atkinson 2003-2020' carved into them.

Lily's heart breaks slightly, she didn't normally care, in the heat of the moment she always cared but not afterwards, she got over it pretty quickly. But not this.
He places the slabs of wood against the door and securely places the daisies in so they don't blow away.

'Come on,' Lily says 'we've to get this part done and out of the way before the sun goes down'.