Tyme

IV

When she could finally shoulder the lie, the man-made sun had turned a deep red, warning the dwellers of the cavern that it was going to be dark soon. Tyme sat in front of a window, watching the people gather in the dusk, all gravitating toward the building August had taken her to.

She knew she should help dish out the rations, but something, some sort of reluctance, kept her pinned to the window. She wasn’t in the mood to blend with the crowd. Their laughter, their grins, it all disgusted her. The world was dead, and here were these people, living screwed up lives. And they were happy. They shouldn’t be happy. They should be doing everything in their power to survive.

Her anger slowly faded to a dull acceptance, and slowly, she made her way downstairs. The warm scent of soup filled the air, soothing the remaining fury that seethed in her veins. Humming quietly, Tyme slipped into the room, finding the food unattended. Strange…

“Hey!” August’s voice boomed, startling the lone girl, anger and desperation in his voice. “Wha’ the hell, man?”

Something was very wrong.

“Mr.Knight had a few loaves of bread stolen by a culprit that, shockingly, sounds exactly like you. I was ordered to… Look around.” An unfamiliar voice, cold and emotionless, responded. Tyme slowly made her way to the room she had first come in through, poking her head around the archway. A man, dressed in what seemed to be a yellow Hazmat suit, faced August and Pan, impatiently trying to get around them.

Pan caught Tyme’s eye, and subtly, he flicked his hand toward the man. Tyme shook her head, not sure what he wanted her to do. Sighing, Pan turned to the man, pointing at the girl in the doorway.

“She’s been ‘ere the whole time. Why don’ you ask her? We didn’t steal nothin’. Right, Tyme?” Her jaw dropped. Did Pan seriously just throw her under the bus? No, no, not under a bus. In front of a train. The man turned his gaze on her, a sudden hunger filling them. A smirk crossed his face, and slowly, purposefully, he made his way over to the bewildered Tyme. The man’s gaze wandered, looking her up and down, the hunger seeming to take possession of the man.

“Did you see anything, girl? You can tell me, you know. Charlie.” A sadistic smile plastered itself across his face as he offered his hand to her. Glancing past his shoulder, she caught a glimpse of the two stuffing the rationed bread into some sort of tiny device. So she was the distraction, was that it? Holding back a sigh, she returned her gaze to the man, smiling as best she could as she daintily took his hand.

“They were home all day. Pan was sleeping, like always. And August was tinkering away with his machines.” She glanced over his shoulder again, and seeing the two were still working desperately, she stretched her smile wider. Pan was going to get it when this creep left. “Dumb, don’t you think? I don’t know why I live with these bums. They’re not even respectable men, just boys.”

“They aren’t, huh?” Chad, or Charles, or whatever his name was, had snaked his way uncomfortably close to Tyme, his arm inching around her shoulders. The pair had finished dumping the bits of bread into the contraption, August struggling to pin it in Pan’s hair. A small smile crossed her face; normally only girls pin their hair back with a clip. Revenge was sweet.

“No, they’re not. All the respectable men are up on the surface. Such a shame.” Purposefully, she removed the man’s arm from around her shoulders, slinking over to the pair, leaving him in utter shock.

“Thanks.” August hissed. Pan grunted in appreciation, refusing to make eye contact, his face startlingly red. Stifling a giggle, she nodded, facing the man.

“You’re just wasting time here. There’s nothing.” The man, who had been completely collected before, was losing himself to anger. He laughed at Tyme’s statement, his eyes filled with black fury, then turned and stormed into the room where the soup simmered. Pan quickly pushed past, running after him. Tyme caught August’s eye, who in turn, shrugged and headed after the others, the girl close on his heels.