Our Mutual Destruction

Chapter 2

Adlyn's POV

Adlyn walked. And walked. And walked. And did something. Guess what? She walked. It took every ounce of her willpower not to break out into a dead sprint and run screaming for the ash-covered hills. She knew that if she would, it would be the end of everything. But, oh the temptation!! It was so difficult to ignore the impulse to whip out her knives and gun and start destroying androids. Chances were that she would only get through two of them before the others ripped her apart. But still.

The thoughts kept her busy. Busy enough for Adlyn to be able to ignore the voices in her head.

The ones that told her everything she didn't want to hear. The ones that argued, no, insisted that everyone she had ever cared about was dead. In the rational part of her brain, she knew that she couldn't stop to listen to those damned voices, but she couldn't help it.

Stop walking. You're not going anywhere.

What are you thinking? You're only going to get yourself killed.

Destroying Zayne? Seriously? 

Oh god, please, shut up. PLEASE.

If only they would. Adlyn was tempted to shake her head, like her old dog Bruno after a bath, but she knew that even the slightest human action could cost her everything. And she couldn't fail.

The plains were vast. Gigantic. Everywhere she looked, she saw those things that the androids had created. Somehow, they didn't seem to notice one creation out of line. Maybe it was the amount of weapons that were strapped all over her body. Maybe it was the fact that she still had all her clothes and one or two extra. Whatever it was, Adlyn didn't want to get close enough to find out. 

It took all she had to stay calm. To keep her thoughts under control. To try to stop her mind from venturing  into that black void of time which she couldn't remember. All she had as a clue was the tiny, almost invisible crescent shaped scar on her neck. It looked like she'd dug her one of her nails in too deep, but the scar refused to go away. 

It seemed days later, but at the same time, like only seconds had passed, when Adlyn finally reached the end of the plains. She turned carefully, making sure with the utmost scrutiny that she was actually safe. Abandoned ruins were easy to find, since they were almost everywhere. This one looks like a school. I wonder if there were children here when it happened. I wonder who died here. Could I have done anything to stop it? Is this my fault?  

In the rational part of her brain, Adlyn knew she was being absurd. She knew that it wasn't her fault. That she couldn't have done anything to stop it. Yet the voices were still there. Demanding attention like a hungry cat, like the one Adlyn wanted to take home when she was 6.

The Lost Men seemed a lifetime ago. An era ago. Yet it had only been about a week since she left them with pleas for justice and vows for revenge ringing in her ears.

It took all she had to keep herself together. To slowly, methodically, place her gun on the floor and click the safety off. To unbuckle her knives and their various sheaths, and place them within easy reach. To unroll her coat and her one small blanket into some semblance of a bed. To lower herself onto the ground, like an old woman sick of life. To lay back, and attempt to find some small shred of comfort in the knowledge that she had survived another day.

But the comfort wouldn't come. The black void beckoned, but sleep stayed away. So Adlyn began to do something she hadn't done since she was very little.

She talked to herself. In a hoarse, croaking voice raspy with disuse, she did her best to pretend that everything was normal. That it was all okay, and that life would get better soon. 

"Today is Day 9. I've been walking for about 7 hours to cross the plains. I'm really tired, but I can't sleep. I'm lonely, but there's nobody else around. I think I'm broken, but I have no glue to put me back together."

Her voice cracked on the last word.

And Adlyn drew her knees up to her chest and cried.

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There we go for Chapter 2. Don't forget to comment and make me smile by clicking that star!