Into the Unknown (A Shortney Story) (Discontinued)

Reparations

Olivia

It didn't take long for Olivia to find Keith. The lack of wind on the day kept his footprints fresh. It was almost like Keith wanted to be found. Which, knowing him, he was.

It normally wasn't Olivia's style to play peacemaker. Ordinarily, Keith and herself would get into these debacles. It would be Shayne that would get them to make peace, or at the very least, come to some sort of armistice.

The roles were reversed this time. Well, Keith's was actually the same. He was petty, and stubborn, and clinged to certain ideals. Passionate. That was probably a better word. It was a good way to describe Olivia. Her brain was strange, both Keith and Shayne have voiced that opinion many of times. But one thing was certain, is that Olivia cared very deeply. About herself, about the world, and certainly, about her friends.

Over another dune, and he appeared. He was gazing off into the horizon, facing away from her and the sun. She approached him slowly, not entirely sure of what to say. It was one thing to spend time with Keith normally, another thing altogether to try to calm him down.

She was upset with Shayne for keeping the information from her. Why wouldn't she be? He had betrayed her trust. It wasn't the fact that he wanted to leave Earth, it was the fact he didn't trust her enough to tell her before they got the opportunity.

However, she could understand. They had discussed this hypothetical before. Shayne always said if he left the Earth he would seek out knowledge and learn more about the universe. Keith wanted to meet more people. Olivia wasn't sure what she wanted, but maybe she just wanted a moreness. Something more than searching for the next source of water. Not wearing the same clothes for months at a time. Something like that would be nice.

Keith was still as she made her way over to him. He stared up into the sky as if he were searching for answers.

"Hey," she greeted, now only just beside him. If he was surprised to hear her voice, he didn't show it.

"Hey, Olivia," he greeted back, morosely.

"I know why you're mad," she stated simply.

"And you're not?"

"Yeah," she admitted. "But I get why he hid it. I mean, you're not exactly the kind of person to take things in stride."

"No, I'm not."

Olivia but her lip, contemplating what to say. The truth is, she empathized with the blonde. Maybe not to the fullest extent, but she knew where she was coming from. The only problem was getting those feelings through to Keith. He was famously stubborn.

Suddenly, she had an idea. "Keith?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you remember when you, Shayne and I first met?"

Keith glanced at her. His curiosity written on his face. "Yeah, I do. Why?"

Olivia frowned. The memory was bittersweet to her. In fact it was life changing, for better and for worse. "You remember? You remember when you guys met me I was quiet?"

Keith nodded. "It was like you didn't trust us."

"I didn't. And do you know why? It was because of my dad."

"Your dad? Shayne and I thought he died."

Olivia shook her head. Tears pricked her eyes, and forcefully blinked them away. "No." She swallowed, as her voice was noticeably thick. "No, for a few years he and my mom both took care of me."

"So what happened?" Keith's voice had changed to a more curious tone. Olivia didn't like to talk about her dad. Her mother she talked about often, however.

"The three of us were a part of a small community. There couldn't have been more than 20 of us. Maybe a dozen, I don't know. I was a little girl, the only kid in the community, but I remember trying to help everyone. Everyone did their best to take care of each other.

One night, Dad and everyone else just disappeared. We searched for three days before we started to give up. When we were packing up our stuff to move to a new location, I found a scrap of paper. It was torn, but it looked weird, like drawings. Anyway, I took it back to my mom and she told me I found schematics."

"Wow," Keith muttered. The realization was starting to hit him. "I'm sorry."

"My mom and I did the best we could to survive. I was still little, maybe 9 at the time. It was just me and my mom for the longest time. She did whatever she could to take care of me. She would starve herself just to make sure I was fed properly."

Olivia looked up towards the endless blue sky. She remembered the nights she softly cried herself to sleep, just wishing for a better life for her and her mother.

"When we met, you two were surviving on your own. Mom had been sick for a week."

"I remember. The two of us would find food and bring it back while Shayne stayed with your mom and tried to take care of her."

Olivia nodded. "When Mom... died." She choked back a sob. It had been just over a year, and it was still hard to talk about. "I blamed Shayne privately."

"You blamed Shayne? But Liv-"

"I know," Olivia shushed him. "It was unfair. But it was why it took me so long to warm up to you guys. I didn't talk much at all when I first met you two. You thought it was just because I was being shy, but the truth was, I blamed myself for everything that happened. If it weren't me, it was Shayne. It took a long time to stop being angry at him, and start being angry with only myself."

"You can't blame yourself, Olivia. You didn't get your mom sick. You didn't deserve to be abandoned."

"I don't know," she replied mirthlessly. "I told myself it's my fault. If I just made Dad love me more I could convince him to take us with him. I should've taken care of mom. She'd still be here if it weren't for me."

"Liv," Keith put a hand on her shoulder. She didn't even mind it. "None of that is your fault. Your dad's an asshole, and there was nothing you or Shayne could do to save your mom. I'm sorry."

"I know, thanks Keith," she sighed. "The point is: I have an idea of what Courtney is going through. It might not be as extreme, but I know what it's like to be abandoned. To have the people most important to you die. Then, to only have you two idiots be my only companions."

Keith chuckled, and she could see a small part of him start to reconsider. "You think we can trust her? She's one of them."

She shrugged. "She might be. But Shayne seems to trust her. If any one of us is a good judge of character, it's him."

"But still, to go to space... I don't know if I can do that. Even with you guys."

Olivia frowned. But then, something else occurred to her. She turned on her heel, and made a step as if she were headed back. "Suit yourself. I'm gonna put my faith in her and Shayne. Besides, dying in space sounds a lot more fun than being stranded on this hellhole."

Keith raised an eyebrow as he watched Olivia start to walk back from where they came from. As he watched her go, he had to admit that she had a point.