Arkdays [Pre-load]

Prologue 5

"Come back soon," Morgan whispers softly, so inaudibly that Shia and the Doctor cannot hear her.

The two wave back to Morgan as she watches them through the hole in the city wall they crawled through. They stand on a small hill bordering the wall, one that's just high enough to climb back into the hole they came out of. They then slowly depart from the city.

A few minutes later, Shia asks the Doctor a question.

"Rei is our newest operator, right Doctor?"

"Yes," he replies.

"Why didn't we tell her?"

The Doctor stays quiet.

"She looked so lost. So hurt," Shia adds, tears welling up in her eyes. "Why didn't you tell her?"

"Rei said many things when she came to Augustia. She had not mentioned Morgan. She didn't say anything about her past. She asked us to not dig into her past, either."

"So we value a new, possibly dangerous operator, over our friend?"

"Our operators are the reason we can continue to save others. Without people like Rei, we couldn't have helped Morgan," The Doctor replies, unable to look at Shia's tear stained face. "We'll talk to Rei once we get back."

The walk away from the city is a quiet one, neither of them wanting to voice their opinions on the matter.

"Don't stare at the ground too much, you're gonna miss out on the reason we came out here in the first place," The Doctor says, poking Shia in the shoulder lightly. "Not that there's much to see out here anyways.

The world around them stretches out far beyond their vision as a never ending field of plains. Small hills occasionally rise from the ground, but the vast amount of their sight is covered in a long never ending flatland of grass and weeds. There are little trees in sight, and they're nearly indistinguishable from the terrain at the distance they're at. Not to mention, the perpetually cloudy skies make everything seem a bit more dreary. The only notable thing would perhaps be the large rolling hills behind the city, which help protect it from the wind. However, the hills are only big enough to be just beyond the width of the city, thus mostly being hidden behind the taller buildings and skyscrapers.

"It's darker than I imagined," Shia states, looking around the skies above them.

"It wasn't going to suddenly get brighter as soon as we left," The Doctor replies, a slightly pessimistic tone in his voice. "It never seems to be that way anymore."

The two continue walking until they find themselves at a small hill, which they then stop at to take a quick break.

"Transport knows we're out here, right?" The Doctor asks, checking his watch. "Could just wait until they come pick us up."

"Y-yeah, you're right," Shia stumbles on her words before regaining her composure. "Let's take all the time we need, Doctor."

    The two stand there for a moment before the Doctor decides to sit down, his legs stretched outwards. Shia sees the opportunity and lays down with her head in his lap, facing the city. Before long, The Doctor is softly running his fingers through her hair.

    "I miss when times were like this, Kai," She begins, a small smile on her face. "Things have gotten busy. Not to mention the time you locked yourself in the lab for a few months..."

    "I suppose I did worry some people," The Doctor laughs nervously, scratching his head. "The stronger this disease gets, the more my habits get worse. Hopefully this new medication can lower its effects."

    "I wasn't worried about you, Kai," Shia responds, turning her head to look at him. "But at least let me spend some time with you next time you pull a stunt like that. I was lonely..."

    The Doctor doesn't respond, not wanting to make any promises. He wishes with all his heart that he could make said promise, and keep it true for the rest of his life. But he knows that likely won't be the case.

    "Your hair has gotten so long," Shia remarks, turning her head to look up at the doctor. She watches it blow around slightly in the wind. "You didn't cut it while you were working? Doesn't it get in the way?"

    "I didn't have the time to cut it, unfortunately. My breakthrough required almost all of my undivided attention, so I usually just put my hair in a ponytail for the time."

    "Well, don't feel like you have to cut it," Shia adds, feeling like she tried pushing him into a decision. "It's quite beautiful. We'll just have to clean it up a bit."

    The Doctor nods, then turns his attention back to the city. Shia does the same.

    "The clouds are so dark today. Think it's going to rain?" Shia asks, looking once again at the sky above her.

    The Doctor ignores the uneasy feeling in his stomach as he looks at the sky.

    "I don't remember there being rain on the forecast. But our tech isn't always right. Hard to track the weather when the sky is almost always filled with a cloudy cover."

    The two watch the clouds pass by overhead, enjoying the quiet atmosphere around them. Slowly, the sun starts to peek through a small hole in the clouds, illuminating the city.

    "What do we do if Rei doesn't want to see Morgan?" Shia asks, looking back up at the Doctor.

    "I'm not too sure," The Doctor responds, leaning back and then laying down on the grass. "Maybe we'll see if Morgan can help out somewhere in Augustia, secretly of course. She seems good for some of our more... questionably legal tasks."

    "Can she keep those a secret?"

    "Hell if I know."

    The Doctor and Shia stay quiet, Shia very well near falling asleep.

    "The sun feels nice," Shia adds, basking in the warmth the sun is just now giving them, shining it's last few sunbeams before it eventually gets smothered by the dark clouds.

    "Indeed it does."

    Eventually, the two find themselves drifting off to sleep.

    What awaits them in their next rising is not the sound of an approaching vehicle, nor the fresh soft wind tickling them awake. The rain does not fall, the sun does not shine. What awaits them is darkness the two are all too familiar with.