A Universe for Aizia

Phase 3: In Motion

We walked for thirty miles without seeing a village; there were trees and rocks and rivers, meadows and clouds and bugs, but no people, no Pigs, no civilization. It was hot, and sweat dampened my back. I glanced at Auden from time to time, just to make sure he was still there; we walked in silence, saving our breath and counting our steps. Auden's footfalls were light and noiseless, never crunching any leaves, never scuffling through the tall grasses. If I didn't foucs on him, I wouldn't have even known he was there.

I thought about the surface world; I hadn't been on the surface in such awhile. Everything seemed different, though. I mean, it was really the same thing as always, but something about the way the light filtered down through the leaves of the trees or the way the water spilt over the river rocks seemed... alien to me. I was so used to the mechanical, artificial world above, where everything was regulated and "natural" didn't exist that maybe I'd forgotten how the world was supposed to be. The more I went through the world, however, the stranger it felt.

I wondered how Auden was taking all of this. He'd been born and raised in that floating metal contraption; I was certain that his feet had never even touched the ground before we had made our escape. Yet, he appeared to know exactly what he was doing on the surface world; he navigated smoothly and surely, more confident in his actions on the ground than I was. The sun sparkled against his vibrant hair, and his eyes lazily scanned the horizon in wonder. He looked at home, despite the fact that his real home had dumped him here.

I walked looking straight ahead, no longer seeing the landscape, already tired of the exploration.

When I was younger, I used to hear of people who left their homes to live in the woods, away from Pigs, away from people in general. Walking through the trees with Auden, I couldn't imagine why anyone would ever want to live out in the wilderness.

I still do not understand how anyone can function without people.

It took me a moment to realize I had stopped walking and was breathing heavily. Auden advanced a few more steps before turning around. I sat down in the grass, wrapping a dandelion stem around my finger until the tip turned purple; release and repeat. He sat down next to me and casted a look of concern towards me, accompanied by no words of comfort. I broke the silence for him.

"It's weird without anybody around. I'm kind of at a loss, you know? I've always been a part of a group. I feel like everything I do by myself, for myself, is worthless, like if it doesn't benefit the group it's not important. Know what I mean?" I said, pouring my heart out.

Auden nodded sympathetically and considered his words, gearing up for a comforting speech.

"No, I think you are very wrong," he blurted out instead, to my disappointment. He got up and motioned for me to follow him.

We continued our dull trek through the forest, me searching for fellow humans and Auden apparently searching for something else. The sun set and the moon rose. We walked in the dark; we walked in the silence. I shuffled my feet through the dried leaves just to create sound. I felt utterly alone even though I could hear Auden breathing softly just a few feet away from me. His off-white clothing glowed softly in certain patches, where the moonlight found its way through the leaves above. There was a square shadow on his right pocket where the box was tucked away. I tried not to think about it.

Auden continued to walk long after I thought we should have gone to sleep. Or maybe we had gone to sleep long ago and I was experiencing some terrible, endless silent lonely nightmare. Maybe I had died and was spending eternity in Hell. Maybe we'd walked into some parallel universe, with nothing but trees and grass and moonlight. Maybe I just needed some sleep.

"Maybe we need some sleep," I suggested, my voice cracking in the silence.

Auden turned around. "I suppose so," he shrugged. We walked a little longer until we came to a sufficiently open clearing. Auden pulled the microfolded sheet out of his breast pocket and spread it out across the ground. I sat down on the corner and relaxed my muscles, which I hadn't realized were tensed for most of the walk. I rested my head on the sheet and breathed deeply. Auden stood off to the side, fiddling mindlessly with his collar.

I scowled at him, standing around uselessly. "Aren't you gonna sleep? Or do you want to just stand there all night?" I asked, hoping to get a rise out of him.

He blinked at me, but his expression remained blank. "I plan to let you sleep while I keep watch. I am sure these forests can get quite dangerous at night. We will have to sleep in shifts." Auden hesitated a beat then turned silently and headed toward a tree on the perimeter of the clearing; he climbed it without making a sound.

I silently cursed myself for not thinking of the idea first. But soon I was staring blankly up at a sky full of stars. I used to enjoy finding the constellations when I was little; I liked to make my own up too. The stars looked colder than usual.

Maybe this was a parallel universe. Or maybe I just didn't like living on the surface anymore.

I turned in my bed of sharp grasses. Maybe I wasn't really cut out for life in the sky; after all I had gotten myself thrown out. Even Auden made a better soldier than me.

I shuddered. If I didn't belong on the ground, and I didn't belong in the sky, where did I belong?

I needed people. I needed my friends. I needed Markus.

I slept. And as I slept, I dreamt of a small box containing a single blue eye.

++++++++++++

Auden sat in the tree for several hours, quietly researching on his phone. He glanced over at the Infirman every now and again to make sure she was still breathing. For a specially trained rebel, she was quite useless. He thought several times about just abandoning her and going on his own. But, in truth, she was vital to his plan.

But also, in truth, he hadn't entirely worked out his plan. The girl had been unexpected, but looking back he wasn't sure how the plan could have worked without her. She was an important cog in a different machine than she thought.

Auden placed the box carefully on his knees. He gently grabbed the severed ear and suppressed a shudder; just as he thought, it was exactly like the other one. Although, they were both different than the girl thought.

It is better if she doesn't know, Auden thought.

There were things to be done before she could know the truth. Some secrets were meant to be kept.

Auden studied the maps on his phone carefully. The screen had cracked during their descent, but it was still usable. The Infirman girl probably thought they were walking aimlessly, but no, Auden knew exactly where they were headed. There were things to be done before she could know the truth.

And then things would be very different, indeed. Above and below.

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Author's note: A long while later, here is... something!

So do you ever do a thing where you look back at something you wrote before and just... shudder? Yeahhhh.

Not as long as I wanted this chapter to be, but complete enough. Might as well publish this while I reorganize my thoughts *shrugs*. Don't know where the plot is going, but it'll be good. This is more for me than you.

I promise things will be better (maybe).

Love always,
Mellizzia :)