“ Didn't I tell you to stay in the tent?” An angry voice yelled, as his figure hollered over me.
“ Leave me alone mom, the bed is hard” I muttered sleepily. The bed or rather the floor was really hard and uncomfortable.
“ I'm not your mother you idiot!” He shouted.
“ Ahhh” I panicked and landed a kick in the middle of his legs. I stood up immediately, trying to figure out who the person was. It was the jerk from yesterday, I guess I'm not only a sack of potatoes.
“ Ouch” He jumped, greatly pissed at my actions. Okay, so I panicked. I thought a strange guy was in my bedroom. They weren't any bedroom because I cried myself to sleep last night. Heavens knows how he managed to find me under my tree of depression. I quickly apologized. It was really my intention to.... hurt him.
“ What was that for? Are you out to commit murder?” He asked as he groaned in pain, holding his crotch.
“ Murder? ” I managed to say, despite my embarrassment. I've lost my dignity in front of this guy. There'll be no self-respect for me anymore, not like there was before but still...
“ Killing my way of making babies, hereby killing any child I'll possibly have.” He started bluntly, having recovered from my attack.
“ Sorry,” I said almost Inaudibly. My cheeks burned with embarrassment as a blush crept up my face.
“ Red looks good on you” He winked suggestively, teasing. My face was probably now redder than a tomato. I allowed him to laugh at me, enjoying himself.
“ I'm sorry though, it was unintentional. My instincts kicked in, plus you startled me from my sleep” Honestly, this was unlike me. I don't usually attack harmless guys.
“ Trust me, that wasn't only the thing that kicked”
“ Okay, you've had your fun. That's enough” Face-palming, I walked ahead of him, trying to ignore his annoying laughter. Sadly, I'm happy that he was nicer today. Not throwing me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing. Increasing my pace, he panted behind me trying to catch up.
“ I'm done laughing now. It's not my fault though. Your skin is pale enough to show the redness of your cheeks, and it's a sight to behold” He snickered, walking by my side.
Today must be a good day, yesterday he didn't treat me like a pal. I decided to make good use of this opportunity and ask questions about my appearance here. Before I could find the right word, he spoke up first.
“ What were you doing under the tree?” He asked.
“ Sleeping, just as you saw for yourself,” I answered, thinking of a way to swerve the conversation back in my favor. If I couldn't come up with the answers on my own, they need to know something that would be useful in helping me figure things out. To find the solution, I need to understand what the problem is first. To get back home, I need to understand how I got here.
“ No kidding. I mean why did you wander off only to end up under a tree?”
“ The tent wasn't comfortable enough for me.” I gritted my teeth.
“ Yet, under a tree was comfy enough to be considered your bedroom.” He arched his eyebrows, seeming to ponder over that.. I hadn't intended to fall asleep there last night, it just happened. Strangely, it was still comfortable. Even my body aches were partially gone this morning.
“ So, why did you come to find me anyway? It wasn't your business.” I shot at him. For someone who didn't like me yesterday, he sure seems to have warmed up to me. Like he has different personalities....?. Or he was extremely grumpy last night.
“ I just thought to let you know that we're going back to the old building. The one where you were having a nap yesterday,”
“ The old building? A nap?” He swerved towards my direction all on his own. I need to start working less, maybe I'll get a vacation here or something.
“ Yes, that was actually where my family lived before the war. It's not exactly sturdy anymore. Some people go there to find shelter when they're tired of walking or running. I thought you were one of those people too? But I didn't expect you to follow us, you were on a different journey of your own. It wouldn't be long before the remains of the house are brought to the ground too.” Sincere hurt flashed before his eyes. The words I had just heard recurringly echoed in my head.
From what he said, they found me there. How did I end up there? And what's this about a war? So I woke up in a different city, in the middle of their crisis. A war. I was too busy thinking, to pay attention to the other things he was saying. They didn't even know how I got here either, they just found me. What if I died and this is my eternity. I don't remember dying on my way back from school, but I don't think people remember those kinds of things. The crisis here appears to be serious for them to abandon their home, to live on a cliff. What are the chances we wouldn't all die in the middle of this? Does that mean I would die twice in a lifetime? No, I couldn't think like that. I wasn't dead.
“ If you aren't sure the building still stands, then why bother to go there?” My perplexed self blurted out.
“ That has been my home since I was born. A little part of me hopes that one day we will return there and hear that the war has ended and everything can go back to normal. Of course, nothing will ever be normal around here anymore but all we can do is hope right?”
My thoughts were right, the damage caused by all of these was indeed serious. Too serious for me to get in the middle of. I wanted to ask more questions, but we got back to the tents and he scurried away without saying anything more. So much for answers.
“ Is everyone ready?” The informant asked, quickly glancing around. I suppose I should stop calling him “ The informant” but I didn't know his name. I don't know any of them's names. So for now, that's how I will address him. In my mind at least. He quickly took a roll call, which I found hilarious. His older siblings rolled their eyes at him but mumbled their yeses regardless. I could pick up their names from his check.Aghan was the oldest and the one I've spoken to since I got here. Lafeya was a teenager but not as old as Aghan. Adrian and Alhadera looked alike so I assumed they were twins.. The thought of my twin siblings caused a sinking feeling in my heart but I casually pushed it aside. The one person whose name I wasn't able to hear was the informant's, he was the one calling everyone's name and didn't bother to call his. They led the way and I followed. It wasn't like I had a choice, I didn't know the way around. And I wasn't interested in sta
“ We are here” The deep voice informed, I stirred in my sleep and yawned loudly. “ Wake up!” The person said again, a little bit deeper.“ Yes?” My eyes fluttered and I immediately shut it. Too bright. I covered my eyes with one hand, using the other to hang on to Aghan's back. So I fell asleep. The short naps I was having had me worried but I haven't really slept properly recently so I guess it should be expected.“ We are here. I want to put you down now” How gentlemanly. I felt sorry for his back though, but he said I didn't weigh much so that made me less guilty.“ Ok” Releasing my hold around his neck, I swung my feet over his body and let it drop to the ground. He led the way and I followed. Discreetly, I wiped the trail of saliva on my face away. I wanted to crawl inside a hole. I drooled on him, even though he didn't seem to notice. I tried har
My eyes were puffy, but my face was free from tears by the time we left. I'm not sure if we'll be returning here tomorrow. They always wanted to come to the old building, even though it was more stressful. Staying at the cliff will guarantee safety for a longer period rather than walking to and fro. Balmoh led the way, as usual, the twins behind him and Aghan gliding by my side. I took slow steps, enjoying the peace while trying to keep calm inside. “ Your pendant is cool” “ Yeah. It was a present from my Dad. He dragged me along with him to the store and I was forced to see him pick out the one he deemed perfect. I felt it was perfect and it has never left my neck since then, up until now” I explained simply. It was a promise I made to myself. Never to take it off, but know I didn't want to put it back on so I stored it safely in my Jean pocket.Nobody said anything after that. We just kept walking, this time I walked on my o
“ She talked about loss, what happened to her?” I asked Dera on our way back. She wasn't much of a companion and left me to walk behind, I constantly increased my pace to catch up. That's all I ever while walking with anyone, catching up. When I get back, exercising must be my priority. Who am I kidding?.... I wouldn't exercise even if a gun was pointed at my head.“ Dee lost someone very important to her. "“ Oh” I decided to drop the topic, there's no need for me to go sniffing around trying to figure how what anyone has lost. That was the least of my problems. “ Her son Hugh was the volunteer from her family. He was to turn 23 today and had a pretty fiancée named Shannara. San's skin was the prettiest color ever, black and shiny. Unlike my regular white skin, hers was entirely dark without any patch of white and never pale. From what I heard She wasn't from Charlaedon or anywhere nearby but she has
I laid down in my very uncomfortable sleeping bag. You would think after a month of sleeping here I would be used to it by now. That was the opposite of what I was feeling this sleeping bag was just as uncomfortable as the tent. Some find this padded bag warm but it shouldn't be consistently used in place of a bed in my opinion. Oh, the things I would trade to be able to sleep on my comfy bed at home. I have been thinking about home a lot. Not like I had anything better to do. I was stuck in a tent, given three square meals daily and I only step out when I want to shower. I haven't even been to the old building since the first time and I don't intend on making such long trips to see a house. Being left on my own has given me enough time to think. I still haven't figured out how I got here or what I would to get back. I am as clueless as I was one the first day I got to Charlaedon. Nobody had answers for me, I didn't have answers for myself. We were all sailing the boat of cluelessne
“ How can Charlaedon not exist? That's utterly ridiculous. We have school but even Balmoh is done. It's just for children between 1-7, he is 8. But detention sounds exhausting, it must be impossible to sit still for more than an hour.”“ Yes, detention sucks but now I will like to have detention for the rest of my senior year if it means that I can go back home. I'm pretty sure that Charlaedon didn't exist before. It wasn't even on the map of the world.” It must be semi-formal education, they will be sent off to learn a trade or acquire a skill. I guess school is for basic everyday knowledge. Poor guy, it's almost impossible to understand that your home only exists for you. If a month ago, someone had walked up to me and told me that New York doesn't exist, I would have laughed so hard in the person's face that I will be arrested for disturbance. “ Charlaedon is not a map? It has always been on the map.” He scratch
“ Isn't your governor doing anything about the incidents? I'm guessing a lot of things have been destroyed. From the way, you people basically abandoned your home to live on the top of a cliff I'm guessing it's pretty serious. Having one governor should rather be an advantage for you guys. He should have done something but instead of you guys rallying around to save yourselves. And the whole war thingy is still confusing, nothing has happened since I arrived here. Just running and no casualties.” I said, rubbing my throat. Suddenly, I wished I hadn't drank all the water at one go. I get uneasy when I'm parched.“ Governor Roan? We have reasons to believe so”Rolling my eyes, I face-palmed at his response. The amount of faith they had in that guy was a little too much.“ What exactly has he done? His people can't be suffering and he's watching from wherever he is. Shouldn't you guys{The northerners} have the upper hand because
“ Is anyone in here?” Aghan called out talking to me. I poked my head out of my sleeping bag, slightly irritated that my peace and quiet had been interrupted. Honestly, this felt like déjà vu. Oh yeah, Layefa did the same thing a few days ago demanding answers. Talk about siblings...“ I'm coming” I mumbling incoherently, not bothering if he heard me or not. Crawling out of the bag, I unzipped my tent with a frown fully plastered on my face. I have gotten accustomed to staying here now, my tent is almost like my bedroom at home. Rather sadly, I would NEVER be a fan of sleeping bags!“ Geez, quit glaring at me. You look like you want me to be dead.” He teased, upon seeing my unamused expression. Why bother to hide how pissed I was? I was greatly pissed and he needed to know that. Nobody, absolutely nobody interrupts my ‘ Zoa time ’. Such precious time. “ That's because I want you to