Falling Skies
Gone
Opening her eyes had been a bad idea. The pain that shot through her head when the light hit them was almost unbearable. She winced, letting out a faint whimper that hurt her dry throat even more. Finally, after quite a struggle, she was able to keep them open and her vision changed from a blur to focussing on her strange surroundings. Where the fuck was she? Not sure yet if it was a wise idea to get up, she tried to move her head. Following an IV tube connected to her arm, she saw a drip with clear liquid hanging above her head. Was she in a hospital? No, that couldn't be. There were no hospitals out here. Unless...had they taken her? Had they captured her and brought her to their headquarters, Battery City even? She started panicking and sat up, way too fast. Her head was spinning and she could feel nausea washing over her. Not giving a shit about the pain, she yanked out the IV, the sharp pain bringing her to her senses. Stay calm, stay calm before you do anything stupid, she told herself. Looking to her right, she saw another bed, unoccupied but unmade, with pieces of clothing scattered around it. Next to it a door, left ajar. Her ears made out hushed voices in the distance. She continued to glance around the room, still trying her best to keep her eyes open when all of a sudden she could hear footsteps, coming closer. Panic set in once again but she had no time to think. Before she could do anything, a tall man with long, curly brown hair entered the room, looking at her just as shocked as she must have been looking at him.
'POISON!' he exclaimed and she could hear a chair being pushed back on the floor, followed by another pair of loud footsteps coming towards her.
She did the only thing she could think of. She jumped off the bed, almost falling in the process and cowered down in the corner of the room, arms shielding her face as she closed her eyes, wishing she could just disappear.
'Wha? Oh fuck!' she heard a familiar voice. Familiar?
*
'Hey...hey...I'm not gonna hurt you.' Poison said, stepping closer. He heard her wimpering and immediately retreated again.
She was scared to death and he had to be careful. Her skinny arms covering her face, she sat there, shaking like a leaf. What could he possibly say to calm her down? As relieved as he was that she was obviously well enough to move again, he had no clue what to do next.
'Leave, Jet.' he ordered and the other man just nodded and left the room. Poison closed the door behind him.
'I'm not gonna hurt you.' he repeated. As if she would just take his word for it. He was a stranger in a strange place and she had been attacked, there was nothing he could say that could make her believe him. Either way, he had to try.
'I'm Poison. Well, Party Poison but everyone just calls me Poison. I'm the one who found you...I...umm...you were hurt, badly.' he hesitated to wait for a reaction from her and noticed that at least she had stopped whimpering in order to listen to him.
'That was almost a week ago. Do you remember anything? You were out there in the desert all by yourself...three dracs held you when I got to you...um...do you remember?' he was normally so sure of himself but this situation made him feel confused and helpless.
He caught her glancing at him from between her crossed arms and Poison gave her a shy smile that he hoped would reassure her. But her glance remained wary.
'You are safe here. I killed the dracs and took you here. We are rebels too.' he explained, not even sure if she even was a rebel.
He could see her eyeing the drip, he figured it was her way of asking what they had given her.
'You were severely dehydrated. We had to give you fluids. There was also a risk of infection that neither of us wanted to take so we gave you antitoxin.' he continued and she seemed just as surprised as he was when she finally lowered her arms and relaxed a little.
*
'What's your name?' he tried but she had lost her voice.
Although she was almost sure that for some reason, he wouldn't hurt her, she knew nothing about him or this place. She felt defenseless and vulnerable and for now that was enough to make her mistrust anyone.
The larger man from earlier had brought clothes and food for her which Poison placed on the shelf next to the bed. He told her where to find the bathroom and to come to the front whenever she felt ready. Then he left again, giving her some space.
Her stomach growled as soon as he had closed the door behind him and she raced over to the food, again, stumbling as her weak legs almost gave out. The food was disgusting but it filled her tummy which she was thankful for. Out here in the desert, no one could be picky. The times of being able to choose from a variety of delicious, ready meals were long gone. On some days she was grateful just for being able to remember what chocolate or pizza had tasted like.
She must have fallen asleep again because when she woke, the room was pitch black. Confused, she sat up, trying to force her eyes to adjust until she could make out shapes and shadows. There was light coming from under the door and realizing how badly she needed the bathroom, she slowly got up and opened the door, peeking out. The bathroom was to the left, but she could hear muffled voices coming from the right so she decided to creep closer.
'She can't stay! What the fuck are we supposed to do with her?!' a voice she didn't recognize said and she immediately felt guilty.
She wasn't welcome. Not here, not anywhere. Same old.
'I'll let her decide. If she wants to stay, she can stay. If not, I'm not gonna hold her back. She's not our prisoner.' she heard Poison reply.
'What about the infection? Are you sure she's clean?' she knew it was the larger man speaking.
'Yes. No signs of sickness.' Poison again.
She lurked around the corner to see them sitting in a booth, four of them, including Poison and the tall one, along with two others. One of them, a lanky blond, spotted her instantly and stood.
*
They all looked at her as she gasped and her head disappeared again. They decided to leave her be for now and continued their conversation. Poison did have the last say and he had made his decision. Until she wanted to leave, they would let her stay. She wasn't a threat and sending her away would surely be fatal for her. He couldn't be responsible for the death of another innocent.
'How the fuck did you even find her? Weren't you patrolling Sector 32? There's nothing out there.' his brother asked but Poison had no answer.
The truth was, he simply didn't know. And obviously, 'a force pulled me' wasn't a good enough explanation. Neither for himself nor for the others. That night, after everyone had gone to bed, he walked out into the cool night, aiming for the Trans Am. There had been something wrong with the radio, he remembered. He sat in the driver's seat and turned the key in the ignition, jumping at the volume of Dr D's voice blasting back at him.
'Fucking hell!' he turned it down and shock his head. He should have known better, since Ghoul was the last one to drive the car, never keeping the radio at a reasonable volume.
He started playing around with the tuner, going back and forth but nothing out of the ordinary happened. What did he even expect? Maybe all he had picked up the night he had found the girl was some weird radio interference. Frustrated, he turned off the ignition again and walked back inside. He needed to sleep.
Maybe it was slightly odd that he stayed by her side every night, he had tried sleeping in Jet and Ghoul's room, where Kobra had also found a temporary bed on a mattress on the floor but sleep wouldn't come. He was restless, almost anxious, so after two nights of being wide awake, he had sneaked back into his room, finally able to drift off in his brother's bed next to his own, where she was sleeping. The pain killers, laced with a bit of sedative were strong enough to knock her out, making him feel confident that she wouldn't notice his presence. Usually he would fall asleep immediately, completely exhausted from the long day but he would still wake up a few times during the night and every time he did, he carefully walked over to her, checking her breathing. In the morning he would leave early enough. He wasn't sure what it was, whether it was just him being a control freak or a sense of responsibility for her, maybe even the fact that everyone but him was pretty unhappy, even disappointed in him for bringing back a stray. It had always been just the four of them. Every once in a while they helped other rebels by exterminating enemies, finding shelter for refugees or giving out food and weapons but never had they brought an outsider to the diner. They only tolerated his decision because they had to. Because he was their leader. He didn't blame them for being pissed off.
But as he quietly slipped into his room that night after checking the radio, he found his bed empty. She was gone.
'POISON!' he exclaimed and she could hear a chair being pushed back on the floor, followed by another pair of loud footsteps coming towards her.
She did the only thing she could think of. She jumped off the bed, almost falling in the process and cowered down in the corner of the room, arms shielding her face as she closed her eyes, wishing she could just disappear.
'Wha? Oh fuck!' she heard a familiar voice. Familiar?
*
'Hey...hey...I'm not gonna hurt you.' Poison said, stepping closer. He heard her wimpering and immediately retreated again.
She was scared to death and he had to be careful. Her skinny arms covering her face, she sat there, shaking like a leaf. What could he possibly say to calm her down? As relieved as he was that she was obviously well enough to move again, he had no clue what to do next.
'Leave, Jet.' he ordered and the other man just nodded and left the room. Poison closed the door behind him.
'I'm not gonna hurt you.' he repeated. As if she would just take his word for it. He was a stranger in a strange place and she had been attacked, there was nothing he could say that could make her believe him. Either way, he had to try.
'I'm Poison. Well, Party Poison but everyone just calls me Poison. I'm the one who found you...I...umm...you were hurt, badly.' he hesitated to wait for a reaction from her and noticed that at least she had stopped whimpering in order to listen to him.
'That was almost a week ago. Do you remember anything? You were out there in the desert all by yourself...three dracs held you when I got to you...um...do you remember?' he was normally so sure of himself but this situation made him feel confused and helpless.
He caught her glancing at him from between her crossed arms and Poison gave her a shy smile that he hoped would reassure her. But her glance remained wary.
'You are safe here. I killed the dracs and took you here. We are rebels too.' he explained, not even sure if she even was a rebel.
He could see her eyeing the drip, he figured it was her way of asking what they had given her.
'You were severely dehydrated. We had to give you fluids. There was also a risk of infection that neither of us wanted to take so we gave you antitoxin.' he continued and she seemed just as surprised as he was when she finally lowered her arms and relaxed a little.
*
'What's your name?' he tried but she had lost her voice.
Although she was almost sure that for some reason, he wouldn't hurt her, she knew nothing about him or this place. She felt defenseless and vulnerable and for now that was enough to make her mistrust anyone.
The larger man from earlier had brought clothes and food for her which Poison placed on the shelf next to the bed. He told her where to find the bathroom and to come to the front whenever she felt ready. Then he left again, giving her some space.
Her stomach growled as soon as he had closed the door behind him and she raced over to the food, again, stumbling as her weak legs almost gave out. The food was disgusting but it filled her tummy which she was thankful for. Out here in the desert, no one could be picky. The times of being able to choose from a variety of delicious, ready meals were long gone. On some days she was grateful just for being able to remember what chocolate or pizza had tasted like.
She must have fallen asleep again because when she woke, the room was pitch black. Confused, she sat up, trying to force her eyes to adjust until she could make out shapes and shadows. There was light coming from under the door and realizing how badly she needed the bathroom, she slowly got up and opened the door, peeking out. The bathroom was to the left, but she could hear muffled voices coming from the right so she decided to creep closer.
'She can't stay! What the fuck are we supposed to do with her?!' a voice she didn't recognize said and she immediately felt guilty.
She wasn't welcome. Not here, not anywhere. Same old.
'I'll let her decide. If she wants to stay, she can stay. If not, I'm not gonna hold her back. She's not our prisoner.' she heard Poison reply.
'What about the infection? Are you sure she's clean?' she knew it was the larger man speaking.
'Yes. No signs of sickness.' Poison again.
She lurked around the corner to see them sitting in a booth, four of them, including Poison and the tall one, along with two others. One of them, a lanky blond, spotted her instantly and stood.
*
They all looked at her as she gasped and her head disappeared again. They decided to leave her be for now and continued their conversation. Poison did have the last say and he had made his decision. Until she wanted to leave, they would let her stay. She wasn't a threat and sending her away would surely be fatal for her. He couldn't be responsible for the death of another innocent.
'How the fuck did you even find her? Weren't you patrolling Sector 32? There's nothing out there.' his brother asked but Poison had no answer.
The truth was, he simply didn't know. And obviously, 'a force pulled me' wasn't a good enough explanation. Neither for himself nor for the others. That night, after everyone had gone to bed, he walked out into the cool night, aiming for the Trans Am. There had been something wrong with the radio, he remembered. He sat in the driver's seat and turned the key in the ignition, jumping at the volume of Dr D's voice blasting back at him.
'Fucking hell!' he turned it down and shock his head. He should have known better, since Ghoul was the last one to drive the car, never keeping the radio at a reasonable volume.
He started playing around with the tuner, going back and forth but nothing out of the ordinary happened. What did he even expect? Maybe all he had picked up the night he had found the girl was some weird radio interference. Frustrated, he turned off the ignition again and walked back inside. He needed to sleep.
Maybe it was slightly odd that he stayed by her side every night, he had tried sleeping in Jet and Ghoul's room, where Kobra had also found a temporary bed on a mattress on the floor but sleep wouldn't come. He was restless, almost anxious, so after two nights of being wide awake, he had sneaked back into his room, finally able to drift off in his brother's bed next to his own, where she was sleeping. The pain killers, laced with a bit of sedative were strong enough to knock her out, making him feel confident that she wouldn't notice his presence. Usually he would fall asleep immediately, completely exhausted from the long day but he would still wake up a few times during the night and every time he did, he carefully walked over to her, checking her breathing. In the morning he would leave early enough. He wasn't sure what it was, whether it was just him being a control freak or a sense of responsibility for her, maybe even the fact that everyone but him was pretty unhappy, even disappointed in him for bringing back a stray. It had always been just the four of them. Every once in a while they helped other rebels by exterminating enemies, finding shelter for refugees or giving out food and weapons but never had they brought an outsider to the diner. They only tolerated his decision because they had to. Because he was their leader. He didn't blame them for being pissed off.
But as he quietly slipped into his room that night after checking the radio, he found his bed empty. She was gone.
@carmen_mcr
Aww thank you - I'm glad you enjoyed it so much.
Maybe I will write a sequel. I want to!
9/29/13