Greensleeves (open)

[ancel]

Ancel was lying on his back. He stared up at the pretty blue sky. There was not a cloud in it today. It was around 5 o' clock. A warm gust blew in, rustling the trees slightly. He sighed in content. How had he gotten here again? Oh, yes... he had been looking. For something. No, that's not right. Water! Oh yes, water. Last night. He heard the sound of a stream nearby. He slowly became more and more aware of his surroundings. A stalk of grass, not mowed for 2 years and going, brushed up against his face. In his current position, he was hidden from anything that dared come along. Even then, he could see small movements in the grass. A mouse or two here, a hare there-- rodents, scurrying around. He focused on the noises and visuals around him. Timing it just right, he jutted his right hand out from his side, and grabbed a large rabbit. He pet it a few times, then cut its neck. He would eat well tonight. He slowly came to his feet, slinging the dead, bloodied rabbit over his shoulder. He looked around, trying to see anything above grass level. He saw nothing.

Ancel began walking toward the sound of water. There he could surely find trees, which meant wood. He may have been insane, but he was not a savage- he wouldn't dare eat the meat raw, and yet he was hungry. He arrived at a clump of trees, and broke off a few branches. He found a cigarette lighter washed up on the side of the river, trash of a bygone era. It sparked the first few times, but he eventually lit the pile of branches and leaves on fire. This might bring in some humans... the sun was almost setting now, and Ancel hadn't eaten all day. He would have his food and warmth, and perhaps he would travel by night. He bit into his now-cooked meal, and thought. If any humans did come by... heck, he was feeling in a good mood. He'd talk to them first.

Word Count: 350

[strangerdanger]

I LEFT HER FIFTEEN YEARS BEHIND.

She laced her fingertips between blades of grass, a prickle of green here and there against her skin. She had watched the grass grow higher and higher, uneven and unruly steadily for two years. It had been well-groomed and tamed to a beautiful picture of a human’s perspective. Now, it was as wild as the rest of the city. There were cracks in the sidewalks and the streets; there were flowers sprouting up out of the cracks in the concrete, like it was a new lawn just waiting to be covered over in green pasture. Eventually, there would be no more city. There would only be nature taking back what was hers, reclaiming the land unto itself. Only a few buildings would stand to remain a sign of what once was. The rest would only be remembered by those who could recall what the world used to be like.

Becky watched the grass sway with the breeze that was passing by, keeping the afternoon from being too warm. The sun was bright today, like it was mocking the imperfections of what was left of the city by shining such a bright light on it. Becky came by the park because it was a nice day, and because she had nothing better to do. She could enjoy herself for once and the park seemed rather safe compared to other places she could have gone to. As long as she found a quiet little nook somewhere up high on the branch of a tree, somewhere where she could see if there was anyone coming by that she needed to be wary of, Becky would be okay. She was very wary of other people who also sought refuge in the city after it had crumbled. She avoided them for as long as she could, preferring to be by herself, even when it would have done better to have help from others. The raiders scared her and she didn’t trust to know just by her sight alone which ones they were. Alone was better, and safer. She could trust herself more than any person.

She ran a hand through her stringy unwashed hair and pulled the hood of her jacket up over her hair, hanging low on her forehead. The sweatshirt was pretty old by now and worn to a thinner layer than the original material would have allowed, tearing in some places with the strain that she put it through. The sleeves were pushed up over her elbows since it was nice that day but the hood kept the sun out of her eyes so she left it up most of the year apart from the summer. Breathing a short sigh, she glanced up at the clear sky and figured that the sun wasn’t going to last that much longer before it fell into night. She shoved her hands into her pockets and started walking again, the tall grass folding down as she stepped over it, crushing under her heavy boots.

A pair of big headphones hung around her neck over her hair, soft music streaming out of them as she made her trek through the park towards a scattering of trees nearby. She traded in the CDs every so often when she didn’t like the music anymore at a store in the city; it was nice to have something to break the silence, even if it was only loud enough for her to hear. Today she had a compilation of classical orchestrations, beautiful songs that made her a lot calmer than she usually was. It matched the day. Her gaze shifted as she saw a spark of light in the relative darkness and she stopped in her tracks for a moment. That was fire, she could tell from there. The questions was: who did it belong to? A lot of people went hunting in the park for small game; she did it herself from time to time when she needed to. Becky looked behind at the path she had used to get where she was, and then looked ahead again. She considered it for a moment before she started walking again towards that clump of trees where she saw the light, cautiously and slowly. She felt the knife in the pocket of her jeans and was well-aware of it being there if she needed it.

clothes

[ancel]

Ancel looked around, getting familiar with his night's camp. It appeared that he was on what had used to be a little fishing area. He was facing parallel to the stream on his left, maybe twenty yards away. His back was a few yards from one clump of trees, and he was facing his fire. Further out, he could see more trees. There was still a good amount of space. He might sleep there. He bit into the rabbit again. It was rather tender, but perfectly cooked... medium-rare, just how he liked it. He heard a sound in the distance. It was a tiny sound, and for all he knew it could've been the stream, or the wind going through the trees, or the slow crackling of the fire. But something about it seemed different. He stared off in his right. There was the overgrown field he had come from, and... did he spot a figure, silhouetted by the setting sun?

Ancel looked down at his ragged white shirt. It was grimy and sweat-stained. What was the use of changing your shirt when the people that saw it would soon be dead? His jeans were rather well worn. They had been a good pair in their prime, but as this was his only outfit, he decided he would soon need to get some clothes. He didn't even have shoes. The soles of his feet were calloused over, so tough that they took more damage than most shoes would.

He looked back at the field, slowly taking Kameo out. He was ready to use it, if the person was hostile. He set it in a very-easy-to-use position by his side, and tried to call. On his first attempt, his voice cracked. He hadn't talked in about a week. He bit into the tender rabbit meat again. He swallowed, and tried again. "Friend or foe?" He shouted.

[strangerdanger]

I LEFT HER FIFTEEN YEARS BEHIND.

Becky didn’t like to talk, not ever. Some little girls could prattle on and on about nothing, about boys and about how they picked on the girls and about things that no adult could care about. Or like teenage girls gossiping to make themselves feel better. Becky wasn’t like that and she never would be, virus or no virus. Before she had come to live in this new country with her mother and her aunt, Becky was a quiet person. She never had much to say. She had no friends that wanted to listen to anything that she could have said, not that it would have been anything worth listening to. She spent more time thinking about things than saying them aloud. She was an audience all to herself, the only person that she really needed, all that she could depend on. The change in scenery didn’t change that and neither did the virus and all that it had done to her once-semi-normal existence. Though, Becky didn’t know if she could have ever been normal with a father who was an alcoholic and a sister who was just as bad in her own way.

If anything, the sudden decrease in population gave her less of a reason to say anything to anyone. She couldn’t remember the last time she had spoken to anyone. It must have been months since she had, months or weeks. Days at the least. She didn’t carry a calendar around with her and she lost track of the months easily. The only way that she knew that time was passing were by the days that faded into nights and the seasons changing. She guessed that it was at least august by now, probably later since it felt a bit crisp as of late, like the fall just starting to come to life against the summer. She’d need to find another jacket soon, something thicker and more protective against the elements, and more importantly a place to take shelter in the cold. That would be the hardest. The other people in the city were protective over such things and would sometimes take measures to protect what was theirs, in some nasty ways.

But right now Becky’s concern was focused on the person and their fire. She had stopped again as she heard the rustle of movement in that direction and she moved her hand to turn the music off streaming gently from the player in her pocket. She couldn’t be distracted by it at the moment and be off her game. She had seen from a distance people being dragged off by raiders or deceitful trapping men; she had seen it happen to women more often than men. A shiver ran down her spine at that thought and she reached vaguely for the knife in her pocket.

The frowning line on her forehead eased a bit as the person, a man, spoke. She took her hand slowly away from her pocket and took a few more steps towards the stranger cautiously, never taking her eyes off of him and the gun that he had raised. She could understand his wariness at the approach of someone else. She was the same way, though she didn’t believe in carrying around a gun to protect herself. All she had were her knives and she had never needed anything else in the two years she had lived in the city.

Becky looked him up and down when she stopped walking, her blue eyes stopping a second longer on his raised weapon. She decided that he wasn’t a threat to her and raised her hands to say that she would do nothing to harm him, a sign of peace between them. She chose not to speak, not knowing if she even remembered how anymore. She was only passing through after all, and he had a fire. It would get colder soon and that would be a nice thing to share.

clothes

[ancel]

Ancel noticed as the figure stepped out into the firelight. So it was a girl, was it? She was rather attractive, too. She had her hands raised, and he lowered his gun, strapping it back over his shoulder. "Friend, then," he said, attempting to use as few words as possible. It hurt to speak. He gestured towards the fire, and nodded. His voice was raspy as he said "Gettin' water," and walked off towards the stream. It wasn't a very long walk, but it provided separation from him and the new stranger.

Truth be told, she was a very good-looking woman, but her walk had a sort of tomboyish mood, at least from what he'd observed. Then again, she may have just been being cautious. That was probably the case. He looked around the river again, and filled a canteen he found with water. It seemed to be pretty clean. He drank as much as he could from it now, for the girl was probably very thirsty. The canteen was relatively clean--it had obviously been left with the cap still on--and so was the water. Of course, there was the chance of her getting the virus... So he would ask her if she knew if she was immune or not when he got back, he decided.

He looked to the sun. It was now just barely peeking out over the horizon, and it dyed the greater portion of the sky blues and purples and pinks... nearer to the horizon, it appeared more yellowish-orange. The contrast through all these colors gave the area quite a serene feeling. Ancel felt more relaxed. It was pretty, and would remain this way for only a few more minutes before nightfall. Nature had a nice balance to it. Day gives way to night, night gives way to day... and the parts in between, the twilight, always made for some of the most beautiful moments imaginable. Such was the time of twilight. Feeling enlightened, and less thirsty, he walked back to the fire, and the girl.

[strangerdanger]

I LEFT HER FIFTEEN YEARS BEHIND.

She was relieved that he didn’t ask for more or for her to actually say anything. Talking to a stranger wasn’t on her list of things to do that day, nor on any other day, so she could be glad of that one thing for now. She wondered if she could even still talk; thinking more in depth about that action, Becky couldn’t remember the last time. The last time that she could remember, which she doubted was the last time ever, had been the day that she found her sister asleep in the bed provided for her at a disheveled quarantine residence, where the two of them had been placed after their mother and aunt died of the virus. Becky had had to be the one to tell the nurse that her sister never woke up; it was in the morning and Becky stared at her sister’s dead body for an hour before the nurses started to make their rounds. No one else was awake. It was so lonely to be in a place with a large number of people and feel so completely alone. Perhaps it was the realization that she had no family left. All of them were dead, all of them as far as she knew.

Her hands lowered back to her sides as he lowered his gun and she came closer, standing near his small fire, taking in the warmth of it. It was a welcome feeling to her face and her exposed hands. They were rough and flaked with small scars from her hunting trips in the woods and rifting through shop debris in search of everyday things that she couldn’t go without. There was one nasty little scar that had been fading steadily for a few weeks from when she cut her hand on a piece of jagged glass; she had picked the shard out herself, squeezing blood out of her bottom lip trying not to groan or scream in pain. It was a deep cut but she kept it from infection and she was proud of herself for that. There was no point in surviving that long only to die from a small infection on a fucking glass cut.

She watched him go and once he was out of sight she sat down and lowered the hood of her jacket away from her forehead. It was quiet in the fading light; it was always very quiet, with the lingering call of crickets and animals in the dark, but the night setting in made it seem all the more deafening. No cars, no sirens, no music anywhere. Becky ran her hands through her dirty hair and took the headphones from around her neck, setting them aside and stripping off her jacket, setting it aside as well. Holding her hands out nearer to the flame, Becky’s eyes drifted in the direction that the man had gone. She didn’t plan on staying very long; she didn’t trust him. But he had a fire already made and that was more than she wanted to put any effort into, especially in the dark when she wouldn’t be able to see exactly what she was doing. She had a lighter but that was for smaller tasks, like lighting a cigarette when she wanted one. There was a carton of cigarettes in her back pocket but she wasn’t in the mood for it.

The colors were changing in the sky, sinking into all of the colors of the rainbow, fading to purples and pinks. She scrunched her knees up and rested her arms on them, leaning her chin against them. Her hands ran over her bare arms, warming them up in the sudden soft chill of the night, and she watched those colors change as she did a lot during that time.

clothes

[ancel]

Ancel cleared his throat. The water had returned his fluency. "Pretty, isn't it?" he asked. "I love days like this. So peaceful, quiet... it's getting a bit cold now, though." He smiled and sat down next to her. He saw now, she had several scars. He tightened and relaxed his muscles, feeling where the scars where on his body... he had lost track of his. The last one he got was after he was pushed off the top of a building. He remembered it as if he was still there.

It had been a fantastic day. Up until the point where he saw a raider, and picked a fight with him. It turned out to be a hard fight, and he had escaped to the top of a building. Ancel had been hampered because of Kameo, but eventually reached to building... where the man stood with a pistol. Ancel saw that he was shaking. He must not have been a shooter before the virus... So he ran to the man and tackled him, but the man grabbed him and pushed him off balance. He fell off the building to a shorter one below. He almost broke his ribs, but it wasn't too long. Only about 10 feet, but if he had landed differently, he could have died. He aimed Kameo at the other building and shot when the man looked over the edge. Dead.

So that was that scar's story. Each one had it's own. And some were more interesting than others... he realized his mind had trailed off, as it often did. He sighed, and went back to where he had been sitting before. "So, silent girl, what shall I call you?"

[strangerdanger]

I LEFT HER FIFTEEN YEARS BEHIND.

He smiled but she remained emotionless, her face free of anything other than an acceptance that she was there and looking at him. There was nothing to smile about. She frowned more than she ever smiled, and that was before anything drastic happened in her life. She had heard from someone that smiling was harder for some people than for others; Becky was just one of those few people. It had the same effect on her thought process as trying to remember when she had last spoken to anyone; she couldn’t remember. Her sister was always the one smiling, a big toothy fake smile. And her mother did the same thing. The only smile that Becky believed and trusted was her aunt’s and she was gone along with the rest of them. With all of those bad memories lingering and sprouting eternally like weeds in the road, how could she stand to smile?

She nodded a bit, looking at him as he sat down next to her before her gaze went back to the colors of the sky as they grew darker and darker. They faded to the familiar foggy black, speckled with bright stars. As he mentioned the cold Becky shivered and she put her jacket back on, rolling the sleeves back down and covering her hands with them. The hoodie was a little big for her so it offered that extra warmth; she pressed her knees again up to her chest to hold in some of that warmth, something she always did when she was sitting down. The fire was still burning and crackling happily in the silence, casting long slanting shadows against the both of them. It was the cold that made her cover her arms, but it was him looking at her that did it also. She knew that she looked like shit, but there was no one that she knew of who looked much better. Becky was scrawny and she was more than a little dirty, and it showed that she spent a lot of time outside. She didn’t care what she looked like, but she didn’t like him staring at her.

Because she didn’t think that she was much to look at, she didn’t dwell on what he was thinking when he was looking at her. She found herself to be boyish and skinny, nothing special, nothing to be an object of desire. This man on the other hand was a nice thing to look at, if Becky had cared for such things. She never had much of a mind for relationships or romance or love. Becky had never had a lover, boy or girl, and whenever she was messing around with someone it was under the influence of some drug or drink and it meant nothing after it was finished with. Through the harsh times behind them and the ones that were to come, this man kept enough care of himself to still have that ruggedly handsome outward impression. It could have been a trick to lure people in and to trust him easier, but she doubted that. Her mind just leaned towards the suspicious.

Becky blinked and watched him get up and sit back down again away from her. She expected his question and she swallowed once and cleared her throat before she tried to answer, finding that her voice was too crackly to be understood. She tried again and looked from the fire to the man sitting by her. “Becky,” she said softly, in a voice that she vaguely recognized as her own. Practice would get it back to how it used to be but she didn’t know that she wanted to talk to him. It wasn’t her strong point.

clothes

[ancel]

Ancel looked into the fire. "Becky," he restated absentmindedly. It was a nice name. "Hm." The fire was bright, and warm... it warmed him deep down. He stared at it until his eyes dried out, then he did the same as the girl, pulling his knees up and sitting. He rested his head on his knees, relaxing. The air got colder and more humid as the sun disappeared into oblivion. He sat for what seemed like a long time, until the fire began to die down. He looked first at her, then the fire. There was still a flame, but not nearly as big as it had been.

Wordlessly, he went into the clump of trees and grabbed a branch off a tree, and broke it off. He broke the branch in two and threw part on the fire. He glanced at the girl. She looked rather sad. He took a deep breath. He breathed in the smoke and coughed a little, so he moved back to the other side, where the wind was not blowing. It was the same side the girl was on. "Becky... tell me your story. Why are you here of all places? A--" his voice cracked. He took a swig from the canteen and tried again. "Are you immune to the virus too? Would you like a place to stay?" That may have come out wrong, so he restated it. "I mean... I have set aside about four blocks in," he coughed, "in Central Leeds. It's very well defended, and it's where I run my force. You would be the first member."

[strangerdanger]

I LEFT HER FIFTEEN YEARS BEHIND.

She watched her name formed again on his lips, his tongue licking the syllables. It fascinated her for some reason. There were only so many ways to avoid the other people that sought refuge in the same ways that she did. Leeds was a place that could hold a lot of survivors, the good and the bad, the law-abiding and the raiders. She didn’t know how much of a law system there was left but there were those that wanted it to keep working, and the equally evil who liked the anarchy and chaos that could be brought up by its removal. Becky stood nowhere in that little battle between the various citizens. She was as invisible as she could be there; she might have even thought to leave if she knew anywhere else to go. It would have been unwise to leave the only place that she knew to find something that could be even more dangerous.

Becky and her sister had moved to the country only a few weeks before the virus started to claim everything and everyone. Leeds was the only place in the entire country that she knew; she clung to it as a last hope of being able to survive. The silence set back into place after he spoke and Becky swallowed once, trying to moisten her mouth after speaking. She might need to again and she didn’t expect it to come naturally. Her eyes drifted to the canteen that he had but she didn’t move. It was his, not hers. She would have been overprotective of her items so she just waited until he offered her some of it, if he would at all. The stream wasn’t very far off; she knew where it was and she had gone there before dark many a time to drink some of that clear water out of her cupped hands. Suddenly she was more thirsty as she thought about it; Becky licked her dried and chapped lips and set her eyes back to the dying fire, catching a solid gaze on some of the glimmering orange embers. They were the warmest parts and would stay that way long after they lost their color; Becky shivered with the breeze and closed her eyes for a second.

At the sound of him moving she was aware again and she lifted her head a bit off of her forearms, watching him go into the clump of trees. Her brow creased for a moment before she knew what he went off for. She lowered her head back down again and for the short time that he was away she leaned her cheek against the ragged material of her jacket sleeve, closing her eyes and allowing herself to be tired for a moment. Letting herself be unaware of everything that could have been around her, mostly any dangers lurking in the darkness, wasn’t something that she liked to do. When she closed her eyes she could feel them all there, the dangers that she had gone free of for a while now.

He came back and her moment of peace was gone. Becky looked at the fire as it sparked back to life; she controlled her eyes to stay there when he spoke to her again. She did not want to share anything about herself with him. They were strangers to one another and nothing else; she wasn’t sitting there playing twenty questions about him and his history so she didn’t appreciate him questioning her about it. Becky was there because it was the only place she knew and she wasn’t taking the chance of leaving when she felt somewhat safe there. What he said next almost made her twitch to look up at him but she didn’t. Becky didn’t know whether she was immune to the virus or if she was just lucky, if she just continued to be lucky, how long it would last. So she shrugged in reply to that. “I like to be by myself,” Becky said finally, staring at the fire, her voice scratchy and soft. She shifted her eyes to him after she said it, looking over his face in the light of the fire. She pulled up one shoulder and looked back at the embers, dancing in shades of orange again.

clothes

[ancel]

Ancel nodded. He began to fall asleep. "I'm sorry. I felt in a good mood tonight..." He smiled at her. "Obviously you didn't." He stood up and wandered over right next to the fire. He circled it for a few seconds, observing it. He bent over and blew on the flames. Then, very quickly, he reached right into it and grabbed a branch. He wrenched it out of the fire, singing his hand lightly on the way. He took it over away from the fire, and covered the bottom half of it in dirt. He carried the makeshift torch further and stuck the sharper lower end about a foot into the ground. This ended up being a few feet from the lake. He walked back. "Becky. Would you like some water?" he smiled. He could tell the girl was rather thirsty from the way she looked at his canteen. He sat back down next to the fire, rubbing his hand. He could see the torch from where he was sitting, and it reflected its light off the clear water of the stream... it ended up giving him a mellow, thoughtful feeling.

Ancel closed his eyes and lied on the ground. He looked up at the stars. The sun had set long ago, near the time the fire had died down the first time. He decided he would let it die after this.... oh yes, the stars. He looked up at them and they looked like diamond dust twinkling on some sort of black fabric. He began to imagine the planets circling each one of those stars, thinking... If there was life out there... Surely those planets didn't have this virus. Maybe they had some sort of epidemic happening, too, though... He sighed audibly, then laughed awkwardly. The smoke of the fire was starting to get to him. He felt the grass around him with his hands, warming his feet next to the fire.

[strangerdanger]

I LEFT HER FIFTEEN YEARS BEHIND.

Her brow creased at his reply about her being in a bad mood. She wasn’t in a bad mood and it wasn’t her fault that she was careful about who she chose to trust. Well, it was her decision to be very cautious but she had seen too many people be fucked over because they had chosen to trust the wrong people. It was too easy to find ways of taking advantage of the weak-minded for the advancement of more influential and stronger individuals. Becky didn’t want to be manipulated by other people, whether because of her gender or her age or her attitude of wandering and not speaking. When she realized how much she was overthinking his simple comment about her mood, she stopped herself in her tracks. Apparently she hadn’t lost her habit for letting those little comments get to her in the worst ways. She took everything too hard, any little insult or criticism of her personality or her demeanor. He seemed to be no exception to that.

Annoyed with herself, Becky sighed softly, running one hand through her hair. She raised her hood over her hair once again as she brought her hand back and looked at the guy while he walked around the fire. She was content to stay exactly where she was but he seemed unable to stay in one spot for more than a few minutes before he needed to get up again. It was a little disconcerting to watch but her eyes kept going to him. Becky realized that she didn’t ask his name like he’d asked for hers when she first sat down. She wondered whether she even cared what it was; she would be gone soon. With the night already fast into motion around them, it would probably be better to stay the remainder of the night with him and go her own way when the sun was up the following morning. There was safety in numbers and he had a gun while she had only her hunting knife and another smaller utensil, which was more for practical usage. Becky hadn’t used a gun since she was a kid messing around with her friends; she didn’t believe in the good of such things, not even to protect herself with. She could hide and she could run away, and if worse came to worst, she could use a knife against another person.

Becky nodded when he asked if she wanted some water and she stood up, going over to where he was. She took the canteen from him and took a long swig from it. The water tasted better from a canteen than out of her dirty hands and she drank more greedily, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand. She held the canteen in both hands when she was done, hearing the remains sloshing around in it, a welcome sound to her ears. She would probably be able to speak more clearly now that she had something to moisten her dry mouth and lips. But she had little to say to him. There were things that she wanted to ask about his offer of a place to stay, but she didn’t know how to phrase them or what words to use.

Becky sat on the grass next to him and placed the canteen next to her. She looked at him as he stared up at the sky, tilting her head slightly when he laughed. Her mouth opened to ask him why he was laughing but no words came out to offer the verbal query. Again the silence was heavy, until she asked into the darkness, “What’s your name?” It was only fair that she got to know his name since he knew hers.

clothes

[ancel]

Ancel sat up from where he had been sitting, laughing at the stars. Blood rushed to his head. "Yes, right," he said, briefly losing his train of thought. He glanced at the girl. "Ancel. Ancel Harding. That's all I have to say about that." He stared into the blank abyss of the space above. He wondered if it was all real or not. Sure, he was a bit of an existentialist... He wondered if all they were doing in life was real, or if it was all some silly game, and they were all simply the puppets of the real masters, who control everything... as if they weren't real. Sure, it may have been a crazy thing to ponder, but he pondered it.

Perhaps they were in some simulated environment. The virus was some sort of test, and their loved ones would all be returned to them after the end of it all. The sky was on some sort of rotating schedule... though it seemed endless. How could this make for some sort of controlled experiment. He wondered if the girl beside him was real, or a simulation. If these people were not simulations... well, he had killed a great many of them. Sure, it's entirely plausible. Ninety-nine percent of the population was taken away from Leeds. Power was blacked out... radio and satellite waves were blocked. This was all an experiment to see what some people would do in such an event. Ancel's girlfriend... was just a casualty. She would be reported without a name, just one of the many suicides in Leeds. Just like all the people Ancel has killed...

And perhaps this experiment was monitored for the entertainment of others. That would sure make an interesting show... Ancel would probably be portrayed as either a ruthless killer, or a man with a vigilante-justice mental complex. But where would they hide the cameras? Hm... Ancel returned to the real world, looking around at the trees. They certainly didn't have any cameras in them... well, probably. He still didn't remember how he had gotten into the field that morning... but he was probably just crazy. "I think you must have questions about my refuge. It's for everyone... if you want, you could just remain at the base and wait for me to come with food. You wouldn't have to worry about anything then, except perhaps me getting hurt." He laughed. Like that could happen. He felt invincible.

[strangerdanger]

I LEFT HER FIFTEEN YEARS BEHIND.

She formed the name that he offered silently on her lips. The word ‘friend’ came to mind after he told her his name. They had exchanged names and words which was more than she had done with anyone in a long time, but that meant nothing more than that they happened to know a little about one another. He had shared more than she did; he told her about his idea of protection in the city, a safe place. She didn’t know what that word meant anymore; all she knew of it was that it meant that she was alive for another day, that she could walk and wander the streets of the city and through the overgrown grass. It meant that she would go on surviving on rats from the sewer and small game in the forested sections that she knew of. Every day was a battle and any hope of normal ‘life’ had died away nearly a year ago. Anyone with any hope left for the world that one was had been suffering of mental delusions. It would never be the same again.

Becky nodded to herself, feeling a small amount of security in knowing the identity of this man she was with. He could have been lying and using a fake name, but she didn’t know why he would bother. If he didn’t want her talking about him or knowing who he was he could have just killed her or threatened her; after all, he had a gun and she did not. She might have given the impression of being rather butch of hard-shelled on the outside, but she was as afraid as anyone else could be in that situation, not knowing what tomorrow would bring, if there would be food and clean water, if she would run into the wrong person and pay for it.

She twirled a blade of grass between her fingers and finally just lay back onto the grass, finding a comfortable spot after a moment of squirming around slightly. The stars were bright by then, as the sun was fully gone and left a blackness in its wake. They shone more brightly than any artificial light she had seen in a long time; she counted the constellations that she knew of, only a handful to her knowledge though she was aware that there were more. She made up her own sometimes, a woman’s figure where she saw it and a man in profile somewhere else. The stars were always the same, and sometimes Becky could see the bright slightly-colored speck of a planet out there.

He kept laughing when he spoke and she couldn’t see why he would laugh so much at his words. They weren’t funny or even very reassuring to her. Becky wondered if he was slightly out of it and wasn’t aware of how far his mind had drifted. An alarm went off in her mind as she thought of that. If he was slightly crazy, that would also make him slightly dangerous and that was a risk to her. She couldn’t see him in the dark but she could feel where he was sitting near her. She opened her mouth before she spoke, licking her lips, and decided on an answer. “I’ll think about it,” she said, her voice soft but without the scratchiness it held before. The water helped, and the practice and the feel of talking again. Tilting her head a bit she added, “What’s so funny?”

clothes

[ancel]

Ancel was glad that she was more relaxed around him. He realized that he may have to be this girl's protection... She was an innocent, he decided. He believed deeply in justice, and so he would never think of hurting her. If someone did so much as laid a hand on her, though... bam. Well, at least if she stayed with him. If not... well, he wouldn't ever bother her, and he'd protect her if he saw her once more. His mind came back out of his lofty position in the clouds when she spoke. Her voice was softer now. He laughed when she asked him what was so funny.

"Oh... I don't know," he said, "I just think the idea of me getting hurt is funny to me. And I think it's funny that I think that's funny, I suppose..." He realized how crazy he sounded just then. A bit of his personality showing through. "Sorry. I mean... I've been hurt a lot before, but I've always healed up. And those who hurt me don't last long afterwards... So I tend to think of myself as invincible. A flaw that may prove fatal, I'm sure." Oh, and wow. That one totally didn't seem foreboding. He shook his head. "I don't know quite what to say. I don't want you to get hurt by anyone... and. Well. If you think I'm crazy, know I've had a lot of trauma... but I still have morals, and I won't hurt you." He realized he was exposing himself, possibly too much to the girl. He grabbed a blade of glass and threw it into the pile of coals.

The night was now black, save the stars. There was a new moon, and nothing else could be seen.