[IC] Deserted Days

[KikuHimura]

The underground tunnels of the Colorado Sanctuary were suffocating, dark, and the walls felt like they were about to crush anyone who dared to traverse through them. In spite of that, fifteen-year-old Cedric Dresden, a claustrophobic teenager, crawled through them with all of the courage he could muster. His brother had promised him that it wouldn't take long, and that it would be worth it once they were outside. As long as he held on tightly to his faith of that, he would make it.
He sucked in a deep breath of air, nearly choking on it. The walls had to be getting closer to each other, yet the tunnel just kept on going. He closed his eyes, trying not to dwell on the deepness of it. There wasn't much left. As long as he kept telling himself that, it had to be true. He couldn't give up here, not when his brother was so sure that this plan would be successful. Freedom was on the other side.
Freedom-something that he had dreamt of and wished upon the midnight stars for.
When it was so close, he didn't even allow himself to think upon failure for very long.
With that in mind, Cedric pushed onwards.

[NinjaButterfly]

Colin kept silent as they continued their trek through endless hallways of dark, dank tunnels without only an emergency candle he had stored in his room to light the way. They had been walking through them for the better part of an hour and was beginning to think they were walking in circles. The blueprints he had saw in the General's office didn't make the tunnels look this long, but then again he wasn't too good at reading maps since there wasn't really any need from being stuck underground for your entire life.

"We're almost there," he said for the fiftieth time that day, but mostly to try calming his near-hysterical brother. He knew it was probably a bad idea to bring his younger brother out of the sanctuary without knowing the conditions of what lied outside the walls, but he was ready to get out of there. They were little more than trapped birds in a cage in there and he was sick of it. There had to be a better world out there and he would start it with his brother.

It was another ten minutes until he saw the bright sunlight ahead and sighed in relief when he saw it. "Put on your mask. We need to take a look around before we risk breathing in the air out there," he said as he tossed a gas mask at his younger brother before snapping on his own. "Are you ready for this? In all honesty I don't know what's waiting for us out there, but we're about to find out."

[KikuHimura]

Cedric caught the gas mask, and strapped it on quickly. He wondered if this was as great of an idea as his brother claimed. They knew nothing of the outside world. He'd only seen pictures of it before the chemicals were spilled and dropped everywhere, the same as Colin. Perhaps they would die as soon as they stepped foot out there; it might have been a better idea to just stay in the Sanctuary.

That didn't matter, though, not to him. He wouldn't have survived in the Sanctuary once his brother left, since they'd beat him into revealing answers as to where he'd run off to. It would probably only be a few hours before the military personnel ran out, guns blazing as they searched for them.

"Do you have any plan on where to go?" asked Cedric quietly. He gazed around at this world, with the leafless trees, collapsing buildings, and rusted cars. He assumed that this might've been an impressive city back in its day, but now it was more like a scrapyard. He tried not to focus on that, though. He had always taught himself to just keep negative thoughts to the back of his mind, or else he'd never be able to concentrate and they'd all come into fruition.

[NinjaButterfly]

"Yes but don't expect to find the perfect haven the first night," Colin said as he looked around at the rusted planes aligning the runway. This used to be a civilian airport, but once the aliens attacked it was turned into a military outpost. If the sanctuaries weren't doubled as the military's barracks, many others in the sanctuary would have died. Their surroundings were disheartening to look at, but this area had been hit pretty hard towards the end of the "war," if you wanted to call it that; it was more of an extermination. Surely, there were better locations out there because he knew there were other survivors out here; there had to be.

He had been tense the moment they exited the tunnels and were halfway across the runway when he heard something rattle to his right, almost making him jump out of his skin. He aimed his pistol in the direction of the noise, but it was only a starved rat as it jumped out of a small cart that he believed was a "golf cart."

"One of those planes would make a good shelter, if the air in this place was clean," he muttered through the gas mask as he took out a device that measured the chemical potency in the air. He winced when the meter ticked quickly, signalling just how bad this area was. Would all the places be lie this? He was starting to think this was a very bad idea...

[KikuHimura]

Cedric nearly jumped out of his skin when the varmint leapt off the golf cart. He was already paranoid enough of this place, so that didn't help. He caught up to his brother, sticking close to his side. He looked down at his meter and scowled.

"Exactly why we shouldn't have come out here," he muttered under his breath. He folded his arms over his chest, trying not to look at Colin accusingly. "If you have a plan, please, tell me. I would really like to know." Colin still thought of him as a kid, and maybe he was, but he deserved to hear what was going on in Colin's mind.

[NinjaButterfly]

"It can't be like this everywhere," Colin said through clenched teeth as he stuffed the meter into his worn cargo pants pocket. "There are others living out here...I know there are." He wasn't completely sure of that, but he had overheard the General talk about raiders trying to break in on a few occasions. He had even been called to handle the raiders once and was forced to kill one of them. The face of the guy's shocked and scared face as he died was seared into his memory, but he didn't dare tell his brother about it.

"We're going to head northwest. I overheard the general claim the ocean air has cleaned out most of the chemicals in that direction. Do you think you can handle a little journey? Last chance to turn back." He turned to look at him as he holstered his pistol. "Once we pass that fence over there, there is no turning back."

[KikuHimura]

Cedric was silent for a long moment before nodding. "Yeah, let's go."

There were two reasons why he didn't decide to retreat to the safety of the Sanctuary: 1) He didn't want to leave his brother and 2) He didn't want to go through that suffocating tunnel again. Plus, he probably wouldn't be allowed to live if his brother left anyways, so there was really no point.

"But are you really sure about this, Colin?" he asked. He looked at him with a serious glint in his blue eyes. "Even if there are other survivors out there, what makes you think that they'd accept us so easily? They'd probably prefer to just shoot us on sight and not bother with trying to befriend us."

[NinjaButterfly]

Colin fell silent for awhile at that, thinking of a proper response. "That may be so, but I can't stay there anymore." He looked away before he could read his expression.

Ever since he killed the raider, he felt like he was suffocating more with each passing day in the sanctuary. Rebellion was brewing within the walls and when sh*t hit the fan, who would be there to dispose of his troublesome comrades he'd known all his life and mop up the mess? Definitely not him, so he wasn't going to leave any room for that situation to occur. And if his brother was lost to the rebellions...he wouldn't forgive himself when he could have done something about it.

"I'm glad you decided to come with me. If I got to choose who to start a new life out here with...I'm glad it's with my little brother."

[KikuHimura]

"You know that I couldn't let you go without me," said Cedric as they walked carefully through the rubble and debris. After their parents died to the rebellions several months ago, Colin had been the only person he had left. Why would he want to stay in a place where he was alone?

That was one of Cedric's worst fears-being alone, without anyone to support and without anyone that he could lean on.

"Anyways, where are we going?" asked Cedric. He tried to sound optimistic, but it probably didn't sound right at present date.

[NinjaButterfly]

"I want us to try and reach California, maybe make our way towards Washington," Colin said as he pulled apart a cut in the fence and walked through before holding it open for Cedric. "That's about a two-thousand mile journey. Do you think you can handle that, kid? I'll go at a slower pace for you, but I would like to make it there before I died of old age."

[KikuHimura]

Cedric slipped through the fence, and then turned to him. "Wait just a minute. You want to get to California?" He just stared at him. "Why do we have to go that far?" He clenched his fists, getting annoyed.

"Colin, will you stop giving me bits and pieces and just tell me the entire plan?"

A slightly childish expression crossed his face, the one that he hated. He knew it had, too, but he couldn't help it. Colin had just been so secretive lately, and he'd had more than enough of it.

[NinjaButterfly]

Colin turned to look at him and scowled when he saw him. Even through the gas mask, he could see the look he was giving him just from the way he squinted his eyes. "Isn't it enough to believe that I'm going to keep you safe and find us a safe place we can call home?"

He started walking again, not turning to look at him. To be truthful...he didn't exactly know the plan because he didn't know much about this place aside from knowing the locations of a few communities within a one-hundred mile radius.

[KikuHimura]

Cedric gritted his teeth, but decided to let it go-for now, at least. Of course, he would pressure him about it later, but they'd just escaped the place that they'd lived at for their entire lives. He was probably tired and in no mood to be interrogated. He settled with glaring at his back for a long while before finally going after him, walking a few steps behind him.

Then he heard the shout from further down the street, causing him to pause in surprise. It sounded like a male, but it was a bit more high-pitched, like a yelp of pain. He wasn't sure what to do in such a situation, so he looked to Colin, waiting for him to take action.

[NinjaButterfly]

Colin tensed when he heard the shout and quickly pressed himself against a dying tree before whipping out his pistol. He didn't know if he should but he needed to know what the situation was like out here, so he turned to look at Cedric sternly. "Stay here and hide...I'm going to go check it out," he whispered softly. Without waiting for a response, he walked in the direction the screams were coming from. Once the guy was in sight, he tucked himself behind another tree, gun raised, and took in the situation...

[KikuHimura]

Cedric was prepared to protest, but Colin had left before he could even get a single word out. With an inaudible sigh, he ducked behind a rusted car, pulling out the knife that he always kept tucked into his boot. He didn't know if they'd come for him, so he had to be wary.

A young girl lay on the ground, a rusted bear trap having latched around her ankle. Blood seeped steadily everywhere; her whimpers and groans steadily receded as her life force left her body. With one final effort, she managed a feeble plea, having noticed Colin. Her dirty fingers stretched towards him, shaking terribly. "Please, help me..."

[NinjaButterfly]

Colin stared at the girl for a moment, his heart pounding in his chest. He hesitantly stepped out from cover before very slowly making his way towards her while looking out for more traps, gun still raised; he couldn't afford to take any chances. Once he got to her side, he holstered the gun and kneeled beside her. To be truthful, he didn't think she would survive but he wasn't going to walk away without trying.

"When I open the trap, pull your leg free," he said, taking hold of it. "One...two...three." He used all his might to slowly pry the rusty bear trap open, barely having the strength to open it as it shook to snap shut on his hands. "Move!"

[KikuHimura]

The girl slid back with all the force she could muster, glancing up at the kind man and then at her foot. Her foot looked like it was only staying connected to her leg by threads. She swallowed nervously, her heart fluttering in her chest as she watched the blood continue to pool underneath her.

[NinjaButterfly]

Colin carefully and quickly pulled his hands out of the trap and jumped back as it snapped shut. He froze up momentarily at the sight of all the blood, memories beginning to flood back from the raider and...his parents. He, too, hadn't ever told Cedric that he saw their parents take their last breaths and held onto their bloodied bodies before he was ripped away from them, never to see them again.

"Cedric, get over here," he said ask loud as he dared to yell, not wanting to attract attention if possible. He grabbed a ratty bandanna from another pant pocket before pressing it firmly to the bleeding wound. "Get some bandages out of my bag and hurry with it." This girl would probably die anyways and he knew that they shouldn't waste their supplies, but if there was a slim chance she'd survive then it was worth the loss of the supplies. "What's your name?" He hoped small talk would get her mind off the pain a little.

[KikuHimura]

The girl looked over at the boy as he ran over, knelt down, and pulled out some medical supplies. "It's...it's Susanna." She shook as she continued to view her receding ability to live. "I'm going to die, aren't I?"

Cedric glanced over at the girl. She didn't look that much older than him. Did she really deserve to die at such a young age?

[NinjaButterfly]

Colin sat in tense silence as he pulled a knife from his belt loop before looking up at her. "We're going to try and prevent that from happening. But you must know this leg has had it...I'm going to finish cutting it off to bandage it good, okay?" He hesitated a moment before deciding to pull off his mask and turned to look at his brother. If the girl could breathe in the air in this area, couldn't they? "Turn around, Cedric. You don't need to see this." With one last confirmation look from the girl, he took his knife and sliced through the remaining flesh like butter before quickly beginning to bandage the wound. "I'm really sorry, Susanna, but it had to be done."