Author's Note

You have no idea how sorry I am for the massive gap between chapters (not to mention the lack of a payoff in terms of the word count in return for your patience). In lighter news, I'm still looking for proofreaders, editors, and maybe even a co-author or two for the rest of this story.

To those who faithfully follow this story and me in general, I can't thank you enough. Please keep reading, and I hope you enjoy this installment, wherein we rejoin ILU and STM.

Running

Chapter 6: Running

Senate Bill 48: All Citizens who are not accounted for at their home, place of work, or place of learning shall be sought immediately. If they do not report within 48 hours they will face relocation without discrimination.

Dirt. That was all that the rainbow-haired girl could think of when she reached the thin wood behind the boy’s home. She was covered in dirt, much of it clinging to the small beads of sweat dripping down her body and clothes. With skin glistening in soft moonlight, her magenta eyes turned to find the mysterious boy who had saved her. He soon appeared, beckoning her to a nearby bush. Once behind the shrub, the girl turned to face the blue eyes staring at her. They two lay still for what felt like an eternity before the boy worked up the courage to speak.

“Are you hurt?”

“N-No.”

“Are you zapped?”

“Huh?”

A sharp inhale betrayed the boy’s confusion in trying to remember the word he had heard once before that meant the same thing as…

“Tired! Are you tired?”

“A bit,” the girl whispered uncertainly. “But nothing I can’t handle.”

The boy looked out over the thin forest before them, taking in everything that had just happened. Whatever this girl was, the Senate must want her very much to send in a full spraid party to acquire her. Beyond that, he had lost his home. The one thing he had allowed himself to love in so long, gone.

He turned back to the girl.

“We must go.” A pair of magenta eyes looked up with worry.

“Where could we possibly go?”

The boy thought. They would be on every street corner in the ‘Running Citizens’ section of every publy around the country. Too many people would be likely to recognize either of them. The only option open to them was north: the unincorporated territories would take them in without question, assuming they made it there alive.

“We will go north. There are settlements and cities beyond the Senate’s reach where we can hide for a time.” The boy faced his companion again, her uncertainty showing in furrowed eyebrows.

“Are you sure we can make it?”

“Do you still claim to be Rainbow Dash?”

“Y-Yes.”

“Then you are as certain of the chances for our survival as I am of your state of mind. We should go now.” The boy ran off toward the forest.

The girl stopped in the middle of standing up. Had he just suggested that she was insane? Shaking her head she stood and ran after the boy just as the glow of flashlights reached the bush they had just occupied.

They ran for what seemed like hours, stopping only to gather their breath and, occasionally, to pick some berries for food. The moon and stars were their only source of light, a small compass the sole guide they had.

When the moon reached its zenith they rested for a longer time than before. Panting, the girl looked wide-eyed to the strange boy who was leading her. He did not seem to be short of breath even though they had been at a full sprint for nearly an hour. Looking at the girl, his blue eyes bored into hers.

“We rest for another ten minutes, then move on.”

“Where are we going?” asked the girl between deep breaths. The boy looked up at the stars glistening in the sky.

“We are perhaps a day from the Fortrik Province. Once there we will be safe from all but an invasion.”

“Why?”

“Fortrik became an independent province some time ago. They have no treaties with this country aside from armistice. They will not send us back here if it can be avoided.”

The girl became confused hearing him talk about Fortrik. He spoke with a voice somewhere between reverence and disgust, never betraying if he loved or hated his homeland. Having grown up in a place of peace, the concept of wanting to leave home puzzled her.

“Is…there anywhere we can stay for the night?” asked the girl timidly. “I need to sleep.”

The boy looked at her, amazed that she could already be ready to rest for the night. Looking down, he began hearing his own heart. The slow rhythm a result of years of focused practice not letting himself show any signs of weakness, the sound and feeling both calmed and aggravated him. Maybe it was best for them to rest; she was not accustomed to long sprints or life on the run. Then again, neither was he.

A small breeze blew through the trees to cool the resting youths. Slightly startled by the sudden feeling, the boy looked up toward the source of this wind, only to see something that intrigued him.

“There is a cave less than a mile from here,” he said softly. “We will walk there and sleep until sunrise.” He looked at his companion. “Is that acceptable?”

Nodding, the girl stood up and motioned for him to lead on. They marched toward the small cave, feeling the ground harden under their feet with each step. As they arrived at the shelter, the boy reveled in the small comfort of cool air on his face. For the first time he truly let go and took in the world around him.

Never before had he ventured out of the city of his childhood. Always that glow behind them had ruled his days and haunted his nights. For years he had dreaded what had come only hours ago, and yet never had this been in any of his plans. That quiet obedience all Citizens were trained with from birth had ruled the boy for over a decade as life moved along for him.

But now, the freedom of where they stood finally caught up with the weary youth. Sure, he had heard of caves and the wild growing up, but there was something… magical about being here. To experience it was—the boy suspected—what travelers often meant when they spoke of the euphoria of the wilderness, and the calm that washed over every living thing at night. The soft chirping of crickets breaking the silence, tall trees and green grass lit against a dim moon, a gentle breeze cooling the air… it was paradise.

The boy took one last, deep breath before beginning to gather the materials for a small fire. It would become far colder that night, and they needed to stay warm. There were sticks lying about the entrance of the cave, and a small pile was soon amassed father inside. With that and a few dead leaves, the boy attempted to light the source of awaiting heat. Gathering two rocks from nearby, he struck.

One strike: not even a spark.

Two strikes: still nothing. It looked far easier in the reruns.

Three strikes: there! A small spark appeared, failing just before the leaves.

Four strikes: an ember appeared on a leaf, soon catching and lighting the whole membrane.

A few minutes later, there was a small fire lighting and warming the dank alcove the pair had found for themselves. Sitting in silence, the boy resisted all conversation offered by his companion. He merely stared into the yellow flames, their delicate dance entrancing him. Finally giving in, the girl stood up and wandered to the front of the cave to stare out at the wilderness.

There was an eerie calm washing over her as a breeze cooled the night. Far off, the girl glimpsed a bird swiftly darting between two trees, a single tear running down her cheek at the sight.

Flight: the one thing the girl had in life that was truly hers. In the air she was alive and careless. The wind rushing through her hair, the sight of a blue sky as the sun rose.

In that clear sky, the girl was free.

Suddenly she flew in her mind back home, and there saw her friends waiting. They enveloped her in a warm embrace she knew too well and missed too much. The love she felt was unmatched and the pain at not being there, crippling.

A soft gust of wind flew past the cave entrance, causing the girl to shiver. Looking up at the bright moon she could not help but wonder if her friends saw the same sky, if they cried as she did in longing for their friend.

Probably not, she thought. They don’t need me. Another clear tear fell to her lip, salting it slightly. I’m just an arrogant child in their eyes…why would they miss me? Quietly, the girl fell to her knees and let out a silent cry of despair, letting the tears finally flow unhindered.

A few dozen meters away, a pair of blue eyes looked out at her, never blinking, never turning away.

The sun rose over a lush forest, illuminating the small hills that pocketed the landscape. As the light reached the boy, he rose, his sandy hair sticking to the wooden floor on which he found himself. Fully opening his eyes, the boy turned to face the door to his left. Calmly he walked toward it, pulling the handle silently. It opened to reveal his parents and sister, dressed all in suits and ties and strapped to leather chairs. Fear overtook the boy as he faced the only people he had ever loved… people he knew to be dead.

His sister, a tall, slender girl black of hair, looked over the boy’s head with eyes grey as soot. Her thin mouth was frozen in a straight line, her entire body petrified in fear.

“S-Sister?” The boy’s voice was higher than he remembered. The girl in the chair stared ahead as sure as ever.

“Sister? Please look at me.” Still no response.

“Sister!” He screamed as loud as he could, but to no avail. He continued for several minutes until his voice became hoarse and tears began streaming down his face. Why would she not look at him? The boy fell to his knees and into despair.

“S-Sis. I wan-want you h-home,” he choked between sobs. “P-P-Please come back.”

As he looked up, the boy’s sister finally closed her eyes. Slowly her face turned down and her eyes opened to look at him. The boy only saw sockets where they had once been. As he backed away she stood and began walking toward him. The nearer she came, the more her eyes reappeared. He gathered his courage and stood to face her. The girl reached out to him, never saying a word, but love in her eyes. They embraced for a moment, both falling to tears. Suddenly the boy felt her begin to fade away. He pulled away and looked at her with fear in his eyes. She crumbled in his arms, smiling softly and kissing his cheek and dissolving to ashes.

The boy screamed until he saw his mother standing over him, soft love in her eyes. She looked through him with a soul-piercing stare before speaking.

“It’s time to leave.” His mother’s voice was wrong. It sounded like a man’s. Almost… like his father’s.

“Wake up,” she said. The boy tried not to listen to the false mother before him.

“Wake up!” He saw a light behind him.

“Are you there?” The boy walked toward the doorway.

“Please wake up!” He jerked awake to find the girl with rainbow hair staring at him with concerned eyes.

“You were screaming,” she said. “How bad was it?”

He simply looked at her, not saying a word.

“Your nightmare… how bad was it?”

The boy looked down and slowly stood. “No better or worse than any other dream.”

“Care to talk about it?”

“I would rather not,” he said, looking away from her dejectedly. Walking to the mouth of the cave he saw that the sun had risen nearly three hours in the sky. The boy turned to his companion.

“We should go. I will not be long before the search parties arrive in this area.”

They packed the camp swiftly, throwing the remnants of their fire into the woods surrounding the cave. After burying the burnt wood and ashes in leaves and dirt, the girl met with the boy near the cave where they turned north and began running again. The trees and bushes gave them cover as the day marched on and they ran further north. Here and there, birds would sing and fly away from the oncoming youths as if to warn them off the path they were following. Within an hour they were slowing to a swift walk in order to catch their breath, their heavy inhales sharpening against the cold morning air. They would stop briefly to pick berries and eat along the way, hiking beside streams to drink from.

Near midday the two stopped by the mouth of a larger stream and rested for a time. They sat in silence until they readied to leave. Standing up the girl looked at the boy.

“Where exactly are we going?”

“West Fortrick,” he replied softly. “It is a city beyond the jurisdiction of the Senate. We will be safe there until the search dies down.” The girl nodded, thinking. If they were going that far north, would the city welcome them? Two outsiders on the run from these strange people chasing them… who would trust them?

Suddenly the boy pulled her behind a bush, looking up intensely. Rather than ask what was happening, the girl decided to remain silent and look up with him. Within a minute a strange flying device appeared overhead and looked to be scanning the ground below. It was a shiny silver, curved and sloped in appearance with its coat shimmering in the sunlight. The tendril hanging from the bottom was snaking around near the forest floor and its small eye passed over the bush where the two were hiding.

A few minutes later, the flying thing disappeared as quickly and silently as it had come. The boy held the girl in place for some time before allowing them both to stand by the stream again. She looked at him worriedly.

“What… what was that?”

“A Seatrak. Flying machine piloted for searches in this forest. I was surprised we avoided them as long as we did.”

“Well… did it see us?”

“No,” he said cautiously. “We would be in that ship if it had. But we should make it farther now.”

“How far are we from West, um…”

“Fortrik?” The girl nodded. “Less than a day. We should be in sight of the border by nightfall.”

The girl was surprised. They were already that far north? Or maybe they just started that way. Either way, she was glad that their journey would soon be over.

As the boy began running again, she fell in behind him, paying close attention to how he ran. There was a certain familiarity to his movements, the way his legs thrust each other forward. Maybe it was all in her head, but she almost remembered someone from back home who moved the same way. Just maybe…

The girl shook her head and concentrated on keeping up with her guide.

The boy inhaled deeply as he ran, carefully measuring the air around him. There had been a crispness when they left the cave that had all but disappeared. Why had they only encountered one search ship? Why were there not more DAPs on patrol through the woods? Even this far out, they had to know that there was a possibility he would flee to the Fortrik Province. Perhaps it was all a trap… that would not surprise him.

What did surprise him was what he was doing now. Growing up, the boy had never had any ill will toward the State or the Senate. The city in which he was raised always provided for him and its patrons had allowed him to stay in his home even after it was raided. So why was he running now? Was there something he had no idea was even happening, or had he simply snapped after all these years? The dreams were becoming more frequent…

There was little light when they stopped for the evening. The sun had already set and the birds were returning to their nests for the night. As the boy sparked a fire by the stream they had been following north, the girl climbed a small hill to see the path they would take the following morning. In the distance there was a faint light.

Before she could make anything out very well, the boy called the rainbow-haired girl back to the makeshift campsite. They quietly ate what berries and nuts they had found that afternoon and soon settled in for sleep without a word said.

The boy lay awake for what seemed like hours trying to make sense of his emotions. He knew what he was doing was wrong, but he had an inescapable urge to protect this girl. Perhaps time in Fortrik would allow him to clear his head. He slowly closed his eyes and dreamed no dreams that night.

As the sun rose, the stars fell asleep to the sight of two youths huddled near a long-dead fire. They were slow to rise, once again burying the wood and ashes from the warming flame of the previous night and went to the top of the hill near their camp. From there, barely visible in the far distance, was a bright collection of metal and glass.

“That city there,” said the boy. “That is West Fortrik. One of the largest in the State… or at least it was.”

“What happened to it?”

“I do not know. Something that forced a quarantine of its inhabitants, but the radiation died out a long time ago. It is safe to come and go from the city and its surrounding province. We should be there by midday.”

The girl nodded and followed as the boy began to climb down the hill. Upon reaching the bottom, he turned to her.

“You remind me of her, you know.”

“Who?” She saw him choke slightly.

“My sister.” He turned and ran down the pathway, with the girl following close, confused but unwilling to pry.

In the distance, a small bird refused to awake in a nest, its chicks crying out for a meal that would never come.