Chapter I

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RAT EYE ECHO 100212

Thousand of children were lost after and during the change. There was once a man, a man named Robert Ingman. He was a father to dozens of escapees. More recently, a father to me and Golden-Eye.

battery dead

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Golden-Eye opened his eyes that stung with salt.

"You ok?"

"Yeah," Ninde answered.

They must have been lying there, basking in the sun for hours.

"We get them? Drum and Ella," Golden-Eye asked with a lump in his throat.

"No, not yet. The bodies will be fine, the cold will preserve them. I saw it in some movies.

Ninde thought about Golden-Eye's soon-to-be-now vision. Thousands of children. Big, small, young, old. All saved.

"We need to get the kids out of the dorms and Meat Factory," Ninde demanded.

Deep inside, she didn't want to leave the beach. She wished she and Golden-Eye could stay there, forever lovers, alone without cares in their life together.

Golden-Eye got up and walked over to the Myrmidons body.

"Alan...," he whispered.

"What?"

"Nothing. What we do with bodies?"

"I don't know."

He went over to Ninde and knelt down next to her.

"Ninde, it's ok," he said, whispering in her ear.

He gave her a romantic kiss on her ear.

"Thanks," she said, as if she was about to cry.

She started weeping and fell into Golden-Eye's arms. He felt her hair between his fingers. Even with the sand and dirt all over her, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"I love you Ninde," Golden-Eye said. "I always will."

After a while of sitting together on the sunny morning beach, they got up and started a return to the hut that they where in a few hours ago. It was all gone. No Over Lord bodies, no equipment, no thrones, no nothing.

"We can't stay here. It wrong. To many bad memories," Ninde stated.

They left there, never to return. They walked down the golden beach, bare foot. They went on, hand-in-hand, not having to hid their teen age love.

"We need shoes," she said.

"I don't," Golden-Eye said. He lifted his foot to show a giant calis running the length of his foot-arch. "tough feet."

They both laughed. Laughter felt good, after so long of fighting and hiding.

"OK, well we still need shoes."

"Cache," suggested Golden-Eye.

"Yeah. I think the closest one is in the old Bank of America building. We could take the west 10 to the main ju-"

"Ninde," Golden-Eye said cutting her off.

"Sorry, I'm not used to traveling above ground in the city."

"It ok."

Both of them now ready for the above ground voyage.

"Lets walk then," she said. "Could be fun."

Once they got to the street, they were off. They called a break about 2 miles in. Golden-Eye saw Ninde picking at her feet.

"Ninde OK?" Golden-Eye asked.

"Yeah, just a couple blisters. I haven't walked bare foot in a long time."

"I carry you if you want," Golden-Eye offered.

He started to blush. He turned around and started to walk away, think his offer was turned down when Ninde leaped up and got on his back.

She was giggling. Golden-Eye started running down the street, both of them enjoying the fun together.

"Where cache?"

"It's about 4 miles that way," Ninde said pointing over his shoulder.

She was pointing down Main St., which ran through the whole city.

"OK," he answered with a perky tone.

"Your feet still ok, Golden-Eye?"

"Yup!"

"Dam, your feet are like rocks!"

Another one of their first happy moments together.

Ninde's watch stopped working, but they both knew it was early. Mabye noon. The sun was straigt over-head.

Walking past some overgrown trees, they rested in the shade, both panting from the heat. The building and cars were not too over grown as a result of the weather that the Over Lord kept up. But that was gone, it was sunny and beutifle.

"We need a car," Ninde said," or at least bikes. You know how to ride a bike?"

Golden-Eye just gave a blank stare.

"What a bike?"

"Oh, you haven't seen one, have you."

Ninde contemplated on how to explain the concept of a bike.

"Never mind," she said," It will be easier just to show you when we get one. There has to be one around here somewhere."

They spent the next 2 hours searching through gaurages and small houses. They found every thing from old sneakers to gardening tools.

They decided to keep going, to search later where they thought there might be some.

"We still need to get the first aid kits and food," she said showing off here old "new" shoes.

"Blisters still bad?"

"Yeah."