An unlikely father
Walking through the rain, past the alley into the underground. Someone called. My name was shot through the air. I shuddered. I turned around. There stood a man, alone. He began to laugh. He pulled out a gun. I began to run. Into the red-section my legs took me. Past the sewer entrance. Someone grabbed my arm. Dragged me down into the sewers. I was punched in the face. Semi-conscious I was thrown to the ground. My heart was rebelling against my chest. An evil laugh perforated the air. He got on top of me...
I awoke with a start. Not again... The memory of that night was seared into my mind forever. Turning over on my mattress, I sighed. Life was hard, I had to admit it.
Morning eventually broke and I got up, leaving my small hut in the slums at around a quarter to seven, to my new job. Walking along the rickety wooden platforms I thought about how lucky I was to actually land this job. Nowhere else wanted me because of the class of person I was. Krimzon Guards were patrolling the streets as usual, sending death stares to anyone in which they pleased. I hated them, hated them with passion. Why they had to enforce laws which made no moral sense was beyond my understanding. The Baron, of course was the main source of the problem, I think everybody in this Haven agreed. Another point we all agreed on, was the fact we could do nothing about it, whether we liked it or not.
Half an hour later, I arrived at the entrance to the stadium-section, the higher-class citizens were walking around, the same as everywhere else in this damned city. We were all the same, no mater where you happened to live. Fishing my green security pass out of my pocket I passed through the glowing force-field, into the softer looking section. The metal shone in the sun, giving a metallic feel to life. The Baron states that to stay out of his prison, we should make sacrifice. We are all in prison, the walls of the city are like bars, the guards walking around are like constant prison guards and the general life is appalling. I personally think that is enough sacrifice.
The overpowering structure of the stadium came into immediate view as I turned a cobbled-stone corner. This was it, my new job. I was a mechanic for the Krimzon Guard. How Ironic. I hated them and yet I worked for them, but I need the money, so my every-growing hatred for them would have to hide for a while. I walked slowly up the steps and into the garage, where I was greeted by two other women, also mechanics I suppose. They introduced themselves; the blonde woman with bright green eyes was called Alexis. Bimbo. She wore the shortest shorts you have every seen, they would pass more as hot-pants. Her top was also quite revealing. I tried to be polite and turned to the second woman, who was completely the opposite. Shoulder-length red hair and dark brown eyes, tall and hard-working. She introduced herself as Xanthe. They seemed nice enough.
"The Commander will be calling in later. I'm sure he'll have some paperwork for you to do. For now, you can get on with that vehicle in bay 3. Alexis, could you buff that one please." Xanthe was obviously the leader in this garage. This didn't bother me, I would rather keep myself to myself and get on with it, as for the visit by the Commander, I wasn't looking forward to that.
By the time I had finished tinkering and fixing up the hover-car, it was 11-o-clock. Already. I had noticed that the other two woman had their own distinct roles. Alexis was the one who buffered all the cars to make them look presentable. How easy. Xanthe was definitely an engine girl, she obviously knew her way around them. Me however, I was hidden in the far corner, with the inter-city transport, I worked with them: tinkering and tuning them up, re-painting them and setting them back off into the streets.
Just as I got back in from putting the Hover-Car back outside, the Commander arrived. I had oil smeared over my clothes and part way on my face, my sleeves were rolled up and I was quite flustered. Hard work. In walked the Commander, with an authoritative look about him, followed closely by two guards. Joy.
"Miss Blayise?" Came his stern voice. I don't think I want to get on the wrong side of him. I stood up and turned around.
"Yes sir?" I sad timidly.
"Ah." He simply exclaimed, walking over to me. "I need you to fill these in." He rather harshly gave me the pieces of paper and walked off. "Pop them into me when you've finished." were his last words before disappearing into the stadium. I let out a long sigh, staring at the paperwork and pen.
"Have fun!" Alexis smirked. "Were off." It was only just the afternoon, but I suppose they didn't need to work long hours for money, I presume they were from a more well-to-do family. I sat down at the drawing board in the corner and began to fill out the forms. Name, Age, Skills...etc... It took about an hour all-in-all.
I pottered out of the garage, paperwork in hand to try and find the Commander. I wandered around the edge of the stadium for a while, before I finally spotted him on the track. Great. He was just sat on his zoomer, looking as if he was about to take a relaxing lap. I decided that he would probably get annoyed if I didn't give it to him, but disturbing him might also prove annoying. Walking towards the track I was interrupted by a Guard stepping into my path.
"Freeze!" That's pretty much what I did do. I couldn't find the strength to move, my voice also cut out on me. I need to work on my confidence.
"Er... Sir. Um.. I have.. er.." My voice was failing me, so I just handed him the paperwork. "Could you... err..."
"The Commander?" He asked, interrupting me. I simply nodded, there was no point trying to speak again. I was walking up the ramp when I turned my head to the left, in which case I saw the Commander flicking through the paperwork and then looked up at me. My head was telling something to my body in which I didn't know about, which resulted in me waving in an odd kind of way. Half assed. The wave turned into me sliding a piece of hair behind my ear. Walking away, I decided that it probably wasn't a good idea to do that.
Half two came around and I was just staring at the clock. I had finished another vehicle and there wasn't anything else to do. I wasn't allowed to leave for another two hours so I decided to do something more constructive. Sitting at the drawing board I pulled out a piece of paper and began to design some paint-work. I didn't feel myself fall asleep.
A hand on my shoulder awoke me, along with breath ricocheting off my neck.
"Are we going to wake up?" A voice said. The Commander. The shock of the situation caused me to sit up rapidly, thus causing me to loose my balance and fall off the stool in a very un-gracefull way. I looked up with red cheeks at the Commander, his face was as blank as ever, not even a smirk. I got up and just stood there. "Working late are we?" He asked. I frowned and looked at the time. I ran across the garage and grabbed my coat.
"Fudge... I'm late!" I shouted before running towards the door. "See you tomorrow sir!" I heard a sigh as my legs carried me out of the door at speed. It was pouring with rain. Yay.
I hated my hut. I awoke to it every dull morning, in this hell-hole of a city. It consisted of only a few tiny rooms. The front door opened directly into a small room with one window and a sofa. Going off to the left was a tiny bathroom with simply a toilet in it. Back into the living room, turning right, you round the bedroom, where there was a small camp bed with a few blankets and also two mattresses were situated on the floor, posing also as a bed.
I stepped out of my front door, locked it and began to trek the long journey to the Stadium. Since I now knew the route, it took slightly less time to get there. When I did eventually arrive, there was no-one else there. Confused I walked around, wondering if any notes had been left to tell me what I was supposed to do. After walking around the garage several times I came to the conclusion that there wasn't a note. I guess I would have to be spontaneous.
Something caught my eye. I turned around and there was a red light flashing on the phone so I picked it up.
"You have received two voice messages." There was a crackle before the first of two voice messages began. "Hi Blayise, Alexis here. Erm, I won't be in today 'cos I'm ill. I'll be beck Saturday. so yeah. Bye." Great. "Voice message two – Hey Blayise, I'm not coming in today. I'm not feeling very well. Well, uh, actually, I wont be in for the rest of the week. So, um, bye." Even better. I was alone for one whole entire week. There were several vehicles that were in here already which had already passed their deadlines. It was obvious I had a lot of work to do, at least I wouldn't be sat bored or falling asleep.
A quick glance at the time told me it was just about 8am. I had 8 hours until I was due to go home. Just 8 hours to fix 2 zoomer's and a public transport vehicle, in which the problems had not been diagnosed. I got to work. The first zoomer turned out to be something quite simple, while the second was giving me problems. My concentration was interrupted by a child's voice and an angry sounding woman. Oh no. Surely not... Not now...
"Blayise? Where are you?" A female voice came from outside.
"In here." I called back. In came a very flustered looking woman with scarlet red cheeks. "What's wrong, Reyna?"
"Oh nothing, of coarse!" She snapped, standing in the doorway.
"Mummy!" A smaller voice called out.
"Tia?" I questioned. In ran a little girl, with curly blonde hair and bright smile. "What are you doing here?"
"I've brought her back. I can't do it any more, Blayise. I've met someone and I want to have a life of my own." With that, Reyna walked out without another word said. I didn't know what to do.
"Mum?" Tia asked, walking over. "What's wrong?"
"Nothings wrong." I smiled, lifting her up onto a spare workbench. "Why don't you sit here while I do some more work?"
"Ok..." She said. She didn't seem very happy, but I couldn't help that right now, I had so much work to do it was unbelievable.
It had been around ten minutes and I could tell Tia was now very bored. I hadn't got very far with the zoomer, since I just could not figure out what was wrong. I looked over at Tia and decided to cheer her up. The garage wasn't a very welcoming place for a 3 year old, but I would have to try my best. I rummaged about in a few draws and found a pad of paper and a few different coloured pens.
"Here you go, draw some nice pictures or something." I said. I received a gleaming smile as Tia lay across the bench on her stomach and drew happily on the pad of paper I gave her. Now back to the zoomer.
An hour has passed and Tia was humming away happily with her drawings. I had finally made progress on the zoomer and was now underneath the table it was on, tinkering with the boosters. I heard footsteps but took no notice of them, I was far too busy to care.
"And what's going on in here! Is this some sort of day care group?" Shizz... I tried to get up quicker than my legs would let me and I ended up banging my head on the table. Holding my hand to the place in which I had banged my head I looked up. The Commander stood there with a frown upon his face. So he does manage emotion...
"Sir, I can explain..." I began, as he was sending me and my daughter some evil looks. He held up his hand and gestured for me to carry on with what I was doing, so I did. I paid no attention to what The Commander was doing. Carrying on I just listened.
"So, what's your name then?" The commander asked Tia, in a softer, more fatherly voice.
"Tia!" She said smiling at him.
"That's a pretty name. What are you doing now then? He asked.
"Drawing..." She said sweetly, choosing another pen.
"These are very good." He complemented.
"Thank you!" She giggled, passing him a pen. "Can you do some drawing too?" She asked, looking up into his amber-coloured eyes.
"Yes, why not." The Commander began to draw random pictures and Tia was colouring them in.
"What's your name?" Tia asked. I stopped what I was doing immediately, Tia! How awkward...
"Erol." He said, without an ounce of annoyance, he aid it as freely as he gave out orders.
"That's a funny name!" She laughed.
"Tia!" I said, standing up and frowning. I received a funny stare from the Commander, as if to say it doesn't matter. I carried on with my work. "Damn." I said, thinking aloud. I walked out of the room, and into the store-room next door. I could hear them talking through the thin plasterboard walls.
"Mummy used to be really pretty." Tia said, making me feel even worse about myself.
"Did she?" Erol replied.
"Yeh! She did! She used to have really pretty blue eyes but because she is sad her eyes have gone all grey-ey." Tia exclaimed, jumping up. I walked through the door pretending I hadn't heard anything. The Commander's face was a picture. His facial expression was a mix between shock and sheer amusement. Trying not to laugh was hard in itself. I carried on with my work, checking on them both every now and again. I finished another zoomer and got onto the City Transport Car.
Tia and Erol were still chatting away and drawing by the time 2pm came. I never pictured the Commander as a fatherly figure, but hey, I didn't expect to be alive today. Erol got up after drawing Tia quite a large picture to colour and walked over to me.
"Quite the personality she has." He said, smiling in Tia's direction. I let out a small half-bothered laugh.
"She's quite a handful usually." I said, pulling myself upright and wiping my oil-covered hands on an old piece of cloth. Then came the question I was hoping he would not ask.
"Where's her father?"He asked, cocking his head slightly sideways to look at me. And there it was again, the memory that I tried so hard to forget was playing in front of my eyes like a cinema screen. "Blayise?" He asked again when I didn't answer. I couldn't bring myself to answer the question. Instead, I walked out of the door and back into the storeroom.
"I'll be back in a minute." Erol said to Tia. She merely acknowledged him with a nod, and went back to her colouring.
I was stood in the corner of the store-room, tears were rolling down my cheeks, I was trying desperately to stop them.
"Blayise, is everything okay?" Erol asked. I didn't reply. He came up behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders, slowly moving me around to face him. I looked a my feet, ashamed to be crying. He lifted my chin up and put his hands on my cheeks, using his thumbs in unison to wipe away the tears that were strolling down. I couldn't look at him in the eye. He sighed and held the sides of my shoulders.
"Is my question going to be answered?" He asked again, only this time it was in a smooth, more friendly tone. The tears again began to stroll down my cheeks again and I hung my head in shame. I don't know what was running through the Commander's mind, but he pulled me close to him, holding me safely in an embrace. I buried my head into his shoulder and carried on crying silently. He was rubbing my back, trying to comfort me. Just as I hadn't placed him as the fatherly type, I also couldn't place him a the comforting type. I muttered something very quietly into his uniform, so he could only just hear it.
"I was raped."
Immediately I felt his embrace tighten around me. He placed his head onto mine as a symbol of understanding. Now it was off my chest, and somebody knew, I almost felt better. Almost. A few minutes passed and Erol lifted his head and turned it to look at me.
"Don't worry." He began. "Your going to be safe." With that, he lead me with his arm around my waist into the garage where Tia was. He picked Tia and her pictures up and guided us outside, Tia on his left, and me on his right.
We came to a Hellcat Cruiser outside. I was lifted in and Tia was sat onto my lap. Erol jumped into driver's seat and off we went, out of the stadium. It only took a few minutes to arrive at the destination Erol had planned. It was a small flat inside the stadium-section, furnished nicely and was warm.
"Ill be back in a minute." Erol said. Tia immediately jumped out of my arms and ran after him. He turned around after she had called his name, but didn't expect the hug he received around his legs.
"Can I come?" She asked, looking up with her bright eyes.
"Of course you can." He smiled, quickly popping into one of the rooms to get a coat for Tia to wear. It had began to rain again. As usual, Tia followed him in.
"Erol?" She asked him. "Why can't you be part of our family? 'Cos your really fun!" I was sat on the incredibly comfortable sofa at this point, but when I heard the question, I leaped off it.
"Err..." He began. "Maybe I will one day." He smiled, still trying to find the coat.
"Mummy used to play the guitar." She said, sitting onto the top of a box.
"Really?" Erol exclaimed, truly interested.
"Yeh! But she selled it to get me some medicine when I was poorly. She did singing too." Erol had found the coat and was putting it on Tia.
"Oh." Was all he said.
Out she ran and twirled in front of me, obviously very proud.
"Awesome." I said, smiling, truly smiling, for the first time in ages.
" We won't be long." Erol said. I trusted him. Out the door they went, and I was left alone in this spotless, new, well-kept apartment. I walked around, after seeing a few items I knew immediately that this was the Commander's home. There were racing trophies dotted about and old paperwork. I sat down and began to think. Erol had sprang into my life not but a few days ago, and yet... yet... I don't know. Tia had taken such a liking to him, and he to her. It was blatantly obvious. I pondered over this for quite an amount of time, such an amount of time that I was startled when they both walked back through the door.
"Have fun?" I asked Tia, as she ran over and leapt onto my lap.
"Yeaah!" She laughed. "We went all around the city!" I stood up and Tia gave Erol yet another hug, but this time, he looked over at me. He held out his spare arm and smiled. Why not? I thought, walking over, being embraced by the both of them. Tia was giggling and Erol was actually smiling. Although I had only been working for him for a few days, I had thought he was a very cruel, evil person. The rumours and talk didn't help that view either. But now, I had seen his true side.
"Does this mean were a family now?" Tia asked. Awkward. Me and Erol simply looked at each other with awkward expressions plastered upon out faces. We looked down simultaneously at Tia, who was looking up at us with an excited questioning face.
"Err..." I began, Erol also made the same noise and it just made Tia laugh. I couldn't help but join in. It was one of those awkward laughs that you do when you don't know what else to do. After the laughing stopped, Erol tightened his grip on my waist and pulled me into a hug. Tia had ran off to explore. I had never self so happy, or safe for that matter. His arms around me were like some fort of force-field protecting me from the outside world.
I had gone for a shower, and had spent about an hour in there. It was dark outside by the time I stepped out into the living room. What I found there was quite sweet, and is now the new wallpaper on Erol's phone. There was Tia, fast asleep on Erol's chest, lay across the sofa with the TV on. I stood there and smiled.
Who knows what the future would bring.
Yeh, random I know. But I felt like doing something different, so MEH! xD I hope you like it, I wrote this in 5 hours, so you better like it xD. Anyways, leave me a review if you have time. Muchly xx
