A/N: Happy international 7 day, everybody! Just as I did for 6 day, I decided to write a tribute story for 7! It was based very lightly on the song of the same title by the band 2 Heads, which I listened to 11 times consecutively while writing this. Originally, it was going to be three separate stories, but I decided to meld them together. Well, here we go!
Out of the City
The sounds of war woke me yet again.
I sat up slowly, raising my head and rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Explosions and gunfire. That was all I could hear. I knew one thing for sure; we were far from safe.
In a moment's time, I was wide awake, leaping out of bed. I had a moment of peace, where the battles seemed to stop and I sighed, but then everything picked back up as I heard 1's voice.
"Blasted children!" he screamed. "You have to pull your own weight around here!"
And of course, that meant I had to run to the rescue. Again. The throne room was only a short way away, and I reached it in a moment. 3 and 4 were cowering down in front of 1, the younger hiding for protecting behind her brother.
"You have to do your part," 1 demanded. "Otherwise, everything will be unfair. We don't want some people to have to do everything, do we?"
"What's unfair is how you treat these two," I said, walking forward and wrapping the twins in a hug. "They're only children. Why do they have to work?"
"If they can't complete their duties, who will?" 1 questioned.
"Well, what are you doing around here?" I asked, smiling smugly.
This baffled him. "Well, I... I suppose I'm… leading, as it were."
I rolled my eyes. "And that's such an important thing to do." He scoffed, and I continued, "What would they even do?"
"There are repairs that need to be finished around here, and someone needs to help 2 with the generator."
"Why can't 5 do it?"
The instant the words left my mouth, I regretted it.
"Oh ho," 1 smirked. "So you would rather an injured man have to work than these two completely capable children, would you?"
"1, you know that's not what I meant," I muttered. Any other day, 5 would've been happy to help 2, but since the Incident, he was in no shape to do anything.
"Well, if you have your tiny little mind set on leaving these two duty-less, all of their responsibilities will be shifted to you," 1 sneered down at me from his place on the throne.
"Lovely," I made sure he noted the death glare I was sending at him. "Well then, I'd better be going."
I turned, feeling the urge to scream. It seemed 1 enjoyed torturing me. He made it well-known that I was not to go outside until all my chores were done, and now, with both the twins' as well, I'd never get the chance to go out.
4 seemed to notice my anger. I'm sorry, she apologized. And I wouldn't mind doing my part.
3 piped up, Yeah, me neither. You didn't have to do this for us, 7.
"But you guys are kids," I told them. "You don't need to work. It's ok, I don't mind." That much…
Just as we were almost back to their room, an explosion shook the very ground we were standing on. "What the hell was that?" I screamed, running to the end of the hall and leaving the twins behind. My jaw dropped open when I saw what had happened. "Oh, no…"
A plane had crashed into the roof, its pilot most likely dead, the fuselage up in flame. Half of the surrounding roof area had caved in on the impact, and the plane was just suspended there, balancing on the roof, looking ready to tip and crush the entire hall at the littlest shift of gravity.
"It's not safe anymore," I turned to the twins, who had crept closer while I was summing up the scene. If the plane had crashed five feet further away, the debris from the roof would've crushed the workshop, where 5 and 2 were right now.
What happened? 3 asked, craning his neck to try and get a better look at the scene.
"It doesn't matter," I told them, pushing my way forward. "But we have to leave."
But 7, 4 protested. 1 says we're safer if we stick together…
"I don't care what 1 says," I stated. "This place is a time bomb, just waiting to explode. It always seems to be at the center of everything. If we stay here, we are going to die."
4 whimpered a bit and hid behind her brother. I sighed, upset at myself for scaring them. "I'm not trying to be mean, you guys, but it's true. You're mature enough to handle that, right? I'm leaving tomorrow, with or without you."
They didn't respond. I turned with another sigh, seeing as they were a lost cause. "Fine. Do what you want."
Then I heard clicking. I turned to see 3, his face serious. We're coming.
I smiled and hugged them. "You're the best." I wouldn't have minded leaving alone, but I wouldn't be able to rest easy until I was sure the twins were safe.
"Ok, we'll be leaving at sunset, which gives us…" I glanced at the now open roof, judging the sun's distance in the sky. "About an hour. Pack anything you want to bring, but don't overpack."
As I turned to walk off, 4 called after me, What are you doing?
"I'm getting 5 to come with us," I surely stated, then turned and ran through the rubble.
I poked my head silently into the workshop. 5 lay in bed, his one eye shut, breathing slowly.
"5," I quietly said, reaching over and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Wake up."
He blinked slowly, turning his head up so he could see me. "7?"
"Yeah," I whispered, crouching next to him. "How are you feeling?"
"… Different," he simply said, after some thought. "Not bad, but… well, like I said. Different."
I placed a hand on his patch, rubbing the leathery substance. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "This didn't need to happen to you. I should've stayed back, not run ahead. I didn't want something like this to happen."
"It's fine," 5 claimed. "I'm getting used to it."
"That's good," I nodded.
"I'm sure you didn't come down here just for a visit," he sat up a bit. "What's on your mind?"
I took a deep breath. "I'm leaving."
In the next moment of pause, all of his possible responses ran thought my head. He might laugh, or cry, or yell, or tell me I couldn't go, or sigh, but what he actually did surprised me the most. "Oh."
I looked at him, surprised. "You aren't shocked?"
"I've known you weren't going to stay here long," he stated. "But it's only been two weeks. Really, 7?"
"A plane crashed here today," I told him. "You could've died. I'm not staying in a place this dangerous. I came down here… to ask you if you wanted to come with me."
"Me?" 5 asked, almost like he couldn't believe I wanted him to run away.
"No, the chair," I smiled a bit, rolling my eyes. "Of course, you."
"But where would we go?" he asked.
"Out of the city," I stood, spreading my arms. "I want somewhere I can be free. Somewhere without a war going on just outside the front door. Somewhere I can see the stars shine. Somewhere peaceful."
"But how would we ever find somewhere like that?" 5 prompted. "For all we know, the war might be going on all over the world."
I scoffed in a very 1-like fashion. "A likely story."
"But it might!" 5 exclaimed. "You never know!"
"And we never will, unless we take a chance. Life is supposed to be beautiful, 5. We might never get to experience that if we have to spend forever here."
"I…" He was considering it. I knew very well, if I'd asked him before the Incident, he would've taken me up on my offer in a heartbeat. But since he'd lost his eye, he'd lost his courage. "I… I can't do it, 7."
"Why?" I asked, my brow knitting itself.
"I… I want to come with you, I just… can't."
"But why?" I stood now, in anger. "Do you want 1 to keep you locked up forever?"
"No, it's just…" he said the next bit very quietly, almost like he thought I wouldn't be able to hear it. "I think 1's right. We should stay here, it's safer."
"Jerk!" I exclaimed, taking a step back. "Fine! Stay here with that idiot-of-a-leader! See if I care when you're blown halfway to kingdom come!"
"Fine!" he yelled back.
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
I ran off with a frustrated sigh. Out of all the others, 5 was the only one I thought might come with us. But I guess not, I bitterly thought.
As I was escaping the looming shadow of the workshop, I nearly knocked 2 over, running right into him.
"7!" he exclaimed. "What's the rush?"
"I'm leaving, 2," I kept my eyes on the ground, keeping from looking at his face. "And 5 refuses to come with me."
"Why, that's terrible," 2 stated, placing a hand on my shoulder. "But it's his choice, isn't it? He just lost an eye out in the war. Maybe he wouldn't be so eager to get right back out there? Just give him time, maybe he'll come around."
"Never," I spat. "1 has turned him into a coward and a traitor." I looked at him with hopeful eyes. "But you'll come with me, won't you?"
"I'm sorry, dear," he apologized. "But my place is here."
"No!" I kicked a rock and watched it sail through the air before crashing to the ground across the room.
"5 needs someone to watch over him," 2 told me sincerely. "And some day, I might be able to convince him to help me find you. We won't abandon you out there. And as soon as that war's over, we'll be out there searching for you every day."
I sighed. Why was 2 always so right? "Ok," I conceded.
"Now, just before you leave, I have something for you," 2 undid the first few strings of his chest and brought out what appeared to be a metal disk, tied onto a tube about the same size as my forearm. He handed it to me, and I slipped it on, trying to find a comfortable way to wear it.
"A shield," I stated, adjusting it again.
"I made if for 5, but something tells me he won't be using it much anymore," 2 smiled. "And I just want you to always be safe."
I smiled back and hugged him. "Thanks, 2."
At the designated time, the twins were waiting next to the exit, each of them with a small bag.
Where's 5? 3 asked.
"He wouldn't come," I grunted. "Neither would 2."
What about 6? 4 quietly mentioned.
I couldn't help but smile at her concern. "As long as 2's here, 6 will be safe."
Have you figured out where we're going yet? 3 asked as we made our way out.
I turned back to see them with a smile. "I'm not sure quite yet, but I do know one thing. As long as we stay together, nothing bad can happen to you guys."
A/N: Wow. Yet another cheesy ending. Just pretend you didn't read that bit. Well, feel free to tell me what you think!