"Now there's a hitch," said the boy, "they know about us. But they don't think we're dangerous. We're going to change that. Officially, my name is Ward, but you can call me Connor."
When the girl emerged from her crate, she let the warm, desert sun bask over her pale skin and gulped in the abundant oxygen like water. She skipped her way out of the holding area towards the children that gathered before a tall, lean boy and a girl in a wheelchair. After all the children from her flight had made it to the gathering place, the tall boy with the scarred face and the arm that didn't look quite right began to speak. He welcomed them to the abandoned airfield he called 'The Graveyard' and told them that here they would be safe from the terrors of being Unwound. But there was a catch; the people on the outside knew about them, knew about the existence of so many Unwinds who had escaped capture and were hiding in this place. He said that, when the time came, they would have to retaliate against them, but, until then, they would be safe here, helping out around the Graveyard with various jobs. When the crowd was dismissed, the girl hesitated. She didn't know anyone there, and she wanted nothing more than to hide in the solitude of a book. The blonde girl in the wheelchair flashed her a smile and she dove behind a nearby crate. The girl turned her attention to the boy, who had identified himself as Connor during his speech, and pointed to the girl peeping out from behind the crate. Connor nodded and wheeled the girl over to the shy child.
"Hi there," the girl began. "My name is Riza. Who are you?"
"I-I'm Allison," the shy girl replied.
"Why don't you go off and play with everyone else?" Connor asked.
"I-I'm scared." It was then that Allison got a good look at Connor. His shoulder, where the bizarre arm was attached, was scarred in a way that showed it was obviously grafted on. The scarred tissue on his face indicated the same thing. Allison took a few hesitant steps back. Connor noticed this and he laughed.
"You scared of this?" He asked, pointing to his grafts. Allison nodded. "Don't worry. I was unconscious and had no say in the matter. I'm an Unwind, just like you." Allison nodded hesitantly and stood up, rubbing her left arm nervously.
"I-Is there a library here?" Riza smiled.
"Do you like books?" She asked. The girl immediately brightened up, all fear lost.
"I love love LOVE books! Books are my world, my life! Books are magical portals into the greatest minds on Earth and fantastical fantasies that one can enter to forget the hardships of everyday life! Oh how I love books! I once wrote a sonnet on how much I loved them. Books can be the only proof that some things ever existed! Even millennia after a culture has vanished, their writing is still here to remind us! Epics like Beowulf wouldn't be around today were not for books!" The girl seemed to notice that she had broken into a rant, something she did often, but found embarrassing. "I-I'm so sorry! I tend to forget myself when books, music, and art are mentioned." The girl slowly began to return to her quiet demeanor as her voice grew ever evanescent. Riza laughed.
"We keep all our books in the plane over there," she stated, pointing to an old plane whose emergency exits were torn off and was missing a cockpit.
"Thank you!" Allison stated before running off towards the plane.
"Don't forget to gather at the terminal around three!" Connor yelled. "We're assigning jobs then."
"Got it!"
Allison spent the next three hours scanning the bookshelves of the makeshift library and making mental notes of books to read and books she'd had at home that she'd enjoyed. She was astonished by the number of books the plane held. She wasn't expecting to find so many tomes and novels in the false library. She was so enrapt in her discoveries that she almost didn't notice the other kids filing by, heading towards the terminal to get their assigned duties. Allison made a mad dash for the exit and leapt down the stairs two-by-two. Being late was never something Allison had taken pride in. She always strived to arrive five, if not fifteen, minutes early to everything. Her mother had made a habit of being fifteen minutes late for everything, so when Allison was old enough to get herself places, she insisted on being early.
The line into the terminal was long and Allison had difficulty standing still in the hot desert air. She could feel her sensitive white skin burning and pulled on her jacket despite the heat. A few nearby boys snickered at her, but she ignored them. Despite being unendingly shy around people she didn't know, she didn't actually care what other thought of her. She just didn't like being told harmful things to her face.
When Allison arrived at the front of the line, Riza sat there in her wheelchair and greeted her with a smile.
"Hi Allison. Mind telling me your special skills so I can assign you a job?"
"We-Well, I like to read, write, draw, play violin, sing, and study foreign cultures. I'm good at all of these things, but I don't think any of them are particularly useful in a place like this."
"I'm not good for much either, but I work in the Medical Area and play the piano for those who will listen and are in the mood."
"Sp-Speaking of music, you-you wouldn't happen to have a violin around, would you? I-It's not a problem if you don't, I-I was just wondering. I haven't played in months you see, and my emotions are beginning to get the better of my anxiety disorder."
"Depends on how good you are," Connor grinned, stepping behind Riza.
"Wh-Why?"
"I play piano for everyone every Sunday and I've been meaning to seek out someone who could play an instrument with me. You could work with me in the Medical Ward when we aren't playing. Just because this place needs workers to function, doesn't mean we don't need a little fun once in a while. After all, everyone here is still a child."
"I guess. I am a more spiritual person that physical after all."
"Alright, nurse and entertainer it is!" Connor stated. "Head back into the next room. We'll be back to talk with you in a bit." Allison nodded and edged past Riza to the next room.
Allison took a seat on the couch in the next room and almost immediately, a wave of lethargy hit her. She felt cold despite the warm air and tried to wrap herself around a pillow on the couch, hoping it would help. A voice spoke up deep in her mind 'If this keeps up, you'll die' it said.
"In eighteen years," Allison mumbled softly. 'Yeah, if you're lucky and can actually find a way to treat yourself after your body starts to shut down after eight'. "It's not that serious," Allison mumbled. 'Face it; if you don't get some help soon, you're going to shut down. Can't do anything once that starts. You won't even be able to get out of bed.' "They don't need to know."
"Don't need to know what?" An unfamiliar voice asked. Allison shot up, trying her best not to make it seem like she was tired or in any way off. Standing in the doorway was an unfamiliar boy.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Hayden. I'm one of the people in charge around here, like Connor and Riza. Is there something we should know?"
"I-It's no big deal. Honest! I'm just experiencing some jet lag." Hayden sighed, not entirely believing her, and sat on the couch opposite her.
"I heard you're a musician," he stated. Allison nodded.
"I play violin… and sing, although I don't really like to sing around people."
"Why not? Are you bad at it?"
"I-I don't think so, but, when I was at home, every time I would start singing, someone would tell me to stop or start singing over me to drown me out. No one ever openly stated they disliked it, but it was never encouraged."
"Well, let me hear you," Hayden stated. Allison felt her naturally rosy cheeks flush. She was never more grateful for her rosy cheeks than when they hid her embarrassment.
"U-Um, well I-"
"Don't freak her out Hayden, she has anxiety problems," a familiar voice stated. Allison once again diverted her attention to the door to see Riza and Connor.
"H-How did you know that?"
"You told me so during the interview. You said your emotions were affecting your anxiety problems," Riza replied.
"O-Oh. I hadn't meant to let that slip, I just-"
"It's fine," Connor replied. "It can be treated right?"
"Ye-Yes, but the medicine is very expensive and it doesn't entirely suppress the anxiety. So long as I am kept away from strenuous situations and emotional turmoil, I shouldn't have a panic attack."
"Panic attack?" Hayden asked.
"Wah! I-I didn't mean to let that slip either! It's not usually serious! My heart rate speeds up, I get dizzy, on some occasions I get hot, and, on even rarer occasions, I am suddenly unable to breathe and my vision blacks out. If I'm given time and put in the right setting, I can recover in as quickly as thirty minutes. Though there was one occasion where I gave myself a slight fever and took a day to recover, but that hasn't happened since." Riza started at her, shocked. She hadn't expected this kind of girl to have such a serious problem. "Like I said, the serious ones are rare! I've been practicing managing my anxiety since I was diagnosed a few years ago. I've gotten quite good. It's really not a problem!"
"Why are you an Unwind if you have such a serious condition?" Connor asked.
"Because of my body's constitution, I am unable to give my bones, bone marrow, blood, and endocrine system."
"Endocrine system?" Riza asked worriedly.
"Th-That's not important! The fact of the matter is I'm quite intelligent, I have a strong heart that can beat at over 175 bpm without a problem, and I have heightened senses. These things were the only reasons why my document passed through. Much of me is compromised, but I hold a few abilities that are useful enough to be worth something."
"What do you mean by 'much of me is compromised'?" Hayden asked. "What's wrong with your endocrine system?"
"Nothing you need to worry about, I swear!" Allison lied. "Please, forget I said anything about my health. It is not a problem that concerns you."
"I'm the nurse at the Medical Ward, so I will find out sooner or later," Riza stated. "But you seem like this is causing you anxiety, so I'll move on the reason you're back here." Connor brought out a long, rectangular case and handed it to Allison.
"It hasn't been used in quite some time." Allison opened the case and plucked the strings, sending out a horrific noise.
"It's out of tune, but I have near perfect-pitch, so I should be able to tune it." Allison then set to work on the instrument, plucking the strings and turning the pegs one by one. After about ten minutes, she lifted the instrument to her shoulder and dragged to bow across the strings. "It'll work for now. I may have stage fright when it comes to singing, but when it comes to violin, I have stage experience." Alison took a deep breath and played the first note of a song she knew only too well. The melody was beautiful, encompassing the realms of both the emotions joy and sorrow. It was a gentle tune that eased the heart despite sounding somewhat sorrowful. Allison closed her eyes and let her emotions flow into the instrument as she ended the second half and began to play her own version of the tune. She only opened her eyes when she'd finished playing the last, long note. "It's not the best violin I've ever played, but it definitely isn't the worst."
"What are you talking about, that was amazing!" Riza exclaimed. Allison let a light blush cover her cheeks that went unnoticed by her audience. "You have to play that with me. What's it called?"
"Hector the Hero," Allison replied. "It's one of my favorites."
"One of mine now too," Hayden added.
"I guess it's unanimous," Connor stated. "You'll perform with Riza and help out in the Med ward." Allison smiled inwardly to herself, proud that she could spread such emotion in such a place.
As Hayden lead Allison to where she'd be sleeping, Connor sat down next to Riza.
"She's going to become an important part of this place," Connor stated.
"She may help bring a little joy to these poor kids, a kind of joy that we've been unable to achieve."
Riuko: Alright. I was incredibly upset with this series, so I decided to redo it. This is a lot longer, and a lot better than it was before. I hope you enjoyed it! I'll redo Chapter 2 soon.