Author's note: I haven't read the books. I had the season 1 marathon playing in the background while I did some spring cleaning last weekend. The show grabbed my full attention when the first aberration popped out from behind that tree. Aaand now I'm hooked. I wrote and posted this under a time crunch to get it out before season 2 airs tonight. (Who else is really excited? :D) I can almost guarantee there'll be some typos. Enjoy!
P.s. to my readers of The Need and watchers of The Strain,- the abbies kind of look like naked deranged Quinlans if you're interested.
She never thought she'd be that girl who sat on her roof. Pensively gazing out at wind-rustled trees. The dramatic teen cliché of an adolescent climbing to unsafe heights in order to escape the sound of fighting parents. She never imagined she'd wake up in the year 4028 either. Or that said parents would actually be complete strangers. Who'd been mourning the loss of their newborn daughter. Before a sudden fictitious car accident had landed them in twin beds at Wayward Pines memorial. And yet there they were, thanks to Dr. Pilcher's divine will.
The girl's eyes rolled and her lip twitched distastefully at the thought. In the few years since her orientation she still held the same opinion of the man her teacher deemed their savior. A narcissistic nerd with a god complex and psychotic control issues. Hardly the kind of person you'd want lording over your Stepford-styled last hope for humanity bubble. She sighed lightly and tilted her head, threading a piece of hair between her lips. Mentally acknowledging that if not for the Doctor, they wouldn't be there at all.
The faint crash of something breaking inside the house made her head slowly turn with irritation. Back toward the open attic window. Her strand-filled mouth turned down in a frown. She freed her hair to scoff at their childlike ignorance and the risk they were taking. Upsetting the natural order of things. Mommies and daddies were not supposed to argue in the perfect town of Wayward Pines. She shook her head in disapproval and turned her eyes toward the home next door.
They were lucky the useless realtor had given them a poorly angled wayward house. One that'd been a novice architect's ostracized first try. The structure was closer to the fence than any other in the town. Separated from its neighbor by a generous pasture of grass which was a rare addition the cookie cutter homes that proceeding it lacked. She assumed the Johnsons couldn't hear the discord that happened often between her assigned guardians. If they did, they never made gossip of it around town. She was more concerned about mechanical ears. Her gaze shifted from the far-off neighboring house to the closer grey barrier and the woods beyond it.
She pined for a world that was not micro-managed and constantly monitored. Intrusive surveillance was part of why she turned to her rear roof for solitude at times like these. Rather than a walk through the voyeuristic suburb. The camera attached to their property's decorative wooden fencing had been repeatedly destroyed. Vandalism she'd falsely attributed to territorial sparrows each time a suspicious repairmen inquired. Eventually the poor man had reported the section's device intact and accepted defeat in exchange for a longer lunch break. It had been a large victory on her part in a small world of ridged rules. She valued her little slice of private shingled paradise. The one place she felt peace instead of scrutiny.
Which was why it alarmed her greatly the moment she felt that exact sensation. It broke her from the relaxed zoned-out state the dancing leaves often lulled her into. The hairs on her body gave the impression of raising, a ghosting that made her shiver in the setting sun. She looked down expecting to see one of her glorified roommates in the backyard squinting up at her. Green grass and the tops of patio furniture were all she found. Her next guess led her crawling to roof's right side, peering at her neighbor's upstairs windows. The unsettling feeling had stayed with her. It intensified when she spied no gawking boy next door. Or either of his disapproving parental figures judging her gutter-scaling habits.
Fear slowly trickled down her spine like torturous tap water as the only other possible direction occurred to her. The expanse of ancient treetops that towered high above the electrified metal barrier. She kept her eyes on the rough flaps underneath her hands as she crawled back toward the window. Each heart-pounding foot she traveled was riddled with the gradually more sickening sensation of being visually stalked. When the windowsill came into her deadlocked view she looked inside the attic. Hoping one of her surrogates had come up and been eerily watching her. Its dim emptiness was reconfirmed by a faint growl. The soft chilling sound floated to her above the open yard and made her pause with half her adrenaline-riddled body inside the frame.
She didn't want to turn around. She still held onto the tiny thread of delusion that let her believe in the back of her mind, that it all wasn't real. That she really had been in a boating accident. Suspended in the hallucinations of her coma. Or at the very worst, a lab rat in a social government experiment. That the sham of a happy life she'd been living was truly all that was left for mankind.
The swift unmistakable rustling of a body moving through branches made her breath catch. Pausing out of disbelief her ears had really heard it. She'd seen the slideshow pictures. But if she turned around. And one of them was physically there for her to see. The thread maintaining her normalcy would be irreversibly severed. A savage roar rattled her. Making her jump out of her skin and unintentionally turn. Facing the monster head on.
The shock of what she saw made her legs weak. They gave out the same instant she sucked in a horrified breath. A forgotten paperback skittered down the slope, knocked overboard when her butt hit the shingles. Her perspiring grip on the windowsill threatened to let her slip toward the gutter's edge after it. She averted her wide eyes from the figure as a sickening wave of reality washed over her. Instead, focusing on pushing herself upward while she swallowed the bile rising in her throat. More hostile noises sounded out. It added to her panicked scurrying that was partly fueled by the disorienting downward dragging sensation. Her heart raced harder and her bare feet kicked a shingle loose. Losing her footing a second time wrenched a short-lived shriek from her lips. Her shrill sound was answered by a deeper one.
Distressed pants for air left her and her head snapped to the side. Glancing over her shoulder the way she used to while fleeing up the stairs from nothing as a child. Afraid the vicious thing was right behind her, hanging off the gutter's edge ready to catch her ankle. A flashing glimpse of its ashen skin the same safe distance away helped rationalize her. Enough to hook her forearm over the sill's edge. She pull herself upright. Settling into a position she left secure in on the steep surface. Her head rose slowly, hunched shoulders heaving with each breath. Fallen hair picked up by the wind blocked her view in wispy spurts.
Through the pieces she watched in horror as its bald head tilted back. Lifting its nose to receive a mouthwatering scent the breeze delivered. The creature's body shook with rapture and its jaws opened greedily. Snapping at the taste of her in the air. Her own frame trembled with fear and her steadied legs pushed her closer against the wood ledge. The thing began to pace through the tree line's limbs. Not taking its piercing eyes off her. Its movements becoming more agitated, gaining speed. Cracking thick branches with unchecked strength during its bloodlust.
She gathered her hair away from her face. Watching it closer now that her initial terror was receding. It stopped, head glistened in the hazy sunset as it moved away from her direction. She followed its line of sight to the electrified savior that separated them. She suddenly felt uncharacteristically thankful for the suffocating wall. It stole a glance at her and once more looked to the only thing stopping it from ripping her to pieces. Her newfound faith in the wall dropped when it moved to a lower branch, level with the spiky toppers. Without realizing it her head tilted while she watched its face take on a pensive expression. It seemed to her, as though it were evaluating whether or not it could make the jump. An unusually thoughtful action for one of its kind to take when breathing food was so temptingly close.
After sitting on its haunches a moment it looked back up, letting lose a prolonged growl of irritation at her. It held her gaze and slowly curled back the shapely edges of its mouth. Baring its jagged teeth while its jaws opened. Its pointed tongue emerged to salaciously drag across its lips, sending her an alarmingly articulate message.
"Dinnertime."
Her face pinched in a disturbed expression and her head weakly shook at him on its own accord. As it stretched to its full towering height to grab a looming branch, its gender was made undeniable. If the cords of thick muscle lifting it higher hadn't made that easy enough for her to figure out, the appendage dangling between its legs had.
In a few short seconds he was level with her once more, leaning outward with his claws anchored into the tree's bark. The pattern of movements were repeated and he looked more self-assured about his measurements. He dropped to a crouch on his chosen limb, coiling himself into a spring-loaded starting position, digging his claws into the surface for better traction. He gave a last threatening growl and moved his sights from his prey to the hurdle he aimed to jump.
Her eyes widened with dread as she watched his backside wiggle from side to side. A catlike warning sign that he was ready to pounce. She wasn't certain he could get to her. The distance of the tree line from the wall made it unlikely. But the higher vantage of his starting point combined with his strength and a running start could prove to be deadly. No matter the outcome, she was paralyzed with fear until the last millisecond of his liftoff.
"No!"
Her arm had flung out to make him stop. The same way she used to throw her arm forward when her farsighted father would nearly side-swipe other cars. A reflex that sent the heel of her palm jutting out, fingers splayed wide. Helplessly trying to prevent something terrible from happening while severe anxiety coursed through her. The long unused automatic reaction made tears blur her vision before she blinked them away and locked her memories of the past back inside.
He'd miraculously listened. The jump was abandoned at the last possible moment. Or the sound of her yell had merely distracted his hungry focus. His claws caught him, leaving him to dangle from his jumping off point. A short growl of annoyance shot toward her. He kept his eyes on the prize as he began swinging himself from side to side. Using his bodyweight to gain momentum and swing himself up onto his wide branch.
"No!" She repeated her order breathlessly at the sight of him re-coiling. "Stop!"
The beast released a defiant snarling roar but hesitated, looking from the wall to her. She crossed her arms over her chest with them outstretched. Uncrossing and re-crossing them rapidly to in a fanning motion meant to ward him off. It was a physical communication movement universally recognized by humans that made his head tilt curiously. His salivating mouth still hung agape as he panted out determined breaths and took in large swaths of her scent.
"No." She reiterated, adding the wild shake of her head in the negative to get her message across. "Don't do it."
Another roar of disagreement thundered from him and his body fidgeted with impatiens. His blackened feet shuffled restlessly but his head cocked again. This time one of his pointed ears turned toward her with its respective eye glued to her. Her pointer finger directed his eye down to the wall and then back up to where his feet gripped the tree limb. Repeatedly attempting to show him the connection of what her next words meant.
"Too far." She explained, trying to think of the simplest way to get her message across.
The flapping gesture that made her look like an umpire declaring someone 'safe' was utilized again. Intended to convince him what a bad idea it was. His head twitched this way and that, attempting to comprehend what his strange meal was trying to say. She watched his teeth-gnashing expression morph into one of serious thought while he reexamined the distance a third time. The calculating look on his nightmarish face sent a chill through her deeper than any of his hostile sounds had.
Unexpected curiosity made her shift into a more comfortable position with her legs crossed in front of her. She watched with baited breath as he began looking less confident in his assessment of the jump. Even so, she was dismayed to find him readying himself once more. Alarm accompanied the former feeling as she realized she did not want him to die.
"No! No! No! No!" She hurriedly shouted across the open space, all the while flailing her arms like a madwoman. She forcefully pointed down at the fence, throwing her shoulder into the insistent gesture.
A sudden idea came to her and she sat up with her legs under her, elevating her body higher. Her finger jabbed toward the fence once more. She made a continuous buzzing noise and jerked her body in convulsions meant to mimic electrocution. All while her finger still pointed toward what would cause that to happen to him. The jerking of her slack head prevented her from seeing the way his eyes widened in amazement. An early memory of one of his own dying much the same way connected the missing link in his brain. She cut the buzzing off abruptly and fell back against the shingles limply to illustrate what would happen to him when he jumped and came up too short. A clipped half roar sounded out as he impatiently waited for her lifeless body to move again. Another chirped out and she could have sworn it had an edge of concern to it. A sarcastic chuckle left her and she mentally told herself she'd been baking in the sun too long.
When she popped upright she caught sight of him jumping back, startled away from the wobbling end of a thinner unreliable branch that'd allowed him to peer closer. She let out an amused snort and watched him resume his place on his favored one. Just to be sure he understood she waved her arms outward and sent him one last stern yet humored warning.
"No. …You'll fry like bacon."
He let out a low prolonged rumbling that rose in volume as his body began to tremble. She couldn't see the enraged shivers from the distance between them. But she got a front row seat to his outburst over her being right. The meltdown caught her off guard. During the show her jaw dropped father than it did upon her first sight of him. He jumped from tree to tree erratically. Ripping off whole mature branches thicker than his body to throw at the wall. Slashing any surface near him with his talons while his arms flung wildly. Releasing long drawn out roars during the destruction, akin to a toddler wailing during a tantrum. The spectacle he was making of himself made her laugh out loud once the similarity registered in her mind. It was deep and hearty. But most importantly, genuine. Unlike the polite chuckles she'd released to seem more normal since she'd been orientated.
Her laughter slowly died and her cheeks ached from the unforced smile that stayed on her face. The absence of her own voice allowed her to hear the echoes of his fit bouncing off the other distant houses. Her face pinched in a worried expression. She realized the racket he was making needed to end quickly. The sight of an aberration running amuck so close to the wall would make any first-generationers who saw it call the sheriff. He would be shot on sight. Should any uninformed adults spot him or hear the petulant sounds he was letting out, the consequences would be much worse. Her own adult charges had continued their squabbling. She could hear them each time he paused to suck in more air. Their dysfunctionalism was working in her favor instead of against her for once.
"Psst. Hey." She tried to gain his attention quietly, realizing she'd been shouting through out their interaction too. When he proved too self-absorbed in his fury she was forced to yell out of necessity. "Hey!"
The exclamation made him turn. His lips curled back in a fresh snarl and his eyes darted to a nearby branch. He chucked the slender leaf-dotted sapling at her. It landed in her backward, hardly clearing the wooden fence surrounding her property. He rushed forward, charging to the end of the limb, letting a series of more enraged roars fly toward her now that he was reminded of the cause of his anger.
"Shhh, hey, stop. Sh sh sh sh." She tried to quiet him with a soft tone and calm gestures. Her hands rose and she brought them down slowly, trying to embody the lowering of volume with a physical presentation. She switched between that tactic and pushing her hands outward to signal a stop. Making a fool of herself in the process while she tried to save his life yet again. "It's okay, please stop. Shhhh."
Eventually with enough shushing on her part his rampage deflated. He ended up seated on the branch. Glowering at her while his legs dangled off either side of it. She sat back too, bracing her legs to keep her body from sliding. She could see him let out a defeated huff of frustration.
"It's not the end of the world. I probably wouldn't have tasted good anyways. And I'm too skinny. No meat on my bones." She tried to reassure him, raising her arm to mock-bite into her own meager flesh. His head quirked at her inquiringly and he snapped his jaws once.
"Yeah, no. Not happening" She replied as she shook her head and threw her arm away from her face. It flung out, sweeping far away from her mouth, her hand fluttering in a disapproving motion at the end.
They sat staring at one another in the waning twilight. He hadn't run off in search of something else to devour like she'd assumed he would. It made her feel special in a way. Similar to the privilege she felt when she was a kid and a dove had allowed her to view its eggs hatch from a distance. She started to wonder if he was unique. Or if all the aberrations had an underlying capacity to communicate with humans on this basic level. When they weren't eating them. Her mind wandered down many scientific avenues as time passed. After a certain point the darkness of a moonless night stole him from her sight.
"Lisa, dinner's ready!" The feminine voice shouting from the bottom of the attic's stairs startled her more than the roar that answered for her.
"What?" Her makeshift mother asked. The squeak of the first step groaned out as she began to climb.
"I said good!" Lisa quickly snapped. Panic made her voice more ill-tempered than usual as she turned toward the opening. "I'll be down in a minute! Thank you!"
She waited until the wooden step creaked with the relief of removed weight. Her head turned back toward the darkness and she lifted her face to the cooling breeze. Taking in one last indulgent breath of fabricated freedom. She raised her arm and waved goodbye to him, not knowing whether he could see her. As she climbed through the windowpane and turned to shut it she kept her head down. Afraid her eyes would glance up for one last sad look at the shingles. She did not intend to return to her no-longer private place. The close call that'd just occurred made it clear to her that she couldn't. The risk of him returning and being discovered was too great for both of them. With a deeply depressed sigh she latched the window's lock and turned away.
Author's note: I know it's shorter than the chapters I usually write. And possibly crappier. Ha. I'll try to have chapter two posted tonight before Season 2's first episode airs. Or tomorrow afternoon. Extra pines points to anyone who made the connection to where the fic's title is derived from.
(Young Frankenstien!)