A/N This may just be a one-shot but I'm not sure yet.

Bold- Noise

ME4427

Meeting the Chaos

It's a girl

That's all I can make out in his vast rush of words. There's too many and it's too thick to see deep enough in like a storm cloud. He's probably about my age maybe older but I can hear him thinking almost a man and only one month.

"It's a girl." He says, "It's a girl,"

I don't know who he is but I know he's dangerous. A knife is in his firm grasp and the words swirl around his head like they did with that other one who tried to kill me. Maybe he's here to finish it off. So be it, I've lost everything anyway and it's unlikely I'll stay alive much longer. His words are painfully loud giving me a throbbing headache.

Are these the settlers? Surely they must be but what the hell happened to them? What is this endless noise? I'm terrified as I stare at him. He's going to kill me, him and the dog, his words call Manchee. I try to make myself as small as possible as if that's going to stop them from seeing me. I'm scrunched into a tiny ball like a mistake on a piece of paper being crumpled up and thrown away. That's what I feel happened to me. The dog hops around all over the place and starts barking what's girl? over and over. Its words swirl around it like all the other creatures do. Can they hear my thoughts too?

I think they can. Almost as soon as I think about leaping back over the roots I'm huddled behind the image of it circles the boys head and the dog starts growling for me to stay.

"Good dog." He addresses him but not me.

I'm ok with that though; I don't want to talk. Right now, I feel hollow like there's nothing left in me at all. Even if I escape him and the holy man, what will I do then? Go find the other settlers? So far they don't seem too friendly. Or survive on my own for as long as I can? It won't be long. I look at him again and his eyes show (and thoughts) utter confusion like his whole world is crumbling. I can only pick out parts of his noise because although it's louder than the crazy, holy man's it's also gentler and bubblier. It says Ben and Cillian (whoever they are) with so much love and worry. It says lies and journal and answers. It says girl and impossible. Then it says owe-so-clearly I am Todd Hewitt. Todd? Todd.

"Who are you?" He breaks my thoughts. "What are you doing here? Where did you come from?"

I don't answer him though. I don't want to talk about what happened out there and why I'm supposed to be here. I stay completely silent. My eyes move from the dog and to him. I glance to the knife then back at him. Is he going to hurt me with it?

His face shows nothing and all the words say is how I'm a girl and what I'm supposed to be. He builds up the perfect image of a typical girl: smiling, long hair, dresses. Then I sense and almost sadness and his noisiness goes a bit mopey. It's weird stuff. It's so loud!

His words start mentioning me and I feel weird having a boy think about me and how I look. Back on the ship, there was only one person my age in the caretakers' families and she was a she.

Spackle? The dog barks quietly to Todd. What's a spackle? His noise says the word a few times but I can't pick anything out of the rush.

"Would you effing well shut up?"

He starts thinking about them and I can see the picture of some alien creature forming in his mind. Is that a spackle? He associates the word with it. Long, gangly limbs, high mouths and weird eyes and ears. The image changes a bit as something close to clothes start growing on it. According to Bradley back on the ship, there aren't supposed to be ant native things here on New World. Next his thoughts are about me, about my shape, about my smell and it makes that blush creep up on my skin just a little. But I'm still scared 'cos his thoughts are a terrifying place! I can't help looking at him now, at his face, in his eyes, looking and looking. He catches me staring and we both just watch.

"Who are you?" His voice catches slightly at the end and his noise is screaming sad.

He seems to get a bit mad at my silence this time but I was always told if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all and who I am and why I'm here and what's happened isn't particularly nice. "Who are you?" He repeats irritably.

He holds out his knife further towards me but I manage to control the urge to cower backwards. I know someone has to make a move whether it's speech or actions. It won't be me though.

He breaks. "Can you talk?"

I just look at him.

"Quiet," The dog barks.

"Shut it, Manchee," Todd says "I need to think."

I can see how lost he is and how he has no clue what to do here. Maybe I should trust him. There's something about him that's different to the other person I met, to anyone I've met. He's different. And I think it's in a good way but I'm not sure. I manage not to shake as much as before and my thoughts stop plotting my escape, for now. His words keep saying Noise and Noise and Noise. Is that what he calls it? Noise? I guess it's appropriate.

Todd's eyes lock with mine for a moment and his storm cloud clears slightly so I can make out some thoughts above the others in his noise. He just thinks can you hear me? Can you? Can you hear me? I know it annoys him but I remain silent.

"Okay," He steps back, "Okay. You just stay there, okay? You just stay right there?"

He keeps stepping back but his eyes never leave me. His rucksack drops to the ground with a thud making me jump but he still doesn't put down that goddam knife. A book is fished out of the bag while he commands Manchee to watch me carefully. The dog complies and stares at me hard before getting distracted and running into a bush. This is my chance. Should I take it? I mean he does have a knife but there's something about him…the angry words of his noise decide for me. He's dangerous; I go.

He's lost in the map and I slowly get up from the ground. It took a lot to get my limbs to move again but I goaded them forward, getting closer and closer. I scan the area for some sort of weapon quickly because who knows when the mutt will be back. I don't worry about Todd for he's entranced with the dusty leather, book. In a nearby bush I spot a large stick hidden away under tens of autumn leaves. I know the type from class on the ship when we'd learn about weather and seasons. Nature sure was a beautiful thing but I haven't had time to admire such trivial things.

Grabbing the stick I swing round quickly to check for the dog. Nope, not back. I sneak up on Todd and no matter how many branches crack loudly under my feet he is oblivious 'cos of the overpowering sound of his noise. I pause and think am I really going to do this? THUMP! I hit him on the side of the head so hard that he stumbles and starts to fall to the ground. He falls and falls but then out of nowhere his knife plunges into my skin and I yelp in pain!

I drop the stick. I fall on my butt. I am in so much pain. Trying my best not to show the pain, I curl up again and clutch the wound on my arm. The blood flowing from it is warm and sticky but the pain is excruciating. Never hit someone who's carrying a knife. That's what they should teach at school!

"WHAT THE HELL D'YOU DO THAT FOR?" He shouts at me so I look at him creasing my forehead in pain.

Stick Todd Manchee says.

"And where the hell were you?" He says to him.

"Poo Todd."

Todd kicks dirt at him with a 'gah!' sound of frustration. He scrabbles back, and then starts sniffing at some bushes. The darkness seems to have crept up on us as it covers the already dark swamp. I try to think of other things besides the pain but I can't. It's bleeding so much and all my supplies are back on the ship which I'm never ever going back to. Ever. I can feel the worry in his noise but I don't know what he's worried for. His wound perhaps?

"Hey," He says more calmly than he has been talking.

I look up to him. My breathing still hard and his soon follows.

"I ain't gonna hurt you. You hear me? I ain't gonna hurt you. As long as you don't try and hit me with no more sticks, all right?"

I look into his eyes and they seem to mean it. But he has the knife. He seems to understand as he lowers the knife from his face and brings it down near the ground. He doesn't let go of it but it's an improvement. With his free hand he reaches into the rucksack and gets something out. When he holds it up to me I can make out that it's some sort of packet.

"Medipak." He says and seems to await a reaction. I give him none. "Me-di-pak." He points to the cut and says "Yer bleeding."

He sighs and stands up but I flinch away. He may say he won't hurt me but he just stabbed my arm. I scoot away from him on my butt because I don't want to move too much. He sighs in an angry way. "I ain't gonna hurt you." He holds up the medipak again. "It's medicine. It'll stop the bleeding." I don't believe he'd help me.

"Look." He says and I do. He snaps open the medipak and tears away a paper cover with his teeth. He rubs the pad over his eye and eyebrow before pulling it back and showing it to me. "See?" He points to his eye, "See? It stops things bleeding."

He steps forward. I flinch but not as much. He takes another, then another, then another, and then he's next to me. I can't help look at the knife still in his hand.

"I ain't putting it down so just forget it." He pushes the pad towards my arm and speaking more softly this time says, "Even if it's deep, this stitches it up, okay? And I can fix it, all right? Just don't get any ideas about any more ruddy sticks." I watch him and his noise notices. Why's he helping me? I hit him with a stick and he's helping me. I'm still breathing heavy and I'm still watching. I turn my arm towards him so he can help and it's funny 'cos I don't want to flinch away or run from him. I should but I don't.

Todd?

"Shush." He says gently and I relax a little under his soft touch. He presses the pad on my arm and wipes the cut until it stops bleeding but it takes a while because the cut is deep.

"Ya gotta be careful." He whispers in that farm-boy accent of his. "That ain't a permanent heal. You gotta be careful with it till yer body heals the rest, okay?"

All I do is look.

Todd? Todd?

"And no more sticks, all right? No more hitting me."

Todd? Manchee says again.

"And obviously my name's Todd."

A small smile starts to form on my lips in the fading light but I don't think he sees. Perhaps, I was wrong about him 'cos he seems far from dangerous now.

"Can you…" He looks deep in my eyes and somehow it feels right. "Can you understand me?" I want to scream 'YES!' but I can't.

Todd, Manchee's bark picks up a bit causing Todd to notice.

"What?" Snaps Todd.

Todd! TODD!

Someone is pounding through the bushes, breaking branches and that angry familiar noise I've heard before.

"Get up!" He says to me but I'm frozen. "Get up now!"

He roughly grabs my arm and tries to haul me up but it's too late 'cos he's here. Todd's noise says Aaron but I know who it is. He's coming. I knew he'd come back for me. There's yelling and roaring but all we can do is stare as the figure emerges. Maybe I'm not the only one who fears the holy man because Todd's as scared as I am. At least we're together though.

I'm no longer alone.

A/N Hoped you liked it. I may continue; I may not. Who knows? I also have another Chaos Walking Story so go check that out...

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ME4427