The World We Used to Know
Hello people of Fanfiction! Triz is here again with something new! Based an awesome work of art I saw on Pinterest, I decided to recreate it (don't claim it my own) and make a story out of it. Hope you like it. Disney characters belong to Disney, I own only two characters. Rated T for some adult themes. Usually I don't go for post-apocalyptic writing but let's give it a shot.
The Meeting at the Table
"What did you do this time?" she asked him as they waited for the elevator to reach the 2nd floor of the abandon building to come down.
"I didn't do anything this time. I swear, Livy", he smirked as he called her by the nickname he gave her. She rolled her eyes and gave a side smile.
"You sure this has nothing to do with the mess hall incident over the weekend?" The elevator was a taking a while, barely reaching floor number 3.
"No, the chief was drunker than hell to remember anything." The elevator finally reached the 2nd floor. The elevator dinged once the doors open. "Milady…" He gestured with his hand to allow her to go first into the elevator. She nodded a thank you and waited for him to enter. He pressed the button with the number 7, or what used to be a 7. Now, only a corner of the number remains. The doors closed and he leaned against the wall.
"I'm surprise you managed to stay sober. Everyone else was offering you drink after drink."
"I had one beer and that was it. I don't like to drink to get drunk. Plus, you don't like it when I smell too much of alcohol and you refuse to let me get near you."
"I know and there is a good reason why I do that", she answered. "But speaking about getting drunk, the boss might not remember much or anything for that matter but I strictly remember multiple cameras hanging from the ceiling and recorded everything from that night." She crossed her hands over her chest, leaning back slightly.
"You don't think…?" He then lifted himself off the wall and looked at her in a scared manner. All she did was shrug her shoulder. "Oh no, don't give me that shrug." The elevator reached the 4 floor, only 3 more to go.
"What shrug?"
"That shrug. The one you do when you know something bad happened but you don't tell me."
"Sorry Damien but cameras don't lie…"
"I'm dead meat now!" 5th floor, 2 to go.
"Yes you are", she answered, a sly smile on her lips. 1 more floor to go and she could tell there was sweat forming on his forehead.
"Well aren't you a ray of sunshine?"
"Perks of being your girl", she answered, a loose strand of red/brown hair coming undone from behind her ear, her fingers quickly tucking it back. You couldn't really tell when he was scared but she could. Having spent years as his best friend and a year and a few months as his girlfriend, she knew a thing or two about him that no one else did. His brow was beginning to form perspiration. "Don't sweat it, Damien, it's probably just an early morning meeting." Damien ran his fingers over his dark brown locks and wiped his forehead. Liv shook her head.
"What?" he asked, cocking one eyebrow upward, his hand ruffling his almost shoulder length hair.
"You should know he doesn't like long hair." The doors opened and he let her go out first then he followed. Liv then realized her shirt wasn't tucked in correctly and fixed it. They walked down the empty hallway of the floor, the windows untouched compared to the ones at ground level. The glass were one-way mirrors and they both could see outside into the world but the outside world couldn't see them.
"That's why you've been putting your hair in a bun lately! Kissing up to the boss, huh?"
"No, he just wants us to be uniformed and look tidy, even though you are a sole-provider hunter and fighter", she answered, his hair bouncing as he walked beside her. "Come here." She patted the chair out in the hallway.
"What?" He sat down on one of the chairs. She faced his back and ran her fingers through his hair. He wasn't exactly sure what she was doing. "What are you doing with my hair?"
"Trying to save your hide", she answered, smiling. "Done."
"What did you do?" He placed his hand behind his head. His fingers felt a ponytail behind his head. "Why a ponytail?"
"If the boss sees your hair loose and down, he isn't going to be too happy, especially if you are in trouble." He then stood up and they walked towards the boss's door. They stood there as she knocked, hands in their pockets.
"It just occurred to me, you haven't given me my good morning kiss." He slightly shoved her with his shoulder, a gentle nudge.
"It just occurred to me, you haven't given me one either", she answered, crossing her arms and leaning back a bit.
"Please forgive me, milady", he answered. "Come here you." His arm slithering behind her and pulling her in for a kiss, his hand on the small of her back. Their lips met and their hearts fluttered loudly. She placed her hand over his chest, right over his heart, feeling the strong palpitations of his heart against her palm. Then, they heard the door locks beginning to open and they quickly separated from each other.
"There you are, our best hunter", a thick voice answered, taking one good look at the adults. "And our top soldier as well. Good morning."
"Good morning sir", she answered.
"Sir", he answered, standing firmly.
"Come inside, there's work to do", the boss answered. The adults entered, noticing the table was held each leader of the team nearby, either sitting or standing. Damien spoke for both of them, pulling out a chair for Liv.
"What's there do to do, sir?" Liv asked, taking a pen and notepad out from her desk. Everyone hushed their conversation and sat on their seat, waiting to hear instructions.
"Alpha met up yesterday with Charlie as they were scouting and came across a group of survivors."
"Where there any injured?" Liv asked, taking notes. Damien could sense the eagerness in her voice. He stood behind her, his arms were crossed over his chest and he stood up straight. For being a sole hunter and soldier, he didn't have a seat in the table and he refused to take one.
"Many were injured", Eleanor answered, the head nurse of the clinic. "Charlie led them towards the clinic."
"What about the others?"
"We took them to the visitor's center, a few miles away from here", the leader of the Alpha team, Eric, answered with a harsh tone in his voice. Sitting next to him was the Beta team's leader, Damien's cousin, Eugene. Charlie's team leader was Mulan and next to her was Delta's team leader, Simba. There were more teams but these were the only leaders present for the day.
"They are not our prisoners, they are our guest and they are unarmed", Eleanor reminded him. Eric used to be relaxed and laid back, not much of a violent person, but this crisis caused him to be harsh and rough around the edges. Surprisingly enough, his wife, Ariel seemed to calm him down and bring his softness back.
"Were any of them contaminated?" Damien asked.
"They were all clear. They did the right thing to burn the bodies of the infected when they had the chance." Merida answered, leader of the hunting team.
"Now, we need to take a census", Fergus answered. "And every woman is needed to take a pregnancy test, both from our teams and the guests." Looks of anxiousness were exchanged between a few of the women as they looked away from Fergus. Many of the women wanted to enjoy their pregnancy and be a normal mother but this was not meant to be, at least not right now. Months ago, there was a significant increase in childbirth and the team was near starvation if it wasn't for the hunters finding an enormous amount of game in the nearby forest, a few miles away from the abandon building. Now, everything was regulated; everything, from food to children, water and supplies to jobs
"Fergus, are you sure this is the right thing to do? I still believe women can have as many children as they want. After all, the pursuit of happiness is still in full motion", the deepest voice of the group, Mufasa, broke the murmurs and the ominous silence. He was the wisest but he firmest as well.
"This isn't about regulating the population, this is about saving the future", Fergus answered. Everyone looked at him and waited for him to continue.
"We have discovered something important." Kala answered, her dark hair gleamed brown in the sunlight. Her dark skin was no longer smooth as it was months, even years ago. The crisis affects everyone, from behavior like Eric to appearances like Kala. Yet, there was something about her that seemed to shout loud and clear, 'I am strong and brave.' "Pregnant woman are more likely to become infected and the baby is twice as likely to get infected and most likely die in the either the womb or once they are born. We want to know who is pregnant so we can keep them off the field and take care of them while they are with child and afterwards." It seemed as if everyone's shoulders stiffen again, more rigid.
"For how long can do women have to stay off the field?" Mulan asked. "After birth I mean."
"Until the mother has stopped breast feeding the child and even then it's a bit complicated to determine." Kala sat down and waited for further instructions.
"Here is the schedule for today, Livana. Alpha to Delta take the day off, Echo to Hotel take Alpha and Delta's position. Every family is required to fill out a census and every women over the age of 15 is required to take a pregnancy test by this week", Fergus instructed. The team leaders then nodded and bid their goodbyes. Liv wrote down notes and reached for her computer and typed down the announcements for the day for everyone to see. She clicked away as Fergus spoke with his wife, Eleanor, and Kala, Damien stood behind her and waited for her to finish.
"Damien, Livana, a word with you two please." The young adults caught their breath and faced their boss. The women bid them farewell and exited.
"Yes sir?" they asked at the same time, their hands behind their back, spines outstretched upward, necks stiff and shoulders lowered. Damien stood soldier-like.
"At ease, Damien", Fergus answered. Damien still stood straight. "I wanted to speak to you two about something serious."
"Sir, it's my fault, not Livana's! She had nothing to do with what happened at the mess hall!" Damien interjected, his cheek red in anger. Liv's cheek were also forming a tint of red.
"What are you talking about? What happened in the mess hall?" Fergus asked. Livana thought and believed Damien's cheek couldn't get any redder than they already were but they proved her wrong.
"What exactly are we going to talk about?" she asked, sensing Damien couldn't speak.
"I was going to discuss about the plans for you two. Livana, Kala wishes to retire and enjoy her grandchildren and wants you to take her place as chief assistant." Liv looked at Fergus and her jaw was tempted to drop when she heard this.
"But… but she's still young…surely she could take control for a few more years", she answered, uncrossing her arms and letting them hang by her side. Her heart was beating in between her ears and it was hard for her to hear anything.
"She feels you are ready to be chief assistant and she wishes to train you as soon as possible." Damien's hand slid into hers.
"But, I don't feel…" Damien squeezed her hand, signaling her to stop talking. Liv bit her lips from the inside, bringing them in.
"As for you, Damien, you need to choose a team. You are more of a self-provider and times like these, you need to think about everyone. We are all a family and need the help of one another, just like you need Liv and she needs you. Which brings me to another matter. How old are you, Livana?"
"20 in the winter, sir", she answered.
"And Damien? How about you?"
"I'll be 21 in the summer, sir."
"Have either of you thought about getting married, whether to each other or someone else?" Hearing this made both of them blush. They've talked about it since she turned 18, knowing they were meant to be. They would sneak into each other's room and lay down in the bed, talk hours into the night. The conversation about their future has entered their talk more than once, both deciding to wait for marriage to have love sessions, though they had been tempted more than once.
"We've decided to get married when things got better so we could raise our kids without the fear of them getting sick, as you mentioned earlier and without having to regulate how many we want", Damien answered.
"I understand, Damien, but as chief, I need to make sure not only are we well-providing for the present but also for the future", Fergus answered. Both young adults nodded and took a deep breathe.
"Is there deadline?" Liv asked.
"As soon as possible", Fergus answered.
"Anything else sir?" Damien still held her hand.
"No, that will be all…good day." The young adults made their way to the door. "Oh, wait, Damien!" He cringed as they heard his name. 'Oh, here we go…'
"Yes sir?" Damien turned on his heels and faced his boss.
"What happened in the mess hall?" Liv pressed her lips down under her teeth as Damien also bit his lips.
"Uh...nothing in the specific", he answered. "Just a bunch of guys getting drunk and saying stupid stuff…?"
"Hmmm, alright", he answered. "You are free to go." Both finally breathe out once they reach the door. They laughed and raced downstairs to have breakfast. The clock chimed 9 a.m.