Chapter 1: Dale & Barbie
He woke up, confused and achy. There was a buzzing sound in his head, and a sharp beeping in his ears; like watching static on TV. Barbie rolled over onto his back and stared at the ceiling; Eva had procured a private bunk in a secluded corner. He closed his eyes, just for a moment and when he reopened them, he had the sudden urge to get out… to breathe. It was a shot of panic, his body was changing, the static was grower louder. He ran into the courtyard of town hall and sucked in deep breaths of air. Barbie ran fingers through his hair, he felt disembodied, something was missing. Sweat beaded on his brow and he looked towards the ceiling of the dome, it was grey with smoke. He was trying to remember…
A shadow loomed from the window of the communal sleeping area. Eva peeked from behind the curtain and smiled. She was getting through to him (so she thought). Eva had thought she changed Barbie, had completely woven her siren song into the very threads that made Barbie humanistic. However, those threads were still there, buried beneath the façade, thick and long they ran; Barbie was still holding on, refusing to let Dale consume him entirely. Barbie belonged to Julia; the dome would make sure of that; this kinship was a hindrance, a virus the dome would need to get rid of.
Eva still lingered at the window, smiling…thinking she has won. But down below, Barbie is surfacing, dazed. He reaches for his chest, trying to calm his pounding heart; something is missing. A tether to the world Barbie swore to serve and protect. His tags were gone. He searched his pockets and a shiver went up his spine; she was watching him. He looked to the window, but Eva was gone, instead she was walking towards him. "You're up early."
"Yeah. I wanted to go for a run. I have all this pent up energy." He was hoping he was dressed appropriately for the lie- thankfully his sweats and t-shirt were acceptable attire.
"Surely you can think of some other way to burn said energy." Eva ran a finger up his arm and pushed her hip against his. He made sure he chose his words carefully. He tried to channel Dale for the moment, but he wanted to be honest, in some respect.
"After what we saw yesterday, I just need some time. You know? As former military, I'm supposed to serve and protect."
"You did that Dale. You served the kinship."
"At the cost of innocent lives."
"I'm sure they weren't all innocent." Eva kept tugging at the waist band of his sweats.
"There was a child!" Barbie roared. But Eva thought nothing of the outburst; Dale always had remnants of Barbie's passion, even in the altered reality.
"I'm sorry. I know it's been tough to embrace the kinship completely. After your run, we can talk." Eva kissed him and smiled that knowing smile of hers and Barbie took off, a slow jog at first. When he was sure he was clear, he sprinted towards Bird Island.
Running evoked emotion in Barbie, always had. Dale tried to slow him down, to stop his emotions from playing a reel in his mind. But Barbie was still present and he was still running. For the moment, he is watching the little girl from yesterday clawing at the dome, begging for salvation. The flames licked at her back and then they consumed her. He could hear voices, Eva's, telling him to stop- that letting them in would be bad for the kinship. He slid as he came to a stop, his consciousness had lead him to the same spot, there was nothing but ash on the other side of the dome. He looked down. Under his foot were his tags, he bent down and ran his thumb over the engraving. Dale knew the importance of these tags, thinking that if he could remove them, he could suppress Barbie long enough…
He made his way to the docks then. There were two boats left. He picked one and started rowing. Dawn was emerging and he would keep rowing until he made it to the island.