I'm back! here's chapter 2
This chapter is dedicated to my wonderful soon to be beta, "A Silly Miracle" (or at least I think that's her username, I don't really know...) she's one of my good friends from school and I am so excited to be working with her because she is amazing! so go check her out (she does BTR though, no Starship. but I'm working on her (; )
Enjoy!
Up had no idea what he was thinking. He had just left his home about an hour ago, but for the first time, he actually thought about what he had just done. He didn't know what direction he was walking, how he would get to the rangers, what he was going to do when he got to the refugee center, or even what time it was. All he knew was that he was going to go to Douglassville to join the Starship Rangers. But even the purpose of this late night stroll was becoming vague. Up wondered what his thought process was when he leapt from his second story bedroom window earlier that night. He even sprained his ankle in the jump; however that wouldn't even stop him. But now, each step pained him more and more as he slowly began to realize that his original goal was impossible. Up was currently sixteen, while the age to enlist was eighteen. The GLEE would want to see important documents, his birth certificate for example, which he did not possess. Even if he ever did reach his destination, he would certainly be turned away. And that was if he was lucky. He would probably be taken or killed by robots before he could get to the refuge center. As the walk progressed, Up slowly accepted that he was a dead man walking.
Although every fiber in his being told him to turn around and go home, he continued on his journey. His muscles ached, his feet were sore, and he was mentally exhausted. Up no longer understood why he was doing this. For what seemed like hours, Up continued walking without a clue as to where exactly he was or where he was going. All he knew was he was in some kind of deserted town. The community had been torn apart by war with its buildings singed and covered in bullet holes. Up crept around the abandoned town until he found a sturdy wall to lean against. He dropped his backpack on the ground and slid down the ruins into a ball on the floor. Then, he heard footsteps in the shadows. Step, step
Up froze. He didn't pack any weapons and he didn't think that he could fight off anything much larger than another sixteen-year-old kid. Up reached into his backpack and looked for anything that could be used as a weapon. Step, STEP. Luckily, he had found a switchblade on the road earlier that night that he had forgotten about, STEP, STEP. He gently took the knife out of its casing and positioned it in his hand. Up could now barely make out an outline of a human body in the moonlight. He could feel his palms sweat as he tightened his grip on the knife, pointing it out in front of him. Up cautiously stepped towards the shadows that concealed the figure as the figure crept towards Up. The shadows shifted as the man crept closer and closer until his face came into focus.
"Well, hi there!" A cheery drawl greeted Up instead of the death threat he was expecting, but Up still wasn't convinced. His grip on his knife tightened. "Whoa there! I'm not here to rob you or hurt you or anything, I'm running away too"
"What makes you think I'm a runaway?" Up growled.
"Your backpack, your lack of protection, extremely determined but scared facial expression," Up slowly lowered his switchblade, "and your fresh limp." Who was this kid, watching him? He seemed to be about Up's age, but had a smaller build. He was handsome with his blonde slightly curly hair and friendly green eyes. The boy wore clothes that looked expensive, even with rips and mud and grass stains and a bright, winning smile that was plastered on his face. "You don't have to worry about any looters, they all left about twenty minutes ago," the blonde kid threw down a backpack and began to search inside of it, "it was good practice though. I mean, if I'm going to become a Starship Ranger, I need to get good at protecting myself. Even though I didn't really fight..." The boy's voice trailed off before exclaiming, "Ah! here it is!" The kid pulled out some athletic bandages, "let me see your foot." Up didn't move. "I get it, your mama told you never to talk to strangers. She taught you well then. The name's Jeremiah Carterson." Up just stared back, "and you are?"
"Up," he grunted.
"Up, huh? Strange name. Whatever, now that we're no longer strangers, let me take a look at your foot or ankle or whatever you managed to injure." Up remained firmly rooted where he stood, "come on now, I won't hurt you big guy." Up finally stepped forward with extreme caution towards Jeremiah who gestured towards a semi-standing bench next to him. Up slowly sat down and stuck his foot out for his makeshift doctor to look at. "Lucky for you, I was studying to become a doctor before I ran away to join the rangers," Jeremiah carefully inspected his foot and asked questions about the pain before declaring that his ankle was sprained. He then picked up the bandages and began to wrap Up's foot while telling Up his life story. Up quickly learned that Jeremiah came from a wealthy family not far from Up's own town; his parents did not want him to join the Starship Rangers because his dad's best friend and his mother's brother both died in the war; he was an only child; went to the finest and most expensive school in the area; and he had just turned eighteen the day before, and that is why he ran away, because he is now old enough to join the rangers. Well that, and the fact that Jeremiah had gotten into an argument with his parents before going to bed that night. Jeremiah was an open book and clearly had no trouble sharing every detail of his seemingly perfect life he had just left behind. The more Jeremiah talked, the less Up felt comfortable. Up had never enjoyed opening up to people and felt just as awkward listening. He felt almost guilty listening to Jeremiah's history due to the fact that he had shared so little about himself; Up had barely even told Jeremiah his name.
Up couldn't take it anymore, "why are you telling me all this?" he finally asked.
"I guess I told you everything because I don't mind sharing. I mean, I never really had anyone to share anything with growing up. Whether it was stories, feelings, or even toys, I've always kept to myself. And honestly, I've always hated it." Jeremiah laughed quietly to himself, "you know, I like to think of myself as an open book shoved in the back of a library that hadn't been opened in over twenty years." Up had no idea what that felt like, but appreciated it all the same.
"My real name is Ulysses Peter Upton. Up's just for short," Up blurted.
"Still a weird name, but I guess Up's an improvement. Is it from your initials or nickname of some kind?"
"Both, I guess"
"You know, I've never had a nickname. I've always wanted one too. It's always been just 'Jeremiah' and I hate it." His forest green eyes narrowed and his mouth now formed a thin line. Up could not tell if Jeremiah was angry or just thinking intensely, "forget Jeremiah! Call me Andy!"
Up was confused, "Andy?"
"My middle name's Andrew and I've always kind of liked the name Andy," the once Jeremiah, but now Andy explained.
"Certainly better than any of my names," Andy chuckled. "Very well then, nice to meet you, Andy."
"The pleasure's all mine, Ulysses."
thank you so much for reading! I hope to update soon!
this is a little late but, Merry Christmahanakwanzanewyear!
