**The last chapter was very dark, and mostly flashbacks, and fairly confusing—Sorry! At this point, I'm pretty much done with backstory. Also, sorry it's taken me so long. I've been busy and haven't had the time to write my preferred style—four to six solid hours getting lost in the world of the story! Anyway, hope you enjoy!**
New Ravenmore was busy as usual by the time I strolled up the front sidewalk. The courtyard, once a hangout for all the underclassmen that couldn't leave campus, was now littered with tents. Two months had passed since the bomb went off, and still people stayed here. The MRDies offered to rebuild homes with the help of the community, but with so many of us being picked off by disease and mutations, people were valuing the little time they had left. Classmates I distinctly remember mouthing off about how bad their parents were now huddled together, talking about anything, everything.
With New Ravenmore suddenly a hot spot, jobs began to appear for those healthy enough to apply. In the beginning, jobs were organized and assigned by the MRDies, but over time the few town leaders left gradually transferred the duty to themselves. As more and more residents healed form wounds, more and more residents wanted to give back to their community. Most of the jobs were cleanup crew—removing the still thousands of pounds of debris from the bomb or cleaning up after a mutant rampage—but a growing number of jobs involved caring for the victims of some of the worst effects of the bomb.
Some people mutate. Some people mutate into fantastic beasts or possess fantastic powers, but others simply grow a second pinky or a tumor on their brain. Unfortunately, the latter was more common.
It was my job at New Ravenmore to administer some of the drugs the MRDies provided to these cancer-stricken patients.
I checked out my kit and a list of patients, tugging a little on the clipboard when the male clerk's hand lingered. I glanced up at him and noticed him ogling. I frowned, briskly turned, and made a mental note to tone down my attractiveness.
I tried not to think too much about my work, preferring not to get attached to anyone. Half my patients die within a week, or at the very least slowly fester away to nothing but empty husks. I simply administered the drugs, put a bandage over the wound, and moved on. Methodical, robotic. I find I don't remember anyone this way, and I like that.
As I finished wrapping a bandage, I glanced down at my clipboard at the next patient, the one I'd been saving for last. Johnny Burns. I don't remember much about him. I know we had a lot of classes together in elementary school, but I couldn't remember seeing him from high school. Anyway, I faintly remember him being a huge jerk, and I wasn't looking forward to catching up to him.
The clipboard directed me to the gym. How stereotypical, he was always the jock. I wonder if he made the football team. Inside, cots were lined up, four rows by twenty. It took me no more than a few seconds to spot Johnny, tossing and turning on one of the cots in a corner of the gym. I made my way through the crowded room, weaving between coughing people and saddened families.
I knelt down next to Johnny, and reached for his forehead. He was burning up. Ironic, given his last name. I noticed odd protrusions around his hairline, and all down his neck, disappearing under his shirt. I tried not to dwell on that too much, and focused only on the fever. I opened my kit and began rummaging through, pulling out a rag and an ice pack. I folded the rag, placed it on his forehead, and cracked the ice pack. I shook it to get the chemicals activated, and placed that over his forehead as well.
Johnny groaned from the sudden cold, his eyes fluttering open. He looked at me for a few seconds, mouth slightly open.
"V-Victoria? Victoria Greene?" his eyes traveled down my body. I gave him a dark look. "Lookin' good," he said faintly.
I nodded, pretending to rummage through my kit again. Even after a bomb is dropped, decimating the town, I still can't seem to shake my stupid social awkwardness. I finally find the needle I wanted, and held it out to him. He pulls away slightly, wincing. I lower the needle and wait for him to relax.
"I never took you for the nurse type," he joked weakly.
I shrugged, and adamantly held out the needle again. He sighed and held out his arm, rolling his eyes away. "Obviously, I'm perfectly healthy… I don't even know why I need a shot."
I barely heard him, and pulled the needle out, emptied, and pressed my thumb in the wound. With the other hand, I deftly slapped a bandage on. I made to stand up, and suddenly Johnny grabbed me.
The pig! I thought at first, but then I saw Johnny's eyes. They were wide, scared. Normally, my patients went to sleep after I administered the drugs.
"What…" he snarled through bare teeth, "What… did you…" he started to shake, violently. I pried his fingers off my arm. They were locked, rigid. His eyelids fluttered, and suddenly sweat was pouring from him. The protrusions all across his body glowed, I swear. Smoldering, like they were about to catch fire. I backed away, scared.
But before I could do anything else, abruptly he went limp. The glow disappeared as suddenly as it came. He even sighed, and his eyes closed. I thought he was dead for a second, until the sounds of soft snoring drifted from his lips.
I stood there, shocked. I looked around. No one else seemed to have noticed anything. I looked back at Johnny, peacefully asleep. Johnny had just freaked out, I thought, nothing strange. The fever must have done something, that's all.
I quickly and quietly gathered my things, sneaking glances at Johnny. He never stirred.
I practically ran to the front office and turned in my gear and clipboard. Believe me, I know when I imagine things, and I know when I see things. At least, I think I do. I used to. Hell, lately, I've been forgetting my own address. And I've lived in the same house for… a long time. I can't remember the exact dates. I rubbed my temple instinctually, sighing when I remembered that didn't do anything.
"It's a bummer, right?"
I looked up. The clerk was looking at me, all sweaty and nervous. I gave him a sad smile. That seemed to bolster his courage. Great.
"I mean, it's great and all that we're helping everyone, right, but it's also really sad. Right?"
I nodded kindly, hoping he'd wrap this up soon.
He just looked at me then, a dorky grin plastered to his face. My smile became forced, and I knocked on the table. He snapped out of it.
"Oh! Uh, here you go, of course, Victoria… that's a nice name…" he spent an awful long time filling out the time slip. I figured he wrote his number on it or something. I nodded again as he handed me the slip of paper, hoping he wasn't going to stay up all night waiting. As I pushed the door open I glanced back and caught him still staring at me. I really had to tone it down tomorrow.
The sun was just past its peak, and I was done for the day. The other caretakers spent time with their patients, and they usually wrapped up around three or four in the afternoon.
Most of New Ravenmore was on lunch break. I had to sidestep more than a few picnics and social gatherings. One group was kicking around a ball. I made sure to steer clear of them.
Once I was out of New Ravenmore, I really relaxed. The MRDies had eyes everywhere in there. For the most part, they were good to us, albeit a little more uptight that we'd like. But being watched all the time was more than a little nerve-racking, and I could never take more than a day's worth of it. I tried it once, spending the night with all the other survivors, but I couldn't sleep that night. Every time I closed my eyes, I kept seeing everyone, like I was the cameras. I even saw myself, curled into a ball, every muscle tensed. It was creepy for sure.
I thought I was walking home, but an hour in I realized I wasn't recognizing anything. I sighed and took at seat on a nearby bus stop bench. This happened occasionally. I would get lost in my thoughts and forget a few things. But most of the time they came back to me if I waited.
This part of town had been sturdy; although the glass had been blown out and a few buildings had toppled, most of them remained, maybe with a bit of a lean to them. However, the area was still long abandoned. Some thought itched at the back of my head, something about the area, but as soon as I tried to remember the idea disappeared. I sighed again. My memory was getting worse and worse. But I still couldn't figure out a pattern. One time, I'd forget something small, like where I'd placed a pencil, but other times… I spent a few days wandering near The Fence, because I thought I lived on the other side. The MRDies eventually had enough of me setting off the alarms, and brought me back to New Ravenmore. The sight of the three flagpoles in front of the school jogged my memory, and I made it back home that night. Of course, from then on, I was watched closely. Memory loss was a sign of dangerous mutation, they believed.
They weren't wrong.
It was eerie to not hear the sounds of life. No cars, no planes, no people. No animals; they reportedly all ran off before the bomb was dropped. They sensed it, or something. I wish we could have done that.
I heard a trash can tip. The crash was deafening in the silence. No animals, right? Something else made the noise. I didn't get up, didn't move. I'd found the mutants and wildlings didn't bother you if you didn't bother them. For the most part.
I saw the hunched figure slowly shuffle out from an alley a good four hundred yards away. It sniffed the air, took a few steps, then sniffed again. It was wearing raggedy, muddy clothes, but when it turned its head toward me I saw milky white eyes. Blind. Its legs were all weird too; contorted at odd angles. No wonder it couldn't walk well.
The figure slowly made its way down the street until it disappeared into another alley. I let out the breath I was holding, impulsively. I really didn't need to hold my breath.
I glanced up, and happened to notice the hills. I remember, when I was little, I used to call them mountains. Dad would laugh and promise to show me some real mountains one day. I remembered my house, and its big, green, lush backyard, and began to make my way back home.