Connor
Risa let him out today. After being cooped up for three days, she had grudgingly admitted that he was cleared for duty. He had kind of liked being stuck in the hospital though, it had given him a time to think and relax.
His hands were still bandaged, and his hair was struggling to grow back. Risa had made him put bandages over all his burns too. Now he had to go and meet all the kids that where rescued from the plane and figure out their storied and welcome them to the Graveyard.
He stepped out of the plane, the rush of warm air hitting him, reminding him that there is another world outside his. In the distance, he can see the pile of charred ashes and metal that used to be the plane. They got lucky that it didn't crash anywhere else and set the other planes on fire. That would have been a disaster.
Hayden strides up to him, "come to see the new arrivals?"
Connor nods.
"Well, come right this way. The ones that have recovered from their injuries are staying in the newbie pane."
Connor follows him across the grounds, noticing how dry the air is.
"How long has it been since it's rained?" he asks.
"I don't know. It's been a while."
"I'll say." Connor muttered under his breath.
They reach the newbie plane and stride inside. The kids look up at them with a frightened gaze as the door bangs against the hollow interior. He scans the group. There's about twenty of them. He tries to remember each face. There's a girl with long black hair and green eyes, another with cropped brown hair and a scar across her cheek. A boy sits at the very back, glaring at both of them, his sandy blond hair flopping into his eyes making him look less ferocious.
Connor clears his throat to cover the silence. "Well, welcome to the Graveyard. Sorry about your rough landing yesterday. Here we work to unwind what the government has done to us. We are working in end unwinding. We infiltrate harvest camps, stop buses, anything. Here at the graveyard, there are a multitude of jobs you can work to help our cause. I want you to know that you will be safe here and counted as an individual. My name is E. Robert Mullard, but you can call me Connor."
A few kids clap quietly, but most of them just stare at him blankly, their eyes a mixture of feelings. "I hope you soon find yourself at home here." Connor says, and then nods to them and turns to leave.
Hayden catches up with him as he strides to the Admirals jet.
"That went well."
Connor sighs. "They seem so dejected, and you know me, I've never been very good with words."
"They'll come around," Hayden assures him, "it will just take some time. They lost friends and siblings in that fire. Did you see the girl with the green eyes and black hair? Here twin sister died in the fire. Risa treated her, both of them. I bet she feels extremely guilty."
"Can't they see we're trying to help them?" a frustration he didn't know he possessed bubbles to the top. He swallows, trying to get his temper back in check. "I just wish they would realize that they are home now, whether they like it or not."
Risa
The new kids in the infirmary are getting better. Their coughs have subsided and they are beginning to sit up and talk to one another. Keeping them in bed is getting to be a hassle.
Along with the new unwinds, there are the regular sun burns, coughs, cuts and injuries. Her nerves are frazzled, and finally Risa tells one of the other nurses to watch over the kids and sprints from the plane at top speed.
She would like to stay outside, but the heat pours down, washing them in a fiery blanket. So she shakes that idea and skirts in the shadows to the Admirals jet. Temporary ramps have been placed over the stairs, made of scrap metal and planks of wood. It works though, and it saves Risa from having to call somebody over to take her up.
The jet seems empty, but moving farther into it, she can hear somebody moving about. She's not surprised when she turns the corner and finds Connor pacing back and forth over the already threadbare carpet. When he sees her, he plunks down into a cracked leather seat.
"I can't stand it!" he yells, and his eyes are full of terror and mistrust.
"Connor what is it?" she croons as she wheels over to him.
"I don't know, I just feel…confused. Sometimes my eye, the new one, it shows me things that I never would want to see, and I can't stop it."
He tries to go on, but Risa silences him with a kiss. "Don't worry, we'll get it all figured out later. All you have to do now is make sure that everyone who comes here has a home." She silences all further protests with a kiss.