Sorry for the delay! Thanks for all the reviews! Sorry for those who read this chapter earlier, there was a passage missing towards the end.
/
"Well this is great." Marie declared rolling her eyes.
"What was I supposed to do?" Aelita asked her daughter. "Best case I'd have shot him and even then I doubt I'd have had the time before they shot me. Which would probably have ended up with Kai being shot also and maybe even you three. This is our only chance for all of us to make us out of this."
"Ma-Maybe they weren't lying." Chip timidly suggested. "I mean, they've got vehicles."
That much was true, whoever had taken them had technology beyond anything they had seen in years which basically meant that they were using cars and electricity. Still, this was their first ride in a motorized vehicle in about ten years. They sat in the back of one of the vans, as their self-proclaimed rescuers drove them to some place which they had only referred to as "Sanctuary". They had been driving for what Aelita suspected was hours, although of course she had no real way of telling. They remained snuggled close together for a mixture of comfort and warmth. Maya had only recently stopped whining and had finally fallen asleep on Marie's lap.
There was a mixture of fear, confusion, concern and some deep pitted excitement from the part of the kids. It was true that being attacked in the middle of the night and crammed into a van hadn't exactly given them the best first impression of their rescuers but they had none-the-less shown themselves to have some consideration as they had offered them blankets and even some food, the latter which they had refused afraid that it might be drugged. Now, the children dared to hope that they would be brought to some safe place away from X.A.N.A's rule. The adults remained silently skeptical.
A while later, the van came to a stop. They heard some voices outside and the stranger who seemed to be the leader her opened the door. He offered them a slight smile. Ulrich and Aelita most certainly didn't return it to him. The kids were a little more open-minded after all, these were some of the first other humans they had interacted with in several months. Their parents were only too aware of how lonely they could become but this armed group didn't exactly fit their usual friend-bill.
"Feel like breakfast?" He questioned them giving the group a charming smile.
"We'd might as well stretch our legs." Aelita replied somewhat blankly.
They exited the vehicle to find their new acquaintances were already busy eating. Kai's stomach rumbled not very discreetly, he looked up rather sheepishly earning an exasperated look from his father. Considering that all the others were eating, they might as well risk it... The odd little family group settled on a couple of rocks whilst the leader of their attackers went to get them some food. Ulrich looked around, this rather flat countryside was unfamiliar to him. He could make out the mountains where they had come from in the far distance, he guessed they were traveling north.
The stranger came back with a friend carrying several trays. Each had two pieces of bread with some jam on it, a fried egg and a bottle of what looked like apple juice. They starred at the food in a mixture of confusion and suspicion. Although the adults were able to recognize it, they couldn't quite believe what they were looking at. How long had it been since they had seen food like this?
"Bread?" Ulrich questioned looking at the stranger.
"Yes. What of it?" He couldn't quite understand what he was getting at.
"Bread need flour. Needs wheat. Needs fields." He replied narrowing his eyes slightly. "There's no way you could hide all that from X.A.N.A."
"Want to bet?" The stranger smirked.
They frowned unsure what to make of it. Well, the kids sure knew. They were already tucking into their food. Their parents let out a sigh, all the food seemed to be coming from the same place... So, maybe it was worth the risk. They tentatively took a couple of bites. Each of which brought back fond memories of a distant time when bread and jam hadn't been such a rare commodity. Aelita couldn't help but think that things would be rather better if a croissant was somehow involved but maybe that was hoping for a little much. If there was one thing she'd learned it was to be grateful for what little they had.
After they had finished, the teens decided to stretch their legs. Whilst Marie and Chip contented themselves with a little walk and stayed within sight. Kai, headed over to the van where they had loaded the horses, he spoke softly to Yama. The horse snorted slightly recognizing it's rider. Ulrich and Aelita decided to see if they could get some more information from the leader of this mysterious group. He was quite a tall man, with dark hair and blue eyes. His clothes were in comparatively good shape indicating that he had either acquired them recently or had been able to take good care of them.
"Listen." Aelita spoke for the two of them. "We're sorry about last night but not everyone out here's nice. It's better to be caught by X.A.N.A than some humans."
"I understand." The stranger replied with an honest smile. "You're not the first Wilders we've met you know. First with kids in a long time though."
"Wilders?" Ulrich questioned raising an eyebrow.
"It's what we call people living out here in the wild." He explained gesturing at the countryside. "Commutes, live in little community and Civils live in Sanctuary."
"What is Sanctuary?" Aelita asked him increasingly curious.
The young man turned to look at them, for the first time he seemed to be studying the two of them from head to foot. God only knew what they looked like to him, most likely like two people who had been living in the wild for pretty much ten years, which of course they were. He spent a few moments simply starring at them, perhaps trying to decide if these two strangers could be trusted with their great secret. Eventually, he broke the silence :
"It's a village, used to be called St Martin." He explained to them sitting down on a rock. "Don't ask me how but some very brilliant scientists managed to create a barrier. X.A.N.A can't see us. There's about seven hundred of us now."
"Sounds a little too perfect..." Ulrich muttered under his breath however the remark didn't escape the stranger.
"I know it does." He agreed nodding solemnly. "But wait until you see it... It's a new chance for all of us. A chance to stand against X.A.N.A."
Ulrich and Aelita exchanged glances. How many times had they heard speeches like that? What they knew for certain was none of them had ever amounted to anything other than a fresh pile of bodies. X.A.N.A remained master of Earth, seemingly invincible. Once, Aelita had believed that it would be possible to create some kind of virus to vanquish him once and for all but years had lead her to change her mind and to believe that maybe the only way to survive was the stay out of the program's destructive path. For years, it had worked but now it seemed like for better or for worse, they were going to have to change game plans.
"Look-" He seemed to sense their hesitation. "I know it's hard to believe but you're just going to have to trust me on this one... My name's Patrick by the way."
"Maya..." Aelita lied after a few moment's hesitation.
"Alex." Ulrich also opted for a change of name.
"And your kids?" Patrick asked looking over at the teens who were busy petting the horses.
"Marie, the eldest is Kai and the youngest is Chip." Aelita replied giving them a fond glance.
Ulrich prayed that his son remembered not to introduce himself as Ishiyama this time. They always changed their names, just on principal they hoped however that changing their kids' names wasn't required. After all, they had tried once and none of them had managed to keep up the charade more than three days. If nothing else, it was easier for the adults who also always struggled to keep up the codes names as instinct always caused them to use their childrens' real names.
Patrick nodded, acknowledging them. There was something about the young man which seemed vaguely familiar to Aelita. It was distant but she felt like she had seen his face before...
"We should get there by midday." Patrick informed him.
They got back into the trucks a few minutes later. They rolled for another few hours, although this time the journey was spent chatting. Aelita and Ulrich found themselves with the task of having to explain where bread and jam came from and how to make it. Their children hadn't had it in years, in fact, Aelita wasn't sure that Chip had even had any. It definitely made a change from roast "whatever they had killed that day". They wanted to know how these people could have shielded themselves from X.A.N.A, even Aelita had to admit that she didn't have the foggiest.
It still sounded too good to be true. Maybe they had been living alone, on the run for too long. Perhaps, living the lives that they had had removed all of their hope or maybe it had simply left them more realistic. Still, they couldn't deny that this was by far and away the most promising that they had heard of.
The vans pulled into a stop. They heard more voices from outside, it sounded like there were quite a few people waiting for them. The group attempted to find some way to see outside but unfortunately, were unable to do so. They were forced to wait, praying that they hadn't just been fooled and walked into some kind of trap. As Aelita had said, they knew from personal experience that some human survivors made X.A.N.A look positively mild in comparison, after all, all X.A.N.A did was kill you.
The door swung open. For a moment they were blinded by light and instinctively raised their hands to shield their eyes from the midday sun. Patrick was standing there, looking at them expectantly, he offered them a reassuring smile. Deciding that someone had better take the first step, Aelita climbed out of the van.
She found herself in the center of a small village. She glanced around quickly taking in the surroundings. This place was completely untouched, there was no trace of the devastation caused by X.A.N.A's rampage across France. In fact, the village seemed to be operating as it would have about 100 years ago; by which she meant that she had just seen a horse and cart go past carrying bottles of milk and there was no sign of cars other than those they had arrived in. There were about fifteen other people in the square other than the armed group which they had initially met. All of them were seemingly going somewhere but paused to look at the newcomers.
"Whoa..." Kai muttered looking around. "How does X.A.N.A not know about this place?"
"See those antenna?" Patrick pointed at one on a building in the distance. "There's about twenty of them set up all around the town's perimeter, creating about a 100 km blind spot for X.A.N.A."
"Impressive." Ulrich admitted admiring the town.
"Sure is and you haven't seen half of it yet." Patrick declared before beginning to walk forwards. "Come on, first thing's first. I'm afraid you guys are going to have to have a medical exam."
They didn't argue, being aware of the dangers which in this small societies diseases posed. If nothing else, they hadn't seen a doctor since the apocalypse and could probably do with a check-up. The group followed Patrick whilst the others who had initially accompanied him dispersed, presumably going back to whatever their jobs were here whilst they weren't searching for survivors in the wilderness. They entered a small house, everything was spotlessly clean. Their guide seemed to know where he was going. He walked down a corridor and pushed open a door.
Inside was what could best be described as a small lab. An older woman with graying blonde hair looked up somewhat surprised to see them. She was busy examining a vile of pale liquid. Seeing them, she put it down. Her eyes came to rest on the newcomers, she had probably guessed who they were and as such offered them a faint but caring smile.
"Newcomers eh?" She asked coming over. "Oh my! Children too."
"Yolanda, this is Maya, Alex, Kai, Chip and Marie." He introduced each of them. "As you can see, they've been roughing it and well- You know the procedure."
"Of course." She replied before turning her gaze back to the small group. "It's really just a regular check-up. Who wants to go first?"
Aelita looked behind her to find that the rest of her family had stepped backwards, nominating her. She gave them a playful glare, earning some broad grins from them. She let out a sigh before stepping forwards. Patrick said that he was going to try and sort out their accommodation and disappeared.
It had been a while since Aelita had gone to the doctor's, not since giving birth the Chip that was for sure. Yolonda was right however, the check-up was relatively routine. Height, weight, eyesight... She had forgotten how unpleasant it was to have a stick placed in your mouth so that the doctor could look down her throat and he couldn't help but gag. A blood sample later and she was tasked with filling out a simple form. She answered it truthfully, well almost she left out any information about her past as the daughter of Franz Hopper or a Lyoko Warrior.
"You're all a little under weight." She frowning as she looked at the scales which Ulrich was standing on.
"We've been eating more than usual." The young man replied stepping off.
"More than usual doesn't necessarily mean enough." She informed him. "You could do with gaining a few pounds, all of you. Other than that, you're perfectly fine."
A couple of minutes later, they were free. Well, relatively at least. Patrick was waiting for them outside. He instructed them to follow him. Not knowing what else to do, they did so. As they walked along through the streets, they saw more and more faces. Different people, all hard at work. Some were fixing roofs, others were repairing cars, at convoy of at least seven carts went by each of which carried a crates full with fruit and vegetables of various types most of which they hadn't seen since the beginning of the apocalypse. They paused as they passed by the school and to their utter amazement saw at least twenty kids of various ages, hanging around in the courtyard. All of whom instantly looked over to see the newcomers.
Everyone who saw them, stopped and smiled. It felt as if they were being greeted, hopefully that wasn't just an impression. The kids stopped to look at the school, it was the first time in many years that they had seen some people of their own age. Patrick assured them that they'd have time to see them later and that the school had several teachers and was more than capable of welcoming three more.
"Here we are." He announced as they stopped just outside a cottage. "Home sweet home."
It was an old building without a doubt, it had to be a little over a mile from village itself but it made up for that by it's picturesque location : it was on a slight hill, overlooking the village and surrounding countryside. There was a small water which stood still, despite the waters from the passing stream. It looked like it had been unoccupied for quite some time, as the roses outside the windows had grown out of control. The teens were delighted to find their horses calmly grazing in a field just opposite the house.
They entered the house and found it to be practically untouched. There was an old oak table and chairs siting in the middle of what they guessed to be the living room, with a small fire place. Adjacent to that was a small country-style kitchen. It wasn't all that spacious but instead felt rather homely. Aelita brushed her fingers against one of the surfaces, there was a thin coat of dust but considering that the building probably hadn't been inhabited in quite a few years. There were even a few ornaments and books left on the shelves.
"I'm afraid we haven't been able to get the electricity back up and running." Patrick apologized before walking over to a tap. "You do have working hot water and gas though."
"Seriously?" Kai rushed over and turned on the water. "I haven't seen a working tap since I was a kid!"
"You still are a kid." His father reminded him, coming over. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Patrick replied with a smile. "There's food and basic supplies already in the cupboards. If you ever need anything, there's always someone in the town. Tomorrow, I'll give you a tour and maybe the kids can go to school if they want. Try and remember what it was like. Until then, I'll give you some time to yourselves."
Ulrich nodded in agreement before shaking Patrick's hand. Aelita did the same. The young man left, leaving them to themselves. They explored the old house, it was a small building on two stories. Upstairs were three bedrooms and a bathroom, whilst downstairs were the living room, kitchen, toilet. It was more than any of them could have hoped for. What was more, the food that Patrick had told them about was bread, meat (beef as far as any of them could tell), some fruit and vegetables... It wasn't far off of what they would have eaten before this whole apocalypse.
That night, Aelita stepped out of a warm shower, the first she had had in many years and into a pair of pajamas which had been left for her. She dried out her long hair slightly before something caught her attention. It was her own reflection in the mirror. She found herself realizing how much she had changed in a few years, her long hair made her look much like what her mother once had, although her face was somewhat more angular but that might just have been malnutrition. What struck her more though was the darker color of her skin and the small white scars which decorated her skin from old injuries. She let out a slight sky as she ran what was left of her right hand through her hair and went back into the living room.
The scene which awaited her felt somewhat unreal. Ulrich, Chip, Marie and Kai were sitting at the table contemplating a board of Monopoly. By the sounds of it, the old Lyoko Warrior had just finished explaining the rules to them. Presumably the game had been left over by the house's previous occupants. Smiling slightly, Aelita joined them sitting in between both of her children.
"I've explained the rules to them." Ulrich informed her handing her the wheelbarrow.
"The last time I played this game, it went on for a week!" Aelita laughed thinking back to their game back in school.
"Didn't we end up calling that one off?" Her old friend asked a little uncertain.
"Yes. After a week even Jeremy and Odd were climbing the walls." She chuckled slightly thinking back to it.
Despite the risk of the game going on for an eternity. They started to play. The kids were quick to catch on and soon, Aelita was pretty sure that they had formed a secret pact and were working together in order to defeat their parents. Still, she wasn't going to say anything. It felt somewhat surreal to be sitting around a table lit by candles with their bellies full of good food. Still, she wasn't about to start complaining.
They played for about an hour but at four yawns from Kai, they decided that enough was enough and that it was time for bed. The kids brushed their teeth whilst Aelita and Ulrich ensured themselves that everything was locked up and secure. There was a silence here that they weren't quite used to; in their old lives there had always been the sound of the city around them and even in the wilds, the sound of beasts stirring in the night had kept the night alive. This place was strange, trapped between society and the wilderness. They would get used to it, if there was one thing these years had taught her it was that where survival came into play they could adapt to pretty much anything.
It had been decided that Kai and Chip would share a room, seeing as Marie was getting older and needed her privacy. Aelita stopped off at her daughter's room first, it was the smallest with only a little bed by the window, a little desk and a wardrobe. Her daughter had already settled under the covers and was the best part of asleep when she came over carrying a candle to light her way.
"How's it feel to be back in a bed?" Aelita asked her eldest child.
"Strange." The girl replied her voice sleepy. "It's all mushy... I think I can get used to it though."
"I'm sure you will." She declared smiling softly before kissing the girl on the forehead. "Goodnight honey."
"Sleep well Marie." Ulrich spoke maintaining a respectful distance from the doorway.
"'Night mom, goodnight Ulrich." The girl muttered almost asleep.
Next stop was the boys' room. Aelita took care with the candle, she would never cease to be amazed at just how much light even one could give off. She found her way over to Chip's bed, the boy was busy struggling with the covers which had somehow become tangled. Smiling softly, she helped him and tucked him in. The blonde boy gripped the edge of his sheets slightly, something seemed to be on his mind, there was no denying it. As his mother, she had a sort of sixth sense when it came to her childrens' well-being.
"What is it Chip?" She asked him softly.
"Every time we get used to some place, we move on." The boy mumbled quietly, looking up at his mother. "I'd like to stay here."
"Well, we'll have to see about that." Aelita spoke softly but firmly. "It sure seems okay but you know that we have to keep our guard up."
"I know..." Chip muttered pausing for a moment before offering his mother a smile. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight." She replied giving him too a kiss on the forehead. "Goodnight Kai."
"Sleep well!" The teen replied.
Ulrich said his goodnights to both boys before heading to his room. Aelita followed, she found him leaning on the windowsill looking out over the countryside. He had opened the window and was starring out at the night's sky. She joined him. The stars were shining brightly in the sky and in the distance, they could make out the street lamps from the town. Lights, humans... It had been a while since Aelita had seen them. She knew that they were there and that they were real, yet somehow she couldn't quite believe it.
"So what do you think?" She asked her friend.
"It seems... Almost too good to be true." He replied without taking his eyes off of the distance. "I'd like to believe it though. What about you?"
"We need to keep our guards up." Aelita repeated the words she had spoken to her son. "Until then, the jury's still out for me."
"Agreed." Ulrich nodded solemnly. "I guess only time will tell."
Aelita agreed. Although this place looked promising enough, they had both been around the block enough times to know that appearances were deceptive. Today's friend might become tomorrow's enemy if the situation suddenly changed, hence their reluctance to give away their real names. For the time being they would be Alex and Maya, strangers who had somehow survived with their children. Maybe, one day they would reveal who they really were but not anytime in the foreseeable future.
"I'm tired..." Aelita declared yawning. "You?"
"Shattered." He replied honestly turning back.
"This will be the first time I've slept in a bed in years." She confessed lying down at looking up at the ceiling above her. "Not since-"
"Yeah... Same here." Ulrich paused for a moment, hesitating slightly. "Do you want me to take the couch?"
"Why?" She asked raising her head to look at him. "You're not going to try anything, are you?"
Ulrich shook his head. No. Never.
The last time he had slept in a proper bed had been the night that everything had changed. He preferred not to think back to the that night for obvious reasons... Still, he found being back in a bed to be rather less strange than he had initially expected. His eyelids felt heavy and before he even knew it, he was drifting off into a deep sleep.