A/N: So, hello… This is a companion story to my earlier fanfic 'Terminus'. One event is referenced from there. If you're interested, give that fic a read.
-X-X-X-
"Huh..." Ling released a breath, staring at a mountain of junk in front of her. She briefly looked around herself, trying to identify a tuft of black hair in the midst of all the useless, rusted metal. "Tianyi! Where are you?!" She shouted. The brown-haired girl was not gifted with patience and so she pouted, carefully running down the aluminum slabs like a flight of stairs - crooked ones...
Once she was down on a somewhat flatter surface, Ling evaded a pile of window panes. Right after that, her foot got caught in a tangle of wires, as if they had been slithering snakes, carelessly resting through the entire length of her path... Ling sighed in defeat. And to think, that the ever-present sun would make one more heedful.
"Give me a break." She cursed, tugging at the sticky, heated plastic. Obviously, storms were a disaster, but the sun did as much damage, in her opinion. Once pieces of plastic stuck beneath her nails, Ling's lips quivered. The girl cried out. "Tianyi! For sky's sake, show up already!"
"Ling? Look, what I found!" Came an echo from the other end of protruding debris.
"J-just come here for a second!" Tears pricked her eyes. She hated feeling constricted or trapped and these damned wires did just that. In time, her knees buckled and began to shake. A whimper flew out. "Tianyi..."
"I'm coming, I'm coming!"
"Hurry uuuuppp..."
A reverberating rattle could be heard first. With a little bit of a delay, Luo Tianyi's form emerged. She was grinning merrily, while climbing through a golden passageway, like a cave, which had been morphed from the rubble. Ling's eyes twitched. What was that she was carrying?
As was expected, Tianyi's messenger's bag, which had been empty, when they had arrived, was now a swaying bulge, similar to a ball. The girl herself dragged a thread, that had been decorated with various chips, cards and muddy screws. The huge made-up snail shimmered, due to the sun's rays. That, presumably, was the source of cacophony. While Ling's mind spun, on how exactly did Tianyi had the time to make all this, the dark-haired girl looked over the captured foot.
"You really do seem stuck, huh, Ling?.. No problem, I'll cut you loose with some scissors."
"Thanks." Ling breathed out her anxiety. In the meantime, her trapped foot flinched, whenever Tianyi's soiled hands tugged around it to make some additional space. The brunette bit on her lip and turned away, gulping down her tears.
"Try not to move too much, Ling."
"I promise... If you'll do it quickly." She whimpered, closing her eyes.
"Hmm."
"Say... What is all that?"
"What is all what?"
"Gah. Just let me talk. I don't want to think, where my foot is at the moment!" Ling shook her head. A deep inhale was made, burying a chunk of her fears. She pointed at the decorated thread, accusingly. "What is all this trash you brought back!"
Tianyi paused. She took a terse peek at what her friend was pointing for confirmation. A pout manifested.
"That's not trash, Ling."
"It is! Didn't I say, search for strings and a battery? Neither of those are strings or batteries!"
"We could get creative with them."
"L-listen you..." A vein popped out on a side of Ling's forehead. "We need to build a guitar and you won't get a current flowing through cotton! That's impossible!"
"But we never tried," Tianyi interjected.
"Because that's common logic today! Plenty of scientists tried that!"
"And have you met them, seen their results?"
"Of course not! We're talking centuries ago!"
"Well, that's how it is, Ling. I don't believe, what I don't see. Any article that's older than the twenty-second century is obsolete. Our cotton and the cotton from back then might be different." Tianyi lectured calmly, while her nimble digits ruptured the wires around her friend's leg. Despite regaining her freedom, Ling's eye twitched unsavory, meanwhile, her head spun in circles, like a beehive on a broken program... In the end, she crossed her arms.
"I can hardly understand, what you're saying anymore."
"Uhm. You're a meanie then. I'm bringing this load home regardless!"
"Only if you clean up, what you've brought back yesterday." Ling countered. "We barely have any space to sleep in." Tianyi grunted at her, before extending her hands in the air.
"Then let's buy a new house!"
"I'd wish for that... We don't have money..."
Once again Tianyi's solution was drowned out by harsh reality. Quiet settled between the girls, gnawing at Tianyi's hope. Ling seemed to get distressed at her own words as well. She sat down cross-legged against some morphed shards. Her fingers carelessly trailed along the plastic chunks underneath.
Ling did not want to talk about this subject. Not now at least... Not in this pessimistic tone and with these foul predictions. Her dreams seemed to be floating further away from her. Suddenly, Tianyi leaned in to peer at her friend, she seemed to be still in the heat of their discussion...
"You haven't checked your bank account in ages. Like you know, what's inside there."
"Tianyi..."
"We're both fifteen. We should still be getting Cozaria's scholarship. Orphans, living on their own - add that to a paycheck!"
"Uhm..." Ling looked away, not used to Tianyi pointing fingers at her; it used to be the other way around. What was the saying: you'll become what you befriend or something? Ling inhaled, before standing up and nearly colliding her head with Tianyi's. A blurt came after. "W-whatever. I don't think I have that much money in there. It's not like we can double that amount either."
Tianyi flinched back then, rubbing her forehead from the near accident. Still, she could very well foresee the pain, that could have been. Before long, her mind returned to analyze Ling's statements. She grabbed her hand.
"Hey, hey, it's not my fault, that I lost my personal ID."
"It is! To the government you don't exist. So technically, I'm feeding your mouth." Ling smirked, spotting, how Tianyi dug her nails into her elbow. She angered her. At this point, Tianyi's twisted logic could not fight back... Well, what else was new?
"That's so not true, Ling..."
"It is."
"It's not... Meanie..."
"For all I know, you're a nobody. I could leave you right here." Ling joked, turning sideways and closing one eye. Teasing this girl had yet to lose its fun, even if these kinds of moments had lessened immensely. "Then I'd go home and dispose all of your junk and curl into your blanket."
"Ahhh... Don't do that, meanie!" Tianyi's face became red like a tomato and Ling giggled. Her hand rose up to rub her friend's hair, disregarding the freshly formed tears.
"I'm only messing with you. Come on, let's go back to searching."
"Uhm... We shouldn't do that."
"Huh? Why?"
"The radio signals..." Tianyi turned around to gaze at a lonesome crooked tower, covered in a sheet of mist. Ling followed her, doing the same. That tower marked the other end of this lonesome graveyard. Formerly it used to work as a station for some kind of factory, though now, since it had been closed for a decade, people started to use this compressed field as a dump. Legally disposing and destroying trash was a bit pricey, when physical objects had no use and were more of a concept, so a lot of them ended up here or some other closed industrial plant, where they were safely hiding out of authority's eyes. Ling blinked at the tower's crooked tip.
"What about them?"
"Their frequency changed. A storm should be coming soon."
"Ah! You could have told me that earlier!"
"I freed your foot. That was an emergency too."
"Yeah, but..." Ling coughed out and her sentence was cut off without any means of continuation, since Ling had covered her mouth. Tianyi looked at her, a bit concerned. Throughout all these years, that they had lived together, she had rarely heard the other cough. As Tianyi squinted at this odd happening, she felt the hair on the back of her neck rise. She shivered. This was not good... The wind was rising. Slabs began to rustle with loud creaks, similar to protests and Tianyi's tied-up screws devilishly jingled. A dozen of other sounds followed suit, causing a broken symphony of sorts. Soon enough stench of rot penetrated their noses along with signs of diffused oil. Standing inside this rising chaos could make one feel small and powerless. These golden treasure mountains were now sneering at Tianyi, it seemed, mocking her naivety and carelessness, when it came to prodding this wretched habitat. It had sharp teeth, after all... And the girls were nothing more than mice here.
"Why are you standing around? We have to go!" Ling nudged her friend's shoulder, covering up her nose, while her eyes began to tear up, either from the diffused chemicals or that, combined with her fright. "Tianyi!"
The girl blinked, whirling her head at Ling's anxious expression. She gave an uncertain nod and picked up her massive messenger's bag before beginning the tedious descend. She followed behind a reckless Ling. The latter jumped down a few slabs, hands getting pricked by plastic edges after the fall, regardless she quickened her pace towards a makeshift bridge, outlined by giant cement pipes and a myriad of debris. As they came closer, they could see, how those shimmering particles ascended in a storm. Tianyi's eyes widened.
"Ling!"
She was eager to get out... She would not listen...
"Ling! Wait!" Tianyi tried again, whilst her arms slid down a few wires, holding onto their support. Her shadow had steadily lengthened, but Tianyi barely paid that any mind. She grunted and jumped through a few broken boards. Suddenly as a treacherous sough ruffled the atmosphere, Ling hastily covered her ears. Breathing heavily, her tongue already lapped at a scent of iron, which nonchalantly mingled inside her mouth. Shadows extended and as she rose her head, the girl spotted, how the scorching orb timidly hid behind nasty clouds. The dark-haired girl shuddered and began to run towards the bridge or at least an outline of it. Her feet slipped and tumbled, barely seeing, where the bridge ended. She was running solely on instinct and adrenaline. Once Tianyi saw a hunched figure up ahead, her hand reached out to yank on Ling's elbow. The other yelped. Tianyi felt additional weight drag her to the side. She gasped, but it was too late, as both girls fell to the side and away from the bridge. Tianyi could scarcely take in the dusty cement platform, which climbed higher and higher, like a stage, awaiting its rightful performer... She had so many questions now. It did not occur to her, that they were actually falling.
Their bodies flew through the pitched sough, nonchalantly tearing the air currents one after another. It was like their bodies were nothing more than thrown out bags. Tianyi's eyes stayed closed, whilst her mouth was left ajar, concurrently she felt her stomach rolling up, perhaps she could even puke the whole thing out. Suddenly, Ling's hand clutched hers, reminding Tianyi, where they were. She forced her eyelids apart. The air rushed into them, scalping and piercing with no remorse, making them teary, blurry. Even with them open, she could barely see anything... A giant blob swiftly came into focus, yet passed in the next instant.
Then there was a tug...
Tianyi's stomach churned from the constricting strap. She spat out saliva, while dangling midair. Her legs saw no stable ground however, only tons of swirling mist. The sight caused the girl to bit her bottom lip. Small particles heedlessly descended around them, not frightened by this endless journey at all.
Ling's grip remained just as heavy, pulling her body downwards against the messenger bag. Good thing, she was safe, even if due to her weight, Tianyi was being crushed from two sides, like in a conveyor.
"Ahh... T-that was..." Ling struggled to catch for breath. She whistled bitterly, after taking a peek at the misty abyss, awaiting them. It had been outlined by numerous needle-like pipes. A shiver wrecked her. Hopefully, Ling won't get to know, what's down there. Soon enough, as her feet swayed freely, they bumped into something solid, after releasing a hiss, she cautiously placed the tips of her toes on a protruded cement platform and looked up. "I guess we can thank that pipe over there. That and your love for junk."
She let go of Tianyi's hand, to allow her lungs a fresh gust. At the same time, both girls heard a horrid tear. Tianyi raised her eyes in fright. She had suspected this to happen. Still, it hurt to see all her gathered goods: from patterned tablecloths to rusted knobs - spill into the incomprehensible pit... Tianyi pinched her bottom lip. Ling clicked her tongue, shrugging her shoulders at this outcome, right at that time the brown-haired girl could feel several icy drops land onto her. The rain served as a cue, for Ling to grin sheepishly and pat Tianyi on the shoulder.
"Well... Look on a bright side, you still have the stuff at home."
"Uhm... I know..." Tianyi sighed, before closing her eyes and shaking her head. "That's not the point now, help me get down from here."
"Aha."
The cemented platform, they stood on, led into a darkish corridor. Curved, metal patches and poking tangles of wire outlined the walls together with cracked light bulbs. Those were clearly more than a decade old at this point. Ling frowned, not liking their upcoming sight. As she turned around, however, she was met with the lashing rain, which looked hardly welcoming... Tianyi was the one to ask the question, both of them had.
"Do we know, where this leads?"
"No. We could make a guess..."
"Uhm... If we are under the junkyard, then if we could find some kind of turn to the right, we should be able to get to the surface level."
"Not to ruin your optimism, but this tunnel might stretch for miles until it begins to ascend."
"Do we have any other options?" Tianyi looked back at her, while Ling grimaced, clutching her hands into tight fists.
"We don't... I'm just afraid..."
"It's alright. Somehow we'll get out." She captured Ling's unresponsive fist. Since the strain down the brunette's limb did not lessen, Tianyi leaned into her friend's vision. "Remember, there used to stand a factory here. Maybe we're in one of its old entrances."
"That does not make it sound better... This might even be a dead end."
"Maybe. People blew this up long ago." She mused, then before Ling could even formulate a response, Tianyi gently pulled on their entwined hands and began to walk forward. "Well, we still have to check!"
X X X
Zhiyu Moke's clothes were drenched to the last fiber, as he grumbled against the parted, gnarled hatch. After all, his tries proved to be futile, the thirteen-year-old boy moved away and shoved it with all his strength, forcing it to a perpetual close. He stood next to it, guiltily, panting. Well, that was the end of that... It will be a miracle, if he and the girls will ever pry it open again.
He leaned back and sat down, dragging Tianyi's books and blankets away from his seat.
For once the room bathed in shadows.
He was sure, that all the windows and air hatches were closed. Yet the sough was eminent from somewhere to his side and he could not figure out where. Honestly, he did not bother anymore at this point. Perhaps that was just another antic of this particular housing. Every little sound from the outside practically delved inside like fluid, this case should not be any different.
The boy took off his soaked sweater and threw it to the side. Regrettably, his shirt was in a similar state, though the boy was too tired to blindly search for his clothes... Who knows, what he might come across... And so, since the wind sneaked its way inside, giving him goosebumps, Moke pulled a stray blanket from a pile of unused scraps and wrapped it around himself... Better... Now there was only a single worry, scratching at his psyche. Where were Ling and Tianyi? Did they get caught in the storm?
The boy listened to the creaks and snaps of wires overhead, the bending of ventilation tubes and the trickling liquid somewhere to the side. It was all so monotonic, even if such dire monotony scared him... He tried to catch some sleep... However, rushed padding invaded his senses at that sole instant. Moke whirled his head at a corner, hearing the front door screech against the floor. He rose up wearily. The boy's fingers clumsily glided to his sides in search of something heavy enough to deal a blow with.
He forgot to lock the door again... Wonderful.
If this was yet another thief, then...
"Moke! Are you in here?"
"L-ling?" The dark-haired boy stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the corner, which concealed the door. Once relief hit him, Moke ran to the walk-in. "Ling! Tianyi! I'm so happy, you're safe!"
"Y-yeah, yeah, w-we're fine." Ling nodded, clattering her teeth. Her posture was hunched and soaked with what seemed to be oil. Tianyi did not look any better, hair disheveled and all, but at least had on a sheepish smile. The raven-haired girl leaned out of the doorway, hugging Moke lightly.
"It's good to be back. How was school for you?"
Moke scantly opened his mouth, but the voice, that came out in his stead was Ling's, as she passed by him, scratching her roughened head.
"Heat up some water, if we still have any, Moke."
"S-sure. I'll go check right away." He nodded, enthusiastically, before retreating to their so-called kitchen. Tianyi's fingers lay limply in the air after.
After a moment, she discarded her urge for human contact and stepped over her old pile and into the depths of their labyrinth home. Sadly, it consisted more of other residents' pipes, than their own rooms or available space. As she passed by the stuffed, humid kitchen, she noted both of her companions, leaning over the sink. She came into the room, pushing herself against the cement wall for more space. Before long a putrid stench invaded her senses along with a darkish stream, running from the sink. Moke cheered.
"Yay! The pipe didn't break!"
Such a mundane sight and how much happiness it had brought. She cleared her throat.
"Say, Moke, how was your day?"
"Oh, yeah!" He turned around impulsively, shoving the screwdriver into the air. "It was horrid!"
"Why so?" She cocked an eyebrow in amusement. Meanwhile, Ling heated the water in a pot over a meager flame.
"The public transport! I climbed into the 'twenty-second' bus and guess what! There were only five seats in the entire thing! All of them were taken and the driver pried me off, no matter how much I begged!"
"Poor kid." Ling said, before roughing up his head. Moke looked up at her in a pout, while she leaned back at a cracked counter. "They kind of have a point to do so. Cozaria's population is shrinking. We have to adapt accordingly..."
"I don't believe this." Tianyi interjected.
"Don't tell me you need proof again..." Ling palmed her face and the raven-haired girl nodded, prideful.
"Those are all just rumors. If I won't see it, I will not believe. Never. This is the same as with that girl. Remember?" She waved her hand in the air, trying to elaborate, when her words escaped into a useless hum. "The one, the one... It all happened in these southern slums too, you should remember. She rode in a bus numbered 'thirty-three' and mysteriously died. Tch. That's like an urban legend now. The population's decrease is delirious propaganda on the other hand. They differ, but cause the same effect - paranoia."
"Aaaand..." Ling sang, coming close to a confused Tianyi, before slapping the dark-haired girl's palm with a chuckle. "You're talking nonsense!"
"Meanie..." A pout.
"I'm not. You are." Ling shot back, while Tianyi rolled her eyes, playfully.
"You two never quit, do you?" Moke observed, cutting their bicker short. A soft shake of the head and afterwards he placed the screwdriver back on the dusty counter. "I remember, when we met, all those years ago... Back when we used to live in the orphanage dorms. One moment you two would play together and the next, you'd be tearing each other's hair out!"
"Ew! Moke, don't remind me of that place." Ling quickly reprimanded him, her expression morphing into a distasteful grimace. She leaned her weight on one foot. "Living there, was hell!"
"At least in the dorms we were warm and had good food. Aside from the persistent control and bullying, it wasn't that bad."
Ling stared at Moke with widened, disbelieving eyes.
"Do you realize, what you just said or do you think with you backside?" Moke cringed at that, but Ling threw her hand to the side, adding to the fire. "You would not pry me back there with money!"
"But this life isn't all that easy either."
"Exactly, Moke. We hate it here!"
"I do not." Tianyi piped in and Ling sighed at her friend's cheerfulness.
"You have no idea, what real life looks like... And I don't want to think, how we'll survive Winter in this house..." She quieted down. In the next moment, Ling's feet whirled around, so her roommates would not spot, how guilt chomped at her. They stood quiet as well, probably mulling over those stinging words... What an idiot she was! If only something would have shut her up in time... Fortunately, after a short while, the brunette gathered her will and awkwardly cleared her throat. "Nevermind that. Tell me, when the drink's ready. I'll be in the back with my sketches."
"For the guitar again?" Moke asked. "Did you find anything useful in the junkyard today?"
"No..." A defeated sigh escaped her, as she gripped the side of the wall, spotting dried leakages on it. "Nothing..."
"You've been searching for two years now. Don't you think-"
"I won't give up, if it'll take me ten or twenty." Her gaze pierced Moke. "I will be a street musician and nothing's gonna stop me."
"But..." Moke swallowed. "Uhm. Will getting more money... W-will that really make you happy? It will be a lot of work, hardly profitable..."
"It's my dream and I will see to it."
"Is it what you really wish?"
"What?"
"Is it?"
Ling stood, immobile, the gears in her brain cracking into an infinite halt. Eventually, she shook her head, holding an irked expression.
"I don't understand, what you're getting at." Ling looked out into the shaded corridor, where the tubes on the ceiling let loose occasional drips. "Whatever."
As she walked away, Moke and Tianyi exchanged worried glances.
Their peace was interrupted by a shrill scream.
"Ling!" Both of them yelled out in unison, before running to the construction room.
Moke cringed at the sight, his cheeks heating up.
The window had been broken by the storm and the howl tore at the room, scattering papers, clothes and wooden materials alike. Numerous puddles coated the floor, seeping beneath cracks and pooling around glass shards...
He knew, that he forgot something.
"Ling!" Tianyi abruptly grabbed her friend's shaking shoulders. "Ling, what happened?"
"My sketches... My work..." She muttered in shock.
"Get a hold of yourself!"
Ling breathed out shallowly, then her sight veered at the window and beyond into the raging hell. The rainy curtain drenched all of the slums with no exception. However, a few papers fluttered, stuck on an antenna, which had been further away from her balcony. This might as well be her last chance. Without another thought, Ling leaped forward, gaining frightened gasps and screeches from her friends.
Her foot slipped and she fell onto the edge of the balcony. The girl quickly gathered herself up, huffing at the pain of her scrapped knee.
"Ling, don't be stupid, come back here!" Tianyi's voice mingled somewhere in the background, overshadowed by a repetitive buzzing inside her ears. The brunette stood up and wobbled to the furthest crooked corner. From there she could jump. She could make it...
Ling gulped.
An incomprehensible maze laughed beneath her. If she'd fall, it would be all over for her... Tianyi won't manage to save her this time. But if Ling will lose her work... Then what was all her work worth?.. All these years, hopes and dreams would shatter in that instant. Ling would not have a purpose then. She won't be able to get up anymore... The sole thing left for her was a choice... Which fall was greater? Of the soul or the body?
"Ling!"
"Stop it!"
Her legs began to shake... She was trapped... Imprisoned...
Ling clenched her teeth, but by that time it was too late. A pair of arms wrapped around her from the back, waving her body to lean back.
Ling heard crying... Soft sobs and sniveling rang next to her ear. Along with the ceaseless rain, rose meek, quiet breaths, tender like feathers and sharp like darts.
"You meanie... Moron... Crazy idiot..."
"Tianyi! Tianyi! O-oh dear, are you two alright?!" Moke's voice echoed from behind them and the dark-haired girl shifted a bit, tilting her head back.
"Ling's reluctant! If you could come, drag her back!"
"Sure!"
In that time, Ling's sketches finally tore free from their captivity, flying away with the wind. The same gust ruptured Ling's ponytail, making her brown hair branch out. Her tears mixed in with the polluted rain.
"Why..."
"Ling... Would you listen to me?" Tianyi wondered softly, turning away from Moke's gawky posture, while he attempted to get close. Ling did not answer and yet Tianyi persisted, whether her friend liked it or not. "I understand this hurts. Failing always does... Sometimes you just have to let go. The future has so much more for you."
"Yeah." Moke piped in, when he was close enough to them, extending one of his arms to the side. "You have us, don't you? We'll help you. We are a family." He leaned into Ling's field of vision with a sad smile. "Look on a bright side, you are free for the time being..."
A glint traveled through Ling's clouded eyes. She narrowed them, sniffling. Eventually, Ling reached her hands out to hug Moke. The boy released an awkward chuckle, not used to her affection, but nevertheless remained in place.
After all these hours, the storm began to lift off of Cozaria with tardy steps.
Ling stared upwards until the edges of the sun peeked out. The pouring persisted, but the shining orb symbolized an upcoming end, a new start and a new hope. Strange. For some reason, she never thought the sun could look so frightened, so diffident as if the orb itself got drenched to the bone...
Ling could not force herself to curve a smile. No, that was impossible... Not yet... But there was a certain flitter inside her heart... Excitement. The girl could not recall the last time, she felt it.
This will be a new start for her. Ling was free for the time being...