Evanesce
Chapter Six
Labyrinth
There are few people who are authorized to drive. This never mattered to me. I always preferred walking anyway. So I skipped the transport back to the barracks. So did Neil, though I couldn't for the life of me tell why. I still figured I'd be the last person he'd want to be near, but I enjoyed his company nonetheless.
The city seemed... larger than I remembered. Maybe they'd added an extra level to it, or something. Maybe it was because we were on ground level and everything looked taller. At any rate, there certainly seemed to be a lot more people. They all looked happier than any lot I'd ever seen, making it all seem surreal. Under the barriers, people were always afraid, timid little mice. Now one could get caught up in all this happiness without thinking. Neil certainly did. So did I for a little while. The world was alive again. It was an amazing sight.
Sunlight filtered between the high buildings and high level walkways and roads. Not much of it reached the ground, but what did seemed like it was from another world. I probably would have just enjoyed that feeling forever, if I could have feigned that life. Working menial jobs just to walk the city's streets didn't seem too bad. As long as I didn't get caught, of course, but that wouldn't happen if I was careful.
"Hey, do you know that lady?"
"What?" I fell back to reality and looked around, "what..." lady? I saw her then, a younger woman dressed as a medic. She was staring at us from across the street, from one of those patches of sunlight. She did look familiar, and was studying us. She looked away when she saw she'd caught our attention, and walked off. I probably should have left well enough alone, but I was curious.
I jumped the railing that separated the sidewalk to the street and ran after her. She saw me and ran through the crowd. For a moment, I had the advantage. I was the only one desperate, or maybe stupid, enough to think of running through the empty roads, and she had to deal with getting around the people.
Then I lost sight of her, and had to stop for a minute. I'd already drawn a lot of attention to myself, and just standing there was gonna draw more. I climbed over a second railing, back to the sidewalk, and tried to figure where the woman could have gone.
Discouraged, I walked past the people and looked around. There was a... an alleyway maybe, between two of the supports for the higher level walkways and roads. I wasn't going to find the woman if I just gave up, and I didn't have any better ideas, so that's where I went. Not to mention the voices seemed to agree.
Normally I wouldn't bother with the place if I had a choice. I've been through enough alleys and underpasses during the city and ruins search and rescue missions to last a lifetime, and most of the rescued' individuals were raving lunatics that just had to be forcefully removed. Under the barrier, no one cared unless a tech stumbled onto one during maintenance or something. Outside was another matter, but...
This alley was dark, and it took a minute for my eyes adjust to the lack of light. I found that the whole place was the entrance to a larger network of roads between the buildings. A labyrinth.
I would have turned back then, but I heard a noise close by. I walked slowly, trying not to make a sound so I wouldn't drown out the other. Yes, there was definitely someone down here. I grinned. This was kind of fun... ignoring everything else, naturally.
I crept around a turn. I'd thought this was where the sound'd come from, but it wasn't. I tried to see any adjacent paths from where I stood, but there didn't seem to be any.
A sound from behind me, but I couldn't listen to it before someone had a tight grip on my arm. I froze, wondering if I'd made a mistake.
"Calm down, we're not gonna hurtcha." ...Ryan?
I didn't know what to think. I knew better, but I tried to twist away anyway. It was a halfhearted attempt, but he did let go. I walked a few feet before turning around. Sure enough, there was Ryan. I didn't know whether to feel happy or sick.
"Goddamnit," I said. I didn't need an adrenaline rush then, but that's just what I had, "You scared me."
"I'm sorry," he said, sounding sincere enough. I didn't care how sincere he was, though; I don't like being frightened. I fell against a wall and glared at him. He only laughed.
"What's so damn funny?" I asked. There was nothing to laugh about, not like that. It was kind of encouraging itself, though.
"You," he grinned, "You're funny."
"Am I?" I replied, fighting the abrupt rage I felt, "Am I really?"
"No, but you remember me."
Okay, sometimes I'm slow. Especially when I lose my temper. So the Ah ha,' came a little late here. This was Ryan. This was my friend and he knew me.
"Oh man," I said quietly, "I'm sorry, it's just that everything is really weird." I've been more eloquent.
"I know," he replied, "Good to know you're okay though. Everything's alright, right?"
"I dunno, everything's..."
"Weird," Ryan smiled, "You said that already."
"What the hell happened?" I asked, "One minute everything's... normal," people die all the time, it was a war, of course it was normal, "and now..."
"I'd be lying if I said I knew," Ryan sighed, "But I know something's up." He was looking at me strangely. I paid the look no heed and straightened my stance. My uniform was getting dirty enough as it was, so I didn't need to lean on neglected walls to make it worse.
"We need to talk," Ryan stated, stopping me as I walked by him. I wasn't sure I wanted to, and I told him so. Couldn't explain why though. "There's no choice," he replied, "If you'd prefer I could carry you kicking and screaming, but I'd rather not have to."
He could, too. The last time I'd fought Ryan, a close quarters play fight, it turned serious and I'd ended up in the infirmary. He'd been endlessly apologetic about it, even though it was my fault. The thing is, he has the weight advantage and knows how to use it. He's also a grade above me and we were in a closed off space. I had no chance unless I wanted to run further down the way, which could have been a dead end.
"All right," I said, still reluctant, "but can we talk elsewhere?"
"Probably a good idea, actually," Ryan replied, looking around, "I never know whether to trust anyone anymore."
"Neil," I suddenly remembered, "something's wrong with him, he's got some kind of amnesia I think." I looked up at him, but he didn't look at me.
"Yeah, me too," he confessed, "Not amnesia exactly, and I'm willing to guess I'm not as bad off, but that's one of the things we need to talk about." He let go of my shoulder, "I don't even remember your name."
"Let's go elsewhere," I suggested. I suddenly remembered why I was there in the first place, and asked Ryan about the woman.
"That would be Kristina Lawrence, she's a friend of mine," he answered, "I think she knows you, too."
That brightened my day considerably. Kris was my cousin, and she was one of the best friends I ever had.