Chapter 2 - Struck Down
It was quiet in the absolute dead of night. Though quiet it was, it was anything but tranquil. Because of Shaya's passing, Dib made certain that there was not one moment that Nodac was alone during all hours. A whisper broke the grip of silence in which the restless night clung to so dearly. Once again, more pronounced this time, the whisper resounded with a penetrating sharpness. "Dib, wake up!"
With a start, Dib reached for his glasses and set them over his eyes, fearing the worst to be the call of distress. As his vision focused, he discovered that there was no one in the room but him and Nodac. Being sure not to let anyone hear his voice beyond the thin walls of their temporary complex, Dib kept his speech low. In perplexity and drowsiness, he asked, "What is it?"
"I wanted to talk to you." Rubbing the last stubborn remnants of sleep from his eyes, Dib could identify the relevance of whatever it was she had to say. "It's about the world. Any one of us could be the next person, except for you."
"You have a motive for waking me. What is it?"
"I wanted to talk to you. You know what it's like; we all do. We've lost our family. We've lost everyone, except for ourselves. I have a question: How do you deal with it? How is it that you're able to handle this?"
"Well...it has a lot to do with determination. I am determined to do something to save the rest of the human race, but we're all that's left. I guess we have to decide what's best for us. How do we save ourselves?"
"I don't know. We'll work something out. I'll call a meeting tomorrow to discuss it."
"That sounds like a good plan. Goodnight Nodac."
"Dib?"
"Yes Nodac?"
"Tomorrow I want to look at some old pictures and reminisce about the old times."
"I told you about how much I don't like the past..."
"No. I mean the good things about it. The things that made us laugh. The things we enjoyed. The things we savored from existence. Everything that makes going on worth going on."
"I could use that. It'll help elevate my spirits, that's for sure." A shot rang out and a silence more deathly and forbidding than before blanketed their total being and outlook on life, for they knew that yet another had been struck down.
It was quiet in the absolute dead of night. Though quiet it was, it was anything but tranquil. Because of Shaya's passing, Dib made certain that there was not one moment that Nodac was alone during all hours. A whisper broke the grip of silence in which the restless night clung to so dearly. Once again, more pronounced this time, the whisper resounded with a penetrating sharpness. "Dib, wake up!"
With a start, Dib reached for his glasses and set them over his eyes, fearing the worst to be the call of distress. As his vision focused, he discovered that there was no one in the room but him and Nodac. Being sure not to let anyone hear his voice beyond the thin walls of their temporary complex, Dib kept his speech low. In perplexity and drowsiness, he asked, "What is it?"
"I wanted to talk to you." Rubbing the last stubborn remnants of sleep from his eyes, Dib could identify the relevance of whatever it was she had to say. "It's about the world. Any one of us could be the next person, except for you."
"You have a motive for waking me. What is it?"
"I wanted to talk to you. You know what it's like; we all do. We've lost our family. We've lost everyone, except for ourselves. I have a question: How do you deal with it? How is it that you're able to handle this?"
"Well...it has a lot to do with determination. I am determined to do something to save the rest of the human race, but we're all that's left. I guess we have to decide what's best for us. How do we save ourselves?"
"I don't know. We'll work something out. I'll call a meeting tomorrow to discuss it."
"That sounds like a good plan. Goodnight Nodac."
"Dib?"
"Yes Nodac?"
"Tomorrow I want to look at some old pictures and reminisce about the old times."
"I told you about how much I don't like the past..."
"No. I mean the good things about it. The things that made us laugh. The things we enjoyed. The things we savored from existence. Everything that makes going on worth going on."
"I could use that. It'll help elevate my spirits, that's for sure." A shot rang out and a silence more deathly and forbidding than before blanketed their total being and outlook on life, for they knew that yet another had been struck down.