Chase Buie
GhHu215@aol.com
Author's Notes: This chapter takes place right after the previous chapter, The Running Man. This is the day after and tells about how they each felt about the subject.
Utopia
Nights had always been uneasy at the mall but the night following the running man had been particularly tough. Michael hadn't slept a single wink from the time that the sun went down to its rise. Although he never showed it, he couldn't get the image out of his head of the man tripping and falling due to Michael's calls.
He would have probably been okay. He thought to himself. If I hadn't called to him he probably would have made it to safety. He was probably better off with out me. He died because of me.
Ana was having thoughts very similar to Michael. The look on the runner's face as he tripped for the first time. He must have known that it was over once he stumbled for the first time. Ana wasn't like Michael; she couldn't fight the tears. As soon as the timer kicked in and the lights went out, she started to cry silently to herself.
"Ana?" Hearing her sobs, Michael whispered. "Ana, are you okay?" He said it in a comforting voice. An act, the greatest act, was to pretend like he was strong enough to help others. He slowly sat up in his bed, looking around to make sure that no one else was awake. He looked at Ana with her back to him. She was laying on her side and gentle vibrations rolled through her body as she cried.
"Yeah, I'm fine", she managed to choke out in between sobs. "How you doin?" It wasn't much of a question because she knew how he'd answer. Spending day and night with strangers lets you know more about them than you would think. She was starting to know Michael like the back of her hand.
"I'm okay", he was predictable. "You're crying." It wasn't a question. He looked at the back of her head as if he could see straight through it to the other side, to the crying eyes that had red, puffy rings growing around them.
She sniffled a bit, whipped away most of the tears, and rolled over in her bed to face him. The look on his face said a mouthful. He tried to hide it, but it wasn't working. Small, dark circles had formed under his eyes making him look much older than he had been a few hours before. His mouth came to sharp points that formed down at the corners.
"It wasn't your fault", he said as if that was comforting her. He wanted to hear someone say that to him, more than anything.
"I know", she said as she sat up. She met him eye to eye as they sat in their beds that were next to each other at the moment. Usually he slept in a furniture store and she slept on a small cot near the food court. He pulled his bed out of the store and sat it next to hers a few nights before.
"So, you can't sleep either?" He said it more than asked it. "I'm sorry, that was stupid."
She almost chuckled at that. Almost. She propped her knee up so that she could rest her elbow on it, which would support her head. She blinked and her eyes stayed closed longer than she wanted them to. Every time that she closed her eyes for a long period of time she saw his face. The running man kept sprinting through her head.
"I'll be okay. The question is how are you?" She said it as her eyes started to close again. She pulled them open as quickly as possible.
"I--", he stopped. "I will be okay." She noted the "will" be okay. After a few more minutes they dozed off again, only to be met by nightmares of the dangerous.
Terry woke up at dawn. He'd chosen to sleep on a makeshift bed that sat on the roof. The bleached white light of the sun woke him almost instantly. He opened his eyes to a beautiful sky that was painted with wonderful shades of purple, pink, and orange. It was like a glimpse of what heaven would be like. He actually smiled at something simple again. He'd almost forgotten about the simple things.
He sat up slowly to find that Nicole had made a similar makeshift bed next to his. This brought him a smile. She told him that she only felt safe when she was around him, that made it hard to sleep when she wasn't in his presence. She rolled over a little, trying to hide from the waking power of the sun.
She finally gave into the light and opened her eyes. The first thing that she saw when she woke up was his face. A large smile stretched across her beautiful face, adding to the cute look of waking up. She always did look eatable when she'd just waken up.
"I love you", he said it without thinking. He instantly wanted to take it back out of fear that she wouldn't return the gesture. He was fairly sure that she felt the same way but fairly sure isn't the same as positive.
She blushed with her morning face and then her mouth opened just enough to speak. "I love you too." Terry felt his heart fall straight to his feet. He leaned over to her and pressed his lips to hers. After the kiss he stayed close enough to feel the heat from her face.
"I love you so much", he said. His lips grazed hers as he said it. "After yesterday I'm glad that I have someone."
"I know the feeling", she spoke in a soft and almost hurt voice. All night long she'd fought away nightmares of the running man and replaced them with dreams of Terry. Her dreams usually revolved around Terry and her living in the world before the mall. Terry getting to meet her friends and her mom. It was a great place to be.
They stayed face to face for another few minutes before they returned to his bed. She laid on his chest with his arm wrapping around her, holding her close and protected from all the dangers of the world. The watched the clouds as they changed their bleached colors from reddish pink to yellow to white.
Michael started to get passed the incident that had taken place the day before. He figured that dwelling on the subject would only make things worse for the rest of the group. He didn't want that for anyone. Ana felt the same way. They started to make breakfast early that morning and the laughter had returned.
"You know this is our Utopia, right?" He said to her with a smiling face. The hurt was still there but it was hidden deep within his mind. He could control it just as he had with the rest of the death that he'd encountered on this endless adventure.
"How do you mean?"
"We have friends here. The silver lining to this place is that we are, for the most part, happy. Terry has Nicole, Luda has her babies daddy, Steve has his girl, and I have--", he stopped. "I have you."
She managed a blush with this and then she realized that she wanted to kiss him. She felt her body start to pull itself towards him, but then she stopped. They had all the time in the world, right?
"You're right. This is Utopia."
Author's Notes: This chapter takes place right after the previous chapter, The Running Man. This is the day after and tells about how they each felt about the subject.
Utopia
Nights had always been uneasy at the mall but the night following the running man had been particularly tough. Michael hadn't slept a single wink from the time that the sun went down to its rise. Although he never showed it, he couldn't get the image out of his head of the man tripping and falling due to Michael's calls.
He would have probably been okay. He thought to himself. If I hadn't called to him he probably would have made it to safety. He was probably better off with out me. He died because of me.
Ana was having thoughts very similar to Michael. The look on the runner's face as he tripped for the first time. He must have known that it was over once he stumbled for the first time. Ana wasn't like Michael; she couldn't fight the tears. As soon as the timer kicked in and the lights went out, she started to cry silently to herself.
"Ana?" Hearing her sobs, Michael whispered. "Ana, are you okay?" He said it in a comforting voice. An act, the greatest act, was to pretend like he was strong enough to help others. He slowly sat up in his bed, looking around to make sure that no one else was awake. He looked at Ana with her back to him. She was laying on her side and gentle vibrations rolled through her body as she cried.
"Yeah, I'm fine", she managed to choke out in between sobs. "How you doin?" It wasn't much of a question because she knew how he'd answer. Spending day and night with strangers lets you know more about them than you would think. She was starting to know Michael like the back of her hand.
"I'm okay", he was predictable. "You're crying." It wasn't a question. He looked at the back of her head as if he could see straight through it to the other side, to the crying eyes that had red, puffy rings growing around them.
She sniffled a bit, whipped away most of the tears, and rolled over in her bed to face him. The look on his face said a mouthful. He tried to hide it, but it wasn't working. Small, dark circles had formed under his eyes making him look much older than he had been a few hours before. His mouth came to sharp points that formed down at the corners.
"It wasn't your fault", he said as if that was comforting her. He wanted to hear someone say that to him, more than anything.
"I know", she said as she sat up. She met him eye to eye as they sat in their beds that were next to each other at the moment. Usually he slept in a furniture store and she slept on a small cot near the food court. He pulled his bed out of the store and sat it next to hers a few nights before.
"So, you can't sleep either?" He said it more than asked it. "I'm sorry, that was stupid."
She almost chuckled at that. Almost. She propped her knee up so that she could rest her elbow on it, which would support her head. She blinked and her eyes stayed closed longer than she wanted them to. Every time that she closed her eyes for a long period of time she saw his face. The running man kept sprinting through her head.
"I'll be okay. The question is how are you?" She said it as her eyes started to close again. She pulled them open as quickly as possible.
"I--", he stopped. "I will be okay." She noted the "will" be okay. After a few more minutes they dozed off again, only to be met by nightmares of the dangerous.
Terry woke up at dawn. He'd chosen to sleep on a makeshift bed that sat on the roof. The bleached white light of the sun woke him almost instantly. He opened his eyes to a beautiful sky that was painted with wonderful shades of purple, pink, and orange. It was like a glimpse of what heaven would be like. He actually smiled at something simple again. He'd almost forgotten about the simple things.
He sat up slowly to find that Nicole had made a similar makeshift bed next to his. This brought him a smile. She told him that she only felt safe when she was around him, that made it hard to sleep when she wasn't in his presence. She rolled over a little, trying to hide from the waking power of the sun.
She finally gave into the light and opened her eyes. The first thing that she saw when she woke up was his face. A large smile stretched across her beautiful face, adding to the cute look of waking up. She always did look eatable when she'd just waken up.
"I love you", he said it without thinking. He instantly wanted to take it back out of fear that she wouldn't return the gesture. He was fairly sure that she felt the same way but fairly sure isn't the same as positive.
She blushed with her morning face and then her mouth opened just enough to speak. "I love you too." Terry felt his heart fall straight to his feet. He leaned over to her and pressed his lips to hers. After the kiss he stayed close enough to feel the heat from her face.
"I love you so much", he said. His lips grazed hers as he said it. "After yesterday I'm glad that I have someone."
"I know the feeling", she spoke in a soft and almost hurt voice. All night long she'd fought away nightmares of the running man and replaced them with dreams of Terry. Her dreams usually revolved around Terry and her living in the world before the mall. Terry getting to meet her friends and her mom. It was a great place to be.
They stayed face to face for another few minutes before they returned to his bed. She laid on his chest with his arm wrapping around her, holding her close and protected from all the dangers of the world. The watched the clouds as they changed their bleached colors from reddish pink to yellow to white.
Michael started to get passed the incident that had taken place the day before. He figured that dwelling on the subject would only make things worse for the rest of the group. He didn't want that for anyone. Ana felt the same way. They started to make breakfast early that morning and the laughter had returned.
"You know this is our Utopia, right?" He said to her with a smiling face. The hurt was still there but it was hidden deep within his mind. He could control it just as he had with the rest of the death that he'd encountered on this endless adventure.
"How do you mean?"
"We have friends here. The silver lining to this place is that we are, for the most part, happy. Terry has Nicole, Luda has her babies daddy, Steve has his girl, and I have--", he stopped. "I have you."
She managed a blush with this and then she realized that she wanted to kiss him. She felt her body start to pull itself towards him, but then she stopped. They had all the time in the world, right?
"You're right. This is Utopia."