Chapter Two
Sarcasm and Sugar
The dreams continued to haunt me for days after the initial attack my group and I had when we were on our outing. Outings are out trips above ground to plant crops, harvest crops, hunt for food or scavenge the land for supplies.
There are six troops of people who go on the outings. Each group is assigned an area or task and each has a leader to command them. We all had names as well.
My group was named Creepers, mostly because of an earlier member (who is dead now by the way), who crept through the trees to look for Breathers. Basically, we were scouts on the big missions. That is when we are not doing the small stuff like planting onions and then picking them. Planting tomatoes or corn or even strawberries would be more exciting and worth while than onions. Ah well, that's my opinion anyway.
The Black Hawks were run by Hector himself. They were the ones who flew our helicopters and our one small plane. They also manned the guns at the compound above ground.
Mika Johnson, headed the Red Runners. They were like the Creepers. So where the Jack Rabbits, and the Bull Frogs. The Holy Trinity on the other hand, were the soldiers. They rarely did anything in the way of hunting or harvesting. The scavenged the land for anything useful.
Don't ask me where all the names came from. Personally I think someone was just really bored and thought that they were being cute. I renamed everybody secretly, like the Black Hawks are really in fact called Overcompensating-for-something. Creepers are Chickens-for-the-Slaughter. Red Runners are Crunchy-to-Breathers. Bull Frogs are Soon-to-die-from- stupidity. Jack Rabbits are Every-man-for-themself. And finally, the Holy Trinity is really, Egotistical-Cowards. Yeah that about sums us all up.
Okay, so maybe I'm being a little cynical, but let's look at the facts all right? The Black Hawks are run by Hector, thus they get all the good supplies including weapons. They're favorites, plain and simple, plus they like to rub it in our faces that they are Black Hawks and we aren't. I guess you could call them the generals of our little 'army'.
The Holy Trinity are no better, except they never do anything really. The Black Hawks will at least come to our rescue sometimes. We haven't scavenged anything but food in months! And when we do, it's never the Holy Trinity who do it. Usually its us 'lower life forms' who end up doing all the work.
The Bull Frogs are just stupid. Their super loyal to Hector, which is a death sentence and they believe that the Breathers will just leave you alone if you play dead. Of course most of them aren't playing after a Breather attacks. They are, and have always been, the quickest team to empty of people. And I'm not saying that those individuals quit, I'm saying they died. Quite horribly too.
The Red Runners, I like them I really do. I just think in the end, if you go above ground and set yourself up like that, you're bound to die. I like Mika the best. Out of everyone here, she's almost a mother to me. Almost anyway.
The Jack Rabbits are aptly named. They are quick on their feet and can usually out run the Breathers. But their motto is, "if you get left behind, well your out of luck because we're not going back for you." That's why they're quick on their feet.
Now to the Creepers, my battalion. We're going to die. That's all I can say. Hector is bound to kill us out of pure stupidity. Ray, our leader is all right though. A little on the slow side, but all right.
So I'm not too optimistic. In this life, it's dangerous to be. And no, I really don't care much for the individuals running our whole shebang. Unfortunately, I am related to a whole bunch of them too.
For instance, Hector is my Uncle, on my dads side. Ray is a second cousin from my mom's side. Mika is my half sister and well those are really the only individuals I am related to, that I've already introduced you to.
My parents died when I was real young, about two, I think. Mika raised me almost. She's not a very patient person, so I was raised by anyone who gave a care, which is everyone in this 'happy' little commune. Can you taste my sarcasm yet?
I've never ever liked it here. About a three years ago, when I was sixteen. This man showed up, what was his name? Van Zan, this cowboy from some military regiment, came to offer us his 'assistance'. It only cost us five men and a butt load of weapons and ammunition. Of course Hector did one of the only smart things he has ever done, he hid most of the weapons and ammo and most of our men so Zan would unknowingly leave them with us. Zan went and killed a couple Breathers, or so he claimed, then boastfully he told us, "the problem is now solved, you are safe." It was right after he left that the Runners and the Diggers, appeared.
So he made things worse, took five of our men, two Helicopters, forty rifles and etc., etc.(this used to be a top secret military base, Norad I think it was called). I wanted to go with him. Get out of here, I told this much to Hector who I was close to then. He told me to stay. Said I was part of this community. I meant something here. What a bunch of crap.
I learned how much I really meant to him when he put me in the Creepers. You see, Hector has a way to him. If he doesn't like you or if you piss him off, he'll assign you to one of the four gathering groups, Creepers, Red Runners, Jack Rabbits or Bull Frogs. Then he'll wait and watch you die. It's how he manages the population.
I'm not being a cynic this time and it has nothing to with me being angry at him for making me stay. It has to do with one incident in particular, it happened after my first month on the Creepers about a year and half ago.
I really don't know why we keep the last names. There really is no system left to make last names matter. Anyways, Ryan Dooley was another second cousin on my Mom's side.
Anyhow, he pissed Hector off big time. Told Hector that he was lazy and a good-for nothing ignorant SOB. Said Hector was going to kill us all and wasn't fit to lead this community.
Hector was so mad; he promoted him to lead the Bull Frogs. You'd think, at first glance, that this was a good thing. Outing leaders get power right? Well they also become responsible for the deaths of their own people. Having that kind of weight on you, can be suffocating.
Ryan though, toughed it up and didn't complain. He lasted a hell of a lot longer than anyone suspected and he was damn good at his job. He brought in more crops and more food than any of the others before him or after. This made Hector even madder. He wanted Dooley dead, not a saint.
One day though he got his wish. The first Runner was spotted. No one knew what to do about it. We'd never seen one like it before. Ryan got his people out of there and the food too, but he didn't make it. That Runner took a bite so big out him, that all there was left was the lower torso from the hips down. No one else had pissed Hector off since then.
Baker Clark heads the Bull Frogs now. He volunteered for the job after Ryan died. But he is like the Holy Trinity, worth nothing, does nothing. They bring in the worst crops and they rarely bring enough of anything to do any good. He says it's because he doesn't want anything bad to happen to his people. I suspect he's just a coward.
At noon, or at least that's what time I thought it might be, time doesn't mean anything when you're below ground, I sat on my bed petting my cat Chester. Hector had freezed the Creepers from going out today because of what happened last time.
He's been mad at Ray for days, because he let that Runner take a bite out of one of our vehicles and for running the transmission into the ground trying to escape it. Of course Ray said nothing in his defense, you'd really be a fool not to stay silent. We all know arguing with Hector is pointless and deadly.
"You know it's not the end of the world," Harvey, another Creeper said quietly. I look up to the entrance to my alcove and stared at him.
"It's not the going out part, Harvey," I replied, "It's the being locked up like criminals because of something you didn't do."
"Hector will cool off, he always does. Ray knows that, I know that, we all know that." Harvey shrugged.
"I'm tired of all this Harv. That's it." I flopped down on to my bed. "Their getting smarter you know. I don't care what Hector says, their getting smarter."
"I know. But what are we going to do about it Becky? We need to eat, we need supplies..."
"And I know that too!" I interrupted. "But we need to start doing things different!"
"How are we going to do things different?" He retorted. "Invite them to dinner and treat them like royalty? Hey, you're smarter than we thought! Welcome to the League of Higher Intelligence. Open only to beings that can think, reason and form strategies." his sarcasm hurt.
"I don't know." I said defeatedly. I really didn't know. There just had to be a better way than what we were already doing.
"Then don't worry about it Becky. Look, get some rest; enjoy this vacation while you can. Oh and stay out the way of any Black Hawks. They've been pushing Creeps, Runners and Frogs noses to the floor, so to speak." he informed me.
"Thanks," I nodded at him to leave and then closed my eyes. The breather was there again, waiting for me. Taunting me. All I could do was blow a raspberry at it and think of some other dark monster in my memory to haunt me. Nothing came to mind, so the Runner and I, were all alone.
Sarcasm and Sugar
The dreams continued to haunt me for days after the initial attack my group and I had when we were on our outing. Outings are out trips above ground to plant crops, harvest crops, hunt for food or scavenge the land for supplies.
There are six troops of people who go on the outings. Each group is assigned an area or task and each has a leader to command them. We all had names as well.
My group was named Creepers, mostly because of an earlier member (who is dead now by the way), who crept through the trees to look for Breathers. Basically, we were scouts on the big missions. That is when we are not doing the small stuff like planting onions and then picking them. Planting tomatoes or corn or even strawberries would be more exciting and worth while than onions. Ah well, that's my opinion anyway.
The Black Hawks were run by Hector himself. They were the ones who flew our helicopters and our one small plane. They also manned the guns at the compound above ground.
Mika Johnson, headed the Red Runners. They were like the Creepers. So where the Jack Rabbits, and the Bull Frogs. The Holy Trinity on the other hand, were the soldiers. They rarely did anything in the way of hunting or harvesting. The scavenged the land for anything useful.
Don't ask me where all the names came from. Personally I think someone was just really bored and thought that they were being cute. I renamed everybody secretly, like the Black Hawks are really in fact called Overcompensating-for-something. Creepers are Chickens-for-the-Slaughter. Red Runners are Crunchy-to-Breathers. Bull Frogs are Soon-to-die-from- stupidity. Jack Rabbits are Every-man-for-themself. And finally, the Holy Trinity is really, Egotistical-Cowards. Yeah that about sums us all up.
Okay, so maybe I'm being a little cynical, but let's look at the facts all right? The Black Hawks are run by Hector, thus they get all the good supplies including weapons. They're favorites, plain and simple, plus they like to rub it in our faces that they are Black Hawks and we aren't. I guess you could call them the generals of our little 'army'.
The Holy Trinity are no better, except they never do anything really. The Black Hawks will at least come to our rescue sometimes. We haven't scavenged anything but food in months! And when we do, it's never the Holy Trinity who do it. Usually its us 'lower life forms' who end up doing all the work.
The Bull Frogs are just stupid. Their super loyal to Hector, which is a death sentence and they believe that the Breathers will just leave you alone if you play dead. Of course most of them aren't playing after a Breather attacks. They are, and have always been, the quickest team to empty of people. And I'm not saying that those individuals quit, I'm saying they died. Quite horribly too.
The Red Runners, I like them I really do. I just think in the end, if you go above ground and set yourself up like that, you're bound to die. I like Mika the best. Out of everyone here, she's almost a mother to me. Almost anyway.
The Jack Rabbits are aptly named. They are quick on their feet and can usually out run the Breathers. But their motto is, "if you get left behind, well your out of luck because we're not going back for you." That's why they're quick on their feet.
Now to the Creepers, my battalion. We're going to die. That's all I can say. Hector is bound to kill us out of pure stupidity. Ray, our leader is all right though. A little on the slow side, but all right.
So I'm not too optimistic. In this life, it's dangerous to be. And no, I really don't care much for the individuals running our whole shebang. Unfortunately, I am related to a whole bunch of them too.
For instance, Hector is my Uncle, on my dads side. Ray is a second cousin from my mom's side. Mika is my half sister and well those are really the only individuals I am related to, that I've already introduced you to.
My parents died when I was real young, about two, I think. Mika raised me almost. She's not a very patient person, so I was raised by anyone who gave a care, which is everyone in this 'happy' little commune. Can you taste my sarcasm yet?
I've never ever liked it here. About a three years ago, when I was sixteen. This man showed up, what was his name? Van Zan, this cowboy from some military regiment, came to offer us his 'assistance'. It only cost us five men and a butt load of weapons and ammunition. Of course Hector did one of the only smart things he has ever done, he hid most of the weapons and ammo and most of our men so Zan would unknowingly leave them with us. Zan went and killed a couple Breathers, or so he claimed, then boastfully he told us, "the problem is now solved, you are safe." It was right after he left that the Runners and the Diggers, appeared.
So he made things worse, took five of our men, two Helicopters, forty rifles and etc., etc.(this used to be a top secret military base, Norad I think it was called). I wanted to go with him. Get out of here, I told this much to Hector who I was close to then. He told me to stay. Said I was part of this community. I meant something here. What a bunch of crap.
I learned how much I really meant to him when he put me in the Creepers. You see, Hector has a way to him. If he doesn't like you or if you piss him off, he'll assign you to one of the four gathering groups, Creepers, Red Runners, Jack Rabbits or Bull Frogs. Then he'll wait and watch you die. It's how he manages the population.
I'm not being a cynic this time and it has nothing to with me being angry at him for making me stay. It has to do with one incident in particular, it happened after my first month on the Creepers about a year and half ago.
I really don't know why we keep the last names. There really is no system left to make last names matter. Anyways, Ryan Dooley was another second cousin on my Mom's side.
Anyhow, he pissed Hector off big time. Told Hector that he was lazy and a good-for nothing ignorant SOB. Said Hector was going to kill us all and wasn't fit to lead this community.
Hector was so mad; he promoted him to lead the Bull Frogs. You'd think, at first glance, that this was a good thing. Outing leaders get power right? Well they also become responsible for the deaths of their own people. Having that kind of weight on you, can be suffocating.
Ryan though, toughed it up and didn't complain. He lasted a hell of a lot longer than anyone suspected and he was damn good at his job. He brought in more crops and more food than any of the others before him or after. This made Hector even madder. He wanted Dooley dead, not a saint.
One day though he got his wish. The first Runner was spotted. No one knew what to do about it. We'd never seen one like it before. Ryan got his people out of there and the food too, but he didn't make it. That Runner took a bite so big out him, that all there was left was the lower torso from the hips down. No one else had pissed Hector off since then.
Baker Clark heads the Bull Frogs now. He volunteered for the job after Ryan died. But he is like the Holy Trinity, worth nothing, does nothing. They bring in the worst crops and they rarely bring enough of anything to do any good. He says it's because he doesn't want anything bad to happen to his people. I suspect he's just a coward.
At noon, or at least that's what time I thought it might be, time doesn't mean anything when you're below ground, I sat on my bed petting my cat Chester. Hector had freezed the Creepers from going out today because of what happened last time.
He's been mad at Ray for days, because he let that Runner take a bite out of one of our vehicles and for running the transmission into the ground trying to escape it. Of course Ray said nothing in his defense, you'd really be a fool not to stay silent. We all know arguing with Hector is pointless and deadly.
"You know it's not the end of the world," Harvey, another Creeper said quietly. I look up to the entrance to my alcove and stared at him.
"It's not the going out part, Harvey," I replied, "It's the being locked up like criminals because of something you didn't do."
"Hector will cool off, he always does. Ray knows that, I know that, we all know that." Harvey shrugged.
"I'm tired of all this Harv. That's it." I flopped down on to my bed. "Their getting smarter you know. I don't care what Hector says, their getting smarter."
"I know. But what are we going to do about it Becky? We need to eat, we need supplies..."
"And I know that too!" I interrupted. "But we need to start doing things different!"
"How are we going to do things different?" He retorted. "Invite them to dinner and treat them like royalty? Hey, you're smarter than we thought! Welcome to the League of Higher Intelligence. Open only to beings that can think, reason and form strategies." his sarcasm hurt.
"I don't know." I said defeatedly. I really didn't know. There just had to be a better way than what we were already doing.
"Then don't worry about it Becky. Look, get some rest; enjoy this vacation while you can. Oh and stay out the way of any Black Hawks. They've been pushing Creeps, Runners and Frogs noses to the floor, so to speak." he informed me.
"Thanks," I nodded at him to leave and then closed my eyes. The breather was there again, waiting for me. Taunting me. All I could do was blow a raspberry at it and think of some other dark monster in my memory to haunt me. Nothing came to mind, so the Runner and I, were all alone.