Earth's Children
Summary: The parents of Harper tell their tale of life and love in Post-Commonwealth Earth.
Author: Luna Sealeaf
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Again, I do not own any Andromeda characters, so don't sue me, etc. Nor do I own the lyrics of the songs both parents sing. I'm not making any profit, and since my total life savings accumulates to a whopping 8 bucks (I went to the mall yesterday, lol) there's really no point in suing me.
Archive: It didn't occur to me before, but if anyone wants to they can. I dunno where this fic would fit in though...
"I don't believe in goodbyes.
Tis only a brief time until we meet again my dear
For each ending is but another beginning
Perhaps within this next life
Our time shall come
(Our time shall come)
And once again,
For the first time,
We'll be together
Apart no more."
-Ancient Earth Lyrics (AFC 32)
Episode Ten
Hope is a funny thing. Just when you thought it was gone forever, you find some small part of it still alive in you. My hope had been lost when I was young; Evan Harper, that strange Irishman, had rekindled it.
I hoped what was left could survive Liam's death.
Things certainly seemed bad. Bad? Now that's an understatement. Dunwich, the home where I had been born, grew up in, and where I had had my child, was destroyed, probably beyond all repair. A man I'd come to think of as an older brother, had died a brutal, painful death, in the effort to save his wife and children from that same death. And what was left? Devin and Orla, with my nephew Brendan, would surely recover, though of course Orla was heartbroken. What about the others?
Evan was distraught; he had depended heavily on his big brother. Still, he had me and Seamus, not to mention the others, and if I knew him as well as I thought I did, he too would recover. That left Lughna, Siobhan, and Declan. None of us spoke of it out loud, but we all were wondering what to do with Lughna. She didn't ever speak, and although she followed our instructions without trouble, neither did she respond to anyone –including her children. The four year old twins didn't seem to realize something was wrong with their mother. They clung to her desperately, holding her unfeeling hands as they looked at the world with wide eyes.
In the end, we decided to save those decisions for later. Right now, we had to worry about surviving in our new home, and I use that term loosely, at the Boston Refugee Camp.
My first thoughts after we entered the tall gate (after we'd been registered and given work cards) was how cold the place was. Evan looked about grimly, muttering that it hadn't changed from when he'd first been brought here. I held Seamus a little tighter, and could almost sense the shift of our collective gaze to check on Siobhan and Declan.
But the Nietzscheans who'd permitted us entrance were in no mood to let us to stand there and sightsee.
"Move along!" One shouted harshly. Without hesitation I led the others forward, even though I had no idea where to go. As I looked around, I couldn't help but feel a little saddened at the sight of this once great city. Boston had a rich history on Earth, but you'd never be able to tell from the looks of it now.
I stepped on something, and heard a sharp crack. Looking down, startled, I saw it was a piece of glass. How could someone be careless enough to leave something as precious as glass lying around? I scanned the streets and was shocked as I noticed two things: one, the streets were littered with filth, and secondly, there was no one outside. Most of the buildings appeared empty as well, despite the fact that it was a cold winter's night. I mentioned the state of the streets, and Devin picked up Declan while Evan moved to carry Siobhan. The children had no shoes or cloth to wrap around their feet.
"What should we do?" Orla asked softly as we all stopped and looked around helplessly. Evan shrugged helplessly, and Devin only turned his gaze to me questioningly. Only Lughna stared forward, pale and silent. I felt a great weight upon my shoulders; when had I become the leader? That was Liam's job. He always knew what to do. Seamus started crying and I shifted him to my shoulder, trying to think.
"Let's move out of the open first, it doesn't feel right," I said at last, and started walking down the narrowed road between two gray and dead buildings.
"I'm hungry," Siobhan announced loudly from Evan's shoulder.
"Don't worry honey, we'll get something to eat soon," I promised her. First we had to find somewhere to stay. The walls on either side of us seemed to close in, and there was no light. Suddenly figures moved in the darkness.
"Lookin' for somethin' there, pretty?" A raspy voice said by my ear. I nearly jumped a mile, and then I felt a hard grip on my shoulder. I couldn't fight him with my hands as I was holding Seamus.
"Let her go," I heard Evan, beside me, growl. Other figures moved, the grip on my shoulder not loosening in the slightest.
"Ow!" I heard, and a loud crack.
"Devin!" I cried in panic, recognizing his voice. Orla shouted something, Siobhan screamed as Evan swore loudly. For a few moments there was nothing but chaos, then a louder, firm voice said,
"Everybody stop!" And to my surprise, everything did. Devin, still holding Devin, but deprived of our packs of food, which he'd been carrying on his back, hurried forward with Orla as we slowly backed out of the alley and into the open space at the end. As if I didn't have enough to carry, Evan handed Siobhan to me, so I had a child in each arm (two heavy children) and he stepped forward protectively. For once I wasn't going to tease him about it. Then the figures stepped out from the shadows, to our surprise. There were a few grungy men, their clothes ripped and torn, faces indiscernible. They could have been anywhere from eighteen to eighty for all I could tell. After they had filed out a woman, her face clearly seen by all, stepped forward, smiling grimly.
Her hair was long and dark; braided and tied back into a strange, outlandish hairstyle. Her eyes were dark as well, outlined by something like kohl. Her outfit was as weird as her hair: torn pants, a stiff black and sleeveless shirt, with a torn jacket over it. She wore nothing else except gloves –fingerless gloves I noted. All in all, they hardly looked like trustworthy individuals.
"Well boys, it seems like we got ourselves a couple of country-folks." She sneered at us, and I felt myself blush –with anger.
"Country-folk with food," She added, taking a small step forward. I saw Evan's hands turn to fists.
"Go on your way. Can't you see we've got children with us?" He spat out, and although his back was to me, I knew his eyes were blazing with that fierce look he got. The woman looked him over, and then she looked over us. I could only imagine what we must have looked like to her. Fresh meat, no doubt. But to my surprise, her sarcastic grin disappeared and was replaced with a soft smile.
"You're right. Four kids no less." She walked towards us, but as her stance was no longer threatening, neither Evan nor any of us tried to stop her. The woman stopped in front of me, looking at Siobhan in a strange way. I realized that she couldn't have been much older than me, yet the lines around her eyes and mouth were that of an older woman. Siobhan, uncomfortable with this scrutiny, stuck her tongue out and made her 'angry face' at the woman, who in turn laughed loudly, startling us all, and Siobhan buried her face in my shoulder.
"Leave her alone," I found myself saying softly, aware of how tired my arms were getting.
"I don't hurt children," She said, her voice surprisingly hard. It was as though she was offended by my words.
"You can go boys. I'll meet you back at the house." She announced loudly. The scruffy figures didn't need to be told twice. They seemed to disappear into the shadows as they followed her orders.
"Sorry about the rude entrance. You ok?" She nodded to Devin, and I turned to look at him. He nodded in answer; there was a dark bruise forming by his hairline, but he seemed to be ok. Declan was staring at us all with terrified eyes.
"Who are you?" Evan asked harshly. I could tell he didn't like the woman; neither did I really; what right did she have to scare poor innocent children so?
"Me?" She stared at Evan blankly for a moment, and then laughed, slapping her knee. "Sorry, it's just that, I'm so used to people knowing my name. I forgot you're newbies. I," She gave what was meant to be a flourishing bow. "am Carla Bennet, leader of Carla's Boys. Nice to meet you all." She placed her hands on her hips proudly. Clearly she was used to being considered someone of importance.
"Now seeing as how I've got a soft spot for newbies, how's about we make ourselves a deal? I'll gladly help you folks out however I can in exchange for some of that food you's all got."
"Your 'boys' already took one of our bags," Devin pointed out.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Well, consider that the toll fee," She said, still grinning.
"Toll fee?" I echoed faintly.
"Sure, you guys were on my turf and all. Course, I'll forgive you, seeing as how you didn't know any better, but we'll just say that you paid in advance for any future passings." Carla didn't skip a beat as she told us this, and her grin didn't falter in the slightest. If everyone was like this, Boston was one strange place.
"Mind if we sit while talking?" Orla asked loudly. All our feet were tired and soar from walking. Not to mention our arms.
"First let's find a better place to work on our business," Carla winked. "Follow me," With that, she turned and started walking away. No one else moved for a moment. Should we trust her? It seemed possible that she'd simply stab us all in the back and steal whatever we had.
"Come on, I trust her," Orla finally said, starting to follow her. No one hesitated after that; we had all learned to trust Orla's instincts when it came to people. As we walked I handed Siobhan back to Evan, glad to be relieved of that weight.
I fully expected Carla to lead us into one of the empty buildings, or perhaps to another alleyway, but to my surprise, we ended up going underground. Catching sight of our amazement, Carla explained,
"There are tunnels everywhere under the city. It's the safest place to travel by, most of the time. Nietzscheans almost never come down here. And when they do, it's a hell of a lot easier to kill 'em." I didn't comment but continued walking, trying not to think of what we were stepping in. I lost track of how far we walked, or how many times we turned, before finally coming to an open chamber through one of the tunnels.
"Yes, this should do nicely," Carla said, looking around in satisfaction. The one good thing I could say about the small room was that it was dry, even the floor, for the most part.
"You guys can probably stay here for a little while. Doesn't look like anyone else is living here." Orla and I exchanged horrified looks. Stay here? Under the city? Surrounded by darkness with no daylight? Assuming we could manage to find our way back to the surface.
"Say, what's a matter with her?" Carla asked curiously, staring at Lughna, who had followed us complacently, eyes still vacantly staring forward. I pulled her towards me gently; as protective as Evan had been earlier.
"She's not well," I replied curtly. Carla shrugged and in one movement sat down, crossing her legs. We followed her example, some of us shifting positions so that children could sit on our laps more easily.
"They look hungry," Carla commented.
"They've had a long day," I snapped back, trying to keep Seamus still. All around us muffled sounds could be heard, as though echoing from a long way away.
"Newbies are so fun. Don't worry, you'll get used to the noise. It's just the other people living down here."
"How many are there?" Devin asked in surprise, his curiosity peaked.
"How should I know? Enough; probably a couple thousand." Carla shrugged, the number rolling off her tongue casually. Questions ran through my mind, and for a moment all of us were silent.
"So where you from?" Carla asked comfortably, studying us with as much interest as we studied her.
"Dunwich," I answered at last as no one else seemed inclined to answer. Carla's eyes widened and she leaned forward.
"You guys came from there? Gosh, it's a wonder you survived. How'd you make it?" Her voice was incredulous, but I was surprised by her knowledge.
"How do you know about the Magog attack?" I asked.
"How do I know? How could I not know? It's all the Ubers 'ave been talking about for years. When they left and shut down the factories, there were rumors that they knew it was a marked place. When the Magog didn't attack immediately, they started raiding the place for more slaves, before you could all get wasted." She said the last part softly. We sat silently; stunned by the knowledge we'd just been given. Suddenly, unbidden, the warning given to me all those years ago became clear.
"The camps are the safest place for your kind..."
"Let me see your work cards," Carla demanded suddenly. A little uneasily, I handed her mine. Evan didn't budge, but Orla and Devin gave her theirs. Carla didn't seem to notice Evan's lack of trust. When she looked at Devin's, Carla whistled and looked up at him compassionately.
"The mines? Gads.." She shook her head sadly as she looked at mine and Orla's. "Well, at least you ladies'll be able to skip out on work." She handed the cards back to us.
"What do you mean?" I asked in surprise.
"Oh please, you think the Ubers actually keep track of the workers? Especially at the so-called 'Refugee Station'? As long as they never want for anything, then they could care less about who does the work."
"But that's not fair." I protested, feeling surprised. "The Refugee Station is for us humans, so are the mess halls. If no one works there, how are we supposed to use them? And how are we supposed to earn money?" The others nodded in agreement to my question.
"Girlie, I haven't worked at my assigned station in my entire life, and I'm doing fine." Carla shrugged as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "And what would you do with money? Think you can trade it with the Ubers for food? Nah, if you want something around here, you gotta either go through the Collaborators and the black market, or trade with your neighbors at the Market."
Hard times bring out either the worst or the best in people; that has been true throughout history. I guess I had always wanted to believe that in Earth's case, it brought out the best. Now, faced with the reality of our new lives, I was beginning to think otherwise.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it here. Once you get the hang of things, life's not so bad. I gotta get going. You ever need anything, just look up old Carla...everyone knows where to find me and the boys. We're always willing to do a good deed for a small price." She winked at us again, stood, and was gone as quickly as her men before her. We sat in silence, not sure whether to be horrified or relieved.
"I'm hungry!" Siobhan complained again.
"Me too," Declan piped up. As Orla stood up Brendan started crying. No matter where we might go, one thing never changed; children will always be children.
To be honest, that first night was the hardest. We dug out a few blankets from the packs and made up beds for the kids. Evan had fallen silent, and I knew his thoughts were dwelling on Liam. The room was chilly and dark, but in a strange way, it was sort of comforting. Despite the odd, echoing noises that continued throughout the night, we weren't disturbed by anyone else. We huddled together, trying to sleep, and wondering what the morning would bring.
As it turned out, the morning brought nothing spectacular. Just hungry children, who we fed, and discussions on what we should do next. A few hours passed; Siobhan and Declan started playing a game, Orla was talking quietly to Lughna, and I was pressing a wet cloth to Devin's forehead. Evan was holding Brendan and Seamus quietly, and all was, for the most part, peaceful. Abruptly the silence was broken by a loud,
"Why hello there! Someone said there were Newbies around!" A frazzled looking man, face wrinkled and his hair a white-blonde, despite his youthful appearance, leaned inside. As one, we all jumped and turned to face the stranger.
"Who are you and what do you want?" I asked wearily.
"Name's Charley. I just stopped by to see if you needed any help," He was grinning now, much the same way as Carla had grinned earlier.
"What's this, some sort of welcoming committee?" Evan asked sarcastically. Charley stared at him blankly.
"A woman named Carla.." I thought for a moment, "Bennet, came yesterday. I take it any help you give will have to be bought?" As I spoke the name Charley frowned.
"Dammit, that woman's always stealing my business. How'd she get to you so quick?" Without another word, Charley disappeared, leaving us all bewildered.
Later, after we'd been in Boston for awhile, we learned of how many well-connected people liked to take advantage of 'newbies'; helping them to settle in, giving advice, obtaining supplies, that sort of thing, all at a price (usually food or clothing). There was always fierce competition to be a Newbie's first 'friend', since people would most likely trust the first person to help them out. However, at the time, we didn't know or understand any of this. We were just tired and wanted to find a place to settle in.
The tunnels might have been safe, but I refused to live underground, never getting any sunlight. Orla and Devin agreed (Evan didn't voice an opinion, which was unusual for him) and so we gathered our things and went out to try and find our way to the surface.
"You okay?" I asked Evan quietly as we walked through the dark tunnels. He was carrying Seamus and holding him closely. I slipped an arm around my waist and he leaned into me a little.
"I'm getting better," he answered, just as quietly. I continued to walk beside him in this manner until we reached the surface, which wasn't as hard to find as we had first feared. Of course, now came the inevitable question of Now What? For the second day in a row we walked along the streets of the Human Ghetto in Boston. It wasn't a pretty sight. Nor was it all that interesting. Suffice it to say that eventually we found a small, empty building that we were able to convert into a 'house'. The house was located close to an entrance to the tunnels, and was surrounded by other empty buildings. Ours was the only one that didn't seem to be falling apart –yet. Nor were we the only people who preferred to live above the ground. As the day wore on several other people crossed by the streets, but none stopped at our house, and all walked quickly, their heads bowed.
I won't say that setting up house was fun or easy, but there was a sense of normality about deciding where people would sleep, what would be the kitchen, and so on. The first four levels were usable, the fifth floor was pitted and I was afraid it wouldn't hold much weight. The space was divided thus: the first floor would be (eventually) the kitchen and shared room. The next floor would be Orla's and Devin's, along with Brendan. The third floor would be Lughna's and her children, and finally Evan and I would occupy the fourth floor, along with Seamus of course. I helped Evan fix up the stairs, since they didn't look like they'd hold up for long, and then we had to decide who would report for their work. I didn't like the way Carla had said the 'mines' and I worried about Devin going there. Finally it was decided that he and Evan would alternate days, just in case a complete failure to show up attracted attention. Orla and I decided it was pointless to report to our own stations, judging on what Carla had said. Beside, with two babies, two toddlers, and Lughna, one person staying at home would not have been enough.
So began our life in the Boston Harbor Refugee Camp. Looking back now, those first few months were almost humorous. It was one event after another. After three and a half weeks we all became infested with lice and had to cut our hair. To our surprise, Carla had remembered us and occasionally stopped by to see how we were doing. She laughed when she saw our shorn hair and explained the reason. The men, she told us, used a sticky sort of paste to spike their hair up, or they simply ignore the lice. The women either braided her hair, like Carla's, used the same stuff the men did (only generally they grew their hair longer and didn't spike them up) or also ignored the lice.
Carla also helped us to find the Market. It was underground in a large room; people brought any extra goods they had to trade; food was also abundant, more so than I had expected. All in all, Carla had been correct; once we knew where to go, and how things worked, life wasn't as difficult as I had feared it would be. Only one thing ever bothered me.
"Why have you helped us so much, Carla?" I asked one night. The others had gone to bed, but the twins were still up and I had fixed us some tea. Carla had spent the evening with us, and now was on the floor wrestling with Siobhan as Declan laughed in delight. At my question though, she stopped abruptly, whispered something to the little girl, and stood up. Dusting herself off in a dignified manner, she turned and accepted the cup of tea I offered her.
"I don't know." She finally said, giving a customary shrug before sipping the tea. I stared at her as I sipped my own.
"I think you do," I said softly, still watching her. Carla froze, and she looked at her tea as though seeing something else.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." She gave one of her quirky smiles and jerked her head towards the other side of the room, where the twins played on the floor.
"I had a little girl," She continued, though she had turned and was watching the children play. I didn't say anything; this was too personal to pry about. To my surprise, Carla continued.
"When she was about eight, I came home from my job and she wasn't there."
"I thought you said you had never gone to work?" I asked despite my resolve to not interrupt.
"I lied,"
"Oh, sorry,"
"Anyway, she wasn't home. I looked for her, asked my friends if she'd gone to their house, and she hadn't. A couple of days later, someone recognized her and brought her home –her body, I mean. She'd gone out to play and supposedly wandered over to the Nietzscheans' side of the city." Carla took a deep breath, and a sip of tea.
"The Ubers, they're bastards, you know?" I nodded in agreement even though I sensed she was talking more to herself than to me. "Lindsey knew better than to go over there. Why would she? All her friends live here. Not that it matters. Either way, some Uber got bored and decided it'd be fun to see how long it takes for a human girl to die."
I was horrified, and couldn't drink any more tea. My gaze shifted to the twins, and I thought of the babies upstairs. How could we raise our children here? As if reading my thoughts, Carla finished off her tea, set the cup down, and headed towards the door, pausing before she left to say over her shoulder,
"There's nothing anyone can do. We survive, and if we can, we protect the people we care about."
"Who do you protect?" I asked. Again, she smiled thinly.
"Well, I'm one of those who've run out of people to protect. That's why I got the boys together; there's only me left. Thanks for the tea." With that, she left, leaving me to contemplate our new life –and our new home.
Author's Note:
Sorry this episode took so long, I'll try not to be so long next time. Anyway, I hope this one was good. It felt too short, even though it's the same length as the others. Weird. Well, thanks for all the reviews about the last two episodes, and as always, thanks for reading!
-Luna Sealeaf