A/N
On my plane back from my family holiday I actually tried out listening to the Ignite me audio book.
"Wait, what?",You're probably saying, "How do they do the striked through sentences and stuff?"
I asked the same thing. But what they did was that: after the striked through sentences were read, they made this sound as if someone actually crossed out a word on a paper. It was kind of weird, I'll tell you that, but creative for sure. But you can tell that the books were written in the idea that they were going to be read and not listened to.
The voice actress was pretty nice though, sounded like a teenage "Starlight glimmer" from My little pony. I sat for almost an hour trying to figure out where I recognized the voice. She made a good Juliette. But a not as good Anderson. Just imagine that, hearing the Supreme sounding like a MLP character. I was giggling so much my lil' sister glared at me.
But enough of that. Now to the fic! (￣▽￣)ゞ
Day 21
'The air feels thinner today', Delalieu remarked to himself as he exited the tank.
It was still too warm for the snow to stay white as it hit the ground, and the snowflakes themselves were nothing more than specks of white in the air. Though as Delalieu had said; the air was lighter and not as heavy with rain as the last time he had visited the compound.
He made his control of the patrols, then took a walk. He wanted to see if he could find Alice. He felt that if he would to be of any use he would at least try finding out her last name, since his last attempts had only sent his chief commander into a deeper frustration.
He didn't have to look long. Though it was Alice that found him.
"Hello Mr Delalieu!", she chimed in her usual carefree manner as he approached.
"Hello, miss Alice", Delalieu responded.
The group of children she had been playing with was standing further of. They were deeply engaged in a tag game. Running back and forth between the houses.
"Would you like to take a walk?", She asked, looking up at him.
Delalieu blinked in surprise. It was easier than he thought to take her to the side and talk to her. Why hadn't he thought of that earlier? After all she seemed to enjoy taking walks.
"Oh, of course, miss", he said.
Delalieu thought she would guide their walk towards the border of the compound for sure, since that's where she had been hanging around for the prior days, but she didn't. They simply walked among the houses.
Alice kept at her seemingly random questions about the base and the ordeals there. In return Delalieu asked her about her stay in the compounds.
"It gets boring at times..", she said,"..not going to school during the day. The other kids do, so I'm the only one left at home. The adults are nice..!", She assured," but I stay out of the way most of the time."
She coughed some.
"I do chores instead", she continued.
Delalieu frowned.
"Are you sick my dear?", He asked.
Alice got large eyes and shook her head.
"No, no-", she started, but was interrupted by another coughing fit.
"It's something in the air!", she said, holding a hand before her mouth,"Something I'm not used to."
Delalieu nodded slowly. Yes, it was a fact that the atmosphere was nothing to brag with these days; especially now in the winter. And maybe it was understandable since Alice wasn't from here. It occurred to him that maybe he really had gotten used to this filthy air after all these years in the same environment.
"I see Martha over there!", Alice said suddenly.
She pointed towards the building at which the civilians received their everyday food portions. A heavily guarded warehouse in red brick. Obviously not all of the sector's food was stored within such a facility, the food was delivered from one of the larger underground stocks.
There was a small queue of people waiting for the doors to open and give them their promised nutrients.
She waved.
Delalieu saw a woman in the line answering the wave. Even though she didn't seem as enthusiastic.
Since Delalieu was standing right beside the girl he gave the woman a small subtle wave.
Alice coughed again before saying,"I should get over there, in case she needs help carrying."
"Oh, okay then", Delalieu said.
Alice let go of his hand and said,"Have a nice day Mister Delalieu."
"You, too miss", Delalieu said.
Then she was on her way. She had taken about four steps away from him when he remembered he needed her last name. He wanted to smack himself on the head for forgetting again.
"Wait!", He shouted. It came out rather loud.
Alice turned around again. She didn't seem bothered that he had just shouted a meter away from her.
"Yes, Mr Delalieu?", She asked.
"Um…" How do you ask someone for their last name without sounding irrelevant?
She just looked at him. Not impatiently, but it was clear she was wondering what he wanted.
"What is your full name, miss?", He asked after deciding that asking directly would probably be the most efficient way.
She broke into a smile, surprising the Lieutenant.
"You're asking that for Warner, aren't you?", she asked.
He was frozen for a moment, but he straightened himself and nodded.
"He wants to know pretty badly, right?", she asked. Putting her hands behind her back. Leaning forward slightly.
Delalieu nodded again. He was glad she understood.
"Then I think he can come ask me himself", Alice said.
Delalieu just nodded, his brain not registering the rejection. Though after a few seconds lacking of last names he realized what she had said.
"W-what..?", He said.
Alice shrugged then coughed gently into her hand.
"I've seen him visiting the compounds, like, seven times since I came here. Then three times on base. That's ten times", she said, she held out both her hands, gloved fingers spread to show her ten fingers.
"If he needed my last name so badly, he could have asked me for it during any of those times", she said. Then she started turning around again, as if she deemed the conversation finished.
Delalieu felt a strike of panic run down his back.
"P-please, miss Alice!", He begged her.
She looked at him over her shoulder. Here was no compassion in those gray eyes. Actually, they had a slight scowl in them
"Mr Delalieu!", she said," You're Warner's Lieutenant, aren't you?", she demanded. She crossed her arms and turned around fully again.
He nodded like a robot. The sudden flare in the small girl had put him off guard.
"Then stop acting like his secretary!", she told him.
Then she turned on her heel and walked off.
Delalieu remained where he stood. He had been ready to beg, for sure. He thought that even if she would be reluctant he would solve it with reason. Or maybe even bribe her with something. A book maybe. But being scolded by her? No, he wasn't prepared for that. He had thought she was more lenient than that.
A thought struck him and he felt even more vulnerable. Slouching his posture. Frowning to himself.
What was Warner going to think about this?
"She told you what?", Warner asked.
Delalieu wasn't sure whether he legitimately wanted him to repeat the message or if he was just repeating it out loud to see if Delalieu would deny it.
They were inside Warner's office. Warner sitting behind it, a pen in hand to sign whatever documents that were laying in front of him. Though it had frozen in the air.
"She w-wants you to come ask her yourself, sir", he said, standing in front of the chief commander's black desk like a school boy, "She refused to tell me-"
Warner doubted the old man had been that persuasive in the attempt.
"You know I have better things to spend my time on", Warner interrupted and rose from his chair. "You know better than to promise some brat that I'm going to find a gap in my schedule to come talk to her", he continued.
Delalieu lifted his hand to protest, but halted it; remembering his place.
"Yes, Lieutenant?", Warner asked, catching that the man held something back. Though he did not sound inviting.
Delalieu hesitated.
"Speak up, Lieutenant!", Warner snapped.
"It was just...", Delalieu started, but did not dare continue.
"Yes?"
It was clear Warner would be more annoyed if the sentence was unfinished than of hearing the content itself.
Delalieu gulped. Braced himself.
"It was just that she did mentioned…", he slowed down some, feeling as if he was treading on thin ice,"...that she has seen you plenty of times in the compounds, but… that you never asked her... yourself..."
Warner groaned, something that had become more common when talking about the girl.
"Of course she has..", he muttered under his breath recalling all those times he saw her play with the other children.
He took a deep breath, trying to find a solution to not oblige to her childish demand. Letting it out slowly. His finger tapping the desk top.
Tap tap tap
"See if you can get her last name without having to waste my valuable time to pay her a visit, Lieutenant", he then said, straightening his posture.
"Yes sir", Delalieu said.
"Wait until a few days have passed, otherwise you'll lose the trust you have accomplished", Warner instructed,"Neither do we want the civilians knowing there's something special about her. No doubt she will start talking about our operation if she finds you too pushy. We don't want them thinking they could use her against us", he continued.
"In what way would that be?", Delalieu asked, suddenly worried.
"Hostage probably. For information. To try make a change in the ruling of the sector", Warner shrugged.
"If the information about the fact that she isn't connected to you hasn't reached the compounds already they might think it would actually work. And considering we have no idea where she came from they would probably try using her to find a way to escape the sector as a whole", he continued,"If they are desperate enough there would be no boundaries to what they would do to make her tell them."
"Personally, I would like to know how she got here", he added, pulling out his chair to return to his work.
"Me, too sir", Delalieu agreed, thoughts elsewhere.