Author's note ~ Hope you enjoy.
"Well kid, I guess you can say I taught your little builder friends something very valuable the other day."
"What's that?" Newt asked, eagerly. Adrian's grin was sharp as a blade, and he answered with a cackle.
"Never bet against the house."
Newt stared at Adrian, completely and utterly at a loss for words.
"They bet against a house? What the bloody hell does that even mean?!"
Adrian shrugged easily, grabbing a fresh shirt off the bed and pulling it over his head in one efficient motion.
"It means that my buddy Gally and his gang of gorilla friends should do more thinking and less talking. I've been sharing information freely with them – and the rest of you – since I climbed out of that charming metal box. Still, they refused to believe that with a few basic resources, and a touch of sweat and effort, I could manufacture something as useful as concrete, or engineer a way to build a simple as a gravity drain pipe system for a primitive sink. We made a little wager, them and I. If I could make concrete, they'd dig and pave a floor, build the supports for a couple of walls for me. If I could make the sink and drain system, they'd mud the walls and put up a good solid roof – to my specifications. They lost on both accounts, as you can see." He gestured to the gray stone basin, inviting Newt to take a closer look.
Newt stepped up to the basin, reaching hesitant fingers out to tough the pale, rough surface. It wasn't perfectly circular, and the thickness lacked a certain uniformity, but the rudimentary sink was very obviously man made, and out of concrete no less. A carved wooden plug stopped the water from leaving the bowl; without bothering to ask, Newt reached into the water and pulled the plug. The water gurgled for about half a second before draining quickly and completely from the bowl – and not ending up on the floor. Fascinated, listening to the soft music of water trickling downwards, Newt leaned over and peered behind the sturdy wooden table, seeing what looked like joined clay pipes angling downwards and out through the bottom of the dwelling's wall. The set up was so simple, so ingenious, Newt couldn't believe that none of them had ever thought of it before. His eyes soft with wonder at the simple brilliance of it, Newt turned back to the man. Adrian smiled a little, commenting matter-of-factly.
"The sink and table top for the med-hut office have been poured and are dry; the clay pipes for drainage have been formed, dried and baked in the cook's fire. Tomorrow I'll install them and the new office will be open for business. Well, I would have put them in today, but I got a bit...distracted this afternoon."
Newt's attention slingshot back to the tense scene he'd witnessed earlier in the day, the anxiety, tension and anger surging back into him. Somehow, with the sheer novelty of the building seemingly appearing out of nowhere, and his amazement and pleasure over the new exciting advancements he'd seen inside, he'd been utterly derailed from his earlier miseries. As it came rushing back to him, he couldn't stop himself from bringing it up.
"By those slintheads that dragged you into the woods and tried to kick the klunk out of you?" He blurted. The man considered the boy, arching an eyebrow and failing to respond. After a moment of silence, the words came tumbling out of Newt's mouth, a cascade of anger, fear and blame, steadily rising in volume.
"I haven't seen you in days so I went by the med-hut to find you and all I see are a mess and drag marks?! I thought they were going to kill you! When I finally caught up, you were just standing there, taking their garbage, letting them pound the bloody snot out of you! Th-then you take them down, easy as breathing, and tell them, tell them there's no way out?! Not to threaten you because you're already de-dead?! What the bloody hell?!"
Newt turned away, furious, breath heaving and hitching in his throat.
"Newt." Adrian reached out a hand, putting it on the boy's shoulder. Newt knocked it aside, refusing to look at the man and trying to turn away, so Adrian took both trembling shoulders in his hands firmly, forcing the boy to face him.
"Newt. I didn't say there was no way out. I said there's no way out of this for me. There's still hope for you, for the other boys. There's always hope, always a chance -"
Newt's anger rose like a tsunami, crashing into his head with a thunderous roar. His arms felt as though they moved on their own, lifting and slamming out with all the force his body could muster, shoving the larger man back a full two steps.
"But no chance for you?! No hope for you?!" Newt's head throbbed from the explosive level of his own voice, and even though he could clearly hear the accusation and hurt in his own voice, he couldn't stop the words. He felt oddly as though someone had stuffed his head full of straw, his chest full of stones. It had only been a week, one week since the greenie had arrived, battered and silent in the box. He'd lived here with the other boys for a year and a half, and yet in seven days time this frustrating, brilliant man had managed to worm his way in; Newt almost couldn't breathe at the thought of losing him. He was one of them; he was family. He felt like an older brother in a way that Newt had never felt for any of the other boys. "You're just going to give up?! Because you're ALREADY DEAD?!"
Adrian grabbed a fist full of the boys shirt and yanked, pulling him into a rough, tight embrace, heading off the hysteria rising in his voice. Newt stood stiff as a board, shaking so violently he felt his bones might crack from it. He could feel the strong, warm arms on his back, the rough scratchy texture of beard stubble from the man's chin on his forehead.
"Ease off, kid. Take a breath." Adrian's voice was calm, and just a little gruff. For some reason, that did more to sooth Newt's hurt and anger than any murmured platitudes ever could have. "I'm not going anywhere at the moment. And I'm not giving up, not yet."
Newt hesitantly lifted his arms, unsure of what to do. He settled for wrapping them around Adrian's waist in an awkward attempt at a hug. Still unable to look at him, Newt turned his face into the man's shoulder, and said the words that he couldn't force out face-to-face.
"I don't want you to go." His voice came out thin and very, very young. Adrian patted his back in sympathy.
"I know, kid. I don't want to go, either. But, the reality of the matter is, when my job here is done, when I've outlived my usefulness, I'm gone." Satisfied that the boy had calmed, he took those slender shoulders once again, easing Newt back and forcing him to look the man straight in the face. "But that doesn't mean that I'll be going down without a fight. I've got a lot I can teach you guys, and besides, who knows? Maybe you and your friends will find a way out before I'm done, and I can escape with you."
"You really think so?" The words were hardly a whisper, desperation and fear and hope, all rolled into one.
"There's always hope." Adrian assured, relieved when the boy's breathing and color began to return to normal. "We'll take it as it comes. I'm here with you now, kid, and I'll make you a deal. You try your best to keep your chin up, to hold onto hope, and I'll do my best to find a way to stay, or at least to stick around long enough to get out of here with the rest of you. Deal?"
Newt pulled back, just far enough to break contact. Embarrassed by his outburst, ashamed at acting like a little kid about the whole thing, he managed to slide a small, forced smile onto his face. He squared his shoulders and held his hand out to the man.
"Swear to it?"
Adrian took the boy's hand firmly, giving a solid two-shake. His heart ached a little, but he said the words.
"You have my word."
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As evening turned into night Newt stayed with Adrian, seemingly reluctant to leave and let the man out of his sight. Adrian tried to keep things light, easy, explaining thoughts and plans for upgrades to the glade, projects he wanted to attempt, innovations for everything from cooking to cleaning to building. As the candle burned lower and lower, Adrian sat on the side of the bed and worked with needle and thread, making two large pouches from old burlap as Newt perched on the sink table and asked question after question. Adrian explained his lack of a crutch (still hurts, still a bit of a limp, but well on the way to being healed), how to make cement (wood ash and clay, mixed with water), how to make soap (ash and rendered fat, and yes, it works). By the time Adrian had finished two roughly rectangular bags of the coarse cloth, Newt was visibly beginning to droop. Still he watched, fascinated, as Adrian opened one of the bulging grain bags to reveal a mound of fine grayish fluff.
"Feathers," The man explained, stuffing handful after handful into the pouches as Newt watched, "From the slicers. They had a whole mountain of them, from plucking birds for the kitchen." In a few short minutes and with another quick straight stitch, Adrian held up his final product, then tossed it at a delighted Newt, who caught it by reflex.
"A pillow!"
Adrian laughed at how easily impressed the boy was.
"Easy peasy, and using castoff materials. Look at what you have, and what you can make will amaze you."
Adrian quickly finished the second pillow, tossing it on the bed behind him as he got up to put the needle and thread on the long table. Newt hopped up to get out of the way and swayed, just a little, still holding the first pillow. Despite sleeping late, the long, emotionally charged day had left the boy drained. And yet, he didn't want to head back to his hammock with the rest of the boys; some small seed of anxiety over Adrian leaving was still lodged deep in the back of his mind.
Adrian could read the boy's exhaustion and uncertainty with ease; it was all but written on his face. Adrian sighed lightly, resigned, pulling his shirt off over his head and taking his music player out of his pocket.
"It's late, and if you're running tomorrow, you'll probably have to be up early. Might as well bunk here for the night."
"Here?" Newt furrowed his forehead, his tired mind not quite comprehending. Adrian gestured to the bed.
"There's more than enough room for both of us. If you want to head back, by all means, but I'm done in, and ready to hit the sack. Your choice."
When Newt hesitated, Adrian simply rolled his eyes, flopping down onto one side of the bed and putting one arm behind his head, plugging one bud from the player into his ear. "Whether you're staying here or not, I'm going to bed, Sally. Just don't take all night deciding. And blow out that candle, will you?"
Eyes bleary, Newt gave in, puffing the candle out in a single huffy breath. Feeling his way to the bed in the sudden darkness, he eased down onto the edge, slowly lowering himself down until he lay on his back, side by side with Adrian. The wide, firmly padded mattress felt like heaven. As he was settling in, Newt thought he heard Adrian muttering something about staying on his own side of the bed, but he couldn't be sure. Then there was a long moment of glorious silence. Newt could feel the slight warmth from the man to his side, could hear his light, easy breathing. As he began to drift, secure in the house and the company of his friend, his family, he whispered two words into the dark.
"Thank you."
Newt was slipping under the surface, falling into the indigo of sleep. He didn't hear Adrian's murmured response.
"Anytime, kid."
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Adrian lay still, the boy deeply asleep beside him. He shuffled through the songs on his player idly, brooding over the events of the day. The promise he made lay heavy on him, and as though to taunt him, the player landed on one particular song.
I never
Said I'd lie and wait forever
If I died
We'd be together
I can't always just forget her
But she could try
At the end of the world
Or the last thing I see
You are never coming home, never coming home
Could I? Should I?
Adrian clicked the player off in irritation, pulling the bud from his ear and stuffing the whole thing under his pillow. Closing his eyes, forcing his mind to go blank, he willed himself to sleep.
Author's note ~
The song at the end of this chapter is Ghost of You by My Chemical Romance. See you next chapter!
~Ruby